MSDH warns of higher flu and COVID cases
Today, the Mississippi State Department of Health warned a higher number of COVID and flu cases are expected. State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers says Mississippi is experiencing a…
HEALTH
Ochsner Health acquires Diamondhead Urgent Care
Ochsner Health announced today it has acquired Diamondhead Urgent Care, giving the hospital system a bigger footprint in Hancock County. Diamondhead Urgent Care will become one of two Ochsner locations that provide urgent care services, along with Ochsner Health Center…
Open enrollment for Medicare ends tomorrow
The annual Medicare enrollment period is about to end for this year, but seniors have time to consider options and charges to their plans. Open enrollment is when seniors can…
Chemical hair straighteners linked to cancer
The National Institute of Health has found some startling news. Women using chemical hair-straightening products are at a higher risk of uterine cancer. Researchers noted that African-American women may be…
Best way to relieve arthritis pain during the cold weather
With the cold weather beginning to take over, people with osteoarthritis will begin to feel more flare-ups in their joints. News 25 spoke with Internal Medicine…
CDC endorses updated COVID boosters, shots to begin soon
By LAURAN NEERGAARD AP Medical Writer The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has endorsed updated COIVD-19 boosters. The decision opens the way for a fall vaccination campaign that could blunt a winter surge if enough Americans roll up their…
Jill Biden tests positive for COVID-19, has ‘mild’ symptoms
By ZEKE MILLER KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — First lady Jill Biden tested positive for COVID-19 and was experiencing “mild symptoms,” the White House announced Tuesday. She had been vacationing with President Joe Biden in South Carolina when she began…
Monkeypox vaccine available to high-risk patients in Mississippi
A limited number of monkeypox vaccines are now available through the Mississippi Department of Health. The Harrison County Health Department Clinic in Gulfport is the only location offering…
CDC drops quarantine, screening recommendations for COVID-19
NEW YORK (AP) — The nation’s top public health agency on Thursday relaxed its COVID-19 guidelines, dropping the recommendation that Americans quarantine themselves if they come into close contact with an infected person. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention…
US to declare health emergency over monkeypox outbreak
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. will declare a public health emergency to bolster the federal response to the monkeypoxoutbreak that has infected more than 6,600 Americans, two people familiar with the matter said Thursday. The announcement will free up federal money and…
Today is ‘World Lung Cancer Day’
The first of August is World Lung Cancer Day. With lung cancer being the third most common cancer in the United States, this is an initiative to urge everyone to…
Deal on Capitol Hill could ease seniors' health costs
By MATT SEDENSKY and CARLA K. JOHNSON Associated Press Some older Americans are cheering news of a deal on Capitol Hill that could lead to lower drug costs. The health care and climate agreement struck by Senate Majority Leader Chuck…
First case of Monkeypox identified in Mississippi
JACKSON, Miss.- Today, the Mississippi State Department of Health is reporting its first case of Monkeypox in a Mississippi resident. The specimen was tested at the Mississippi State Department of Health Public Health Laboratory. An investigation to identify persons who…
At-home COVID tests available at county health departments
Starting Monday, free at-home COVID-19 tests will be available at all Mississippi county health departments. Each family can receive eight tests (four packages) of BinaxNOW antigen rapid self-tests per month. No doctor’s note or documentation of any kind is necessary.…
New York reports 1st US polio case in nearly a decade
NEW YORK (AP) — An unvaccinated young adult from New York recently contracted polio, the first U.S. case in nearly a decade, health officials said Thursday. Officials said the patient, who lives in Rockland County, had developed paralysis. The person…
CDC advisers endorse more traditional Novavax COVID shot
U.S. adults who haven’t gotten any COVID-19 shots yet should consider a new option from Novavax -- a more traditional kind of vaccine, influential government advisers said Tuesday. Regulators authorized the nation’s first so-called protein vaccine against COVID-19 last week, but…
White House urges caution on COVID variants, pushes boosters
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is calling on people to exercise renewed caution about COVID-19, emphasizing the importance of getting booster shots for those who are eligible and wearing masks indoors as two new highly transmissible variants are spreading rapidly across…
US allows pharmacists to prescribe Pfizer’s COVID-19 pill
WASHINGTON (AP) — Pharmacists can prescribe the leading COVID-19 pill directly to patients under a new U.S. policy announced Wednesday that’s intended to expand use of Pfizer’s drug Paxlovid. The Food and Drug Administration said pharmacists can begin screening patients…
Judge set to hear challenge of Mississippi abortion law
By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A judge is holding a hearing Tuesday to consider a lawsuit filed by Mississippi’s only abortion clinic, which is trying to remain open by blocking a law that would ban most abortions…
Mississippi judge sets hearing on challenge to abortion law
By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi judge has set a Tuesday hearing in a lawsuit by state’s only abortion clinic, which seeks to block a law that would ban most abortions. A temporary restraining order would allow the…
Singing River Health Systems makes Murdock CEO
The Board of Trustees announces that Tiffany Murdock will serve as Chief Executive Officer. Murdock has served as interim CEO since February when Lee Bond left SRHS. She is the first woman CEO of Singing River Health System. “On behalf…
FDA advisers recommend updating COVID booster shots for fall
At least some U.S. adults may get updated COVID-19 shots this fall, as government advisers voted Tuesday that it’s time to tweak booster doses to better match the most recent virus variants. Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration wrestled…
10-day clock starts on closing Mississippi abortion clinic
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch has taken a step to activate a law that will ban most abortions in the state. The 2007 state law says the Mississippi attorney general must publish an administrative notice if…
Mississippi AG certifies state's abortion 'trigger law'
This morning, in according to state law, Attorney General Lynn Fitch published the required certification for what is known as the state’s trigger law. “Mississippi’s laws to promote life are solid and thanks to the Court’s clear and strong…