Webinar Monday, Jan. 11, will focus on stopping use of electronic cigarettes and other substances by Kentucky's young people

The webinar is free but registration is required. Register here: https://bit.lu/2FgenhY Substance use among young people is a persistent problem in Kentucky, according to the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. One in four students in high school, where most adult tobacco users got their start, say they have used electronic...

Read More

Omnibus relief bill includes ban on mail sales of e-cigarette products; FedEx will not handle shipments after March 1

The catch-all bill to keep the government open, provide pandemic relief and do many other things includes a ban on mail shipments of electronic-cigarette products, and apply federal laws on cigarette sales to online sellers of e-cigarette products. The bill becomes law March 27 and gives the U.S. Postal Service until April 26 to impose regulations implementing it. "With the USPS off limits for online sellers, private delivery services will...

Read More

Positive-test rate jumps above 9% on seventh highest day of new coronavirus cases; 29 more deaths; state auditor tests positive

By Al Cross Kentucky Health News All major measures of the pandemic increased in Kentucky Wednesday, most notably the percentage of Kentuckians testing positive in the last seven days for the novel coronavirus. That figure jumped to 9.09%, more than a full percentage point above Monday's seven-day average and the highest...

Read More

Beshear worries that New Year's on top of Christmas will reverse Kentucky's recent progress on thwarting the novel coronavirus

...

Read More

Pandemic thrusts Health Commissioner Steven Stack from usually low-profile job into often harsh spotlight of public scrutiny

State Health Commissioner Steven Stack, M.D., made a point during a news conference as Gov. Andy Beshear listened. (Photo by Matt Stone, Louisville Courier Journal)  Less than a month after Dr. Steven Stack moved from running a hospital emergency department to running the state Department for Public Health, the...

Read More

Beshear says people 70 and older will be in next phase of vaccinations; he faces major task in deciding who will come next

...

Read More

Legislation to fix surprise medical billing won't apply to ground ambulances, but may produce data that will spur their inclusion

The new law will apply to air ambulances of Lifeguard Emergency Services of Eastern Kentucky and those of other U.S. ambulance services, but not to their ground ambulances. (Lifeguard photo) The congressional fix for surprise medical bills, contained in the legislation to keep the government open, provide pandemic...

Read More

Beshear's Facebook post shows generally stable numbers; comments on it reveal support, skepticism and unhappiness

Ky. Health News graph; click it to enlarge. New cases reflect unadjusted initial daily reports. By Al CrossKentucky Health News Metrics of the novel-coronavirus pandemic remained generally stable Sunday, as Gov. Andy Beshear made only a Facebook post giving the numbers. The state reported 1,509 new cases, marking...

Read More

Trump helped get vaccines produced quickly, but he and some of his allies are complicating efforts to get people to take them

Trump and Dr. Anthony Fauci listened as Dr. Deborah Birx, response coordinator of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, spoke several months ago. (Photo by Bill O'Leary, The Washington Post) "President Trump and his allies have spent years stoking disinformation and doubt in official accounts about the election,...

Read More

State reports Christmas Eve was pandemic's second-deadliest day, with 53 Covid-19 deaths, but positive-test rate fell below 8%

Screenshot of adapted New York Times interactive map shows Kentucky better than adjoining states but with hotspots like Clinton and Clay counties, with 102 and 101 cases per 100,000, respectively. By Al CrossKentucky Health News Christmas Eve was Kentucky's second-deadliest day of the pandemic, with confirmation of...

Read More

As state heads into a long holiday weekend, new-case average keeps ticking up but Beshear emphasizes recent successes

White House Coronavirus Task Force chart; for a larger version, click on it. By Al Cross Kentucky Health News Kentucky's averages of recent coronavirus cases and deaths continued to increase slightly Wednesday, but the percentage of Kentuckians testing positive for the virus continued to decline, and Gov. Andy Beshear...

Read More

As virus cases, hospitalizations and deaths tick back up, Beshear says holiday actions may determine who's around for next year's

...

Read More

Governor, legislative leaders, chief justice, cabinet secretary, health commissioner, first lady get vaccinated in Capitol rotunda

First lady Britainy Beshear watches as nurse Michelle Searcy of the Franklin County Health Department gives the governor a dose of the Moderna vaccine. (Governor's office photos) By Al Cross Kentucky Health News Gov. Andy Beshear, first lady Britainy Beshear, state Senate President Robert Stivers, House Speaker David...

Read More

Beshear says people 75 and older have 'compelling argument' to get vaccine after nursing homes and health-care workers

By Al Cross Kentucky Health News Kentuckians 75 and older have a "very compelling argument" to be among those next in line to get coronavirus vaccines, Gov. Andy Beshear said Monday as vaccinations began at nursing homes in the state. Last week, Beshear said that after nursing-home workers, staff and other health-care workers, the next group would be first responders and K-12 educators. Sunday, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory...

Read More

Kentucky shows little improvement in America's Health Rankings; we're getting less exercise, and diabetes has increased

America's Health Rankings chart, relabeled by Kentucky Health News; to enlarge, click on it. By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News Kentucky again ranks near the bottom in two big health measures: 48th for health behaviors and 46th for health outcomes, according to the America's Health Rankings report from the United...

Read More

Study of young people's e-cigarette use early in pandemic shows many had quit or cut back, but many under 21 were still buying

By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News Nearly 70% of  young people who told researchers they had changed their electronic-cigarette habits had either used e-cigarettes less or had quit altogether since the coronavirus pandemic hit in March, largely because of either stay-at-home orders or because of difficulty accessing...

Read More

McConnell puts fix for 'surprise billing' problem in must-pass bill

McConnell on Dec. 15 (Pool photo by Rod Lamkey via AP) The massive bill to keep the government open and provide $900 billion in pandemic relief also includes a compromise solution to the nagging problem of "surprise billing" in health care, key members in both parties said Sunday night. Senate Majority Leader Mitch...

Read More

Moderna vaccine arrives in Kentucky; 26 deaths push 7- and 14-day means to new highs; Congress finalizes $900 billion relief bill

A UPS truck with Moderna vaccine got a police escort in Louisville. (Image from WAVE-TV) By Al Cross Kentucky Health News As the second coronavirus vaccine arrived in Kentucky, new cases and hospitalizations for Covid-19 kept falling, but 26 more deaths continued a surge. The state reported 1,765 new cases, fewer...

Read More

Paper says it has 'story of how Trump’s denial, mismanagement and magical thinking led to the pandemic’s dark winter'

Vice President Pence speaks for the task force March 9. (Photo by Jabin Botsford, Washington Post)  A month ago, as doctors on the White House Coronavirus Task Force watched new cases rising and feared the Thanksgiving holidays would make things worse, and "their warnings had gone largely unheeded for months,"...

Read More