Her cost for each round of injections has been roughly $30 the last few years. And everything is easier and less painful for a bit after each steroid treatment. So, in late summer she masked up and went in for her usual shots. She noticed her doctor’s office had moved up a floor in the medical…

When COVID-19 vaccines began arriving in Memphis, Tenn., late last year, some Black residents had questions. Did the vaccines cause infertility? Did they alter a person’s DNA? They don’t. And local community leaders worked hard to counter these and other vaccine myths as they came up in public forums around town or appeared online.

The sheer prevalence of obesity in the nation was a public health concern long before the coronavirus pandemic — 2 in 3 Americans exceed what is considered a healthy weight, with 42% falling into the obesity range, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But COVID-19 dramatically fast-tracked the discussion from warnings about the…

Tens of millions of Americans experienced at least a day last year shrouded in wildfire smoke. Entire cities were blanketed, in some cases for weeks, as unprecedented wildfires tore across the Western U.S., causing increases in hospitalizations for respiratory emergencies and concerns about people’s longer-term health. A new study finds those concerns are well founded.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in partnership with Boston Children’s Hospital and Castlight Health, is launching a new tool that allows Americans to search for COVID-19 vaccine providers with stock of vaccine where they live. The tool, which builds on the existing VaccineFinder.org platform, will capture inventory data from vaccine providers around the country.

People experiencing homelessness are especially vulnerable to disease and often live in close quarters. Reaching them for COVID-19 vaccination is crucial, public health officials say, yet also presents some unique challenges. Addresses and phone numbers change constantly. Few of the people affected have reliable Internet access.

Uninsured Americans can start signing up for coverage on the federal Affordable Care Act exchange starting Monday, but the Biden administration has not allocated more funds to help them enroll. President Joe Biden last month ordered the launch of a three-month special enrollment period as a key part of his effort to rebuild the Affordable Care Act. To…

A research team at Columbia University has built a mathematical model that gives a much more complete — and scary — picture of how much virus is circulating in our communities. It estimates how many people are never counted because they never get tested. And it answers a second question that is arguably even more…

Today, most consumers still aren’t able to buy N95 masks, because the supply available to retailers remains very limited. Even hospital workers are still being asked to ration and reuse their supplies of N95s, and the website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says, “N-95 respirators should not be used [by the general public] because…

People with ALS often must quit their jobs — and sometimes their spouses do, too, to provide care — leaving families in financial distress. A decade-long campaign by advocates highlighting this predicament notched a victory last month when Congress passed a bill opening key support programs earlier for ALS patients.