Opinion: Without herd immunity, we need masking, ventilation, germicidal lighting, clearer messaging to prevent Covid-19

By Kevin Kavanagh We all need to recognize the dangers of Covid-19 and the risks it imposes to our long-term health and our country’s workforce. Long Covid occurs in about 30% to 35% of cases. It commonly occurs with even mild disease and with reinfections. The severity is additive, with each exposure, and the symptoms can...

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Suit claims Morehead hospital refused to grant all requests from workers for religious exemptions from Covid-19 vaccine mandate

St. Claire Medical Center (Photo from The Daily Yonder) A woman who says she was fired by St. Claire Medical Center for not getting a Covid-19 vaccine is suing the hospital in federal court, alleging that the Morehead hospital denied the religious exemption she claimed, and those of all other employees who claimed...

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Ky. coronavirus cases stay on rough plateau; a few more counties at higher risk; former Gov. Brown died of Covid-19 complications

CDC map shows risk of Covid-19 by county. By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News The number of new coronavirus cases in Kentucky continues to fluctuate each week, but on a rough plateau. Meanwhile, the latest federal risk map shows most of the state's counties continue to have a low risk of transmission.  The...

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Study: Suicide rates in U.S. linked to shortages of mental health providers in counties

By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News Increased rates of youth suicide were linked to counties that have workforce shortages among mental health providers, according to a new study.  The study, published in JAMA Pediatrics, found that after adjusting for demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, counties with...

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Parents are sending kids to school sick, citing need to work, concerns about missing more school and weariness as reasons

Schools in Kentucky and across the nation have been hit hard by a slew of respiratory viruses and some parents are sending their children to school sick or sending them back to school while still infected.  Parents are citing an inability to take more time off work, concerns about their children missing out on in-class...

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State Sen. Ralph Alvarado, head of Senate health committee, will resign to become state health commissioner in Tennessee

State Sen. Ralph Alvarado Republican state Sen. Ralph Alvarado, a Winchester physician who chairs the state Senate's Health and Welfare Committee, is resigning his seat to become health commissioner in Tennessee. The office of Gov. Bill Lee said Alvarado will resign his seat before taking office Jan. 16. That indicates...

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There is no vaccine for hepatitis C ; all adults should get tested

jarun011, iStock/Getty Images Plus By Takako Schaninger University of Kentucky   The hepatitis vaccines you receive as a child don’t protect you from getting hepatitis C, a serious disease that can have fatal consequences including liver damage, cirrhosis and liver cancer. Hepatitis is an inflammation of...

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Provisional drug overdose data shows hopeful trend in Ky. and the nation, with numbers dropping in each of last three months

By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News Preliminary data suggests that drug-overdose deaths are declining in Kentucky and the nation.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's latest provisional overdose death data for the first six months of this year showed a 5.5% year-to-year increase in the number...

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Only 10 Kentucky counties are at medium risk of Covid-19 and the rest are at low risk, but flu and RSV levels remain high

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention map, emphasizing Kentucky By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News In the best Covid-19 report Kentucky has seen in a long while, the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's national risk map says only 10 Kentucky counties, all in the east, are at medium risk of...

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Most Kentucky hospitals in national patient-safety ratings got C grades again; state ranks 36th among states in share of A ratings

By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News Most of the 60 Kentucky hospitals graded on a nonprofit group's report card for patient safety got a grade of C when. The Leapfrog Group, based in Washington, D.C., rates nearly 3,000 general acute-care hospitals based on how well they protect patients. Most of Kentucky's 126 hospitals...

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Colorectal screening now available at participating Ky. pharmacies

L-R: Brooke Sorgi of Exact Sciences, maker of Cologuard, a DNA-based screening test, and Capital Pharmacy pharmacist Dr. Emily Wilkerson mark the first pharmacist-led colorectal cancer screening via a stool-based test on Sept. 29. Kentucky's pharmacists and health insurers have teamed up to offer what...

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As you spread the spirit of the holidays, don't spread sickness; shots reduce chance of flu and long Covid-19 by about 50%

By Ben Chandler President and CEO, Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky Holiday cheer won’t be the only thing spreading this season. As the weather cools and people start spending more time inside where viruses can easily spread, the risks of illness are high. This winter, public health officials expect heavy traffic in urgent...

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Anthem expands its rural health scholarship program at EKU

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield's Kentucky Medicaid unit is expanding its rural scholarship program at Eastern Kentucky University "to grow the number of frontline workers in the eastern region of the state and increase access to care and improve health equity for those living in Kentucky’s rural areas," the company and the university said in a press release. The fund of nearly $200,000 "will enable more students to provide care in underserved...

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Using his pardon power, Beshear lets people with certain certified health conditions possess up to 8 ounces of medical marijuana

Beshear displayed a map showing in green the adjoining states where medical cannabis is legal. By Al Cross Kentucky Health News Kentuckians who meet a detailed set of requirements would be able to possess up to 8 ounces of marijuana for medical use starting Jan. 1, under an executive order Gov. Andy Beshear signed...

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$35 cap on seniors' monthly insulin costs isn't reflected in online 'plan finder' that is used by Medicare members to choose a plan

Screenshot of Medicare plan finder; for the web page, click here. By Susan JaffeKaiser Health News A big cut in prescription drug prices for some Medicare beneficiaries kicks in next year, but finding those savings isn’t easy. Congress approved in August a $35 cap on what seniors will pay for insulin as part of the...

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Time for pharmacy-benefit managers to 'share the savings' in prescription-drug costs, crusaders against diabetes write

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Flu off to fast start; cases keep more than doubling each week in Kentucky; flu, Covid-19 and RSV threaten a 'triple-demic'

State Dept. for Public Health map, adapted by Ky. Health News; county figures are online here. Last week's cases will be reported on Friday. By Al Cross Kentucky Health News Influenza is spreading quickly in Kentucky, raising the threat of a "triple-demic" of flu, Covid-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The...

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Had trouble with a health-insurance claim? An appeal? National, nonprofit newsroom ProPublica wants you to help its reporting

Photo illustration from ProPublica ProPublica, the national, nonprofit, investigative newsroom, wants Americans to help it report why health insurance claims are denied, what the consequences are for patients, and how the appeal process works. It says it has heard from hundreds of people about the obstacles they have...

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Nov. 17 is American Cancer Society's Great American Smokeout

CDC graphic By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News The American Cancer Society's annual Great American Smokeout, a day when smokers are encouraged to quit for the day and make a plan to quit for good, will be observed Thursday, Nov. 17.  "The Great American Smokeout is more than a reminder of the dangers smoking...

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Map estimates how ready your county is to help with recovery

Screenshot, adapted by Ky. Health News; for the interactive version, click here. By Liz Carey The Daily Yonder When officials in Vine Grove put out a vending machine filled with free opioid-overdose reversal medication, they expected people in the 7,000-person strong community would use it. They just didn’t anticipate...

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