Health
U.S. Senate Republicans shy away from proposed 15-week national abortion ban
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Republicans are skeptical about a 15-week nationwide abortion ban that GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham introduced Tuesday, with some saying they want to leave the issue to state lawmakers instead of taking it up in Congress. “I think most of the members of my conference prefer that this be dealt with at […]
Legacy Health plans free monkeypox vaccine clinic in Portland on Saturday
Legacy Health is offering a free vaccine clinic on Saturday for people who’ve been exposed to monkeypox or risk exposure. The event will take place at its offices in Northwest Portland between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Legacy has enough vaccine doses for 160 people, and the clinic is by appointment only, spokeswoman Sarah Ericksen […]
With cases falling, Oregon Health Authority shifts attention away from Covid-19
With Covid-19 no longer posing a public health crisis, state health officials announced Wednesday they are shifting resources away from tracking the disease toward other priorities, including monkeypox. Officials from the Oregon Health Authority said they will no longer publish daily Covid data, and they indicated the virus is likely to become “endemic” like the […]
New Covid booster shots arrive in Oregon
Tens of thousands of Covid-19 booster doses are arriving in Oregon this week as state health officials, pharmacies and providers plan vaccine clinics and schedule shots. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved the new booster doses by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech on Thursday and a West Coast scientific group representing Oregon, Washington, California […]
Covid-19 vaccine may become annual, like flu shot
WASHINGTON — Covid-19 boosters shots are on track to become as frequent as the annual flu shot, though high-risk people may need more than one dose per year, Biden administration officials said Tuesday. “For a large majority of Americans, we are moving to a point where a single annual Covid shot should provide a high […]
Three Portland-area counties will distribute 20,000 doses of naloxone to stem opioid deaths
With fentanyl-related deaths surging over the past three and a half years, a Medicaid insurer plans to distribute 20,000 doses of a life-saving anti-overdose medication in the Portland area. CareOregon, a large insurer for the Oregon Health Plan, the state’s Medicaid system, said those doses of naloxone, worth $3 million, will go to first responders, […]
CDC endorses updated COVID-19 vaccine boosters for this fall
WASHINGTON — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention late Thursday signed off on the approval from the agency’s independent vaccine advisers that recommended an updated coronavirus vaccine booster this fall. The CDC recommended boosters from Pfizer-BioNTech for those who are 12 years old and older and from Moderna for those who are 18 and […]
Patients from Idaho, Texas, elsewhere seek abortion care in Oregon
Abortion providers in Oregon have seen a recent rise in demand for abortions from women from states that have adopted bans or are in the process of doing so, officials said at a news conference on Thursday. “We are seeing people from almost every red state in the country right now – Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, […]
OSU study calls for better screening of sexual abuse in children
A recent study by researchers at Oregon State University found that chronic childhood sexual abuse is more likely to lead to negative outcomes in adults than single instances of trauma. The findings highlight the importance of screening for chronic trauma, rather than relying on one-time checklist-style assessments, which, for instance, ask how severe was the […]
Oregonians in dozens of counties, cities will vote on psilocybin bans in November
Oregonians in 57 cities and 26 of the state’s 36 counties will vote in November on banning or postponing psilocybin treatment centers and the production of psilocybin products in their areas. Psilocybin was first approved by state voters in 2020 with almost 56% of the vote supporting Measure 109. The vote made Oregon the first […]
State officials seek nearly $40 million for staff in hospitals, long-term care facilities
Oregon officials have stepped into the fray of the state’s hospital crisis with a request for nearly $40 million from the Legislature. The Oregon Health Authority and state Department of Human Services sent requests to the two Democratic leaders of the state House and Senate – Sen. Peter Courtney, D-Salem and Rep. Dan Rayfield, D-Corvallis […]
Anthony Fauci, leader on federal Covid response, to step down in December
WASHINGTON — Anthony Fauci, one of the federal government’s leading public health figures, announced Monday he’ll be leaving his post in December, though he made clear he’s not retiring. The 81-year-old doctor who runs the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, became a household name […]