Category: Public Health

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Congress Races the Clock

Sen. Raphael Warnock’s re-election in Georgia will give Democrats a clear-cut Senate majority for the first time in nearly a decade. Meanwhile, the current Congress has only days left to tackle major unfinished business on the health agenda, including fending off scheduled pay cuts for doctors and other health providers in the Medicare program. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these topics and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.

Health experts: Wear masks to curb 'tripledemic,' not just COVID-19

Health experts are urging the public to mask up in crowded spaces to curb the spread of flu, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus during the holiday season. 

A Family Death During the Holidays Prompts Questions and Reflection

The death of a sharp but frail patriarch just days before Thanksgiving casts a shadow on a family’s holiday season.

Ohio measles outbreak reaches partially vaccinated kids: 4 updates

At least three partially vaccinated children in Central Ohio have contracted measles, marking the first cases in the region’s outbreak that have not been among unvaccinated children. 

Be prepared to treat cholera in travelers from certain countries, CDC tells clinicians

Clinicians should be prepared to treat cholera in travelers returning from countries with widespread cholera outbreaks, the CDC said in a Dec. 5 advisory. 

A decade high for hospitalizations: 8 notes on this year's flu season

The nation is seeing its worst flu outbreak in more than a decade, with the CDC estimating there have already been 78,000 hospitalizations since the start of the season in October. 

How Much Could COVID-19 Vaccines Cost the U.S. After Commercialization?

This analysis illustrates the potential total cost of Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, based on their publicly-announced expected prices, once they enter the U.S. commercial market. It compares the average price paid by the federal government for …

Flu, COVID-19 activity up after Thanksgiving: 5 notes

Flu hospitalizations sat at a 10-year high the week of Thanksgiving and COVID-19 cases have risen since the holiday, though respiratory syncytial virus appears to have peaked in some parts of the U.S., CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, said Dec. 5.&n…

Ohio measles outbreak expected to last for several months

Health officials anticipate the measles outbreak in Columbus, Ohio — which has now infected at least 50 unvaccinated children — will last for several months. 

Where XBB is most prevalent: 5 COVID-19 updates

In about a week since the CDC started tracking omicron subvariant XBB, it has grown to account for 5.5 percent of U.S. cases, according to the latest variant proportionate estimates.