Omicron subvariants BQ.1.1 and BQ.1, which knocked down the last monoclonal antibody treatment to be authorized for COVID-19, now account for 62.8 percent of COVID-19 cases, according to the CDC.
Category: Public Health
New flu hospitalizations spike nearly 74% in one week: 8 FluView notes
Nearly 20,000 lab-confirmed flu patients in the U.S. were hospitalized for the week ending Nov. 26, up from 11,269 flu patients admitted the week prior, according to the CDC’s latest FluView report.
Last known Ebola patient in Uganda discharged from hospital
The last known Ebola patient has been discharged from a hospital in Uganda, signaling the country’s largest outbreak in nearly two decades may be near its end, according to health officials.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Medicaid Machinations
The lame-duck Congress has returned to Washington with a long health care to-do list and only a little time. Meanwhile, some of the states that have not yet expanded Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act are rethinking those decisions. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these topics and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Fred Clasen-Kelly, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature, about a mysterious mishap during minor surgery.
Drug overdoses triple among older adults, CDC finds
Rates of death from drug overdoses among seniors has more than tripled in the past two decades, the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics found.
‘An infodemic alongside a pandemic’: 5 health experts react to Twitter’s dropped misinformation ban
Many health experts are voicing an outcry after Twitter dropped its policy to label tweets that promote misinformation about COVID-19 on Nov. 23.
Massachusetts clinics bring back incentives to increase COVID-19 booster rates
To incentivize people to get a COVID-19 vaccine or booster, clinics across Massachusetts are offering $75 dollar gift cards through the end of the year, or until supplies last, according to CBS Boston.
Her Apartment Might Have Put Her Son’s Health at Risk. But ‘I Have Nowhere Else to Go.’
The United States is suffering from a severe shortage of affordable housing. But elected officials have done little to fix a problem that puts many Americans at greater risk for sickness and shortens lives.
CDC expands polio wastewater testing to more states
The CDC is expanding wastewater testing for polio in certain areas of the country to determine whether the virus is circulating outside of New York, where an unvaccinated person in Rockland County contracted a case of paralytic polio this summer.
‘The floodgates opened’: Flu hits hospitals
In a one week period, new flu hospitalizations in the U.S. rose nearly 30 percent, and experts say cases are expected to continue rising in the coming weeks.
