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Flu Season Expectations and How to Protect Yourself

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Flu season is fast approaching, and health experts are urging people to protect themselves with the flu vaccine and the new edition of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention I like to recommend getting vaccinated against influenza between September and October, which provides effective protection against the disease before its peak between December and February, the reports say.

In 2024, the flu vaccine will protect against three different viruses, including two forms of influenza A and one style of influenza B. Most people will only need one dose to be protected against the flu. However, the CDC urges unvaccinated children to get the vaccine first. Experts also recommend that unvaccinated children age eight or younger get two doses of the vaccine, a minimum of 4 weeks apart, to provide full protection.

Adults 65 and older are at higher risk for severe flu illness, which is why the CDC recommends Fluzon High-Dose, Flubok or Fluad for defense over the usual flu shot. The leading U.S. health organization says adults who fall into this category should ask for the shots, which “elicit a stronger immune response” than the regular flu shot, to provide an additional layer of protection.

Health experts typically look to Australia to see what the flu season will appear like within the U.S., since their season runs from June to September. According to the report, there have been no unusual numbers of hospitalizations or deaths from the flu, giving a glimmer of hope for the upcoming flu season within the United States compared to what it has been in recent times.

In 2023, influenza killed about 25,000 people within the U.S. and hospitalized 400,000.

“In an optimal year, you’re about 80% (effective). In a bad year, maybe 30%,” said Dr. Michelle Barron, senior medical director of infection prevention and control at UCHealth. “It looks like it was a pretty typical flu season. It didn’t necessarily start early, which was our concern last year.”

As experts expect an influx of flu and COVID cases during this 12 months’s flu season, they’re encouraging everyone six months and older to get the brand new COVID-19 vaccine, designed to combat the brand new KP.2 variant, a strain that has been common within the U.S. since April 2024. Both the COVID and flu vaccines might be given at the identical time.

Flu shots can be found at doctor’s offices, pharmacies, health clinics, and in some cases, even at work. There isn’t any out-of-pocket cost for individuals with insurance to get the vaccine so long as it is run by an in-network provider.

Uninsured adults can get free or low-cost vaccines at some federally recognized health centers and state and local health departments, but experts warn that vaccine availability could also be limited.

The COVID vaccine costs $150 to $200, while flu shots cost $25 to greater than $100. Children without insurance can get each vaccines without cost through the federal government’s Vaccines for Children program.


This article was originally published on : www.blackenterprise.com
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Health and Wellness

‘Preventable’ death of black mother after complications first linked to abortion ban

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Amber Thurman, Roe v. Wade, theGrio.com

A Black mother died in Georgia after a strict state law banning abortion caused an almost 24-hour delay in her care.

In August 2022, 28-year-old Amber Nicole Thurman went to a North Carolina clinic to have an abortion, People Magazine reportedShe couldn’t get the procedure in Georgia, where she lived, because she was six weeks pregnant — and after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, the state banned abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.

The clinic gave her the pregnancy-terminating pills, mifepristone and misoprostol, which she took home to Georgia. A number of days later, Thurman developed a rare complication during which she didn’t expel all of the fetal tissue, according to ProPublicathe editorial office that first reported on her case.

Thurman, a medical assistant and mother of a 6-year-old boy, began experiencing heavy bleeding and pain before she eventually collapsed at home. Her boyfriend called an ambulance and she or he was taken to Piedmont Henry Hospital in Stockbridge. The remaining tissue caused her to develop a highly dangerous infection often called sepsis.

However, due to Georgia’s anti-abortion laws, doctors didn’t perform a D&C (dilation and curettage). Despite losing consciousness within the hospital room and rapidly deteriorating, she didn’t receive treatment for nearly 24 hours.

ProPublica reports that an official state commission found that doctors waited 20 hours before the surgery while monitoring Thurman’s infection status — during which era her blood pressure dropped to dangerous levels and her organs shut down.

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After her death, a state investigation concluded it was “preventable” — and ProPublica said Thurman’s case is the first known “preventable” case involving an abortion.

The publication notes that it should likely take one other two years to fully understand the impact of Roe v. Wade’s defeat, as many hospitals have a two-year delay in reporting the cause of patient deaths. But it’s not surprising that the first public story is a few black woman. The maternal health crisis continues to disproportionately affect black moms.

What happened to Thurman isn’t only one of the risks of abortion. It may occur in cases of miscarriage, vaginal delivery or cesarean section, according to Mayo ClinicWhen many warned that overturning Roe v. Wade and letting states resolve could have negative impacts on women’s health overall, this is strictly what many feared.

“We actually have proven evidence of something we already knew — that abortion bans kill people,” said Mini Timmaraju, president of the abortion rights group Reproductive Freedom for All. Mother Jones on Thurman’s case. “This can’t go on.”

Meanwhile in Georgia, Dr. Krystal “KR” RedmanSPARK co-founder, told the outlet: “Amber’s case is just one example of the ongoing systemic neglect that continues to claim the lives of Black people.”

Redman added: “Reproductive justice is not just about access to abortion, but also about the broader right to high-quality, comprehensive, full-spectrum, culturally modest, life-saving health care for all of us.”

This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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Quincy shares positive updates about his relationship with his father, Al B. Sure!

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Artist Quincy Brown, the adopted son of Sean “Diddy” Combs, sat down with Angela Yee on her podcast to debate his relationship with his biological father, Al B. Sure! It’s a timely conversation considering Quincy’s father, Diddy, was recently arrested by federal agents in New York. for conspiracy to commit racketeering, sex trafficking by use of force, fraud or coercion, and transportation for the aim of prostitution.

Asked about the status of his relationship with Al B. Sure! following an open letter he wrote to him in 2009, Quincy said they were currently “fine,” adding that he had spoken to him just days earlier when B. Sure!, 56, congratulated him on his latest album ETA.

“It’s a cool relationship,” he said. “He tries to act like a father a lot, but that’s not really where we are in life. We’re buddies, more than anything else,” Brown, 33, added.

Quincy also stated that the character of their relationship is to spend time and do things together. Speaking of which, they were last seen together on the Black Excellence Brunch held on the White House, in order that they did indeed spend a while together.

“I feel like that’s what we’re all about, the awareness that we’re two grown men. We can talk about anything and everything,” he concluded.

If you remember, in 2009, Quincy wrote an open letter to his biological father by which he criticized him for his long-term absence from home.

“Albert Brown, aka ‘Al B Sure!’ is my biological father, but Sean Combs, aka ‘Diddy,’ has been a fatherly figure in my life for as long as I can remember. Sean Combs is someone I respect and appreciate as a father figure,” he said in a lengthy open letter on the time.

With Diddy’s dark past quickly emerging, in March 2024, B. Sure! took to social media to put in writing a brief open letter to his son, reminding him that the door to his house is wide open.

“#LetterToMySon! Come home. [door] is wide open. You’re safe here, son! I love you, Popz, Your Biological,” he wrote within the caption.

Brown was born in 1991 to the late Kim Porter and Al B. Sure! In 2020, the singer revealed that they were also briefly married, surprising many fans. Porter began dating Combs when Quincy was around three years old and eventually adopted him.

We’re glad Quincy has a father he can count on while Diddy stays in custody awaiting trial.

This article was originally published on : www.essence.com
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SEE | The Usefulness of Having a Community in the Fashion Industry – Essence

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“; } }); // Drag-to-scroll functionality const playlistContainer = document.getElementById(‘playlist’); let isDown = false; let startY; let scrollTop; playlistContainer.addEventListener(‘mousedown’, (e) => { isDown = true; playlistContainer.classList.add(‘active’); startY = e.pageY – playlistContainer.offsetTop; playlistContainer.scrollTop }); ; playlistContainer.classList.remove(‘active’); playlistContainer.addEventListener(‘mouseup’, () => { isDown = false; playlistContainer.classList.remove(‘active’); }); playlistContainer.addEventListener(‘mousemove’, (e) => { if (!isDown) return; e.preventDefault(); const y = e.pageY – playlistContainer. offsetTop; const walk = (y – startY) * 3; // fast scrolling playlistContainer.scrollTop = scrollTop – walk; }); } } if (” !== ‘efoc24’) { // Check DoubleVerify Quality Targeting signals before rendering the player if ( ‘undefined’ !== typeof PQ ) { PQ.cmd.push(function() { // If DVQT signals are not available after 500ms, render the player anyway. const timeout_id = setTimeout( jwPlayerRender, 500 ); // Get “Authentic Direct” signals. 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This article was originally published on : www.essence.com
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