Covering the most noteworthy news stories in the health and wellness industry for the Filipino community.
Four years ago, when Karen Giuliano went to a Boston hospital for hip replacement surgery, she was given a pale-pink bucket of toiletries issued to patients in many hospitals. Inside were tissues, bar soap, deodorant, toothpaste, and, without a doubt, the worst toothbrush she’d ever seen. “I couldn’t believe it. I got a toothbrush with…
WITH summer in full swing, Los Angeles County officials are warning residents to continue to practice COVID-19 safety measures — or else the indoor mask-wearing mandate could be reinstated by the end of July. LA County is reportedly on track to reach “high” COVID-19 activity level as hospitalizations related to the virus are continuing to…
By Mark Hedin/Ethnic Media Services “You might be done with COVID, but COVID is not done with you.” So said Denny Chan, directing attorney with Justice in Aging, at a press briefing co-hosted by the California Department of Aging on June 29 to address the high risks older adults still face from COVID-19 and what steps will protect them. Joining Chan…
AFTER more than a year of clinical trials, children in the United States between the ages of 6 months and 4 years old are now permitted to receive the COVID vaccine, nearly closing the gap between the unvaccinated and vaccinated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) signed off on vaccines for young children…
By Judith Graham/ KHN ALMOST half of older adults — more than 26 million people 65 and older — have prediabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. How concerned should they be? Not very, say some experts. Prediabetes — a term that refers to above-normal but not extremely high blood sugar levels…
CHILDREN under the age of 5 years old will now be able to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. This comes after an independent panel of advisers to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted last week to recommend vaccinating children ages 6 months to 5 years with two separate COVID-19 vaccines. Under the emergency…
THE Southern Nevada Health District has begun rolling out COVID-19 vaccines to children under the age of 5, following authorization from health officials. Last week, an independent panel of advisers to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted to recommend vaccinating children ages 6 months to 5 years with two separate COVID-19 vaccines….
A FEW months ago, it seemed as though the country was poised to finally tame the pandemic, after two years of restrictions and tens of billions in government spending. The Biden administration in March released the first national COVID-19 preparedness plan to help Americans safely “return to normal,” a strategy to live with the continued…
MORE than 800,000 COVID-19 cases have been reported in the San Diego region since the start of the pandemic, the County Health and Human Services Agency reported on Thursday, June 9. The County has recorded a total of 803,293 cases of the virus since the first local case was identified in March 2020. Weekly average…
9 INCREASES in new Omicron variants continue to fuel high transmission in Los Angeles County, with cases and hospitalizations currently much higher than they were at this time last year, showing just how infectious the current Omicron variants and sub-lineages are. For specimens collected for the week ending May 21, 98% of specimens continue to…
With high rates of transmission across Los Angeles County, positive cases and outbreaks are increasing at skilled nursing facilities, the public health department reported on Friday, June 10. For the week ending May 29, skilled nursing facilities reported 114 new cases among residents and 205 new cases among staff. This represents a 443% and 439%…
Jessica Oberoi, 13, can’t exactly remember when her eyesight started getting blurry. All she knows is that she had to squint to see the whiteboard at school. It wasn’t until last fall when her eighth grade class in Bloomington, Indiana, got vision screenings that Jessica’s extreme nearsightedness and amblyopia, or lazy eye, were discovered. She’s…
WITH summer approaching and the increase in public gatherings, Los Angeles County is reminding residents anew to get tested. At-home testing for residents that have an exposure to a known case or have symptoms, and before and after indoor gatherings is critical to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the county Department of Public Health said…
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has confirmed the first presumptive case of monkeypox infection in Los Angeles County and is awaiting final confirmation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The patient is an adult resident who recently traveled and had a known close contact to a case. Although the patient is symptomatic,…
Older adults who have survived COVID-19 are more likely than younger patients to have persistent symptoms such as fatigue, breathlessness, muscle aches, heart palpitations, headaches, joint pain, and difficulty with memory and concentration — problems linked to long COVID. But it can be hard to distinguish lingering aftereffects of COVID from conditions common in older…
WITH cases and outbreaks remaining high and many opportunities over the Memorial Day Holiday to gather, Los Angeles County residents are being encouraged to layer in safety measures to prevent the spreading of COVID. As summer vacation nears, the LA County Department of Health is also pleading with students, staff and their families to likewise…
EVERYONE suffers from large and small ailments during their lifetime. In particular, cancer has long been a terrifying disease that has long been thought to be an incurable disease, with no known cause and no cure. However, with the remarkable development of modern medicine, cancer is no longer an incurable disease. If you had cancer,…
AMONG other things, the month of May is an important month for two observances: celebrating Asian American heritage and spreading mental health awareness. In the United States, Asian Pacific American History Month (APAHM) and Mental Health Awareness Month is celebrated in May to continue the difficult, but necessary conversations on both of these urgent subjects….
LOS ANGELES – California Health Collaborative Every Woman Counts Los Angeles has joined forces with Comprehensive Community Health Centers (CCHC) and Cedars Sinai Cancer to celebrate Women’s Health and Asian-American/Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May. We have developed a month-long campaign called “Mabuhay Ang Mga Pilipina 2022” that aims to increase cancer screening rates among…
THE New York City Commissioner of Health and Mental Hygiene on Monday, May 16 issued an advisory strongly recommending that all New Yorkers wear masks in all indoor public settings as the city approaches the ‘high’ alert level. NYC health officials are asking individuals, regardless of vaccination status or past COVID-19 infection, to wear a…
Even as top U.S. health officials say it’s time America learns to live with the coronavirus, a chorus of leading researchers say faulty messaging on booster shots has left millions of older people at serious risk. Approximately 1 in 3 Americans 65 and older who completed their initial vaccination round still have not received a first booster…
Targeted outreach and consistent care will provide San Franciscans in need of behavioral health services with a far more robust and proactive support system so they can avoid a cycle of crisis SAN FRANCISCO — Mayor London N. Breed and the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) on Friday, May 6 announced the opening…
TWO years into the coronavirus pandemic, Americans can be forgiven if they’ve lost track of the latest variants circulating nationally and around the world. We’ve heard of the alpha, beta, gamma, delta, and omicron variants, but a new Greek-letter variant hasn’t come onto the scene in almost half a year. Instead, a seemingly endless stream…
By Jenny Manrique/Ethnic Media Services THE medical community is celebrating drug maker Moderna’s recent announcement that it is seeking FDA approval for its COVID-19 vaccination for younger kids, though experts add they are “anxiously” awaiting further data on its efficacy and safety. “We have seen that our youngest patients are getting sick and hospitalized…
COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the United States with the Northeast states recording the highest seven-day case rates per 100,000. New York City is experiencing an uptick in positive cases. Data from New York Times reveal that the average number of newly reported cases per day has gone up by 49% to 1,688 over…
WITH the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, Los Angeles County is observing another increase of new cases and test positivity rates. As of Tuesday, April 12, the average number of daily new cases reported the last seven days increased to 960, a 23% increase from the average of 783 daily new cases the previous seven days….
By Bram Sable-Smith and Rachana Pradhan/Kaiser Health News Korra Elliott has tried to avoid seeing a doctor while waiting to get on Medicaid. She worries she can’t afford more bills without any insurance coverage. But in early March — five months, she said, after applying and with still no decision about her application — a suspected case of…
OLDER people may soon be able to get a fourth COVID booster after it was announced that Pfizer and its partner, BioNTech, plan to ask the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency authorization for a second COVID-19 booster shot for those 65 and older. According to the Washington Post, in which this…
WHEN the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month unveiled updated COVID-19 guidelines that relaxed masking recommendations, some people no doubt sighed in relief and thought it was about time. People have become increasingly comfortable being out shopping, attending live events, or meeting up with friends at restaurants. And many are ready to cast…
PRESIDENT Joe Biden’s top Medicare official suggested Wednesday, March 2 that forthcoming rules to bolster nursing home staffing won’t be issued under a mechanism, known as interim final rules, that would allow regulations to take effect more or less immediately. “While we want to move swiftly, we want to get comments from stakeholders,” Chiquita Brooks-LaSure,…
