Abortions stop in Kentucky as groups seek to block new law

Abortion-rights groups have gone to court seeking to restore abortion services in Kentucky.

FDA authorizes 1st breath test for COVID-19 infection

The Food and Drug Administration said the device, InspectIR COVID-19 Breathalyzer, was 91.2% accurate at identifying positive test samples and 99.3% accurate at identifying negative test samples.

Can cancer blood tests live up to promise of saving lives?

A new type of blood test that checks for signs of cancer in healthy people has hit the market.

‘Lucky to be alive right now’: Rumford man credits doctors, awareness, luck for avoiding addiction

Like many patients prescribed opioids for chronic pain, Todd Papianou, a high school teacher from Rumford, knows the thin line between life-saving and life-destroying medication.

Data Sheet: Confirmed drug deaths

The Sun Journal analyzed annual confirmed drug death counts, from 1997 through September 2021, using data from drug death reports.

Data Sheet: Prescription distribution

The Sun Journal analyzed data from Maine’s Prescription Monitoring Program from 2016 to 2021; and data from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Automation of Reports and Consolidated Orders System from 2006 to 2014.

At the root of an epidemic in Maine: a prescription pad

Twenty years after Purdue Pharma introduced its pain medication, OxyContin, Maine lawmakers passed a bill that significantly stemmed the flow of pain pills into the state. A Sun Journal investigation found the new restrictions may have been too little, too late: A generation of Mainers were already grappling with substance use disorder and a growing illicit drug trade was ready to meet the demand.

Data Sheet: Fatal and nonfatal overdoses 2017-2021

‘Get used to it’: COVID-19 outbreaks give taste of living with virus

The known infections likely reveal only the tip of the iceberg – with actors and politicians regularly tested at work.

Antiviral pills help usher in new phase of COVID-19 pandemic

Paxlovid, which is currently available only for those at high risk, is effective at preventing hospitalizations if taken soon after infection.