Health

Manitoba government to hire more staff to speed up hospital discharge times

WINNIPEG — The Manitoba government is recruiting dozens of allied health-care workers to help speed up discharge times in hospital emergency departments. The NDP plans to spend $2.

Nov 24, 2023 1:01 PM Read more >

Ohio voters just passed abortion protections. Whether they take effect is now up to the courts

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio’s new constitutional projections for abortion access and other reproductive rights are supposed to take effect Dec. 7, a month after voters resoundingly passed them . That prospect seems increasingly uncertain.

Nov 24, 2023 7:06 AM Read more >

UN confirms sexual spread of mpox in Congo for the 1st time as country sees a record outbreak

LONDON (AP) — The World Health Organization said it has confirmed sexual transmission of mpox in Congo for the first time as the country experiences its biggest-ever outbreak, a worrying development that African scientists warn could make it more dif

Nov 24, 2023 5:33 AM Read more >

South Africa, Colombia and others are fighting drugmakers over access to TB and HIV drugs

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South Africa, Colombia and other countries that lost out in the global race for coronavirus vaccines are taking a more combative approach towards drugmakers and pushing back on policies that deny cheap treatment to mill

Nov 23, 2023 10:09 PM Read more >

Prosecutors ask to effectively close case against top Italian, WHO officials over COVID-19 response

ROME (AP) — Rome prosecutors asked a judge Thursday to effectively close an investigation into Italian and U.N. health officials over Italy’s 2020 COVID-19 response without charges, on the grounds that no crimes were committed, a lawyer said.

Nov 23, 2023 6:14 PM Read more >

Here's what the federal government's tight fiscal outlook could mean for pharmacare

OTTAWA — Liberals and New Democrats appear to be inching closer to an agreement on proposed pharmacare legislation, but a national drug plan may be farther out of reach than ever after this week's federal fiscal update.

Nov 23, 2023 3:09 PM Read more >

West Africa responds to huge diphtheria outbreaks by targeting unvaccinated populations

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Authorities in several West African countries are trying to manage their huge diphtheria outbreaks, including in Nigeria where a top health official said Thursday that millions are being vaccinated to cover wide gaps in immunity

Nov 23, 2023 1:41 PM Read more >

WHO asks China for more information about rise in illnesses and pneumonia clusters

GENEVA (AP) — Chinese officials say they did not detect any “unusual or novel diseases” in the country, the World Health Organization said Thursday, following an official request by the U.N.

Nov 23, 2023 12:43 PM Read more >

OxyContin maker's settlement plan divides victims of opioid crisis. Now it's up to the Supreme Court

WASHINGTON (AP) — The agreement by the maker of OxyContin to settle thousands of lawsuits over the harm done by opioids could help combat the overdose epidemic that the painkiller helped spark. But that does not mean all the victims are satisfied.

Nov 23, 2023 12:30 PM Read more >

Malichita cantaloupes likely cause of salmonella outbreak in five provinces: PHAC

OTTAWA — The Public Health Agency of Canada says Malichita brand cantaloupes have likely caused a salmonella outbreak acrossfive provinces. It says as of Wednesday, there have been 26 confirmed cases in B.C., Ontario, Quebec, P.E.I.

Nov 23, 2023 11:30 AM Read more >