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Leana S. Wen

Leana S. Wen

Washington Post

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The Checkup With Dr. Wen: At last, birth control pills can be purchased over the counter

A package of daily birth control pills. (Rich Pedroncelli/AP) Listen 4 min Share Comment on this story Comment ...

friday 10

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

The U.S. is more prepared for bird flu than you might think

Cattle are seen at a dairy farm near Vado, N.M. (Rodrigo Abd/AP) Listen 4 min Share Comment on this story ...

23.04.2024 50

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

The Checkup With Dr. Wen: Readers recall the suffering of vaccine-preventable diseases

18.04.2024 10

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

Bird flu is not a concern for most Americans. But that could change.

Cows at a cattle farm in Austin on April 2. (Adam Davis/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock) Listen 4 min Share Comment on this...

16.04.2024 20

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

The Checkup With Dr. Wen: How covid-19 might have improved public health infrastructure

11.04.2024 6

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

We need this polio survivor’s story now more than ever

Ina Pinkney awaits patrons in her restaurant in Chicago on Sept. 23, 2002. (Tim Boyle/Getty Images) Listen 4 min Share ...

08.04.2024 100

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

The Checkup With Dr. Wen: Cancer rates are rising among younger people. Here’s what they can do.

04.04.2024 10

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

Too few people are screened for colon cancer. This new test might help.

A flag installation on the National Mall spotlights colorectal cancer cases on March 12. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Fight Colorectal Cancer) ...

02.04.2024 20

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

The Checkup With Dr. Wen: 10 common concerns about vaccines and how to respond to them

28.03.2024 4

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

How to counter vaccine misinformation in political discourse

A campaign button for independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on a supporter outside the Supreme Court on March 18. (Jabin...

26.03.2024 20

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

The Checkup With Dr. Wen: Nutrition isn’t just about what you eat, but also when and how

21.03.2024 10

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

Chronic fatigue patients are bravely offering their illnesses to science

The National Institutes of Health headquarters in Bethesda, Md. (Francis Chung/Politico/AP) Listen 4 min Share ...

19.03.2024 10

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

The Checkup With Dr. Wen: Why containing measles can’t be about individual choice

A woman receives a measles, mumps and rubella vaccine at the Rockland County Health Department in Pomona, N.Y., on March 27, 2019. (Seth Wenig/AP...

15.03.2024 20

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

New landmark study offers hope to people with long covid

Fran Haddock, who suffers from long covid, holds her partner's hands in January at her home in Sheffield, Britain. (Rhiannon Adam for The Washington...

11.03.2024 10

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

The Checkup With Dr. Wen: Answering your questions about a spring booster shot

A doctor draws the Moderna coronavirus booster vaccine at a pharmacy in Schwenksville, Penn., on Sept. 8, 2022. (Hannah Beier/Reuters) ...

08.03.2024 10

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

Florida’s response to its measles outbreak is outrageous and dangerous

Florida Surgeon General Joseph A. Ladapo speaks at a news conference at Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (Wilfredo Lee/AP) ...

05.03.2024 30

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

The Checkup With Dr. Wen: California makes a strong case for easing covid isolation guidance

Travelers at Los Angeles International Airport wait in line to get tested for the coronavirus on Dec. 20, 2021. (Jae C. Hong/AP) Listen...

01.03.2024 6

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

How to protect yourself from America’s No. 1 killer

A patient prepares to have her blood pressure taken at a Virginia clinic in 2017. (Dayna Smith for The Washington Post) Listen 4 min ...

27.02.2024 30

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

The Checkup With Dr. Wen: Pharmacists can prescribe Paxlovid. Why aren’t more doing it?

A sign outside a CVS Pharmacy in Miami on Feb. 7 (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Listen 5 min Share Comment on this story ...

23.02.2024 20

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

The Checkup With Dr. Wen: How the CDC’s isolation guidance can still protect the most vulnerable

The offices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. (Ron Harris/AP) Listen 5 min Share Comment...

16.02.2024 10

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

Getting free Paxlovid is not hard. But consumers need to be proactive.

Packaging for Paxlovid tablets. (Rachel Wisniewski for The Washington Post) Listen 4 min Share Comment on this story...

13.02.2024 30

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

The Checkup With Dr. Wen: Don’t ‘save up’ drinks so you can binge on the weekend

A customer looks a beer cooler at a baseball game at PNC Park in Pittsburgh last year. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) Listen 5 min ...

09.02.2024 10

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

Young people are drinking less. But one group is undoing those gains.

Bottles of alcohol for sale at a liquor store in Salt Lake City. (Rick Bowmer/AP) Listen 4 min Share Comment on this...

06.02.2024 10

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

The Checkup With Dr. Wen: Which is the most comfortable N95 mask? Readers respond.

N95 respirator masks provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services sits at a grocery store in Jackson, Miss., on Feb. 2, 2022. (Rogelio...

02.02.2024 10

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

The Checkup With Dr. Wen: Prices must not limit people’s access to Paxlovid

Paxlovid is a prescription-only antiviral medication used to treat covid-19. (Rachel Wisniewski for The Washington Post) Listen 6 min ...

26.01.2024 8

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

The surprising ways Dry January can improve your health

Andra “AJ” Johnson, managing partner and beverage director of Serenata in D.C. prepares mocktails on Jan. 7. (Maansi Srivastava/For The Washington...

23.01.2024 9

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

The Checkup With Dr. Wen: Why it seems everyone is getting sick this winter

Cold and flu medicine sits on a store shelf in Miami. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Listen 5 min Share Comment on this...

19.01.2024 20

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

The under-prescribing of Paxlovid may be our biggest covid policy failure

Doses of the anti-viral drug Paxlovid. (Stephanie Nano/AP Photo) Listen 5 min Share Comment on this story ...

16.01.2024 5

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

The Checkup With Dr. Wen: The top 10 health policy issues for 2024

(Jeff Roberson/AP) Listen 5 min Share Comment on this story Comment Add to your saved stories ...

05.01.2024 4

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

The Checkup With Dr. Wen: Don’t blame lagging nursing home covid shots on vaccine hesitancy

A nurse prepares a syringe with a coronavirus vaccine at the Peoples Congregational United Church of Christ in D.C. on March 31. (Eric Lee for The...

29.12.2023 10

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

What government can do about dismal nursing home vaccination rates

A syringe after a health-care worker was injected with the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine in Providence, R.I., on Dec. 15, 2020. (David Goldman/AP) ...

27.12.2023 10

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

The Checkup With Dr. Wen: 5 health stories from 2023 that give me hope

Ozempic and Mounjaro are drugs used for treating Type 2 diabetes. (George Frey/Reuters) Listen 5 min Share Comment...

22.12.2023 6

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

Matthew Perry’s death offers a tragic lesson about ketamine

Matthew Perry arrives at the Los Angeles premiere of "Ride" in 2015. (Rich Fury/Invision/AP) Listen 5 min Share ...

19.12.2023 10

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

The Checkup With Dr. Wen: How to maximize health benefits from exercise

(iStock) Listen 5 min Share Comment on this story Comment Add to your saved stories Save ...

15.12.2023 10

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

These three simple lifestyle changes can add years to people’s lives

A pair of behind-the-ear hearing aids. (Shuran Huang/For The Washington Post) Listen 5 min Share Comment on this...

12.12.2023 10

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

The Checkup With Dr. Wen: How a South Dakota nursing home vaccinated almost all of its residents

Vaccines sit at the ready at a vaccination site in Lynwood, Calif., on Oct. 28, 2022. (Mark J. Terrill/AP Photo) Listen 5 min ...

08.12.2023 10

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

How to boost covid vaccination rates in nursing homes? Look to the Dakotas.

A coronavirus vaccine is administered at a nursing home in Clarksdale, Miss. (Rogelio V. Solis/AP) Share Comment on this story ...

05.12.2023 20

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

The Checkup With Dr. Wen: Why China’s rise in respiratory illnesses is not yet cause for concern

A man carries a child into a public children's hospital in Beijing on Nov. 27. (Mark R. Cristino/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock) Listen 5 min ...

01.12.2023 2

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

The Checkup With Dr. Wen: Should I keep masking if my husband won’t?

A passenger wears a face mask around their wrist at Dulles International Airport on Sept. 8. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post) Listen...

24.11.2023 3

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

The Checkup With Dr. Wen: Four virus safety considerations for Thanksgiving gatherings

Turkeys roam at Bowman and Landes Turkeys, a free-range turkey farm in New Carlisle, Ohio, on Sept. 18, 2020. (Maddie McGarvey for The Washington...

17.11.2023 6

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

Three big unknowns about popular weight-loss drugs

A box of Mounjaro, a tirzepatide injection drug used for treating Type 2 diabetes. (George Frey/Reuters) Share Comment on this...

14.11.2023 10

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

The Checkup With Dr. Wen: What about Novavax? And updated vaccines?

A person receives a Novavax shot. (Alastair Grant/AP) Listen 6 min Share Comment on this story Comment ...

10.11.2023 5

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

Israeli health care providers say they feel betrayed by friends and colleagues

Editor’s Note: Dr. Leana S. Wen is an emergency physician, professor of health policy and management at George Washington University Milken...

07.11.2023 7

CNN

Leana S. Wen

The Checkup With Dr. Wen: Coronavirus vaccine uptake is very low. Don’t delay getting yours.

A nurse prepares a syringe with a coronavirus vaccine at the Peoples Congregational United Church of Christ in D.C. on March 31. ...

02.11.2023 7

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

Obesity drugs might not be worth their high prices

An injection pen of Novo Nordisk's weight-loss drug, Wegov. (Reuters) Listen 5 min Share Comment on this story ...

31.10.2023 20

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

The Checkup With Dr. Wen: How to spot illegal pharmacies when buying medications online

26.10.2023 2

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

Beware of knockoff weight-loss drugs

The injectable drug Ozempic. (David J. Phillip/AP) Share Comment on this story Comment Add to your saved...

24.10.2023 3

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

The Checkup With Dr. Wen: There’s a lot of confusion about Paxlovid. Here’s clarification.

Doses of the antiviral drug Paxlovid. (Stephanie Nano/AP) Listen 5 min Share Comment on this story Comment ...

20.10.2023 10

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

Five reforms to reorient SNAP toward nutrition and health

A sign at a grocery store in Oakland, Calif., noting the acceptance of electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards that are used by state welfare...

17.10.2023 7

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

The Checkup With Dr. Wen: Let’s be clear about the limits of the covid vaccine

A pharmacist administers a coronavirus vaccine at a drugstore in Cypress, Tex., on Sept. 20. (Melissa Phillip/AP) Listen 6 min ...

13.10.2023 20

Washington Post

Leana S. Wen

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