Laredo residents who live near a sterilization plant say the new federal limits on the pollutant will improve air quality and reduce their city’s high cancer risk.
Health care
In-depth reporting on public health, healthcare policy, hospitals, and wellness issues shaping communities across Texas, from The Texas Tribune.
Posted in
Texas Abortion Restrictions
How to get birth control and emergency contraception in Texas
Contraception options are available through most health insurance plans and government-funded clinics.
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Texas Abortion Restrictions
Texas Medical Board to consider issuing guidance on abortion laws’ medical exceptions
On March 22, the board will discuss clarifying what counts as a medical exception to the state’s abortion restrictions.
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Energy
Expuestos y en el olvido: El aire tóxico en una comunidad latina de Texas revela los fallos del sistema estatal de control de calidad del aire
Los datos públicos de una red de monitores de la calidad del aire alrededor del Canal de Navegación de Houston son difíciles de interpretar y a menudo son insuficientes, dejando a vecindarios de mayoría latina, como Cloverleaf, sin saber si el aire que respiran es seguro.
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Graphics and data reporting
Neglected and exposed: Toxic air lingers in a Texas Latino community, revealing failures in state’s air monitoring system
Public data from a network of state air monitors around the Houston Ship Channel is hard to interpret and is often inadequate, leaving Latino-majority neighborhoods like Cloverleaf unaware of whether the air they breathe is safe.
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Health care
5th Circuit upholds Texas law requiring minors to obtain parental consent for contraception
A three-judge panel in New Orleans ruled that a Texas law requiring minors to obtain parental consent to obtain birth control does not conflict with the goals of the federally-funded Title X program, which has given teens birth control confidentially.
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Health care
Why covid patients who could most benefit from paxlovid still aren’t getting it
During the pandemic, the federal government offered Americans a 5-day course of Paxlovid, the antiviral drug that lessens COVID-19 symptoms. But now that Pfizer is charging for it, confusion over insurance coverage, price, has made patients wary.
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Texas Abortion Restrictions
With Texas births rising post-Roe, disability advocates say child services need bolstering
Texas’ fertility rose after new abortion restrictions, raising concerns that special education and specialized health care will be stretched even thinner.
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Health care
Two West Texas infants in the same neighborhood diagnosed with rare botulism
A third infant nearby also contracted botulism last August. Local and state health officials said there is no public health emergency.
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Health care
Lifesaving Narcan tough to find in Texas pharmacies
Opioid overdoses are not slowing down in Texas. But locating Narcan, which can reverse the effects of an overdose quickly, has been tough for Texans since it was made available without a prescription last year.