The U.S. Declares Monkeypox a Public Health Emergency. Here’s What That Means

On August 4, the U.S. federal government declared monkeypox—with more than 6,600 cases in the country—a public health emergency. Monkeypox is now the second simultaneous public health emergency in the U.S.; the other is COVID-19. The emergency status allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Xavier Becerra, more discretion in accessing additional funds and … Read more

Narcan Can Save an Opioid User’s Life. What to Know About the Drug

In the U.S., a record-setting 81,000 people died from overdoses involving opioids in 2021. But despite that grim number, there’s hope: medications like buprenorphine can treat opioid-use disorder, while harm-reduction methods such as needle exchanges can limit threats like infectious disease. There’s also another promising tool, naloxone. The emergency medication reverses the effects of opioids … Read more