I just made this air filter using $20 MERV 11 pleated air filter from Home Depot taped to the back of a box fan. No more trouble breathing inside my own apartment!
Hanna Webster
@hannamwebster.bsky.social
health reporter @post-gazette.com covering opioids, cannabis, infectious disease & health equity / poet
Questions about the health effects of this wildfire smoke? I have the answers as well as a list of ways to protect yourself (hint: free N95 masks): www.post-gazette.com/news/health/...
What to know about the health impacts of wildfire smoke
Amid record-breaking air quality disruptions in the Allegheny County region due to wildfire smoke, residents have been advised to stay indoors, limit outdoor...
post-gazette.com
Reported measles cases are at 105 in Pennsylvania, as of Monday evening, according to the state Department of Health. Experts believe this is likely an undercount. Fourteen Pennsylvanians have been hospitalized since this outbreak began in April.
Allegheny County just issued a Code Red heat advisory for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week. ICYMI, here's my story on how neighborhood location can impact whether you get heat illness. One finding: Redlined neighborhoods are 5 degrees hotter on avg. www.post-gazette.com/news/health/...
The Pittsburgh neighborhood you live in could determine whether you get sick from the heat
In the midst of an early summer heat wave and record-breaking temperatures globally, physicians are grappling with a parallel trend: heat-related...
post-gazette.com
Pennsylvania measles cases surpass 100, now spreading in 7 counties www.post-gazette.com/news/health/... by @jrcloutier.com and @hannamwebster.bsky.social
Pennsylvania measles cases surpass 100, now spreading in 7 counties
Pennsylvania has surpassed 100 measles cases this year — a grim milestone reached this week as a dozen new infections were confirmed by state health...
post-gazette.com
In this @hannamwebster.bsky.social piece I’m quoted about how Pennsylvania’s measles cases (a modern record) are a real time demonstration of what it looks like to see endemicity take hold www.post-gazette.com/news/health/...
Pennsylvania measles cases surpass 100, now spreading in 7 counties
Pennsylvania has surpassed 100 measles cases this year — a grim milestone reached this week as a dozen new infections were confirmed by state health...
post-gazette.com
Pa. now has 81 measles cases. Only six US states surpass it.
BREAKING: Measles spreads to an additional county in Pennsylvania, Pa. Department of Health reported Wednesday, with six new cases in Northumberland County. The state has seen 14 new measles cases since Monday alone amid an unprecedented drop in vaccine rates. www.post-gazette.com/news/health/...
Pa. measles cases jump, spread to Northumberland County
An unprecedented measles outbreak in the state has spread to an additional county, the Pennsylvania Department of Health announced Wednesday. Health officials...
post-gazette.com
Another installment of our vaccine investigation: State lawmakers will be going after exemptions in PA amidst a record-breaking measles outbreak www.post-gazette.com/news/health/...
How Pennsylvania lawmakers are trying to tighten school vaccine exemptions as measles cases spike
With the spread of dangerous childhood diseases rising across Pennsylvania, top lawmakers say they want to rein in the legal exemptions that have allowed...
post-gazette.com
In this @hannamwebster.bsky.social piece I’m quoted about how vaccination rates are a key component of school safety that should be widely publicized and also how it’s not suprising to see 60+ measles cases in PA as the virus has re-established endemicity. www.post-gazette.com/news/health/...
Amid a measles resurgence, Pennsylvania leaders say plunging vaccine rates in thousands of schools will be made public
As measles cases in Pennsylvania spike to levels not seen in decades, state officials say they will disclose the vaccination rates in classrooms across...
post-gazette.com
BREAKING: The Pennsylvania Departments of Health and Education signed a joint letter announcing a public database with school vax rates will go live for the fall school year, after a PG investigation found 1 in 4 of schools under herd immunity for measles: www.post-gazette.com/news/health/...
Amid a measles resurgence, Pennsylvania leaders say plunging vaccine rates in thousands of schools will be made public
As measles cases in Pennsylvania spike to levels not seen in decades, state officials say they will disclose the vaccination rates in classrooms across...
post-gazette.com
Pa. measles cases now up to 32, the highest since 1991. More here: www.post-gazette.com/news/health/...
Measles cases continue to spread in Pa., hitting the highest number since 1991
As vaccination rates plummet in hundreds of schools across Pennsylvania, state health officials say 32 cases of measles have been reported so far this...
post-gazette.com
State health officials have confirmed 11 measles cases in Lebanon County, leading to a total of 23 this year. Nearly all are unvaccinated: www.post-gazette.com/news/health/...
11 measles cases are confirmed in Pa.'s Lebanon County
Pennsylvania health officials confirmed Wednesday that Lebanon County has 11 new cases of measles, with three hospitalizations. Nearly all of the...
post-gazette.com
So excited to have a new story out with Popular Mechanics about one neurosurgeon's quest for God and what the brain can—or can't—tell us about immortality 🧠 www.popularmechanics.com/science/a711...
The Soul Transcends the Body, This Neurosurgeon Believes. He Studies the Brain Close to Death.
Does your brain really reveal the metaphysical? Here’s what brain science can—and cannot—tell us about immortality.
popularmechanics.com
In a 6 mo. @post-gazette.com investigation in partnership w/ @frontlinepbs.bsky.social, we found that thousands of children have been let into school without required vaccinations or exemption records — & that vax rates have dropped across the state: newsinteractive.post-gazette.com/pennsylvania...
How Pa.'s falling school vaccination rates and enforcement failures put thousands of children at risk
A six-month Pittsburgh Post-Gazette investigation found that school leaders have allowed thousands of children into schools without all the required vaccines even though they had no special exemptions...
newsinteractive.post-gazette.com
In this video I discuss a recent report on the failure of school administrator to actually enforce school vaccine entry requirements. Something that is occurring in Pittsburgh and creates kindling for disruptive outbreaks.
In this @hannamwebster.bsky.social piece I’m quoted about school district administrators (including Pittsburgh) who are openly lax in enforcing school vaccine entry requirements & have created unsafe environments that are kindling for outbreaks newsinteractive.post-gazette.com/pennsylvania...
How Pa.'s falling school vaccination rates and enforcement failures put thousands of children at risk
A six-month Pittsburgh Post-Gazette investigation found that school leaders have allowed thousands of children into schools without all the required vaccines even though they had no special exemptions...
newsinteractive.post-gazette.com
The Stonewall Inn, a new drop-in center by SisTersPGH on Smithfield Street, offers free food, clothing, therapy, a place to rest, charge your phone and get connected to services. "This is something our community has needed for a long time," CEO Ciora Thomas said. www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2...
Drop-in center opens in Downtown to support trans Pittsburghers
Trans Day of Visibility this year was more than a symbol for Allegheny County. It also included the opening of a space for transgender people to gather,...
post-gazette.com
Judge blocks U.S. government from slimming down vaccine recommendations
Judge blocks U.S. government from slimming down vaccine recommendations
A federal judge in Boston has blocked federal health officials from cutting the number of vaccines recommended for every child, and says U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. likely violated federal procedures in revamping a key vaccine advisory committee.
post-gazette.com
Do supervised consumption sites increase crime? A new study of sites in Toronto finds it’s largely dependent on context, community buy-in, and surrounding social services. www.post-gazette.com/news/health/...
Do supervised consumption sites for drug users increase crime?
It seems counterintuitive — give people a place indoors to use drugs under the supervision of medical professionals and recovery specialists —...
post-gazette.com
BREAKING: Planned Parenthood's Greensburg location fully reopens after staffing shortages temporarily closed multiple Pittsburgh-area locations. Bridgeville and non-abortion in-person services DT still to reopen. www.post-gazette.com/news/health/...
Amid temporary closures, Planned Parenthood's Greensburg clinic fully reopens
Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania’s Greensburg location is open again, according to an announcement on its website. The health clinic, which...
post-gazette.com
In this @hannamwebster.bsky.social piece I’m quoted about a measles outbreak in Lancaster county Pennsylvania—Not surprising given that the virus is basically on the verge of becoming endemic again and the low rate of vaccination in that area www.post-gazette.com/news/health/...
Measles outbreak confirmed in Lancaster County
An outbreak of measles has been confirmed in Lancaster County, about 250 miles east of Pittsburgh. The Pennsylvania Department of Health confirmed via...
post-gazette.com
"We had just been told, via a prerecorded video of an unfamiliar woman in a gray suit, that the Post-Gazette would cease all operations May 3 due to mounting financial losses." A haunting essay on the PG's demise by @thexylom.com alum @hannamwebster.bsky.social for @poynterinstitute.bsky.social:
I built my career at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Now it’s ending. - Poynter
A firsthand look at how an award-winning newsroom learned it was closing
poynter.org
Thanks @poynterinstitute.bsky.social for publishing my essay on what it was like to hear the PG was closing 📰 www.poynter.org/commentary/2...
I built my career at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Now it’s ending. - Poynter
A firsthand look at how an award-winning newsroom learned it was closing
poynter.org
We're still reporting despite the PG news. I spent the past two months speaking to former clients & staff at a closed down methadone clinic to hear about the impact of its shuttering: www.post-gazette.com/news/health/...
‘Couldn’t find a more perfect clinic’: How former patients of a shuttered UPMC methadone center are faring
Jean pulled up to the Narcotic Addiction Treatment Program, a methadone clinic and behavioral health center in Wilkinsburg, about 6 a.m. Nov. 11. It was...
post-gazette.com
ICYMI from the weekend: What can we learn from whooping cough outbreaks in Pa. and now in W. Va.? www.post-gazette.com/news/health/...
What can we learn from West Virginia’s whooping cough outbreak?
Throughout her 15-year career as a pediatric hospitalist, Lisa Costello had never seen a case of pertussis. That is, until this fall. Pertussis, or whooping...
post-gazette.com
Was just informed the Post-Gazette is closing all operations May 3. It's been a privilege to be a part of such a talented team the past three years. Will be looking for work in health reporting, journalism, science writing, etc. #journorequest I specialize in opioids, trans rights & health equity.
President Trump signs executive order that could reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug
President Trump signs executive order that could reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday that could reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug and open new avenues...
post-gazette.com
Trump signed an executive order to reclassify cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III. (1/5)
More UPMC news: A methadone advocacy group has started an open letter to UPMC officials urging them to find a suitable building for the now-closed methadone clinic in Wilkinsburg, leaving ~500 without treatment. www.post-gazette.com/news/health/...
Open letter to UPMC addresses closure of longtime methadone clinic in Wilkinsburg
Addiction medicine specialists, community members and advocates are pushing back against UPMC’s closure of its Wilkinsburg-based methadone clinic...
post-gazette.com