By Michelle Tarver MD PhD & Angela Calman MPA – Thirty-five years ago, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an alert that warned health care providers how certain electrically powered hospital beds could harm and even kill children. That was one of our earliest communications about medical device safety.
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By Lauren Weber – Rural Americans are dying of covid at more than twice the rate of their urban counterparts — a divide that health experts say is likely to widen as access to medical care shrinks for a population that tends to be older, sicker, heavier, poorer and less vaccinated.
By Victoria Knight – The steady stream of spurious claims surrounding the covid vaccines and treatments that swirl around the public consciousness. The physician voices are of particular concern because their medical credentials lend credence to their unproven, often dangerous pronouncements.
By Amanda Michelle Gomez – Of the 203 million people who have received at least one dose of a covid-19 vaccine, more than 9 million have enrolled in a program to share information about their health since getting the shot.
By Elisabeth Rosenthal & Glenn Kramon – America’s covid-19 vaccination rate is around 60% for ages 12 and up. That’s not enough to reach so-called herd immunity, and in states like Missouri — where a number of counties have vaccination rates under 25% — hospitals are overwhelmed by serious outbreaks of the more contagious delta variant.
By Anna Maria Barry-Jester – If you were growing up in Detroit in the 1970s or ’80s, chances are you knew the city’s Herman Kiefer public health complex by both sight and reputation. Opened at the turn of the century and later enhanced by renowned industrial architect Albert Kahn, the imposing brick complex was named after a local infectious disease doctor.
By Liz Szabo – Upon first inspection, the mutations in the highly contagious delta covid variant don’t look that worrisome. For starters, delta has fewer genetic changes than earlier versions of the coronavirus.
By Janet Woodcock MD – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s mission to protect and promote the public health impacts the life of every American, every day. Our work encompasses an ever-widening array of foods, additives, cosmetics, medicines, and medical devices as the FDA regulates approximately 20 cents of every dollar spent annually by American consumers.
By Michelle Andrews – The week before Brian Colvin was scheduled for shoulder surgery in November, he tested positive for covid-19. What he thought at first was a head cold had morphed into shortness of breath and chest congestion coupled with profound fatigue and loss of balance.