Category: Health News
Grays Harbor County resident tests preliminarily positive for avian influenza
If confirmed, this would be the first human case of avian influenza reported in Washington in 2025
Health headlines can be confusing – these 3 questions can help you evaluate them
For people trying to make informed choices about their own health and that of their families, it can be tough to make sense of it all. The science can feel contradictory and confusing. Human data is messy, and studies often yield conflicting results.
Your body can be a portable gym: how to ditch membership fees and expensive equipment
From push-ups and squats to planks and chin-ups, bodyweight training has become one of the most popular ways to exercise because it can be done anywhere – and it’s free.
Amid Rise of RFK Jr., Officials Waver on Drinking Water Fluoridation — Even in the State Where It Started
Fluoridation has long been heralded as a public health triumph, but skeptics increasingly hold sway in government.
Washington State DOH order allows most residents to get COVID vaccine without prescription
The vaccine remains covered by most private insurers, Apple Health, and Washington’s Adult Vaccine and Childhood Vaccine Programs, removing barriers and helping people stay healthy.
COVID VACCINES FOR THIS FALL: WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR
The FDA approved updated versions of the COVID vaccine only for people ages 65 and older and people who have a medical condition that puts them at higher risk. That’s a much narrower focus than in previous years when vaccination was recommended for all people age 6 months and older.
Medicaid cuts are likely to worsen mental health care in rural America
Medicaid cuts in the massive tax and spending bill signed into law earlier this month will worsen mental health disparities in those communities, experts say, as patients lose coverage and rural health centers are unable to remain open amid a loss of funds.
Even a day off alcohol makes a difference
Our timeline maps the health benefits when you stop drinking
Wildfire smoke can make your outdoor workout hazardous to your health – an exercise scientist explains how to gauge the risk
Wildfires produce huge quantities of airborne particles, also called fine particulate matter. These particles are less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter – about a tenth the size of a pollen grain.
Particles of that size, which air quality experts refer to as PM2.5, raise serious health concerns because they are tiny enough to be carried to the air sacs in the deepest parts of the lungs. From there, they can cross into the blood stream, leading to bodywide inflammation – essentially, the immune system’s fight response – which can promote or aggravate multiple chronic illnesses.
Why Washington faces huge fallout from the Medicaid cuts in Trump’s megabill
Huge cuts to Medicaid included in the megabill President Donald Trump signed Friday could prove ruinous for the finances of both the state and its hospitals, especially in rural areas, as well as for the low-income residents who rely on the program for health care coverage, advocates say.
Governor Ferguson: Washington will cover gap caused by federal attempt to defund of Planned Parenthood
President Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ bans all Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood for a year
Home test kits boost screening for cervical cancer
Women who used at-home test kits were more than twice as likely to complete screening for cervical cancer than women who received only telephone reminders.
From sore muscles to smartwatches and stubborn belly fat: answers to six of the most common fitness questions
In a world flooded with fitness fads and “quick-fix” workout plans, solid evidence can often get drowned out. Yet the science is clear: jogging for just five to ten minutes a day can lower your risk of dying from heart disease and even reduce your overall risk of dying from any cause. This kind of research rarely gets the attention it deserves.
Older adults now outnumber children in 11 states
Montana, Oregon and Pennsylvania have joined the ranks of states where older people outnumber children. Other states where older people already outnumbered children in 2023: Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont and West Virginia. That grew from just four in 2020: Florida, Maine, Vermont and West Virginia.
A preservative removed from childhood vaccines 20 years ago is still causing controversy today − a WSU drug safety expert explains
No evidence supports the idea that thimerosal, used as a preservative in vaccines, is unsafe or carries any health risks.












