COVID-19 Pandemic Increased Life Expectancy Gap Between White and Black Americans

Healthline

Researchers from the University of Washington looked at the data from death and census records to estimate life expectancy for Black, white and Hispanic Americans over a three-decade span from 1990 to 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic reversed a promising trend in life expectancy by widening the gap between white and Black Americans. 

Dr. Gregory Roth, Associate Professor of Global Health and Medicine-Cardiology, is featured.

Roe v. Wade overturned: 11 states to ban abortion don't require sex ed

USA Today

Close to half of the roughly two dozen states where abortion is or will soon be outlawed or heavily restricted do not require sex education. Most of those states require any schools that do choose to teach sex education to emphasize abstinence as the main or only way to avoid getting pregnant. Almost none require teaching about contraception.  

Pamela Kohler, Associate Professor of Global Health, is quoted.

 

Climate Change Could Result in "Mass Casualty"

PBS

The Supreme Court has voted to curb the EPA's ability to regulate carbon emissions. This comes amid a period of increasingly extreme weather around the world.

Kristie Ebi, Professor of Global Health and of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, is interviewed.

 

Department of Global Health Celebrates the Class of 2022

On Friday, June 10, the Department of Global Health (DGH) gathered to honor the Class of 2022 with an in-person graduation celebration. Graduates from the classes of 2020 and 2021 were also invited to join the celebration. During the annual event, the 15th since the department was founded in 2007, speakers acknowledged the unprecedented years and challenging circumstances that the class of 2022 experienced in pursued their education.  

Sweltering streets: Hundreds of homeless die in extreme heat

AP News

Hundreds of blue, green and grey tents are pitched under the sun’s searing rays in downtown Phoenix, a jumble of flimsy canvas and plastic along dusty sidewalks. Here, in the hottest big city in America, thousands of homeless people swelter as the summer’s triple digit temperatures arrive.

Dr. Kristie Ebi, Professor of Global Health at UW, is quoted.

When Should I Take a COVID Test?

NPR

By now we all know the drill when it comes to at home rapid Covid tests. You swab, you swirl, drip a few drops and wait 15 min.

At-home tests are very convenient, but knowing when to take a test and how to think about the result is important.

UW Medicine’s Dr. Helen Chu is here and will tell us how rapid tests can be helpful in reducing Covid cases.

Why America Doesn't Trust the CDC

Newsweek

People don't trust the CDC. Here's one example illustrating why. Two weeks ago, with no outcomes data on COVID-19 booster shots for 5-to-11-year-olds, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) vigorously recommended the booster for all 24 million American children in that age group. The CDC cited a small Pfizer study of 140 children that showed boosters elevated their antibody levels—an outcome known to be transitory.

Dr. Beth Bell, Clinical Professor of Global Health at UW, is quoted. 

Widely available antibiotic helps prevent bacterial STIs in certain populations, UW clinical trial finds

The Seattle Times

New research has found an antibiotic that’s been around for decades could help prevent sexually transmitted bacterial diseases, according to a recent University of Washington clinical trial that proved so effective in certain populations it ended early.

Dr. Connie Celum, a UW professor of global health, medicine and epidemiology co-led the research.

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