Healthcare

Missouri-based brothers Donald and Ronald Crigler were each diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy — and each received a new heart.

Idaho on Wednesday became the first state to enact a law modeled after a Texas statute banning abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. Last week, Washington state prohibited Texas-style abortion lawsuits.

American hospitals are looking abroad for health care workers due to a shortage of nurses during the pandemic.

California Democrats on Monday failed to gather enough support to advance a government-funded universal health care system, succumbing to intense pressure from business groups and the insurance industry in an election year.

Patients worried about getting hit with an unexpected bill after emergency care have a new layer of protection. The No Surprises Act went into effect this month.

Claire Bridges is 20, overall healthy, and vaccinated, but still got COVID-19. Although many recover, a congenital heart condition caused major complications and now, Claire may have to have both legs amputated.

Mark Cuban says Cost Plus Drugs will buy more than 100 medications directly from their manufacturers and then sell them at lower prices.

California health authorities announced over the weekend that hospital staff members who test positive but are symptom-free can continue working. Some hospitals in Rhode Island and Arizona have likewise told employees they can stay on the job if they have no symptoms or just mild ones.

The health order now includes booster requirements for people who work in higher-risk settings, including adult care facilities, adult day programs, dental offices, home health care workers and pharmacists, as well as workers who visit such settings, like police officers, paramedics, emergency medical technicians and lawyers whose clients are in jails.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials said the guidance is in keeping with growing evidence that people with the coronavirus are most infectious in the two days before and three days after symptoms develop.

“Thus far, it does not look like there’s a great degree of severity to it,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said.

The arrival of omicron comes as hospitals statewide continue to strain under a surge in coronavirus cases, most traced to the delta variant, along with staffing shortages.