New US dietary guidelines urge more protein, fewer ultraprocessed foods

News 5 Cleveland (Your Health Matters) 1/7 4:59A Justin Boggs

New Dietary Guidelines for Americans call for higher protein intake and reduced consumption of ultraprocessed foods. The newest 10-page report is far shorter than the 164-page version released in 2020. The guidelines encourage choosing whole...

Cuyahoga County Board of Health monitoring 1 confirmed, 2 probable cases of measles in local...

News 5 Cleveland (Your Health Matters) 1/7 1:57A Drew Scofield

The Cuyahoga County Board of Health is monitoring what it is calling a measles outbreak in an unvaccinated household. According to the CCBH, one child in the home has a confirmed case of the measles, and the other two children have "presumed...

'Super Flu' variant drives sharp spike in Summit County flu cases

News 5 Cleveland (Your Health Matters) 1/7 12:20A Tessa DiTirro

The flu is spreading rapidly across the country, including in Northeast Ohio. Health officials warn that a new strain of Influenza A is driving the surge. The strain is called "Subclade K," also known as the super flu right now. In Summit County,...

Former CDC director warns vaccine changes will fuel confusion, mistrust

News 5 Cleveland (Your Health Matters) 1/6 6:51A Scripps News Group

Dr. Richard Besser, a former acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Tuesday that he believes the CDCs new recommendations for childhood vaccines are shocking and will cause confusion and mistrust among parents....

Wyoming Supreme Court strikes down abortion bans, keeping procedure legal

News 5 Cleveland (Your Health Matters) 1/6 5:03A AP via Scripps News Group

Abortion will remain legal in Wyoming after the state Supreme Court struck down laws including the country's first explicit ban on pill abortions, ruling Tuesday that they violate the state constitution. The justices sided with the states only...

Popular weight loss drug Wegovy is available in pill form — only if you pay cash

News 5 Cleveland (Your Health Matters) 1/5 7:24A Scripps News Group

Novo Nordisk announced Monday it is making its weight loss drug Wegovy available as a pill for less than $150 a month. The program covers the starter dose of the popular drug and offers an option for people who don't want to do a weekly...

US decreases the number of vaccines it recommends for every child

News 5 Cleveland (Your Health Matters) 1/5 7:24A AP via Scripps News Group

The U.S. took the unprecedented step Monday of dropping the number of vaccines it recommends for every child, leaving decisions about flu shots and vaccines for respiratory syncytial virus to families and their doctors. The CDC announced the...

Millions face higher healthcare costs as ACA subsidies end January 1

News 5 Cleveland (Your Health Matters) 12/31 4:43A Haley Bull

Millions of Americans will face higher healthcare costs starting January 1, 2026, as enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies expire after Congress failed to extend them. The subsidies, which were enhanced during the pandemic and later extended,...

Flu hospitalizations nearly double in one week as cases climb

News 5 Cleveland (Your Health Matters) 12/31 2:40A Scripps News Group

Health experts are sounding the alarm as flu activity surges nationwide, with most states reporting high or very high levels. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates at least 7.5 million Americans have gotten sick from the flu...

Supplement sales soar in the US, but experts warn of safety gaps in oversight

News 5 Cleveland (Your Health Matters) 12/23 7:00A Holly Firfer

The U.S. dietary supplements market is booming and is expected to surpass $60 billion this year. The industry now features more than 95,000 unique products most of them multi-ingredient supplements promising benefits such as weight loss, better...

Flu cases are rising. Here’s what’s driving the surge and how to protect yourself

News 5 Cleveland (Your Health Matters) 12/23 4:05A Scripps News Group

Health officials are increasingly concerned about surging flu cases nationwide. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates there have been 4.6 million flu cases this season, along with 49,000 hospitalizations and 1,900 deaths. Two...

Universal hepatitis B vaccine for newborns no longer recommended by CDC

News 5 Cleveland (Your Health Matters) 12/17 1:41A Justin Boggs

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will adopt a recommendation from its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to eliminate the universal recommendation for the hepatitis B vaccine at birth. Earlier this month, the panel voted...

Eli Lilly's next-gen obesity drug shows biggest weight loss yet in clinical trial

News 5 Cleveland (Your Health Matters) 12/11 10:04A Scripps News Group

Retatrutide, the next generation of GLP-1 drug from Eli Lilly, helped participants lose an average of 71.2 pounds and reduce knee arthritis pain in a late-stage clinical trial, the company announced . In fact, some of the participants dropped out...

Massachusetts reports first case of deadly lung disease linked to stone countertops

News 5 Cleveland (Your Health Matters) 12/11 7:35A Taylor O'Bier

Health officials in Massachusetts issued a safety alert after a man who has worked with stone countertops for over a decade was recently diagnosed with silicosis, a potentially fatal lung disease that forms from silica dust exposure. The...

Americans may soon get access to long-used global sunscreen ingredient

News 5 Cleveland (Your Health Matters) 12/11 7:33A Justin Boggs

The Food and Drug Administration announced it is considering allowing bemotrizinol to be used as an active ingredient in sunscreen sold in the United States. Bemotrizinol, approved more than 20 years ago for use in the European Union, protects...