Martha Bebinger

The sedative xylazine is starting to permeate illegal opioids and cocaine. It does not respond to naloxone, an overdose reversal medication, and may be to blame for grisly injuries and infections.

Worried about the proliferation of plastic trash in the environment and her own body, a journalist tried to shop plastic-free for 7 days. She found plastic in a lot of sneaky and surprising places.

A single block in Chelsea, Mass., may offer a template for cities looking at what works — or doesn't — to cope with longer, hotter summers because of the warming climate.

Harm reduction is one of four policies the Biden administration says must be immediately implemented in order to address the record high number of overdose deaths.

Drug overdose deaths are at a record high — more than 100,000 in the latest single year. And the Biden administration has a plan to slow that epidemic by emphasizing harm reduction.

The deal, hashed out over weeks of intense negotiations, raises the amount paid by the Sacklers by more than $1 billion. In exchange, the family members win immunity from civil opioid lawsuits.

A beloved pizzeria owner in Brimfield, Mass., had COVID-19 and needed dialysis, but it wasn't available at the hospital where he died. The health system is "breaking down," a hospital CEO says.

Skyrocketing omicron case numbers in some states have hospitals nationwide trying to prepare for another big surge. Here's how things look in the Northeast, South and Midwest.

People who were addicted to OxyContin or lost loved ones who were addicted to the drug expect very little in compensation from the multibillion-dollar Purdue Pharma bankruptcy settlement.

A growing body of research shows the many ways trees improves our mental and physical health. There's a push to understand more.

In Massachusetts, heat in the winter is a public health necessity. Now with summer temperatures climbing, some public health experts say cooling aid is becoming a health priority too.

Vermont and Massachusetts lead the nation, with more than 70% of adults having had at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Southern states like Tennessee lag far behind.

The nation as a whole fell short of President Biden's July Fourth vaccine goal — giving at least one shot to 70 percent of adults. Some states exceeded expectations, and others didn't come close.

The practice of housing children who are in psychiatric crisis in local ERs — often for days, while they await appropriate in-patient treatment — has become even more prevalent during the pandemic.

For years, people who used drugs were treated like criminals, often given long sentences. Now there's growing acceptance that addiction is a treatable disease, but shame and discrimination linger.

Data from a Boston hospital showed that Latino patients who did not speak English well had a 35% greater risk of death from COVID-19. The hospital has added interpretation capacity.

Brigham and Women's Hospital wanted to find out why minority patients were dying at higher rates from COVID-19. Its probe showed that those at the highest risk of dying primarily spoke Spanish.

People living together — including married couples — are finding themselves on opposite ends of COVID-19 vaccinations, a situation that will only persist as supplies remain low and eligibility tight.

As the nation falls far short of a goal to get 20 million vaccinated by the new year, we look at where bottlenecks are occurring in various parts of the country.

The first COVID-19 vaccines are being administered. There are, however, still great challenges ahead when it comes to making sure that people receive the vaccine sooner rather than later.