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Bird Flu Is Bad for Poultry and Dairy Cows. It’s Not a Dire Threat for Most of Us — Yet.

Cattle across the country are infected by the H5N1 bird flu. The virus isn’t spreading among people — but if it evolves to do that, fears of another pandemic could be realized.

Oh, Dear! Baby Gear! Why Are the Manuals So Unclear?

Sure, new parents are an anxious lot. But instruction manuals for devices meant to keep the baby safe and healthy are daunting and add to the anxiety. Why are they so confusing?

California Floats Extending Health Insurance Subsidies to All Adult Immigrants

The legislature is considering taking the first steps to make Covered California plans available to immigrants without permanent legal status. The state has already extended Medi-Cal coverage to low-income immigrants.

Podcast

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Abortion Access Changing Again in Florida and Arizona

A six-week abortion ban took effect in Florida this week, dramatically restricting access to the procedure not just in the nation’s third-most-populous state but across the South. Patients from states with even more restrictive bans had been flooding in since the overturn of Roe v. Wade in 2022. Meanwhile, the CEO of the health behemoth UnitedHealth Group appeared before committees in both the House and Senate, where lawmakers grilled him about the February cyberattack on subsidiary Change Healthcare and how its ramifications are being felt months later. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Rachana Pradhan of KFF Health News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.

DIY Gel Manicures May Harm Your Health

A TikTok user claims to have developed an allergy from DIY gel nails. What gives? An allergist weighed in. Let’s walk through what happened in this viral video.

KFF Health News & PolitiFact HealthCheck

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Is Wrong About a Ban on NIH Research About Mass Shootings

Since 2020, the National Institutes of Health and other federal agencies have collectively funded millions of dollars in gun-related research, including studies addressing mass shootings.

‘Breaking a Promise’: California Deficit Could Halt Raises for Disability Workers

Families of children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities say Gov. Gavin Newsom is reneging on an expected pay increase for care workers. If the delay goes through, it could impede services and invite legal challenges from advocates.

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A Record Number of Californians Are Visiting Emergency Rooms for Dog Bites

There were nearly 50,000 emergency room visits for dog bites in California in 2022. The rate of such visits per capita is up about 70% since 2005.

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