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COVID-19

The Center for Disease Control has awarded the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Philadelphia Department of Health $35,985,971 to address COVID-19-related health disparities. The funding, part of a $2.25 billion nationwide investment, seeks to advance health equity by expanding state, local, US territorial, and freely associated state health department capacity and services. This is CDC’s largest investment to date to improve health equity in the United States. “These grants demonstrate our steadfast commitment to keeping equity at the center of everything we do,” said ...

Biden lays out US vax donations, urges world leaders to join

ST. IVES, England (AP) — President Joe Biden urged global leaders Thursday to join him in sharing coronavirus vaccines with struggling nations around the world after he promised the U.S. would donate 500 million doses to help speed the pandemic’s end and bolster the strategic position of ...

US extends expiration dates for J&J COVID vaccine by six weeks

WASHINGTON — Johnson & Johnson said Thursday that U.S. regulators extended the expiration date on millions of doses of its COVID-19 vaccine by six weeks. The company said a Food and Drug Administration review concluded the shots remain safe and effective for at least 4 1/2 months. In February, the FDA originally authorized J&J’s vaccine for up to three months when stored at normal refrigeration levels. Thursday’s announcement comes after state officials warned that many doses in storage would expire before the end of the month. Vaccine expiration dates are based on ...

Food allergies complicate hungry Americans’ search for meals

SACRAMENTO, California (AP) — When Emily Brown, a Kansas City mother, couldn’t find foods that her 2-year-old with multiple food allergies could eat at a local food pantry, she mustered up the courage to ask about gluten-free foods or dairy alternatives. The response: “You got something.” The only things her daughter could eat were potatoes and salsa. “It took, really, all of my strength to make it to the car,” she said. “I cried in the car and then I just thought to myself, ’We cannot be the only family, I cannot be the only mother, struggling with this.” For ...

US deaths from heart disease and diabetes climbed amid COVID

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. saw remarkable increases in the death rates for heart disease, diabetes and some other common killers in 2020, and experts believe a big reason may be that many people with dangerous symptoms made the lethal mistake of staying away from the hospital for fear of ...

Pandemic shows risk of obesity, and challenge of weight loss

NEW YORK — Jennifer Bergin was already obese and pre-diabetic before the pandemic, and learning she also had high blood pressure made her worry about how sick she might get with COVID-19. She began walking three hours a day, eventually losing 60 pounds. “I just knew I was a prime ...