Health

(NEW YORK) — A new variant now makes up a plurality of COVID-19 cases in the United States, federal data shows.

EG.5, an offshoot of the omicron variant and descendant of the XBB strain, has been circulating in the country since at least April. However, as of Aug. 5, it accounts for 17.3% of COVID infections, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This is an increase from the 1.1% of cases it was estimated to make up at the end of May, CDC data shows.

It comes as COVID hospitalizations tick up across the U.S., increasing 12.5% in the most recent week to a total of 9,056 hospitalizations, according to the federal health agency.

Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, EG.5.1, which falls under the EG.5 lineage, makes up an estimated 14.55% of cases, making it the second most common strain, according to the UK Health Security Agency.

Public health experts said there is no evidence EG.5 causes more severe illness and that it’s normal for the virus to mutate and new variants to emerge.

“Omicron is out there making minor variations. It’s having children, progeny, but they’re all closely related to omicron,” Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told ABC News. “They are contagious, but they are not more serious, so that’s excellent.”

The uptick in hospitalizations could be due to a mix of factors, including some waning immunity and people starting to gather indoors. But experts said the numbers are still among the lowest seen since the pandemic began.

“If you take a low number and you talk about it in terms of percent increase, it’s going to sound a lot scarier than it is, right?” Dr. Shira Doron, chief infection control officer for Tufts Medicine, told ABC News. “So, in an extreme circumstance, if there was one COVID case in the world and then there were two, that would be 100% increase, which sounds really bad, but two is a pretty low number.”

“We are going to see some uptick in cases because that new variant replaces the old one … and so what we see is a small uptick, but we’re still at the lowest levels we’ve ever seen,” she continued.

As of July 19, the World Health Organization listed EG.5 as a variant under monitoring, but experts said it should not be considered worrisome but rather a sign of good surveillance.

“Having this surveillance system for strains of COVID out there around the world is a way for us to be on the alert should a new distinctly different mutation suddenly appear and start to spread in any country, not just in the U.S.,” Schaffner said. “We would get advance notice and we could start to prepare for that.”

Experts said unless there is evidence EG.5 or its sublineages are causing more severe disease, the guidance previously recommended by public health officials is still the same, including assessing your own risk tolerance, remaining vigilant and staying up to date on vaccinations.

The CDC is expected to issue recommendations soon about a new COVID booster, just in time for fall, when COVID cases and hospitalizations typically increase.

“The booster coming in the fall is based on XBB, and that was a gamble and that will always be a gamble because the strain is selected in June and you can’t know for sure what strain is going to be predominant in the fall when it’s June,” Doron said. “So, the booster will be an XBB monovalent booster, but that’s okay. The vaccines still work even when they’re not completely matched to the circulation.”

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(NEW YORK) — A popular drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for weight loss also has heart benefits, according to preliminary results of a new study released by the drug manufacturer.

The drug, Wegovy, lowered the risk of major cardiovascular events by 20% in a clinical trial that included over 17,000 adults ages 45 and older who have a history of cardiovascular disease and are overweight or obese.

As a result of the trial’s findings, Novo Nordisk, the maker of Wegovy, said Tuesday that it plans to file for a “label indication expansion” for the drug, meaning it could be available beyond obesity, and with greater insurance coverage.

Without insurance coverage, the cost of Wegovy, a once-a-week injection, can run more than $1,000 a month.

“People living with obesity have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease but to date, there are no approved weight management medications proven to deliver effective weight management while also reducing the risk of heart attack, stroke or cardiovascular death,” Martin Holst Lange, Novo Nordisk’s executive vice president for development, said in a statement announcing the trial’s findings. “Therefore, we are very excited about the results from SELECT showing that semaglutide 2.4 mg reduces the risk of cardiovascular events.”

Novo Nordisk said the full findings of the SELECT clinical trial will be announced later this year at a medical conference.

Wegovy is part of a class of drugs called GLP-1 Receptor Agonists that help people produce insulin to lower the amount of sugar in the blood.

The drugs, made from a compound called semaglutide, work by slowing down movement of food through the stomach and curbing appetite, thereby causing weight loss.

Wegovy is currently FDA-approved for weight loss for people with obesity or who are overweight with a comorbidity like high blood pressure.

Last December, the FDA also approved Wegovy as a treatment for teenagers with obesity.

Ozempic, another semaglutide medication made by Novo Nordisk, is approved by the FDA to treat Type 2 diabetes, but some doctors prescribe the medication “off-label” for weight loss, as is permissible by the FDA.

The drugs have surged in popularity over the past year as effective treatments for both diabetes and weight loss.

Over 70% of American adults are considered to be overweight or obese, and more than 37 million people in the United States have diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Obesity-related conditions including heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer are the top causes of premature and preventable death, according to the CDC.

The latest clinical findings about Wegovy’s impact on heart health could transform the drug’s popularity even further.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the U.S., with one person dying every 33 seconds from heart disease, according to the CDC.

 

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(NEW YORK) — A new medication just approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration could revolutionize the treatment of postpartum depression, a condition that affects as many as 1 in 8 women who have recently given birth.

The medication, zuranolone, to be sold under the brand name Zurzuvae, is the first oral pill to ever be approved by the FDA to treat postpartum depression, a depression that occurs after having a baby.

“Postpartum depression is a serious and potentially life-threatening condition in which women experience sadness, guilt, worthlessness — even, in severe cases, thoughts of harming themselves or their child. And, because postpartum depression can disrupt the maternal-infant bond, it can also have consequences for the child’s physical and emotional development,” Dr. Tiffany R. Farchione, director of the Division of Psychiatry at the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a statement. “Having access to an oral medication will be a beneficial option for many of these women coping with extreme, and sometimes life-threatening, feelings.”

Symptoms of postpartum depression include withdrawing from loved ones, crying more than usual, feeling worried or overly anxious, feeling anger, doubting your ability to take care of your baby and thinking about harming yourself or your baby, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The symptoms may last for weeks or months after giving birth, and are more intense and longer lasting than the “baby blues” that women may experience after giving birth.

Although a history of depression may increase the risk of postpartum depression, there is no single test that can diagnose postpartum depression, or predict whether or not a woman will suffer from it. It’s often up to women or their partners and family members to seek professional medical help if they are struggling after giving birth.

Here are five things to know about the new drug.

1. Zurzuvae is a daily pill

The fast-acting antidepressant is designed to be taken once a day for 14 days. The daily recommended dose is 50 milligrams, and users are advised to take the medication in the evening with a fatty meal, according to the FDA.

The FDA warns that users of Zurzuvae should not “drive or operate heavy machinery” for at least 12 hours after taking the medication.

In addition, the FDA says that because Zurzuvae may cause fetal harm, women should “use effective contraception while taking, and for one week after taking, Zurzuvae.”

2. Zurzuvae should be available this year

Because Zurzuvae is a medication that affects the central nervous system, it will undergo a 90-day review by the Drug Enforcement Administration, following normal protocol.

After that, the medication should be available to consumers this year.

The makers of Zurzuvae, Sage Therapeutics and Biogen, have not yet announced the price of the drug.

3. The drug has had promising clinical results

The success of Zurzuvae has been documented in two clinical studies, according to the FDA.

A phase 3 trial published last month in the American Journal of Psychiatry found that Zurzuvae “demonstrated significant improvements in depressive symptoms and was generally well tolerated.”

The trial, which looked at nearly 200 patients, found that patients taking Zurzuvae reported “significant improvement in depressive symptoms” as many as 45 days following treatment.

An earlier trial, published in 2021, found that after two weeks of daily treatment using Zuranolone, women treated with the medication had a “statistically significant reduction in their core symptoms of depression compared to women who received a placebo.”

After 45 days, 53% of women who received zuranolone were in full remission of clinical depression versus 30% who received the placebo, according to the study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Psychiatry.

4. There is only one other postpartum drug available to moms

Currently, there’s only one drug on the market that’s FDA-approved to treat postpartum depression. The drug, called Zulresso, is only available through a 60-hour, one-time infusion, and can cost as much as $20,000 to $35,000 per treatment.

Therapy is recommended as a non-medication treatment for postpartum depression.

5. Zurzuvae helps regulate brain function

Zurzuvae works to treat postpartum depression by helping to rebalance neuron networks for healthy brain function.

According to Biogen, zuranolone, marketed as Zurzuvae, is, “an oral neuroactive steroid (NAS) GABA-A receptor positive allosteric modulator (PAM). The GABA system is the major inhibitory signaling pathway of the brain and central nervous system and contributes to regulating brain function.”

Dr. Darien Sutton, an emergency medicine physician and ABC News medical contributor, said that FDA approval of Zurzuvae shows that postpartum depression is a serious medical issue.

“This medication being labeled specifically for postpartum depression helps us to realize that this is due to a biological problem, and not a consequence of moral failure,” Sutton told Good Morning America. “It reminds all of us, regardless, if anyone is suffering at home with thoughts of self-harm or suicide, that there is a National Suicide Lifeline at 988. You can call or text it if you need help.”

Regarding postpartum depression specifically, Sutton added, “Make no mistake, this diagnosis can be a life-threatening one, and it’s important for mothers, if they have any symptoms, to seek out help and attention as early as possible.”

For families coping with postpartum depression, Postpartum Support International offers a free and confidential helpline via call and text at 1-800-944-4PPD (4773). If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. Free, confidential help is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You are not on your own.

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(NEW YORK) — Two Illinois patients have successfully undergone double-lung transplants after being born with “flipped organs.”

Cook County Commissioner Dennis Deer, 50, and Yahaira Vega, 27, both have a rare genetic condition known as situs inversus, in which organs in the chest and abdomen developed reversed or mirrored from their normal positions.

Situs inversus only affects one in every 10,000 people, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Most people don’t realize they have the condition and lead normal lives. However, it can be associated with other help complications, the clinic said.

That was the case for Vega. In addition to situs inversus, she was also born with primary ciliary dyskinesia, another rare condition that prevents cilia — small hair-like structures that line the airways — from moving mucus out, causing the mucus to build up.

As Vega’s condition worsened, she was put on the transplant list. A match was found in just nine days, and she underwent the operation at Northwestern Memorial on April 28.

“Before my transplant … I felt inadequate and hopeless. In many ways, I was like a baby again, sleeping all the time and unable to regulate anything going on in my body,” Vega said. “With my new lungs, I have so much energy and I’m able to laugh again. I’m thankful for my donor, their family and my incredible transplant team. Because of them, I have my life back.”

Similarly, Deer also had muscle inflammation, which led to him developing interstitial lung disease, which causes scarring of the lungs.

Deer was sworn in as Cook County commissioner in December 2022 while in a hospital room at Northwestern Memorial, where he was being treated for breathing problems. He was listed for a double lung transplant at the end of March, spending the next few months on supportive oxygen.

On May 22, Deer received a call that doctors had found a match.

“To be able to breathe again was incredible; I won’t ever take life for granted,” said Deer, adding that he wants to raise awareness about organ donation.

Lung transplants are always complex operations regardless of the patient but are even more challenging in patients with situs inversus. Dr. Ankit Bharat, chief of thoracic surgery, said at a press conference it’s rare to do one lung transplant for this condition, let alone two in the span of one month in the same health system.

“When performing the surgery, it’s an interesting dilemma because the inside of the body is essentially a mirror image of what it normally would be,” he explained. “The heart is typically on the left side, but with situs inversus, it’s on the right side. The right lung is on the left side and the left lung is on the right side.”

“So, when we take the old lungs out, we have to put new lungs in from a donor with ‘normal organs,'” he added. “This is more challenging, because the new lungs need to fit into a chest cavity that’s a mirror image, so we had to come up with some.”

On Monday, Vega and Deer met one another for the first time during a press conference at the hospital. Deer also turned 51.

“I spent a lot of time not being able to breathe,” Deer said. “I would walk 10 steps and I was gasping for air. This has changed my life dramatically. This is a special birthday because there was a time it was looking real gloomy and I wouldn’t see my 51st birthday.”

Vega said she is looking forward to having a boisterous laugh.

“When I was sick, I could never laugh like those snorty piggy laughs because I would choke on mucus and it could cause frustration,” she said. “I could never really focus on the joy. Now that the negative common denominator has been removed and my sternum is strong enough to laugh. I’m going to have the ugliest laugh ever.”

 

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(NEW YORK) — Millions of COVID-19 reinfections have been reported across the country yet just 11 states confirmed they are actively tracking them, according to an ABC News analysis.

At least 18 states used to track infections but stopped once the public health emergency ended in May 2023.

Public health experts said tracking reinfections is important for understanding long-term complications and immunity from vaccination. Resources at health departments, however, are now being diverted to other areas that are in need. It comes even as COVID-19 hospitalizations tick up across the U.S., though experts say it’s no reason for concern yet.

“It takes an enormous amount of resources not only to track COVID in its own right but also to track those reinfections,” Dr. Richard Martinello, a professor of internal medicine and pediatrics in infectious diseases at the Yale School of Medicine, told ABC News. “I’m not surprised that we don’t have all of our communities doing this tracking because of the enormous resources that it takes and … that draws away from other important programs.”

More than 2.4 million COVID reinfections

Reinfection is defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as someone becoming infected with COVID-19, recovering and then getting infected again, typically 90 days after the first bout.

ABC News contacted health departments in all 50 states. Many did not have the data readily available and at least 10 states said they never tracked reinfections during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Of the 17 states that did provide tallies, at least 2.47 million people have tested positive more than once for COVID-19.

California and New York each recorded more than 600,000 reinfections, while North Carolina and Pennsylvania each recorded more than 200,000 reinfections.

“What was our hope, maybe in 2020, was that immunity for one episode of COVID would be lasting and durable and reinfection would be so much more unlikely but that’s not proven true, sadly,” said Dr. Cameron Wolfe, a professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases at Duke University School of Medicine. “So, as many folks would know, you can get reinfected multiple times.”

Experts said reinfections became even more common with the advent of the omicron variant, which was responsible for the winter wave of 2021-22, and its subsequent offshoots.

Typically, reinfections are mild but in certain populations they can be more severe, according to the CDC.

Why many states stopped tracking reinfections

Many state health departments told ABC News they stopped tracking COVID-19 reinfections either before or right as President Joe Biden ended the public health emergency in May 2023.

The end of the public health emergency meant doctors and labs were no longer required to report COVID-19 cases to state health departments. And with more people using rapid at-home tests to monitor illness — with results not required to be reported to officials — reinfections became harder to track.

“You can sort of almost think about it very similarly to flu,” Wolfe said. “We don’t concern ourselves with the accuracy of counting every single case of influenza or reinfection.”

Experts said it’s also labor-intensive and requires a lot of manpower to count and keep track of reinfection data.

Additionally, the stoppage of reinfection counting could be due to pandemic fatigue and a desire to return to normal or at least a sense of normalcy.

“There’s been a real desire by everyone to return to a state of normal and so as long as we are heavily tracking and reporting COVID numbers, things are not feeling normal,” Dr. Ashley Drews, Houston Methodist medical director of infection prevention and control, told ABC News.

Benefit to tracking reinfections

Reinfections are not being tracked as diligently but experts say there are benefits to doing so, even as we move into a new phase of learning to live with COVID.

Studies have shown that repeat infections can increase the risk of long-term health effects including long COVID and organ failure.

“If you’re talking about sort of risks of long COVID development, absolutely, we need to do a little bit more work there,” Wolfe said.

Moreover, tracking can help health care professionals understand how quickly immunity wanes after vaccination and how often boosters are needed.

“One, it gives us an idea of how well our protection is against infection, such as vaccination, and it gives us more information to draw from to better understand how to time revaccination for people,” Martinello said. “We’re expecting there to be a recommendation from the CDC for a fall vaccination … and we need to better understand what the appropriate timing of that vaccine is and whether an annual vaccine similar to what we do for flu is going to be sufficient for COVID.”

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(NEW YORK) — A new lawsuit claims the manufacturers of drugs used for weight loss, including Ozempic and Mounjaro, do not adequately warn consumers about the risk of an alleged side effect of the drugs.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Louisiana, focuses on gastroparesis, a severe form of delayed gastric emptying, described by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases as a “disorder that slows or stops the movement of food from your stomach to your small intestine.”

Diabetes is a known cause of gastroparesis, responsible for almost one-third of cases.

The lawsuit claims a 44-year-old woman with a history of diabetes took Ozempic for over one year, stopping in July, at which point she started using Mounjaro.

The woman, who lives in Louisiana, lost around 150 pounds on the two medications, according to her attorney, Paul Pennock, a New York City-based attorney for Morgan & Morgan,

According to the lawsuit, the woman, who has not been officially diagnosed with gastroparesis, suffered “severe gastrointestinal events,” including, “severe vomiting, stomach pain, [and] gastrointestinal burning.”

“Her problems have been so severe that she’s been to the emergency room multiple times, including last week,” Pennock told ABC News Wednesday.

The lawsuit alleges Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, the manufacturers of Mounjaro and Ozempic, respectively, failed to adequately warn about the risk of gastroparesis.

“Had Plaintiff been warned of the increased risk of severe gastrointestinal events (e.g., gastroparesis and gastroenteritis) associated with Ozempic and Mounjaro, she would not have used Ozempic and Mounjaro and/or suffered from severe gastrointestinal events,” states the lawsuit, which seeks a jury trial.

Both Ozempic and Mounjaro are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat Type 2 diabetes, but some doctors prescribe the medication “off-label” for weight loss, as permissible by the FDA.

Ozempic is one of a class of drugs called GLP-1 RAs that help people produce insulin and lower the amount of sugar in the blood. Ozempic, made from a compound called semaglutide, works by slowing down movement of food through the stomach and curbing appetite, thereby causing weight loss.

Mounjaro contains an active ingredient, tirzepatide, that works by activating two naturally produced hormones in the body: glucagon-like peptide-1, known as GLP-1, and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide, or GIP.

The combination is said to slow the emptying of the stomach, making people feel full longer, and suppress appetite by slowing hunger signals in the brain.

Mounjaro and Ozempic are both taken as a weekly injection.

Known side effects of both Mounjaro and Ozempic can include severe nausea and constipation.

There have been no official health warnings from doctors or government agencies regarding gastrointestinal side effects. The FDA and other experts encourage patients to discuss any medication side effect concerns, which could include nausea or vomiting that won’t stop, with their doctors.

Both medications come with clear warnings about their side effects, and a warning about a delay in “gastric emptying” is on the label.

Mounjaro’s website states the most common side effects of the drug include, “nausea, diarrhea, decreased appetite, vomiting, constipation, indigestion and stomach (abdominal) pain.”

Similarly, Ozempic’s website states the most common side effects of the drug may include, “nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach (abdominal) pain, and constipation.”

Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic, told ABC News in a statement that “gastrointestinal events are well-known side effects,” adding the majority are “mild to moderate” and typically only occur for a “short duration” of time. It also said the drug has been used for over a decade, has been extensively studied and that gastroparesis can have a variety of causes.

Eli Lilly, the maker of Mounjaro, told ABC News, “We actively engage in monitoring and reporting safety information for all our medicines.”

Dr. Devina Mehta, licensed dermatologist, is a member of the ABC News Medical Unit.

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(WASHINGTON) — A new immunization to protect infants from respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV was approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday.

The approved drug called nirsevimab, which will be marketed in the U.S. by Sanofi as Beyfortus, was recommended unanimously by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice for all children under 8 months old and signed off on by CDC director Dr. Mandy Cohen, the last step in the regulatory process.

It comes less than two weeks after the Food and Drug Administration approved the shot, with both federal agencies saying it’s safe and effective at protecting infants against the risk of severe infection and hospitalization from RSV.

Beyfortus is a one-dose shot made of monoclonal antibodies, which are proteins manufactured in a lab and mimic the antibodies the body naturally creates when fighting an infection. Though given as an intramuscular injection, this shot is different than a vaccine, which activates the immune system.

Under the CDC’s decision, children 8-19 months old can receive another dose of the shot during their second RSV season if they are among a group of those still vulnerable to severe infection who meet specific health criteria or who are American Indian or Alaskan Native.

In addition, the advisory committee also passed a resolution to add this shot to the federally funded Vaccine for Children program that ensures children on Medicaid or those under and uninsured can receive the drug at no cost.

A spokesperson from Sanofi told ABC News that the shots are expected to be widely available this fall — in time for the upcoming winter respiratory illness season. It has already been approved for use in Europe as of November 2022.

The shot offers about five months’ worth of protection, which should carry young children through the typical RSV season.

“This works…without needing to activate their own immune system,” Dr. Michael Greenberg, North America medical head of Vaccines at Sanofi, told ABC News. “So this allows for a lot of flexibility and timing so it can be given according to when the RSV season starts, which in the U.S. is approximately November to March, and is designed to last through that and to be able to protect babies through that first RSV season.”

In the ACIP meeting on Thursday, Sanofi stated the retail price of the drug will be $495 and will be sold to the VFC program for $395.

In a phase III clinical trial, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, data showed Beyfortus reduced severe RSV infection by about 75% in late preterm and term infants.

Results from an earlier phase of the clinical trial studying effectiveness for preterm infants born 29 to less than 35 weeks’ gestation were comparable, showing a 70% reduction in infections requiring being seen in a physician’s office, emergency department or hospital.

Data also showed a 78% reduction in hospitalization and no major safety concerns.

“Today, we have turned the corner on the threat of RSV to our youngest, most vulnerable population,” Thomas Triomphe, executive vice president of vaccines at Sanofi, said after the committee meeting. “The ACIP’s unanimous recommendations for routine use of Beyfortus and inclusion in the Vaccines for Children program are critical steps toward providing millions of parents in the U.S. with the ability to protect their babies through their first RSV season, when they are most susceptible to severe RSV disease.”

“We appreciate the FDA and CDC leadership, as well as the ACIP public health experts, for recognizing and quickly acting on the threat RSV poses to all infants,” the statement continued.

Symptoms of RSV include coughing, fever, runny nose, sneezing, wheezing and a decrease in appetite, according to the CDC.

RSV typically causes a mild illness but can be dangerous for infants and babies, with an estimated 58,000 to 80,000 children under age 5 being hospitalized with the virus each year, the CDC said.

However, some are at an even greater risk of severe illness, including those born prematurely, immunocompromised children and those suffering from congenital heart and lung diseases.

Last year, cases of RSV appeared earlier than usual, filling up pediatric hospitals and putting stress on the health care system. Public health experts said they believed the surge was due to a lack of children who had been exposed to the virus during two years of pandemic lockdowns and stay-at-home orders.

Infections peaked in mid-November with more than 4,600 cases recorded in a week before declining, CDC data shows.

“As a pediatrician, I’ve been through a lot of winters with many, many babies getting sick and unfortunately sometimes getting hospitalized with RSV,” Greenberg said. “This was particularly acute last year…there were a lot of infants and children who were not only hospitalized with RSV, but we saw hospitals, pediatric intensive care units, literally over capacity and unable to accommodate all these babies. So why this is significant is that with the approval and now routine recommendation for the use of Beyfortus in all infants, we’re able to put those kinds of RSV seasons behind us. We’ve really turned a corner and we’re finally at a historic moment.”

Within the past year, the FDA approved two new RSV vaccines for adults over 60, who are also a high-risk group. Those are also expected to be available for the upcoming winter respiratory virus season.

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(LOS ANGELES) — A new heat wave has left 60 million people across 13 states under heat alerts Thursday.

Record or near-record high temperatures are possible Thursday in Corpus Christi, Texas, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where temperatures could reach 100 degrees. New Orleans could reach 98 degrees, and San Antonio may reach 102 degrees.

College Station, Texas, and Baton Rouge set new record temperatures on Wednesday, reaching 106 degrees and 102 degrees, respectively.  

An excessive heat warning has been issued for California and Arizona.

The heat wave is expected to come close to the Los Angeles metro area, where even Burbank is expected to get close to 100 degrees by this weekend.  The National Weather Service is warning residents without air conditioning that overnight lows in some inland areas could stay above 80 degrees, making it difficult for sensitive groups to cool off.

Flooding and severe storms

Severe storms and flooding are expected to continue from the Rockies to the Midwest.  On Wednesday, flash flooding was reported from Iowa to Missouri where more than 8 inches of rain fell in a short period of time.  In Utah, severe storms brought wind gusts up to 77 mph, while some in Missouri saw hail as big as tennis balls. On Thursday, severe weather is expected from Colorado all the way to Georgia, where damaging winds and huge hail will be the biggest threat, but an isolated tornado cannot be ruled out.

Some of the severe weather will move into the Northeast late Thursday night into Friday.  On Friday, severe weather is possible from Pennsylvania through New York and into New England with damaging winds and large hail being the biggest threat.

Flood alerts have been issued for 11 states from Montana to Alabama, where slow-moving storms could bring 3 to 5 inches of rain in a short period of time and could produce flash flooding.

 

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(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden recently announced his administration’s plans to push private insurance companies to offer the same coverage for mental health services as they do for physical health services, improving upon a well-known hole in America’s health care system, according to the White House.

“We must fulfill the promise of true mental health parity for all Americans. Now. Now. Today, my administration is announcing new steps to dramatically expand access to mental health care in America. Our plans would require health insurance plans to identify the gaps in the mental health care that they provide,” Biden said last week.

During his remarks, Biden said that nearly 70% of kids who need treatment for mental health or addiction can’t get it, and in 2020, less than half of adults diagnosed with mental illness received care.

Biden’s domestic policy adviser, Neera Tanded, joined “GMA3” Tuesday to discuss a new rule in the plan that aims to improve access and address the barriers to receiving care.

DEMARCO MORGAN: So let’s talk about the proposed rule there. What will it accomplish?

TANDEN: Well as the president outlined, today people don’t have access to health coverage if they need mental health care. Essentially, people with insurance too often have to pay out of pocket, because they simply can’t find a provider on their networks that the insurers provide them. So that’s a real challenge. What the president outlined is a rule that will require insurers to offer true coverage for mental health care, meaning they need to have enough doctors, mental health physicians, therapists on their network. They have to get rid of some of the roadblocks like prior authorization, and they have to make sure they’re reimbursing mental health care like they reimburse physical care.

EVA PILGRIM: What’s the timeline for this rule to go into effect?

TANDEN: We don’t have a date certain. We are working as fast as possible, but we expect the rule to be out very soon.

MORGAN: And we’ve talked about coverage. Let’s talk about the other two C’s, care and causes.

TANDEN: Absolutely. The president has a comprehensive approach to mental health care. This rule is really about coverage, means that you should have coverage from your insurer when you need it, but there’s a lot of need out there. And we want to make sure that people have care where they need it. That’s why the president has invested in additional clinics to ensure that there’s care wherever you need it, 24 hours, seven days a week, clinics throughout the country. There are now over 500 mental health and behavioral clinics that the president and the Congress have invested in. There’s also the 988 line. This was legislation created last year that created a 988 line for a lifeline, really, for anyone to call if they have mental health issues, concerns, suicidal thoughts, intense anxiety. It will connect you to the health care you really need.

PILGRIM: The mental health issue is a big problem in this country. It’s obviously something the president can’t do on his own. What’s he hopeful that Congress will do to help out here?

TANDEN: Well, the president has a proposal that invests $85 billion a year in mental health care – that is really in front of the Congress. We hope that they recognize that this is an important issue. Congress has taken important bipartisan steps. The bipartisan Safer Communities Act last year invested in mental health care in schools. It’s creating over 14,000 guidance counselors or it’s investing in 14,000 guidance counselors in schools across the country. So the Congress has acted in a bipartisan way in the past, and we hope it will continue to act in a bipartisan way to address this issue. This is not an issue in red America or blue America. All of America has challenges and we need to address them.

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(FLORIDA) — Cases of leprosy are rising in Florida, according to a new analysis published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID) journal.

Although the disease is still rare in the U.S. — with just 159 cases reported in 2020 — a study released Monday from the EID and shared by the CDC found that Central Florida accounts for a bulk of those cases.

Central Florida appears to have the highest concentration of cases in the Sunshine State, with the region accounting for nearly one-fifth of reported cases in the U.S.

Leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, is a lingering infectious disease caused by the acid-fast rod Mycobacterium leprae. The disease mostly impacts the skin and the peripheral nervous system, according to the EID. Today, the disease is curable with antibiotics.

“Leprosy has been historically uncommon in the United States; incidence peaked around 1983, and a drastic reduction in the annual number of documented cases occurred from the 1980s through 2000,” the EID said in its report. “However, since then, reports demonstrate a gradual increase in the incidence of leprosy in the United States.”

Most of the cases from 2020 were from Florida, California, Louisiana, Hawaii, New York and Texas, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration.

In recent decades, cases have been from travelers coming to the U.S. Now, researchers are pointing out that roughly one-third of cases from 2015 to 2020 appear to have been acquired locally, suggesting the disease is being transmitted in the U.S., either from person-to-person or from contact with animals like armadillos.

In 2015, one Florida county reported an increase in leprosy cases, where three people were diagnosed with the disease in five months.

Barry Inman, an epidemiologist for the Brevard County Department of Health, previously told ABC News that some of those infections from 2015 came from people interacting with armadillos, a known carrier of the disease.

This story has been updated.

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