Dentists, hygienists and researchers say a shortage of rural dental care professionals and worsening oral hygiene since the COVID-19 pandemic mean more kids are ending up in the emergency room for tooth decay.
KFF Health News
Posted inHealth & Wellness
Newsom picks a dogfight with Trump and RFK Jr. on public health
Scientists are cheering California Gov. Gavin Newsom as he builds a public health bulwark against health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s anti-vaccine stance and President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
‘Sick to my stomach’: Trump distorts facts on autism, Tylenol and vaccines, scientists say
The White House’s autism announcement exaggerates links to Tylenol, misleads on vaccines and sets back the field by ignoring decades of research, scientists say.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
It’s almost flu season. Should you still get a shot, and will insurance cover it?
Amid political chatter about vaccines and the U.S. government entities that oversee them, it’s understandable to wonder where all this leaves the 2025-26 flu vaccine. Here are some answers to common questions.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
Stimulant users are caught in fatal ‘fourth wave’ of opioid epidemic
The migration of fentanyl into illicit stimulants such as cocaine is especially dangerous for people who are not regular opioid users. That’s because they have a low tolerance for opioids, putting them at greater risk of an overdose. They also often don’t take precautions — such as not using alone and carrying the opioid reversal medication naloxone — so they’re unprepared if they overdose.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
How measles, whooping cough and worse could roar back on RFK Jr.’s watch
Inoculation campaigns that protect children and adults from dangerous diseases rely on a delicate web of state and federal laws and programs. If senior officials cast doubt on vaccine safety, the whole system might collapse, especially in red states.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
California falling short of enrollment goal as mental health courts roll out statewide
CARE Courts, California’s new initiative to compel treatment for some of the state’s most severely mentally ill residents, is rolling out to all 58 counties this month. But officials in counties that have already launched the program said the low number of cases reflects the amount of time it takes — sometimes weeks or months — to find people and persuade them to enroll.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Can a $10 billion climate bond address California’s water contamination problem?
Proposition 4 would allocate $610 million for clean, safe and reliable drinking water and require at least 40% be spent on projects that benefit vulnerable populations or disadvantaged communities.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
California voters consider tough love for repeat drug offenders with Prop 36
Proposition 36, on the November ballot, would unwind portions of a 2014 initiative that reduced most shoplifting and drug possession offenses to misdemeanors that rarely carried jail time. The ballot measure comes as concerns about mass incarceration give way to public anger over property crime and a fentanyl crisis that has plagued the state since the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
California Medicaid ballot measure is popular, well funded — and perilous, opponents warn
Proposition 35, aimed at creating a dedicated stream of funding to provide health care for California’s low-income residents, would put funding for many programs at risk because the ballot measure would supersede the budget, opponents say.