Health

People in St. Louis are weighing the risks and benefits of going back into the gym during the coronavirus pandemic.

St. Louis gym owners say the spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus is keeping potential new members at home at the start of the new year.

Months after a court ordered Missouri to expand Medicaid, the state has been slow to reach out to hundreds of thousands of eligible residents who could benefit from the public health care program.

St. Louis abortion rights activists gathered outside the Old Courthouse to protest a restrictive abortion law passed last week in Texas, and to urge people to demand that Missouri lawmakers not pass similar legislation.

Schools and nonprofits retooled last spring to keep kids fed during the pandemic lockdown. Easing of social distancing rules this spring means more meals are expected this summer.

Polling suggests that attitudes and misunderstandings among political conservatives and people with limited health care coverage may pose the biggest challenges to mass vaccination.

The Veterans Affairs St. Louis Health Care System has given the COVID-19 vaccine to about half of the veterans in its care. VA officials aim to vaccinate up to 80% of enrolled veterans by summer. Veterans say the VA’s vaccination efforts could serve as a model for other public health systems.

After receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, some people are reporting heavier menstrual cycles and more cramping. To date, there are no published scientific studies about a possible link, but researchers are looking into it.

Black doctors in the St. Louis region are trying to debunk false information by talking about the vaccine with their African American patients and to Black organizations. Doctors fear that if not enough Black people take the vaccine, their communities will continue to suffer with more hospitalizations and deaths.

The St. Charles County Department of Public Health kicked off a vaccination effort Tuesday by giving doses of the coronavirus vaccine to health care workers and emergency personnel. Officials will use the Family Arena over the next seven weeks to vaccinate those who work or live in St. Charles County.