Health & Wellness News

Legislators worked to establish penalties for xylazine use and trafficking in an attempt to lessen its presence in Pennsylvania's illicit drug supply. Some say doing so made way for a new, unclassified veterinary tranquilizer to take its place — medetomidine.

Nearly a year after the Biden administration designated xylazine as an "emerging threat" to the United States, Gov. Josh Shapiro classified it as a schedule III drug, making unauthorized possession a crime in Pennsylvania. Experts say the move has partly served to clear the way for new illicit substances to enter the drug market.

Proposed federal budget cuts would impact programs such as the free summer meal program for children in the Allentown School District.

The $2.75 million payment to the federal government resolves allegations that a pharmacy technician stole controlled substances on about 40 occasions and the health network failed to institute proper controls.

Despite not being approved for human consumption, veterinary tranquilizers are infiltrating the illicit drug supply in Pennsylvania. Harm reduction specialists and health care professionals say these overdoses can't be approached solely with naloxone, the opioid overdose reversal drug.

A generous donation from a Lehigh Valley native and others funds free swim lessons for children and adults in the River Crossing YMCA's Safety Around Water, or SAW, swim education program.

The bill would limit the manufacture, sale, distribution and use of firefighting foam containing PFAS, also known as forever chemicals, beginning in 2026.

Xylazine, an animal-grade tranquilizer that's not approved for human use, has taken Pennsylvania's illicit drug supply by storm. Known on the streets as "tranq," it accounted for almost 1 in 4 overdose deaths in Pennsylvania by 2023. Last year in Lehigh County, it was a contributing cause of death in 20 of the 112 deadly overdoses, or 17.9 percent of cases.

The funding comes from the commonwealth’s Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure program, a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Known as "tranq" on the streets, an animal tranquilizer named xylazine infiltrated drug supplies throughout Pennsylvania since 2019. Its presence in the Lehigh Valley has grown, with deadly consequences.

With the Lehigh Valley under an extreme heat warning through Wednesday, area doctors are urging residents to keep hydrated and stay cool.

The U.S. Senate could vote on the proposed One Big Beautiful Bill Act this week. If passed, millions of Americans would lose access to Medicaid and SNAP benefits in order to fund border security and tax cuts to wealthy Americans.

Latino leaders from across the state said Thursday the 2021 Pennsylvania Latino Convention will take place in Reading this fall.

Some people in the LGBTQ community have had questions about whether it’s safe for them to get the COVID-19 vaccine, even if they are on other medications.

As the pandemic battered healthcare workers on the frontline, a group of retired nurses from Lehigh Valley Health Network jumped in to lend a hand.

The Republican-controlled Pennsylvania Senate voted June 10 to end Gov. Tom Wolf’s COVID-19 disaster declaration. The resolution passed the house on June 8, and now goes back to that chamber for a final concurrence vote.

More than $1 million is coming to the City of Allentown from the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Nearly half that money will be spent on child immunization awareness to help ease bottlenecks that happen each school year.

Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services is extending support for older youth who have aged out of the foster care system.

U.S. Speciality Formulations, based in Bethlehem, is preparing to launch Phase 1 trials of an oral, liquid COVID-19 vaccine that could change how people get future COVID vaccines.

Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services is extending support for older youth who have aged out of the foster care system.

SALISBURY TWP., Pa. - Lehigh Valley Health Network is part of an ongoing study of the Pfizer COVID Vaccine. Six months in, they've found the vaccine…

Pennsylvania recently set aside $847 million to support renters who could face evictions now that a federal judge has shot down a nationwide ban on the practice.

With more people vaccinated every day, it looks like municipal pools, which were shuttered since the start of the pandemic, will be open to help people beat the heat this summer.

The COVID-19 vaccine helps to prevent people from getting coronavirus. And the shot has other benefits, too.