Fall is vaccine season; doctors say it's OK to get immunizations for Covid-19 and flu at same time; new RSV vaccine available

The timing of vaccines matters. (Wall Street Journal illustration, from iStock images) Covid-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are circulating, so the vaccine season is upon us. To get the maximum protection, start with a game plan. "Doctors generally suggest getting your flu and Covid shots before...

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Ga. professor develops model to show how much you need to walk each day to achieve a specific reduction in your weight

Step counts and weight loss have an inconsistent relationship. (Photo by Jose Carlos Cedeno Martinez, Getty Images) By Bob BureshThe Conversation Over the last decade, smartphones have become ubiquitous not just for sending texts and staying abreast of news, but also for monitoring daily activity levels. Among the...

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'The only way we can take care of others is if we first take care of ourselves," UK President Eli Capilouto says in a health message

Kentucky Health News Before he became an academic and a university administrator, Eli Cailouto was a public-health dentist. He returned to his roots in his latest campus-wide message as University of Kentucky president, promoting preventive measures as the weather cools, we spend more time inside and viruses circulate more....

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Ky. children 10-17 have nation's 2nd highest obesity rate (19.6%); adult rate of 37.7% is 9th highest, a slight improvement from 2021

Map from Trust for America's Health State of Obesity report Kentucky Health News graph from state data By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News Kentucky ties with Wisconsin for the nation's ninth-highest adult obesity rate, an improvement from second-highest last year, but Kentucky children aged 10-17 still...

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Answers to questions about the updated Covid-19 vaccines

Updated Covid-19 vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna have rolled out to pharmacies. The Food and Drug Administration approved the mRNA vaccines for everyone 6 months and older. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted 13-1 to recommend that everyone 6 months...

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Now is the time to get vaccinated or re-vaccinated for Covid-19, as the weather cools and people spend more time indoors

University of Kentucky photo By Vince Venditto University of Kentucky As the weather gets colder and gatherings move indoors, vaccines remain the safest and most effective way to protect ourselves from Covid-19. On Sept. 11, the Food and Drug Administration approved the updated mRNA Covid-19 booster vaccines to align...

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State doctors' group calls for more gun control, repeal of 2nd Amendment 'sanctuary' law; passes resolutions on many topics

By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News The Kentucky Medical Association called mass shooting and gun violence "a public-health crisis" and called for more gun control in one of nine resolutions on the topic at its annual convention. Voting delegates representing the state's doctors also adopted resolutions addressing...

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The pandemic is over; now Covid-19 is endemic, but is still a leading cause of death. When we will stop treating it differently?

Many resist wearing masks, but they work. (CBC photo) As new coronavirus variants make the headlines and Covid-19 hospitalizations are are on the rise, experts told Carolyn Y. Johnson of The Washington Post that this is the new normal in a world where Covid is now considered an endemic disease.  This,...

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WellCare of Kentucky, a Medicaid manager, honors nine Kentucky health heroes with Community Health Champion Awards

Front row, from left: Matt & Jennifer Westwood (Region 6), Chelsea Ryann’s Festival of Hope; Christy Hinton (Region 2), River Valley Behavioral Health; Faith Fountain (Region 7), Ramey-Estep/Re-group; Sonja Grey (Region 3), Exploited Children’s Help Organization; Stacy Kuhn (Region 4), Farmstead,...

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Changing positions, Cameron says he would sign legislation to add rape and incest exceptions to Ky.'s near-total ban on abortion

By McKenna Horsley Kentucky Lantern Republican gubernatorial nominee Daniel Cameron said Monday that he would sign legislation allowing exceptions to Kentucky’s near-total abortion ban in cases of rape and incest — a departure from his past statements about the law. “If our legislature was to bring legislation before me that...

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90% of for-profit nursing homes would need more staff to meet proposed rules; 60% of others would, KFF Health News estimates

KFF Health News graph; individual estimates for staffing by RNs and aides are in the story. Kentucky Health News For-profit nursing homes would have to hire more staff to meet proposed federal rules than other nursing homes would, according to an analysis by KFF Health News, a service of the Kaiser Family Foundation. "90%...

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At opioid panel's final hearing, Ben Chandler leads endorsers of funding research into psychedelic drug as treatment for addiction

By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News Twenty-three people spoke in favor of funding the development of an opioid-use disorder treatment using the psychedelic drug ibogaine with some of the state's opoid-settlement money at the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission's second and final public hearing on Friday, Sept....

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Annual health-policy forum Oct. 11 in Lexington will focus on health-care workforce shortage; discount hotel rate expires Mon.

A strong and robust health-care workforce is fundamental to ensuring access to high-quality care, but  many areas of Kentucky have a shortage of this vital resource. Kentucky's health-care workforce shortage will be the focus of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky's 2023 Howard L. Bost Memorial Health Policy Forum,...

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