ATLANTA - A federal advisory panel on Thursday endorsed two new combination vaccines designed to reduce the number of needle sticks that young children must endure to get the recommended immunizations.

The panel gave its nod to a four-in-one shot made by GlaxoSmithKline. It offers protection against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and polio and costs $45. It's given once to preschool-aged children.

Read full story

Whatever happened to the lazy days of summer?

While parts of the U.S. are suffering another summer of drought, the Midwest is hoping to begin recovering from devastating floods. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and numerous county officials in the flood-ravaged communities have issued warnings about the dangers that lurk in the water and prohibited residents from returning to their homes (or what's left of them).

This past weekend, while on a long run in the countryside with my running group, I had a close encounter with a wild cactus that was reaching out through a guard rail to touch someone, and that someone was me. It just goes to show I can't read (the directions printed out by our run coordinator) and run at the same time! I didn't even see the cactus.

Fortunately, it was a fairly light brush with the plant, but I don't think I got all the really fine needles out and am concerned about possible infection. A friend of mine suggested getting a tetanus shot.

For cactus?