Courtenay Harris Bond
Courtenay Harris Bond is the staff writer covering health for PhillyVoice. She enjoys writing about behavioral health, maternal health and inequities in the healthcare system, as well as human rights and criminal justice. A veteran daily newspaper reporter, Courtenay has also written for national outlets, including KFF Health News, Undark Magazine and Filter. She was a 2018 Rosalynn Carter Fellow for Mental Health Journalism and has master's degrees from Columbia Journalism School and the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education.
September 3, 2024
Depression
Teenagers who are depressed are twice as likely to vape, study shows
Adolescents with moderate-to-high stress levels are more likely to vape, and those with depression are twice as likely, according to a new study conducted in Australia. The findings mirror research that found U.S. teens are more likely report having suicidal thoughts if they use e-cigarettes.September 3, 2024
Prevention
COVID-19 vaccines are no longer free to people without health insurance
COVID-19 shots are no longer free to people without health insurance and some underinsured people due to the end of the federal Bridge Access Program closing early. Funding cuts forced the program to shut down before its expected closure in December 2024. That means uninsured people must pay out-of-pocket for the updated vaccines.September 2, 2024
Mental Health
New mental health walk-in clinics in Philly and Montgomery County aim to reduce demands on hospitals
Philadelphia and Montgomery counties are opening new mental health walk-in clinics in hopes of reducing the demands placed on emergency departments. The new clinics will offer psychiatric evaluations, day-of counseling services and urgent prescription refills to people with behavioral health needs.August 29, 2024
Women's Health
Women who get their tubes tied are more likely to get pregnant than previously thought, study finds
New research suggests 3% to 5% of U.S. women who get their tubes tied have unplanned pregnancies. These rates are higher than the less than 1% of women previously reported as getting pregnant after tubal litigation.August 29, 2024
Illness
Listeria outbreak tied to Boar's Head meat products is the deadliest since 2011
The listeria outbreak tied to Boar's Head meat products has caused nine deaths and hospitalized 57 people, making it the deadliest listeria outbreak in 13 years. In 2011, a listeria outbreak tied to cantaloupe caused 33 deaths and 147 infections.August 28, 2024
Parenting
Parenting has become so stressful that it's now a public health issue, U.S. surgeon general warns
Parents face so many stressors that their well-being has become a public health concern, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy warned in an advisory Wednesday. He said American society needs to shift the way it views raising kids so that is on par with the way work is valued, noting parenting is critical to the health of our society.August 27, 2024
Adult Health
Zepbound, a popular weight-loss drug, is getting a price cut
The price for Zepbound, the popular weight-loss drug sold by Eli Lilly, is getting reduced. A four-week supply of the 2.5 mg dose will cost $399; the 5 mg dose will cost $549. Eli Lilly says those prices are half the cost of competing obesity drugs.August 27, 2024
Prevention
Free COVID-19 test kits to be available again this fall, U.S. health officials say
U.S. households will be able to order up to four free COVID-19 tests on COVIDtests.gov beginning in late September, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said. Amid another COVID surge, the federal government is reviving a program that first offered free tests in 2022.August 22, 2024
Illness
More mosquitoes are testing positive for West Nile virus than is typical for this point in the summer
Two Philadelphia residents have been infected with West Nile virus this year, and already more mosquitoes are testing positive for the virus than in past seasons, health officials say. The Philadelphia residents with West Nile virus were hospitalized last month with acute flaccid myelitis, a serious neurological condition, said Dr. Shara Epstein, medical director of the Division of Disease Control at the Philadelphia Department of Public Health.August 21, 2024
Prevention
New COVID-19 shots will be available soon, and Philly doctors say most people should get them
COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are up in Philadelphia, but coronavirus-related deaths have not increased. That mirrors the situation in much of the United States. The FDA is expected to approve updated vaccines shortly. Infectious disease doctors in Philly say most people should get them.Just In
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