Michigan Health Watch

Season allergies to pollen from trees, grasses and weeds are common during the spring but more people are experiencing seasonal allergies in the fall.

The nation’s health department has distributed 900 million free at-home COVID tests since winter 2021. It restarted the program Thursday.

Mental health problems in a male-dominated industry – construction – are often overlooked, and its workers have disproportionately high suicide rates, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

The state is spending $17 million to expand 22 sites into wellness centers to provide preventive care in an effort to curb racial disparities in health outcomes.

A national poll finds that Michiganders 50 years or older are more likely than their counterparts in other states to turn to cannabis products. They also are more likely to report signs of addiction.

Without a central reporting requirement, Michiganders can be left in the dark at how their communities are using funds to combat the drug crisis. Bridge’s investigation is the most exhaustive to date.

Use Bridge’s database to search how opioid settlement funds are being allocated by community in Michigan. Most of the money is being spent on recovery, drug courts, defibrillators and the like.

Farmington Hills has used about $120,000 from an opioid lawsuit settlement to repay itself for past drug-fighting costs. Almost all other cities are using the money to help current users or future drug-fighting efforts.

Michigan doesn’t track how cities are spending their share of a landmark lawsuit settlement with opioid manufacturers. A Bridge investigation finds 4 in 10 haven’t spent money yet on the crisis that has upended thousands of lives.

Rx Kids, a program providing $7,500 to expectant mothers and families with babies, began in Flint. Now it's in Kalamazoo.

The pandemic produced a mental health crisis for Michigan teens. Experts say music can give therapists a door into teens' emotions.

A federal program that provides COVID shots for under- and uninsured Americans and others is ending, just as updated COVID vaccines are being released.

Michigan is one of just four states with ‘moderate’ levels of COVID-19 detected in wastewater, while many states are seeing ‘high’ or ‘very high’ levels of infection. Case counts in the state are still rising, but more slowly.

For most people, pertussis is a mild illness, but it can be deadly to infants who are too young for a vaccine.

This holiday weekend, close the laptop, fire up the grill and — health officials urge — grab the bug spray.

Grand Blanc-based McLaren Health Care was hit earlier this month, part of a nationwide upswing in cyberattacks in health care.

Doulas serve as guides to new parents, providing support that medical experts heavily praise. Michigan Medicaid began covering their services in 2023, sparking hospital-based programs and expanding availability to under-resourced families.

Moderna and Pfizer are releasing updated vaccines to protect against the KP.2 variant of the omicron COVID-19 virus.

As hundreds of Rite Aid stores close their doors and leave Michiganders with fewer options, experts across the state are helping Bridge answer questions about what to do about your prescriptions.

The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act allowed Medicare to negotiate the prices for 10 common or costly drugs. Those savings — up to 76% on one drug — are on the way for Medicare beneficiaries.