Category: Public Health

New COVID-19 variant on CDC's radar

As COVID-19 variant XBB.1.5 declines in prominence, the CDC began tracking new omicron variants June 23, including XBB.1.5 descendant EU.1.1. 

E-Cigs Are Still Flooding the US, Addicting Teens With Higher Nicotine Doses

The FDA, Justice Department, and White House have failed to act as vapes with kid-friendly flavors like cotton candy or gummy bears proliferate.

Diabetes prevalence to skyrocket by 2050, report says

New estimates predict more than 1.3 billion people worldwide will have diabetes by 2050, up from about 529 million in 2021, according to research published in The Lancet. 

What's happened since Roe v. Wade fell 1 year ago

The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade June 24, 2022. Since then, healthcare workers have been hesitant to provide some services, hospitals in states with abortion bans struggled to hire and pharmacies navigated confusion over which products they cou…

'It's going to get worse': Experts warn of rising fungal infections

Fungal infections are on the rise — in part due to more people with compromised immune systems and deadly pathogens adapting to warmer temperatures — and physicians need to be ready, experts told The Wall Street Journal in a June 22 report. 

Malpractice Lawsuits Over Denied Abortion Care May Be on the Horizon

Physicians and attorneys say it’s a question of when — not if — a pregnant person dies from lack of care in a state with an abortion ban, potentially setting the stage for a malpractice lawsuit that could pressure providers to reconsider delaying or denying care.

Wuhan scientists fell ill with unknown illness in early days of COVID-19: WSJ

Three scientists who worked at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China fell ill with an unspecified sickness in November 2019, refueling the debate over the COVID-19 pandemic’s origins, according to a June 20 report from The Wall Street Journal.

Feds deem medical care at U.S. border 'unsafe' following investigation

Medical care at the U.S. border has been determined to be “unsafe” by investigators who were investigating the May death of an 8-year-old migrant girl, The Washington Post reported June 22.

Live from Aspen: Three HHS Secretaries on What the Job Is Really Like

In this special episode of KFF Health News’ “What the Health?” host and chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner leads a rare conversation with the current and two former secretaries of Health and Human Services. Taped before a live audience at Aspen Ideas: Health, part of the Aspen Ideas Festival, in Aspen, Colorado, Secretary Xavier Becerra […]

New Mexico reports 6th Hantavirus case, 2nd death

The New Mexico Department of Health is reporting another case of Hantavirus, the state’s sixth case since 2023 began, as well as a second death from the virus.