Breaking News

Health

US health officials advise older travelers not to get a chikungunya vaccine

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. government advised American travelers age 60 and older not get a chikungunya vaccine as it investigates possible side effects. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration posted notices late last week on the vaccine, Valneva’s Ixchiq. Chikungunya, spread by the bites of infected mosquitoes, is a debilitating tropical illness marked by fever and joint pain. About 100 to 200 cases are reported annually among U.S. travelers. Last year, the government began recommending the vaccine, which is made with weakened ...

South Carolina Supreme Court decides heartbeat definition allows six-week abortion ban

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled Wednesday the state can keep banning abortions around six weeks after conception by agreeing with the earliest interpretation offered of when a heartbeat starts. The justices unanimously ruled that while the medical language in the 2023 law was vague, supporters and opponents of the law all seemed to think it banned abortions after six weeks until Planned Parenthood lost its challenge to the entire law two years ago. The law says abortions cannot be performed after an ultrasound can detect “cardiac activity, or the ...

Student-organized event gets kids moving at Penn College

WILLIAMSPORT — Pennsylvania College of Technology physical therapist assistant students recently provided an activity-filled morning to 70 elementary school children in the college’s Field House. Seeking a service-learning project, students invited special education classes from Jersey ...

Mount Nittany Health welcomes Yarger to podiatry team

From Staff Reports STATE COLLEGE — Mount Nittany Health recently welcomed Dr. Ian Yarger, DPM, to its podiatry team in Centre County. Dr. Yarger grew up in Centre Hall, but his education and career took him to Cleveland, Colorado and North Carolina. Now, he is excited to return home. "Growing up in Centre Hall, this community has always held a special place in my heart," he shared. "It has always been my dream to be closer to family and have the opportunity to improve the quality of life of the people in the community." Dr. Yarger felt podiatry was a unique blend of his ...

Geisinger Cancer Institute receives transportation grant

DANVILLE — Cancer care will be more accessible to patients now that the Geisinger Cancer Institute has received a yearly grant from the American Cancer Society (ACS). The grant offsets the cost of transportation for patients traveling to and from radiation and chemotherapy treatments. Patient transportation grant funds are awarded to health systems and health system foundations to help patients get to and from cancer-related treatment appointments. The grants are awarded through an application process that focuses on addressing unmet transportation needs of the health system’s ...

Cancer before age 50 is increasing. A new study looks at which types

Cancer before age 50 is rare, but increasing, in the United States and researchers want to know why. A new government study provides the most complete picture yet of early-onset cancers, finding that the largest increases are in breast, colorectal, kidney and uterine cancers. Scientists from the National Cancer Institute looked at data that included more than 2 million cancers diagnosed in people 15 to 49 years old between 2010 and 2019. Of 33 cancer types, 14 cancers had increasing rates in at least one younger age group. About 63% of the early-onset cancers were among ...