Month: September 2022

Flu season is right around the corner, which means it’s time to get your flu shot. So last Thursday, Mary and I both got our 2023 flu shot in one arm and our NEW Covid booster for both “original” Covid AND Omicron in the other arm. A little afternoon but not bad at all!

With COVID-19 and other potentially serious respiratory illnesses, like RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), circulating at the same time as the flu, getting your shot is as important as ever. And with so many misconceptions about the flu and flu vaccine, it’s a fitting time of year to review some new or typical myths and address them with some facts.

Since the advent of preventive measures to protect against COVID-19, some think wearing a mask, washing their hands and keeping distance from others will be enough to protect against the flu.

It’s true that these precautions we

Today, in his address to the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. announced over $2.9 billion in new assistance from the US Government to address global food insecurity. President Biden’s announcement builds on the $6.9 billion in US government assistance to support global food security already committed this year.

The compounding impacts of the pandemic, the deepening climate crisis, rising energy and fertilizer costs, and protracted conflicts – including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – have disrupted global supply chains and dramatically increased global food prices. A multi-year drought in the Horn of Africa has created a direct humanitarian emergency, with parts of Somalia at risk of famine for the second time in just over a decade. This new announcement of $2.9 billion will save lives through emergency interventions and invest in medium to long term food security assistance in order to protect the

Vanderbilt University Medical Center is now the subject of social media posts and a video that misrepresents facts about the care the Medical Center provides to transgender patients.

VUMC began its Transgender Health Clinic because transgender individuals are a high-risk population for mental and physical health issues and have been consistently underserved by the US health system.

We have been and will continue to be committed to providing family-centered care to all adolescents in compliance with state law and in line with professional practice standards and guidance established by medical specialty societies.

VUMC requires parental consent to treat a minor patient who is to be seen for issues related to transgender care, and never refuses parental involvement in the care of transgender youth who are under age 18.

Our policies allow employees to decline to participate in care they find morally objectionable, and do not permit discrimination against employees who

Today, at the Global Fund Seventh Replenishment Conference, President Biden announced that the replenishment conference had raised $14.25 billion to date, the largest amount ever raised for the Global Fund and one of the largest fundraising efforts for global health ever.

Over the past 20 years, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund) has invested more than $53 billion, saving 44 million lives and reducing the combined death rate from HIV, TB, and malaria by more than half in the low- and middle-income countries where the Global Fund invests. On September 21, 2022, the United States Government and the Global Fund brought together governments, civil society, and the private sector at the Global Fund’s Seventh Replenishment Conference in New York to take bold action toward the fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria .

Government donors and the private sector formally pledged their contributions to ensure the

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Illustrator and author Holly Chisholm is using her creative skills as a way to help others feel less alone. She has created illustrative visualizations of mental health statistics, selecting 14 important facts that are enhanced by her charming artwork. In pairing the colorful images with research and stats, she is hoping to educate her audience while dismantling the stigma around mental health.

Combining hand lettering with illustrations, Chisholm, aka @justpeachycomic, shares many eye-opening facts about mental health. One image points out that approximately one in five adults in the US experience mental illness, while another illustration reveals that only 41% of US adults with a mental health condition received the proper services in the last year. And as symptoms of mental illness can

Today, the White House will host a Summit on Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing. The Summit is led by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Director of the National Economic Council Brian Deese, and Director of the Office of Science and Technology Dr. Alondra Nelson who will be joined by Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Jewel Bronaugh, Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and Director of the National Institute for Standards and Technology Laurie Locascio, and Director of the National Science Foundation Sethuraman Panchanathan, as well as Senator Mark Warner and Representative Deborah Ross. Together, they will lift up the following key steps—with funding of more than $2 billion—to advance President Biden’s Executive Order to launch a National Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative to lower prices, create good jobs, strengthen supply chains, improve health

ROCKVILLE, Md., Sept. 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — US retail sales of dog and cat food approached $40 billion in 2021, up 15% over 2020, according to Packaged Facts’ just-released Pet Food in the US (September 2022). Over the 2017-2021 period, dog and cat food garnered a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11%.

Recent inflationary prices for pet food only partially spurred that growth. If the pet food market is not wholly proof against hard times, it’s very hardily resistant, as proven in the wake of COVID.

Double-digit sales growth in the pet food market—large and ostensibly mature as it is—is driven by ongoing product premiumization, if not “superpremiumization.” This long-running trend is currently epitomized by the success of the fresh (refrigerated/frozen) pet food category. Fresh pet food tilts toward human-grade in formulation and to direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales in distribution, albeit now trending rapidly into brick-and-mortar as

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced actions the department will take following the Executive Order signed September 12, 2022 by President Biden launching a National Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative (NBBI).

This initiative will help drive research and development, improve access to quality federal data, grow domestic manufacturing capacity, expand market opportunities for biobased products, train a diverse and skilled workforce, streamline regulatory processes for products of biotechnology, advance biosafety and biosecurity to reduce risk , protect the US biotechnology ecosystem, and build a thriving and secure global bioeconomy with partners and allies.

In its implementation of the Executive Order, HHS intends to leverage biotechnology and biomanufacturing in order to achieve medical breakthroughs, reduce the overall burden of disease, and improve health outcomes. HHS will lead the US government in strategically advancing biosafety and biosecurity innovation as part of a growing bioeconomy, to ensure biotechnology research

The Veterans Community Care Program provides health care to eligible Veterans through local, in-network providers in local communities. Here is a process overview to help ensure your community care experience meets your needs and expectations.

Step 1: CONSULT CREATION AND REVIEW

A consult is a request from your VA doctor to refer you for medical and/or behavioral care from an in-network community provider. Your VA provider creates the consult and Community Care department staff review it for accuracy.

Step 2: SCHEDULING

Once the Community Care department has contacted you with the approved consult information, they will attempt to contact the facility of your choice to confirm in-network and setup an appointment. NOTE: Veterans scheduling their own appointment MUST contact the VA to confirm authorization is in place and clinic is in network, by calling 320-255-6401.

Step 3: AUTHORIZATION

After your appointment is scheduled, an authorization (approval from VA for you