Recent weeks have brought good news about vaccines, with studies indicating that flu vaccination reduces heart disease, shingles vaccines can prevent or slow dementia, and a single human papilloma virus shot protects a girl from cervical cancer for the rest of her life.

But in the upside-down world of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert ...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: A friend just underwent a rotator cuff repair and is recovering well. But I was wondering, what if you get to a point where repairing the tear is no longer an option? Is there anything else that can help with pain and improve shoulder function? And what about stem cells or this platelet-rich plasma I hear about?

ANSWER: ...Read more

After an active case of tuberculosis was detected in the Sacramento area, you may be wondering about your risks of contracting the highly contagious disease.

An individual with contagious tuberculosis was recently identified within the UC Davis “campus community,” the university said in a Tuesday, Dec. 2 news release.

In conjunction with ...Read more

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention panel that advises the agency on recommendations for vaccines delayed a planned vote Thursday on changes for the hepatitis B shot long recommended for newborns, putting off a decision with major implications for the Bay Area.

The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has scrutinized ...Read more

The leader of the free world is having trouble walking and talking. We need to know why.

In recent weeks, President Donald Trump has struggled to walk a straight line, and not for the first time. He was unable to state which part of his body was medically scanned — or why. He fell asleep in an Oval Office press conference and wandered off at ...Read more

ATLANTA — Catching hepatitis B is wildly more dangerous for babies than adults.

Most adults quickly recover and become immune. But about 90% of newborns with hepatitis B develop a long-haul version of the disease, then are at higher risk of liver cancer or cirrhosis.

Eventually, it kills about one in four people who were infected as newborns...Read more

Larry Humphreys, a retired Federal Emergency Management Agency worker in Moultrie, Georgia, says he and his wife won’t be traveling much next year after their monthly health insurance premium payment increases more than 40%, to $938.

Humphreys, 68, feels betrayed by the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. “As federal employees, we ...Read more

Eliza Brader worries she soon will need to prove she’s working to continue receiving Medicaid health coverage. She doesn’t think she should have to.

The 27-year-old resident of Bloomington, Indiana, has a pacemaker and a painful joint disease. She also has fused vertebrae in her neck from a spinal injury, preventing her from turning her ...Read more

Olive oil has a reputation as a heart-healthy fat. Now, research suggests that a particular type of olive oil is most beneficial.

Researchers focused on 7,102 people who were part of a trial looking at the effects of the Mediterranean diet (which includes generous amounts of olive oil) in people at high risk for cardiovascular problems. After a...Read more

If you thought lawmakers in Congress would return from a Thanksgiving break ready to buckle down and find a deal on the expiring insurance subsidies under the Obama health law, think again.

There was little evidence of any momentum in the hallways of the Capitol this week. Instead, it felt more like Congress will let the subsidies expire and ...Read more

Working out of a tribal-owned hospital in Anchorage, Alaska, liver specialist Brian McMahon has spent decades treating the long shadow of hepatitis B. Before a vaccine became available in the 1980s, he saw the virus claim young lives in western Alaskan communities with stunning speed.

One of his patients was 17 years old when he first examined ...Read more

Terry Landers’ pickleball injuries include two concussions, a broken wrist, a shoulder injury, a torn thumb and a black eye. None of those disasters kept her from the court. In fact, she had both knees replaced so she could keep playing.

The 69-year-old from Bridgeton, Maine, has always been athletic, playing tennis, soccer and softball. She ...Read more

Rich in vitamins and minerals, kelp is a nutritious and delicious ingredient worth getting to know.

The folklore

People have eaten seaweed for thousands of years. Indigenous peoples along the Pacific coast of North America and indigenous Australians relied on kelp as an important culinary tradition, drying and preserving it for times of ...Read more

Bread gets a bad rap, but really, it just comes down to choosing the right kind. When you know what to look for (and what to avoid), bread can be a nourishing and fiber-filled addition to your diet. Still, you might be wondering how to make sense of the overwhelming bread aisle, increasingly flooded with labels and claims like “whole grain,”...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: Headlines about avian influenza and its spread to other animals concern me. How worried should I be about the bird flu spreading to humans?

ANSWER: Avian influenza remains a concern around the world. While we know the overall risk of avian influenza spreading to humans is low at this time, we also know the virus is ...Read more

I started working as a doctor in 1981. Back then, I helped children learn lifelong healthy habits — such as brushing their teeth, wearing seat belts and eating good food. I believed that staying healthy starts with prevention — and I still believe that today.

Now, after many years of observing care for older adults, I’ve seen how ...Read more

Some states are rethinking their coverage of GLP-1 drugs for weight loss as budgets tighten and Medicaid programs brace for the cuts included in President Donald Trump’s broad tax and spending law.

As of Oct. 1, 16 state Medicaid programs covered GLP-1s for obesity treatment, up from 13 last year, according to a survey of Medicaid directors ...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I know that diabetes can take a real toll on your body, but I didn't know that it includes your eyes. How are they affected by this disease?

ANSWER: While eye care and regular eye exams are important for everyone, they're particularly vital for people with diabetes.

Diabetes is a prevalent condition worldwide, affecting ...Read more

BOILING SPRINGS, S.C. — Near the back corner of the local library’s parking lot, largely out of view from the main road, the South Carolina Department of Public Health opened a pop-up clinic in early November, offering free measles vaccines to adults and children.

Spartanburg County, in South Carolina’s Upstate region, has been fighting a...Read more

Gov. JB Pritzker on Tuesday signed legislation that formally establishes a process for state-level vaccine guidelines and expands pharmacy access to COVID-19 and other shots for young children across Illinois.

“While RFK Jr. and his QAnon-inspired colleagues, spreading conspiracy theories and dangerous misinformation about vaccines, are ...Read more