Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:
Some HHS Funding for Pregnancy Prevention Program to Continue
A decision to cancel all funding for an Obama-era program to prevent teen pregnancy has been put on hold by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The decision last year to cut funding for the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program was made by Trump administration political appointees, who overruled HHS career officials, NBC News reported.
But court documents show that two days later, the Trump administration agreed to maintain some of the program's funding.
Specifically, the administration said funds would be preserved through August for three plaintiffs -- the city of Baltimore, the Healthy Teen Network (which represents grantees nationwide), and King County (Seattle) in Washington state -- who contended that HHS had unlawfully ended the program, NBC News reported.
"We believe these documents support our contention that the government acted arbitrarily and unlawfully in terminating the grants," said Skye Perryman, a lawyer for the nonprofit legal group Democracy Forward, which is representing the plaintiffs.
Funding to the three plaintiffs will stop as of June 30, but the funding will be temporarily protected through August, when a legal decision on the future of the program is expected, NBC News reported.
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Rubber Duckies Swimming With Bacteria: Study
Your rubber ducky may need it's own good scrubbing before it gets in the tub with you, a new study suggests.
Researchers tested the bath-time toys and found that they had high levels of bacteria, the Associated Press reported.
Some of those bacteria included types "often implicated in hospital-acquired infections," the American and Swiss scientists said.
They also noted that some forms of bacteria can cause eye, ear and intestinal infections, the AP reported.
The study was published Tuesday in the journal Biofilms and Microbiomes.
