(DALLAS) — A Dallas City Council committee passed a resolution Tuesday looking to limit the impact of Texas’s strict abortion law.
The council’s Quality of Life, Arts, and Culture Committee voted to adopt the ordinance, which directs law enforcement to make investigating or prosecuting any allegation related to abortion outcomes their lowest priority.
It also limits city funds from being used to compile reports of abortions that were performed, to “conduct surveillance” to determine whether an abortion has occurred and to relay the information to any governmental agencies.
The resolution will be presented to the full council for a vote Aug. 10.
“I believe that we have to do what we can at every level of government to push back on legislation that takes away our rights, specifically when it comes to women’s rights,” Councilman Adam Bazaldua, who spearheaded the resolution, told ABC News. “It’s our job as local leaders to preserve quality of life for residents and access to health care.”
Bazaldua said it was vital the resolution was passed before Texas’s so-called trigger law goes into effect.
Most abortions were already illegal in the state prior to the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade in June. However, after the decision, a near-total ban went into effect with very limited exceptions.
When the “trigger law” is enforced on Aug. 25, performing an abortion in Texas will become a felony punishable by a fine of up to $100,000 and possibly up to life in prison.
Dallas is not the only Texas city that has attempted to affirm its support of abortion rights.
In June, Denton — 40 miles northwest of Dallas — was the first in the state to adopt a resolution directing police to make investigating abortions a low priority and, last month, the Austin City Council approved a resolution similar to the one passed in Dallas known as the Guarding the Right to Abortion Care for Everyone or GRACE Act, which effectively decriminalized abortion within city limits.
In addition to the measures also passed in Dallas, the Austin resolution also launched a public information campaign about vasectomies, explaining that the burden of preventing pregnancies “disproportionately falls on women.”
Lastly, the Austin resolution prevents employment and housing discrimination based on whether someone is pregnant or has had an abortion.
“As a father of a 10-year-old daughter, I find it unfathomable to raise a young woman in a time when she has less rights afforded to her than her grandmother did in her lifetime,” Bazaldua said. “And I think it’s important for this issue to be strongly considered when voters go to vote this November.”
(NEW YORK) — Children as young as 9 years old have engaged in disordered eating behaviors, according to a new analysis published in JAMA this week.
The analysis, which was published Monday and based on data from nearly 12,000 children, showed that 5% of children — both boys and girls — engaged in binge eating, one of many types of disordered eating behaviors.
“It starts younger than a lot of us may think,” ABC News Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton said on “Good Morning America” Wednesday.
Disordered eating behaviors can lead to eating disorders, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Eating disorders include anorexia nervosa, where someone may avoid or severely restrict the amount of food they eat; bulimia nervosa, where someone may overeat and then vomit or overexercise afterward; and avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), an extreme version of picky eating, where someone is selective about the foods they eat.
Researchers say such issues are common: More than 28 million in the U.S. are living with an eating disorder, which often starts during the teenage years.
“When they found 9- [and] 10-year-olds starting to engage in binge eating, that really shifts our timeline to try to be more aware earlier and try to intervene,” Ashton said.
How to spot warning signs of an eating disorder
Parents may often be the first to notice disordered eating behaviors at home. Here are some red flags to watch out for:
A sudden change in appetite
Sudden avoidance of meal times
Frequent calorie counting
Overexercising
Poor body image or constant focus on weight or talk of weight gain or weight loss
What parents can do
If parents notice their child may be developing or already have an unhealthy relationship with food, Ashton recommends seeking professional help. As a starting point, parents can begin by initiating a conversation with their child’s pediatrician.
Ashton added that parents should keep their child’s privacy in mind and anticipate kids may act out, especially when they’re nearing their pre-teen years.
If you or someone you know is battling an eating disorder, contact the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) at 1-800-931-2237 or NationalEatingDisorders.org.
Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — The U.S. is currently in a race to have the necessary tools and medicines to stop the growing spread of monkeypox, and it may be an uphill battle, according to one vaccine expert.
Dr. Peter Hotez, the dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, spoke with ABC News Live Tuesday about the latest developments in the spread of the virus. Hotez said he’s concerned about the trajectory of new cases that are being reported throughout the country and the world.
As of Wednesday, 6,326 monkeypox cases have been confirmed in all states except Montana and Wyoming, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. No American has died from the virus, according to health officials. There have been 25,391 cases worldwide as of Wednesday, according to the CDC.
Hotez said the current monkeypox vaccine, JYNNEOS, is effective, but said the current supply may not be enough.
“It’s not dire yet, but the feeling is unless we work pretty quickly we could get there,” he told ABC News.
Monkeypox is spread through skin-to-skin contact, and although most known cases in the current outbreak are among people who identify as gay or bisexual, anyone can get it, Hotez said. As of Wednesday, five children have contracted the virus, the CDC said.
Hotez said the small supply of the vaccine, which was commissioned a decade ago, is the result of U.S. health officials letting a stockpile expire “inexplicably” and doing nothing to replenish it.
“When the outbreak began we only had a few thousands doses and we’re playing catchup ever since,” Hotez said.
The Food and Drug Administration announced last week that it had inspected and approved the manufacturing of 786,000 more doses of JYNNEOS for distribution in the U.S. and that more than a million doses will be available in the coming weeks.
On Tuesday, President Joe Biden announced FEMA administrator Robert Fenton would serve as the White House National Monkeypox Response Coordinator and Dr. Demetre Daskalakis would serve as the White House National Monkeypox Response Deputy Coordinator.
The pair will “will lead the Administration’s strategy and operations to combat the current monkeypox outbreak, including equitably increasing the availability of tests, vaccinations and treatments,” according to a statement from the White House.
Hotez said Biden’s appointees are qualified to lead the task and said one of the issues that they’re going to have to tackle is the vaccine supply. In addition, he said they will have to determine if there will be an increased call to use the antiviral drug tecovirimat, a.k.a. TPOXX, to treat patients while the country replenishes the vaccine supply.
“The problem is this: We don’t have the full armamentarium of tools to control it,” he said. “So we’re in a race trying to…accelerate the control tools, [so] that we have the diagnostics, the drugs and the vaccines versus that steep trajectory of cases.”
(CAMBRIDGE, Mass.) — Amid growing concerns over the potential threat of monkeypox, executives from Moderna said Wednesday they have initiated a research program to consider whether the company could create a monkeypox vaccine with mRNA technology.
“We’re obviously very aware of the monkeypox concern and obviously very sensitive to recent announcements,” Moderna President Stephen Hoge said during an investor call.
He went on, “We did initiate a research program. We are tracking that very closely and obviously, given the recent public health announcements and increasing concern about availability of vaccine supply, we are beginning to look at what it would take for us to use our platform and to provide a monkeypox vaccine — both [to] intervene in the current and the current epidemic but also to try and address long-term issues of supply in this public health threat.”
Domestically and globally, officials have been vocal in their concern that there are not enough monkeypox vaccines to address the emerging crisis. With demand increasing, officials from the U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) have reported that a total of 1.1 million doses of the JYNNEOS vaccine for monkeypox, a two-dose regimen, will be allocated to states and jurisdictions across the country. Approximately 1.5 million Americans are currently considered eligible for vaccination, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told ABC News last month.
Moderna will continue to track the monkeypox virus “very closely” given the recent increase in cases domestically and globally and discussions remain pre-clinical, Hoge said. No decision on whether the company will move forward with the creation of such a vaccine has been made, he noted.
“Our platform is pretty well established and our ability to rapidly scale has been demonstrated. If we were to go after a monkeypox clinical development program, it would be to very quickly progress toward an approvable set of endpoints in a clinical study,” he explained.
As seen with the rollout for the COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S., any new vaccine would still need to go through the regulatory authorization process, which can take weeks to months, even in special circumstances.
“We need to engage with regulators and other consultations to determine what that path would be,” he added.
Hoge noted that COVID-19 is still a “larger public health threat” than monkeypox at this time and the company remains focused on preparing boosters for the fall.
Of the more than 25,000 monkeypox cases reported globally, over 6,300 cases have been reported in the U.S., according to the CDC.
Cases have been detected in 48 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
(WASHINGTON) — The federal government took an initial step forward in its response to long COVID-19 Wednesday, releasing two reports that compile what federally-funded services are available to people already suffering from the condition, and what research efforts are still needed to better understand how to address it.
“These are initial reports. They’re a significant step, but they’re one step,” said Dr. Rachel Levine, the U.S. assistant secretary for health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in an interview with ABC News.
“And the work begins tomorrow, as we work on the implementation of the recommendations to the report moving forward,” Levine said.
The reports stemmed from a presidential memorandum issued by President Joe Biden in April, which created an interagency task force on long COVID headed up by HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra and Levine, who will now oversee a new office specifically focused on long COVID at the department.
The HHS Office of Long COVID Research and Practice “will be charged with the implementation” of both plans produced by HHS and updating both regularly — but doing so will hinge on funding for staff and operations in the next annual budget.
To start, it’s not yet clear how common long COVID is. Estimates of how many people experience long-term symptoms after a COVID-19 infection vary between 5% and 30% of people, while a recent large study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that age might be a factor.
One in five adults under 65 has a health condition related to a previous COVID infection, while one in four people over 65 does, the CDC study found. Women, too, might be disproportionately affected.
A lack of data on who these people are — from race and ethnicity to gender — also leaves gaps in how equitable the U.S. response is.
“While racial disparities in Long COVID are relatively unexplored, it is well understood that some racial and ethnic minority communities are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19,” the HHS report published Wednesday said.
Only 65% of over 61 million COVID cases reported by early 2022 included race and ethnicity data, according to the report.
Addressing who has long COVID and whether everyone is equitably getting both the treatment and the government-supported services to help them, like disability benefits, is a large focus of the report.
“We want the parent who lost their job to know that there is income and job assistance available. We want health care providers to know that technical guidelines and resources can help them do their job and that research is on-going to continue to improve their ability to treat and care for their patients. Simply put we want to assist the American public in addressing the longer-terms effects of COVID-19,” HHS spokesperson Tara Broido told ABC News.
There are 200 services for people with long COVID listed in the report, including technical guidelines for health care providers working with long COVID patients.
“We’re going to figure out what the gaps are and where we need additional resources,” Levine said.
And while there are already studies underway across the government, including at the National Institutes of Health, the CDC and the Department of Veterans Affairs, the HHS reports on long COVID call for faster research and implementation.
“The current lag in research being translated into practice is simply not acceptable in the current environment,” the report finds.
“We must aggressively innovate how we do research and accelerate the pace of research to meet the challenge of the moment. … We need to rethink how we disseminate research and translate findings into practical solutions more quickly.”
Levine called the two reports, and specifically the research plan, a “living document” that should serve as “guideposts for government action.”
“This is an initial step in a long term project. So I think it will help people, but then it’s going to inform how we move forward to help people over the long term,” Levine said.
(NEW YORK) — As monkeypox continues to spread across the U.S., the number of children infected with the virus is growing as well.
At least five children have tested positive for monkeypox since July, including two each in Indiana and California.
The other case was reported in an infant, a non-U.S. resident, who was tested while traveling through Washington, D.C., federal officials confirmed last month.
Children under the age of 8 are among those whom the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers at “increased risk” for developing more severe illness if infected with monkeypox, along with pregnant people, people who are immunocompromised and those who have a history of atopic dermatitis or eczema.
Below, experts answer seven questions parents might have about monkeypox and how it may impact kids, as overall cases across the U.S. continue to climb.
1. As a parent, how concerned do I need to be about monkeypox?
At this time in the outbreak, parents “do not need to panic” about the virus, according to ABC News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton, who is also a board-certified OB-GYN.
“They should be aware of what’s going on with this, as they are with any medical headline,” Ashton added. “They should know what’s going on in their community and they should take the appropriate steps after discussing any concerns they have with their pediatrician.”
2. How is monkeypox spread?
Monkeypox, also known as MPX, is spread primarily through direct, skin-to-skin contact between someone who has the virus and someone who does not, according to Dr. Richard Malley, senior physician in pediatrics, division of infectious diseases, at Boston Children’s Hospital and a professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.
“That could be through intimate contact,” said Malley. “It could also be through just contact with somebody in the family who has an unsuspecting lesion and lesion unfortunately touches another individual.”
Shared items like towels, clothes or bed sheets could also possibly spread the virus if used by someone with a monkeypox lesion, according to Malley.
“If somebody is infected with MPX, they really need to be very careful with who they interact with and how they interact with those with other people to try to avoid spread as much as possible,” he said.
According to the CDC, monkeypox can also spread through contact with an infected person’s respiratory secretions and prolonged face-to-face contact.
“So far it does not seem to be the major mode of transmission for this virus in the current epidemic,” said Malley. “But that is of course one of the things that we need to monitor very closely.”
3. Does my family need to wipe down surfaces or avoid shared spaces like playgrounds?
Because monkeypox is spread primarily through skin-to-skin contact, parents at this point do not need to be overly concerned with their child becoming infected by touching things like doorknobs in public spaces or shared toys, according to both Malley and Ashton.
“While that possibility remains, I think it does not mean that parents or anyone should be concerned about touching doorknobs or going to the grocery story or touching objects that are out on the street, for example,” said Malley. “That is not thought to be a very likely way for MPX to be spread, or for most viruses to be spread.”
Ashton said that people who live in high-transmission areas for monkeypox may want to wipe down surfaces as an extra precaution, noting, “It is possible that this virus can be left on gym equipment, just like it can be left on clothes.”
However, she added that hand washing is more important than wiping surfaces to prevent the spread of disease.
“Hand hygiene is the most important thing, not just for monkeypox but for any infectious disease,” Ashton said.
4. How can I tell if my child has monkeypox?
Unfortunately, the symptoms of monkeypox can look like other viruses — including flu and other rashes — so experts recommend seeking medical care as soon as symptoms show, especially if your child has been in contact with someone who has monkeypox.
Typically, the disease begins with a fever, headache, fatigue, chills and muscle aches. Unlike smallpox, however, monkeypox also causes swollen lymph nodes.
Within one to three days of initial symptoms, those infected will typically develop a rash either on their face or other parts of the body, according to the CDC.
Per the World Health Organization, the lesions — or rash — start out as dark spots on the skin before progressing to bumps that fill with fluid.
Malley said parents should seek medical care for any type of rash on their child’s body that does not look like something they have had previously.
“The rash of MPX, as we are now learning, can look very different in different individuals for reasons that we don’t quite understand,” said Malley. “You really need to be cautious with anything that might look like a MPX rash.”
Monkeypox is diagnosed by testing the lesions to identify whether genetic material of the virus is present, according to Malley.
5. Why are children at increased risk with monkeypox?
Experts are not sure, Malley said.
It may be due to their immune systems and the fact that “younger children are sometimes more susceptible to some viral infections,” he explained.
In Africa, where monkeypox originated, the most severe but rare cases of the virus have typically involved inflammation of the brain, according to Malley.
Ashton said that while there have so far been no deaths associated with monkeypox in the U.S., it’s important to stay vigilant as the disease spreads.
“As the numbers grow, based on sheer math, it is not impossible that we will see a death here in the U.S.,” said Ashton, adding that monkeypox has a “spectrum of severity” when it comes to complications. “There have been deaths in Africa associated with monkeypox.”
6. Is there a monkeypox vaccine for kids?
The current vaccine for monkeypox is available to people ages 18 and older. However, the JYNNEOS vaccine can be offered on a case-by-case basis via a special permission process through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to those with known monkeypox exposure.
Antiviral medications such as Tecovirimat are currently being used for treatment of monkeypox, which is available for children.
More common treatments may also be used to help treat patients who are experiencing pain due to monkeypox lesions, according to Malley.
7. How should I best protect my child from monkeypox?
The best thing parents can do for both themselves and their child, according to Malley, is to pay attention to the virus — but try not to panic.
“I think it would be very unlikely that daycare or a camp or school would be a major focus of transmission of this virus as we understand it currently,” he said. “But of course, it’s important for all of us to be vigilant.”
Malley said the key for parents concerned about monkeypox is to be aware of their child’s surroundings and not interact with people they know have been infected with monkeypox.
“The importance for parents is that if they know anybody in their surrounding, in their environment, in their family who has a suspicion of being infected with MPX, then of course that individual needs needs to isolate themself,” he said. “In general, people who have been diagnosed with MPX have been told and are being very careful because they do not want to be responsible for transmission.”
The CDC has released safety guidelines for people with monkeypox, urging those infected with the virus to “remain isolated at home or at another location for the duration of illness.”
According to Malley, monkeypox lesions are considered to be infectious until they are fully crusted over.
ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos and Cheyenne Haslett contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — As monkeypox continues to spread across the U.S., the number of children infected with the virus is growing as well.
Two children in Indiana recently tested positive for monkeypox, state officials announced late last week.
Last month, federal officials confirmed that two other children in the U.S had tested positive for monkeypox, a cousin of the smallpox virus. One of the confirmed cases was a toddler, who is a resident of California. The other was reported in an infant, a non-U.S. resident, who was tested while traveling through Washington, D.C.
Children under the age of 8 are among those whom the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers at “increased risk” for severe illness from monkeypox, along with pregnant people, people who are immunocompromised and those who have a history of atopic dermatitis or eczema.
Below, experts answer seven questions parents might have about monkeypox and how it may impact kids, as overall cases across the U.S. continue to climb.
1. As a parent, how concerned do I need to be about monkeypox?
At this time in the outbreak, parents “do not need to panic” about the virus, according to ABC News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton, who is also a board-certified OB-GYN.
“They should be aware of what’s going on with this, as they are with any medical headline,” Ashton added. “They should know what’s going on in their community and they should take the appropriate steps after discussing any concerns they have with their pediatrician.”
2. How is monkeypox spread?
Monkeypox, also known as MPX, is spread primarily through direct, skin-to-skin contact between someone who has the virus and someone who does not, according to Dr. Richard Malley, senior physician in pediatrics, division of infectious diseases, at Boston Children’s Hospital and a professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.
“That could be through intimate contact,” said Malley. “It could also be through just contact with somebody in the family who has an unsuspecting lesion and lesion unfortunately touches another individual.”
Shared items like towels, clothes or bed sheets could also possibly spread the virus if used by someone with a monkeypox lesion, according to Malley.
“If somebody is infected with MPX, they really need to be very careful with who they interact with and how they interact with those with other people to try to avoid spread as much as possible,” he said.
According to the CDC, monkeypox can also spread through contact with an infected person’s respiratory secretions and prolonged face-to-face contact.
“So far it does not seem to be the major mode of transmission for this virus in the current epidemic,” said Malley. “But that is of course one of the things that we need to monitor very closely.”
3. Does my family need to wipe down surfaces or avoid shared spaces like playgrounds?
Because monkeypox is spread primarily through skin-to-skin contact, parents at this point do not need to overly concerned with their child becoming infected by touching things like doorknobs in public spaces or shared toys, according to both Malley and Ashton.
“While that possibility remains, I think it does not mean that parents or anyone should be concerned about touching doorknobs or going to the grocery story or touching objects that are out on the street, for example,” said Malley. “That is not thought to be a very likely way for MPX to be spread, or for most viruses to be spread.”
Ashton said that people who live in high-transmission areas for monkeypox may want to wipe down surfaces as an extra precaution, noting, “It is possible that this virus can be left on gym equipment, just like it can be left on clothes.”
However, she added that hand washing is more important than wiping surfaces to prevent the spread of disease.
“Hand hygiene is the most important thing, not just for monkeypox but for any infectious disease,” Ashton said.
4. How can I tell if my child has monkeypox?
Unfortunately, the symptoms of monkeypox can look like other viruses — including flu and other rashes — so experts recommend seeking medical care as soon as symptoms show, especially if your child has been in contact with someone who has monkeypox.
Typically, the disease begins with a fever, headache, fatigue, chills and muscle aches. Unlike smallpox, however, monkeypox also causes swollen lymph nodes.
Within one to three days of initial symptoms, those infected will typically develop a rash either on their face or other parts of the body, according to the CDC.
Examples of rashes and lesions caused by the monkeypox virus are seen in this handout image obtained from official Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website on July 1, 2022.
Per the World Health Organization, the lesions — or rash — start out as dark spots on the skin before progressing to bumps that fill with fluid.
Malley said parents should seek medical care for any type of rash on their child’s body that does not look like something they have had previously.
“The rash of MPX, as we are now learning, can look very different in different individuals for reasons that we don’t quite understand,” said Malley. “You really need to be cautious with anything that might look like a MPX rash.”
Monkeypox is diagnosed by testing the lesions to identify whether genetic material of the virus is present, according to Malley.
5. Why are children at increased risk with monkeypox?
Experts are not sure, Malley said.
It may be due to their immune systems and the fact that “younger children are sometimes more susceptible to some viral infections,” he explained.
In Africa, where monkeypox originated, the most severe but rare cases of the virus have typically involved inflammation of the brain, according to Malley.
Ashton said that while there have so far been no deaths associated with monkeypox in the U.S., it’s important to stay vigilant as the disease spreads.
“As the numbers grow, based on sheer math, it is not impossible that we will see a death here in the U.S.,” said Ashton, adding that monkeypox has a “spectrum of severity” when it comes to complications. “There have been deaths in Africa associated with monkeypox.”
6. Is there a monkeypox vaccine for kids?
The current vaccine for monkeypox is available to people ages 18 and older. However, the JYNNEOS vaccine can be offered on a case-by-case basis via a special permission process through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to those with known monkeypox exposure.
Antiviral medications such as Tecovirimat are currently being used for treatment of monkeypox, which is available for children.
More common treatments may also be used to help treat patients who are experiencing pain due to monkeypox lesions, according to Malley.
7. How should I best protect my child from monkeypox?
The best thing parents can do for both themselves and their child, according to Malley, is to pay attention to the virus — but try not to panic.
“I think it would be very unlikely that daycare or a camp or school would be a major focus of transmission of this virus as we understand it currently,” he said. “But of course, it’s important for all of us to be vigilant.”
Malley said the key for parents concerned about monkeypox is to be aware of their child’s surroundings and not interact with people they know have been infected with monkeypox.
“The importance for parents is that if they know anybody in their surrounding, in their environment, in their family who has a suspicion of being infected with MPX, then of course that individual needs needs to isolate themself,” he said. “In general, people who have been diagnosed with MPX have been told and are being very careful because they do not want to be responsible for transmission.”
The CDC has released safety guidelines for people with monkeypox, urging those infected with the virus to “remain isolated at home or at another location for the duration of illness.”
According to Malley, monkeypox lesions are considered to be infectious until they are fully crusted over.
ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos and Cheyenne Haslett contributed to this report.
(FRANKFORT, Ky.) — Abortions have once again stopped in Kentucky after an appeals court reinstated two bans.
One ban, a so-called trigger law — designed to go into effect after the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade in June — bans all abortions from the moment of conception.
It also makes performing abortions a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
The other ban prohibits abortions after fetal cardiac activity is detected, which generally occurs around six weeks’ gestation, before most women even know they’re pregnant.
Neither ban allows exceptions in cases of rape or incest. The only exception is if the mother’s life is in danger.
An injunction preventing enforcement of the bans was issued June 30 and then extended on July 22 by a judge while a lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood and EMW Women’s Surgical Center — abortion providers in Louisville — plays out.
But on Monday evening, Judge Larry Thompson granted an emergency request filed by State Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s office to reinstate the two laws.
In his ruling, Thompson said that although the constitutionality of the statutes has not yet been determined, “a statute carries with it the presumption of constitutionality” in Kentucky.
“I appreciate the court’s decision to allow Kentucky’s pro-life laws to take effect while we continue to vigorously defend the constitutionality of these important protections for women and unborn children across the Commonwealth,” Cameron tweeted.
Cameron’s office did not immediately return ABC News’ request for comment.
Abortion rights supporters have decried the ruling. In a statement, Rebecca Gibson, CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawaii, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky, called the decision a “devastating day for all Kentuckians.”
“Abortion is essential health care, and it is irresponsible and dangerous to prevent people from accessing the care they need,” she said. “Make no mistake — this ban goes beyond abortion. It is about who has power over you, who has the authority to make decisions for you, and who can control how your future is going to be.”
Gibson continued, “But it is my promise to the people of Kentucky that Planned Parenthood will never back down. We will always be here for you.”
The ACLU of Kentucky, which is representing EMW Women’s Surgical Center in the lawsuit, said the clinic will stop providing abortion care while the case in ongoing.
The organization also said in a tweet it will be appealing the decision to the state’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, writing, “We won’t stop fighting for your right to make the best decisions for yourself because no person should ever be forced to remain pregnant against their will.
(NEW YORK) — Doctors and other health care providers are being warned to look out for symptoms of a virus that can cause seizures and severe illness in infants.
Nearly two dozen infants were admitted to a Tennessee hospital this spring due to parechovirus, a virus that is especially dangerous for babies under 3 months old, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
While the majority of the infants, ages 5 months and under, recovered without complications, two may have long-term complications, including hearing loss and severe developmental delay, from the virus, the CDC said.
The agency’s report follows an alert it issued last month to health care providers warning about the presence of parechovirus.
Here are five things for parents to know about the virus and the CDC’s warning.
1. Parechovirus is especially dangerous for babies under 3 months old.
The virus, known as PeV, can cause severe illness in babies under 3 months old, and is most dangerous to newborns.
According to the CDC, the virus can cause sepsis-like illness, seizures and infection around the brain and spinal cord called meningitis — or meningoencephalitis — in infants, and can lead to long-term neurological complications in rare cases.
2. The type of parechovirus currently spreading is the most severe.
Most types of human parechoviruses are common childhood pathogens and less serious in kids older than 6 months, spreading through sneezing, coughing and saliva and feces.
The type that has been detected in newborns and young infants, PeV-A3, is the type “most often associated with severe disease,” according to the CDC. The specific strain of parechovirus was not identified in the report from the cases in Tennessee.
3. Symptoms include seizures.
The CDC has instructed health care providers to watch for symptoms of fever, sepsis-like syndrome, seizures and meningitis without a known cause in young infants.
PeV can be detected through lab tests from stool swabs and respiratory specimens, as well as cerebrospinal, blister or blood specimens, depending on the symptoms. Because this isn’t a virus that is routinely tested for, health care providers are being told to keep this virus in mind in case this extra testing is needed.
4. The rise in cases could be due to more testing.
The CDC acknowledged in its alert that the higher number of cases reported over the past few months could be a result of better testing.
“Because there is presently no systematic surveillance for PeVs in the United States, it is not clear how the number of PeV cases reported in 2022 compares to previous seasons,” the CDC said. “PeV laboratory testing has become more widely available in recent years, and it is possible that increased testing has led to a higher number of PeV diagnoses compared with previous years.”
The study authors also note, “This peak in infections might reflect relaxation of COVID-19 isolation measures consistent with increased prevalence of other respiratory viruses.”
5. There is no treatment for PeV.
The CDC said that while there is no specific treatment for PeV, getting a diagnosis matters.
“Diagnosing PeV in infants might change management strategies and provide important health information for families,” the CDC said.
(NEW YORK) — At least four children in the U.S. have now tested positive for monkeypox, officials have confirmed.
Amidst a growing emergence of cases across the country, state officials in Indiana confirmed late last week that two children had tested positive for monkeypox. At this time, no additional information has been made available due to patient privacy concerns, the Indiana Department of Health wrote in a statement.
“Like many other states, Indiana has seen an increase in monkeypox cases over the past month,” State Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box said in a statement.
Federal officials had previously confirmed, last month, that two other children in the U.S had tested positive for monkeypox.
One case was confirmed in a toddler, who is a resident of California, and the other was reported in an infant, a non-U.S. resident, who was tested while traveling through Washington, D.C. The two cases are unrelated, located in different jurisdictions, and were likely the result of household transmission.
Although no information is available about the current status of the virus-positive children in Indiana, both of the other children, who have been diagnosed with monkeypox, were said to have been in good health.
However, there are concerns among health officials about how monkeypox could impact young children.
Over the weekend, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned in a health alert that there is some preliminary evidence to suggest children younger than 8 years-old could develop more severe illness, if infected with monkeypox.
At this time, the majority of monkey cases confirmed domestically and globally in the current outbreak have been detected in gay, bisexual or other men who have sex with men. However, health officials have repeatedly stressed that the virus does not discriminate, and anyone exposed to monkeypox can contract the virus.
People are most commonly infected by close person-to-person contact, including intimate contact, though it is possible for the disease to also spread through respiratory secretions or by “touching objects, fabrics (clothing, bedding, or towels), and surfaces that have been used by someone with monkeypox,” according to the CDC.
The news of additional pediatric monkeypox cases come amidst growing pressure from officials across the country for the U.S. to declare a public health emergence for the outbreak.
On Monday, Illinois became the second state in the country to declare monkeypox a public health emergency, and thus, designating Illinois a “disaster area” for the virus, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced in a press release.
“[Monkeypox virus] is a rare, but potentially serious disease that requires the full mobilization of all available public health resources to prevent the spread,” Pritzker wrote in a statement. “That’s why I am declaring a state of emergency to ensure smooth coordination between state agencies and all levels of government, thereby increasing our ability to prevent and treat the disease quickly.”
The governor’s declaration will allow the Illinois Department of Public Health to expand access to resources, such as vaccines and testing, in the state’s efforts to combat the virus.
“We have seen this virus disproportionately impact the LGBTQ+ community in its initial spread. Here in Illinois we will ensure our LGBTQ+ community has the resources they need to stay safe while ensuring members are not stigmatized as they access critical health care,” Pritzker added.
Last week, New York became the first state to declare monkeypox a “disaster emergency,” with officials calling New York City the “epicenter of the outbreak.”
Across the country, in San Francisco officials have also implemented a local emergency declaration for monkeypox.
Globally, more than 22,000 cases reported globally, including nearly 5,200 cases reported in the U.S., according to the CDC.
Monkeypox cases have now been reported in nearly every state in the country, with Montana, Vermont, and Wyoming now the only states that have yet to confirm cases.
