public-health

An illustration of the COVID-19 virus. (Image by Fotograzia/Getty Images)

Former COVID-19 czar: The virus ‘new normal’ points to larger public health mission

BY: - October 2, 2023

With COVID-19 still a public health reality but no longer considered a public health emergency, it’s time for policymakers, health care systems and the public to think more broadly about public health, a former White House COVID-19 czar said Thursday. There is a new normal, said Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the school of public […]

Federal officials declare a public health emergency for monkeypox

BY: - August 4, 2022

More than 6,600 monkeypox cases have been reported in the United States, according to the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. The hardest-hit states are New York, California, Illinois, Florida, Georgia and Texas.

Wolf admin denies legislative panel access to COVID death data, says it’s not a government agency

BY: - November 12, 2021

The Wolf administration has ruled that a six-decade-old legislative committee is not a government agency, blocking its efforts to access 100 redacted death certificates for a study of COVID-19 data reporting. The Legislative Budget and Finance Committee, which sought the information, noted the administration’s ruling in a report it released this week.  The 12-member committee, […]

Pa. House GOP splits, votes down vouchers for closed schools, mask requirements

BY: - September 30, 2021

The conflicts at play in Sonney’s amendment and DelRosso’s underlying bill — between public and private education, and how to respond to the pandemic — join one long running debate with a more current flash point.

With $370M in COVID relief to spend, Wolf looking at vaccine incentives

BY: - August 12, 2021

Pennsylvania’s vaccination rate is currently hovering around 60 percent, and the number of people who are fully vaccinated in recent weeks has slowed.

Suburban Philly activist, local leaders urge Congress to move faster on regulating PFAS

BY: - June 9, 2021

An independent panel of scientists found a probable link between exposure to PFOA and PFOS and multiple health problems, such as high cholesterol, thyroid disease, and testicular and kidney cancer. 

Pa. doctors could be punished for rejecting vaccine-skeptical parents under advancing House legislation

BY: - May 5, 2021

(*This story was updated at 4:40 p.m. with comment from the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania) Doctors could be punished for refusing to see children whose parents reject the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccinations standards under a bill passed by a Republican-controlled Pennsylvania House panel Wednesday morning. In a party line 15-10 […]

Pa. joins national pause on Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine

BY: and - April 13, 2021

(*This story was updated at 3:20 p.m. on Tuesday, 4/13/21 with new information from the Department of Health.)  Matching a federal order that came down Tuesday, Pennsylvania has paused the use of Johnson & Johnson’s one-shot COVID-19 vaccination until at least April 20, pending a review by the Food and Drug Administration. Federal regulators recommended […]

Biden pitches big boosts in education and health spending in budget request

BY: - April 9, 2021

The president’s $1.5 trillion request seeks to spend $769 billion on discretionary programs not related to defense — a 16% increase over the current fiscal year. The proposal is in sharp contrast to Trump administration budget requests during the past four years that sought to scale back the size of most domestic programs.

Pa. charts its highest single-day total for COVID-19 cases, health officials say

BY: - October 27, 2020

That’s more than the previous one-day high of people who tested positive in a single day this spring, during the early days of the pandemic.

A Texas judge ruled this doctor was not an expert. A Pennsylvania Republican invited him to testify on trans health care

BY: - September 15, 2020

A physician testifying before a House panel Monday as part of a “fact-finding mission” on gender-affirming care was disqualified by a judge earlier this year as an expert on trans health care. 

Pa. Lawmaker: It’s not government’s responsibility to ‘try to keep us safe’

BY: - August 12, 2020

(*This story was updated at 6:33 p.m on 8/12/20 with additional comment) A Republican lawmaker called for Americans to exhibit “personal responsibility” to fight the COVID-19 pandemic while arguing it is the job of private businesses and individuals, not lawmakers and public servants, to implement health policy. The remarks, by Rep. Jim Cox, R-Berks, came […]