Kentucky Health News

Experts offer advice on how to avoid tick-borne illnesses.

The annual Kids Count Data Book on children's well-being again ranks Kentucky 37th in the nation for the overall well-being of its children.

The UK study is led by Dr. George J. Fuchs III, chief of pediatric gastroenterology and vice chair of pediatric clinical affairs at Kentucky Children’s Hospital.

The move, which coincides with the end of the mask mandate he started 11 months ago, marks the turning of a page.

The country's vaccination rate has fallen sharply from more than 3 million shots a day in early April to 1.62 million.

Several key metrics suggest that it could be time to have the conversation about when the coronavirus pandemic will be over.

There is no rush unless a bad variant arises, experts say, noting that children under 12 are rarely hospitalized with COVID-19.

The poll, taken Feb. 11 to March 12, found 47% of Kentucky adults said it was a good idea to require school children to be vaccinated before in-person schooling, and 50% said it was a bad idea.

Right now the U.S. is not even halfway to herd immunity, and Kentucky is even farther from it, with only 29% of the state's population fully vaccinated and 39% having received at least one dose of a vaccine.

Anti-smoking groups have long called for this ban, supported by research that shows Big Tobacco has deliberately targeted Black communities, especially youth, with marketing menthol cigarettes, cigars and other tobacco products.