Health

It's looking more and more likely that COVID vaccinations will be similar to flu shots.  Oregon State Health Officer Dr. Dean Sidelinger said the COVID vaccines are effective.   "The current COVID-19 bivalent booster that we got, it seems to be holding up and offering effective protection against severe disease and death."   Side...

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to linger even as society and rural communities are ready to move on.  Dr. Michael Stevens, West Virginia University System Health Care Epidemiologist, Morgantown, West Virginia, said rural communities have seen disproportionate levels of COVID   “Rural communities have been disproportionately affected and impacted by the pandemic in terms of having more severe COVI

New data from ERS shows that U.S. adults ages 20 and older reported a 3% higher prevalence of obesity during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.  The study analyzed data from the CDC from March 13, 2020, to March 18, 2021, compared to a pre-pandemic baseline period of January 1, 2019, to March 12, 2020. ...

Whether temperatures climb above 90 degrees or remain relatively cool, it’s important that everyone in the farming community thinks about skin care this summer and protecting the body’s largest organ.  One in five Americans will develop skin cancer in their lifetime, and Melissa Ploeckelman with the National Farm Medicine Center says for farmers it’s incredibly important they think about sun safet

Canadian Cattle producers are raising concerns with Health Canada’s proposed regulations to put a front-of-package warning label on ground beef.  The proposal from Health Canada is part of several changes to Canada's Food and Drug Regulations.  The changes w...

The National Council of Agricultural Employers will hold a webinar this week that focuses on the impacts of heat stress on farmworkers.  “Mitigating Heat Stress and Increasing Productivity” is scheduled Thursday April 28th at 10 a.m. PDT/11 a.m. M ...

As mask mandates came to an end in both Oregon and Washington this weekend, the health community is remind farm county the coronavirus has not disappeared. In fact, COVID-19 vaccination rates in rural America continue to trail rates in most urban areas across the country ...

The Washington state Department of Health is recalling raw milk and cream due to possible E. coli contamination. The recall impacts Odessa based-Schoonover Farms. As of Thursday no illnesses have been reported to the company. The products at the center of the recall are retail raw whole milk and cream with best by dates of December 23rd through January 2nd ...

According to the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, adding cooked black beans to a high-fat diet improved sensitivity to insulin and other measures often related to diabetes. According to the new study, as little as the mouse-sized equivalent of a single serving a day of black beans—about a half cup for a human—lowered insulin resistance 87%. A USDA resear ...

The Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service Tuesday announced a stronger and more comprehensive effort to reduce Salmonella illnesses associated with poultry products. The agency is initiating several activities to gather data and information necessary to support future action and move closer to the national target of a 25% reduction in Salmonella illnesses ...