THURSDAY, April 15, 2021 — There were more than 87,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States from October 2019 to September 2020, the highest of any one-year period since the nation’s opioid crisis began in the 1990s, preliminary government data shows.

The death toll was 29% higher than in the previous 12-month period and the increase was largely driven by Illicitly manufactured fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, with stimulant drugs such as methamphetamine also playing a role, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

Whites in rural and suburban areas accounted for many of the deaths in the early years of the U.S. opioid epidemic, but the latest data shows Blacks being affected disproportionately.

“The highest increase in mortality from opioids, predominantly driven by fentanyl, is now among Black Americans,” National Institute on Drug Abuse Director Dr. Nora Volkow said at

A long-banned pesticide may be having health effects that ripple across generations, a new study suggests.

At issue is DDT, a once widely used pesticide that was banned in the United States in 1972. That ban, however, was not the end of the story.

DDT is a persistent organic pollutant, a group of chemicals that are slow to break down and linger in the environment for years. So people can still be exposed to DDT through the food chain, particularly fatty animal products.

In addition, exposure to DDT in the womb has been linked to a number of longer-term health issues, including obesity and certain cancers.

The new study goes even further, the researchers said.

It found that young women whose grandmothers had higher DDT levels during pregnancy were more likely to be obese, versus their peers. They were also more likely to start

By Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, April 13, 2021 (HealthDay News)

Two new studies out of Britain find that although the now-dominant “U.K. variant” of the new coronavirus does spread more quickly, it does not appear to lead to more severe disease in those made ill.

The findings should help allay fears that more patients will die after infection with the variant, officially labeled B.1.1.7.

Scientists published the findings online April 12 in two Lancet journals.

However, experts in the United States stressed that the findings are not yet conclusive, and certainly no reason for people to relax their vigilance against SARS-CoV-2.

“We should interpret these findings cautiously, as there is conflicting evidence about the severity [of disease] with similar numbers,” said Dr. Eric Cioe-Peña, who directs global health at Northwell Health, in New Hyde Park, N.Y.

“The take-home message is again clear: B.1.1.7 is a more contagious variant

By Ernie Mundell and Robin Foster HealthDay Reporters

MONDAY, April 12, 2021 (HealthDay News)

People living with someone who has COVID-19 appear to get powerful protection against infection when they are given Regeneron’s antibody cocktail, a new study shows.

The findings suggest that beyond preventing the worst outcomes for coronavirus infection when given early enough, the cocktail could also prevent people from getting sick in the first place, the company said Monday.

“With more than 60,000 Americans continuing to be diagnosed with COVID-19 every day, the REGEN-COV antibody cocktail may help provide immediate protection to unvaccinated people who are exposed to the virus, and we are also working to understand its potential to provide ongoing protection for immunocompromised patients who may not respond well to vaccines,” Dr. George Yancopoulos, president and chief scientific officer at Regeneron, said in a statement.

In its statement, Regeneron said it would ask the U.S.