Medicaid plans aren't required to cover Wegovy for weight loss and obesity, but some do and others are considering adding it for those uses. Scott Olson/Getty Images hide caption
Shots - Health News NPR's online health program.
Shots
Health News From NPR
Traveling internationally with a dog — or adopting one from abroad — just got a bit more complicated. The CDC issued new rules intended to reduce the risk of importing rabies. mauinow1/Getty Images/iStockphoto hide caption
Esther Nesbitt lost two of her children to drug overdoses, and her grandchildren are among more than 320,000 who lost parents in the overdose epidemic. Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images hide caption
Miguel Divo shows his patient, Joel Rubinstein, a dry powder inhaler. It's an alternative to some puff inhalers that emit potent greenhouse gases, but is equally effective for many patients with asthma. Jesse Costa/WBUR hide caption
A survey shows that doctors have trouble taking full vacations from their high-stress jobs. Even when they do, they often still do work on their time off. Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images hide caption
For decades, all research in federally funded laboratories had to use only marijuana grown at a single facility located in Oxford, Mississippi. Brad Horrigan/Hartford Courant/Tribune News Service via Getty Images hide caption
Scientists welcome new rules on marijuana, but research will still face obstacles
The hope was that bringing many other services to people with high needs would stabilize their health problems. While the strategy has succeeded sometimes, it hasn't saved money. Douglas Sacha/Getty Images hide caption
The federal government says it has taken steps toward developing a vaccine to protect against bird flu should it become a threat to humans. skodonnell/Getty Images hide caption
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is ordering dairy producers to test cows that produce milk for infections from highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI H5N1) before the animals are transported to a different state following the discovery of the virus in samples of pasteurized milk taken by the Food and Drug Administration. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption
After an alarming spike in 2021, maternal mortality numbers the next year went back down, according to a report released Thursday. CDC Director Mandy Cohen says the rates are still too high. Rich Legg/Getty Images hide caption
Low-dose estrogen can be taken orally, but it's also now available in patches, gels and creams. svetikd/Getty Images hide caption
The medical community dates pregnancy to the first day of a woman's last period, even though fertilization generally happens two weeks after that. It's a long-standing practice but a confusing one. Nikola Stojadinovic/Getty Images hide caption
Instructions for a fingernail filing gadget for infants says, "Stay away from children." It's enough to make a new parent holler. Thanasis Zovoilis/Getty Images hide caption
The new guidelines were prompted by increased rates of breast cancer in women in their 40s. They recommend mammograms every other year, starting at age 40. izusek/Getty Images hide caption
This image shows a brain "assembloid" consisting of two connected brain "organoids." Scientists studying these structures have restored impaired brain cells in Timothy syndrome patients. Pasca lab, Stanford University hide caption
Scientists restore brain cells impaired by a rare genetic disorder
When he arranged to undergo top surgery, Cass Smith-Collins of Las Vegas selected a surgeon touted as an early developer of the procedure who does not contract with insurance. "I had one shot to get the chest that I should have been born with, and I wasn't going to chance it to someone who was not an expert at his craft," he says. Bridget Bennett for KFF Health News/Bridget Bennett for KFF Health News hide caption
Sign here? Financial agreements may leave doctors in the driver's seat
Cases about transgender people and their rights have been working their way through the court system for years. Here, people demonstrate in favor of trans rights in front of the Supreme Court in 2019. Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP hide caption
Transgender health care must be paid for by state insurance, says an appeals court
Climbing stairs is a good way to get quick bursts of aerobic exercise, says cardiologist Dr. Carlin Long. lingqi xie/Getty Images hide caption
Elevator or stairs? Your choice could boost longevity, study finds
Siblings may not be obvious fodder for the therapist's office, but experts say maybe they should be. "People just don't perceive those relationships as needing the type of attention and tending one might bring to a spouse or child," says Kelly Scott of Tribeca Therapy in New York. Lily Padula for NPR hide caption
All grown up, but still fighting? Why more siblings are turning to therapy, together
A caprese salad prepared with Norfolk's Purple Tomato. The tomato was created using genes from a snapdragon. Norfolk Plant Sciences hide caption
A mix-up over bioengineered tomato seeds sparked fears about spread of GMO crops
Boise State Public Radio News
Employers are required to make accommodations for pregnant women and new moms like time off for doctor's appointments. Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images hide caption
Menthol cigarettes are popular among Black and Latino smokers, and a Biden administration official cited civil rights as a reason the ban is being dropped. Mario Tama/Getty Images hide caption
Katie Krimitsos is among the majority of American women who have trouble getting healthy sleep, according to a new Gallup survey. Krimitsos launched a podcast called Sleep Meditation for Women to offer some help. Natalie Champa Jennings/Natalie Jennings, courtesy of Katie Krimitsos hide caption