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Quarantines at 2 LA universities amid US measles outbreak

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hundreds of students and staff at two Los Angeles universities have been placed under quarantine because they may have been exposed to measles and either have not been vaccinated or cannot verify that they are immune, officials said Thursday.

The order issued late Wednesday in connection with the University of California, Los Angeles, and California State University, Los Angeles, requires that affected people stay home, avoid contact with others and notify authorities if they develop measles symptoms. Los Angeles County public health officials issued... Read More

CVS moves into dental care with teeth-straightening service

CVS Health is venturing into dental care with plans to offer a relatively new teeth-straightening service.

The drugstore chain said Thursday that it will add SmileDirectClub locations to hundreds of its stores, where customers can get started on getting their teeth straightened without an in-person visit with a dentist or orthodontist. That lack of an office visit has drawn criticism from orthodontists.

CVS Health and other drugstores have been pushing in recent years to add more services to their store locations, in part to help their customers stay healthy. They're... Read More

AP-NORC Poll: Many blame drug firms for opioid crisis

NEW YORK (AP) — About two-thirds of Americans believe drug companies are to blame for the opioid crisis, although nearly as many hold drug users themselves responsible, a new poll finds.

The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll showed many people also fault doctors who prescribed opioid pain pills and government officials who haven't done enough to expand addiction treatment and arrest drug dealers.

"All of the above," said Anna Marie Davis, a casino security supervisor from Norwood, Pennsylvania. She said she has had to deal with... Read More

Moms-to-be teach each other in monthly group prenatal visits

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — In a big room full of moms-to-be, pregnant women check each other's blood pressure and weight, a nurse-midwife measures their growing bellies, and they all join a seated circle for two hours of candid talk about what to expect when you're expecting.

A young woman's revelation about her strange cravings for glue and fabric softener gets some chuckles, followed by the nurse's explanation that odd signs like that can signal iron deficiency. It's the kind of quirky topic that doesn't always surface in typical 15-minute prenatal checkups, when doctors can... Read More

California vaccine rules advance over emotional opposition

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California lawmakers advanced tougher rules for vaccinations late Wednesday after hearing hours of testimony from hundreds of opponents while the nation grapples with the highest number of measles cases in decades.

The Senate Health Committee approved the proposal to give state public health officials instead of local doctors the power to decide which children can skip their shots before attending school. The push coincides with this year's national measles tally reaching the highest it's been since 1994, according to an Associated Press count . Read More