Martha Bebinger
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Drug overdose deaths are at a record high — more than 100,000 in the latest single year. And the Biden administration has a plan to slow that epidemic by emphasizing harm reduction.
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People who were addicted to OxyContin or lost loved ones who were addicted to the drug expect very little in compensation from the multibillion-dollar Purdue Pharma bankruptcy settlement.
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A growing body of research shows the many ways trees improves our mental and physical health. There's a push to understand more.
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In Massachusetts, heat in the winter is a public health necessity. Now with summer temperatures climbing, some public health experts say cooling aid is becoming a health priority too.
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Vermont and Massachusetts lead the nation, with more than 70% of adults having had at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Southern states such as Tennessee lag far behind.
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The nation as a whole fell short of President Biden's July Fourth vaccine goal — giving at least one shot to 70 percent of adults. Some states exceeded expectations, and others didn't come close.
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The practice of housing children who are in psychiatric crisis in local ERs — often for days, while they await appropriate in-patient treatment — has become even more prevalent during the pandemic.
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Data from a Boston hospital showed that Latino patients who did not speak English well had a 35% greater risk of death from COVID-19. The hospital has added interpretation capacity.
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As the nation falls far short of a goal to get 20 million vaccinated by the new year, we look at where bottlenecks are occurring in various parts of the country.
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From heat-related illness to mosquito-borne infections, physicians are seeing the effects of a warming planet in the exam room. There's a growing push to teach doctors-in-training how to respond.