Category: Public Health

3 COVID-19 forecasts to know this week

COVID-19 cases will fall over the next two weeks, while hospitalizations and deaths will remain stable through early October, national disease modeling suggests.

COVID-19 cases fall for 2 consecutive months: 8 CDC findings

COVID-19 cases have been falling nationwide for two consecutive months, though deaths increased slightly over the last week, according to the CDC’s COVID-19 data tracker weekly review published Sept. 16.

New Abortion Laws Jeopardize Cancer Treatment for Pregnant Patients

As abortion restrictions take effect across the South in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, cancer doctors are trying to decipher the laws. They’re grappling with how to discuss options with pregnant patients, who may be forced to choose whether to proceed or forgo lifesaving cancer treatments that can prove toxic for the fetus.

With Polio’s Return, Here’s What Back-to-Schoolers Need to Know

Because polio has been vanishingly rare in the United States for nearly a half-century, doctors may not consider it when diagnosing patients with typical symptoms. Here are the signs and the science behind an infectious disease that is largely a mystery to modern society.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Graham’s Bill Recenters Abortion Debate

Republicans would like to shift the political focus away from abortion to economic issues for the midterm elections, but a bill from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) that would ban most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy has put the issue squarely back on their agenda. The proposal was not welcomed by many of his colleagues, especially Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Also this week, the muddle about where the fight against covid stands and near-record-low numbers of uninsured in the U.S. Rachel Cohrs of Stat, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times join KHN’s partnerships editor, Mary Agnes Carey, to discuss these issues and more.

End of pandemic ‘in sight,’ WHO says: 4 COVID-19 updates

Globally, new weekly COVID-19 deaths have reached their lowest point since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, according to the World Health Organization’s latest epidemiological report. 

Where pediatric flu shot rates are highest, lowest

Massachusetts had the highest pediatric flu vaccination rate in the U.S. during the 2020-21 flu season, according to a Sept. 13 analysis by WalletHub, a personal finance website.

Los Angeles reports nation’s 1st monkeypox case in exposed healthcare worker: 3 updates

A healthcare worker in Los Angeles has become the first person in the U.S. to contract monkeypox from a workplace exposure, The Los Angeles Times reported Sept. 13. 

Newborns Get Routine Heel Blood Tests, but Should States Keep Those Samples?

Shortly after birth, babies are pricked in the heel so their blood can be tested for life-threatening conditions. States generally save leftover blood from those samples, and parents and privacy experts are concerned that information could be used without consent years later.

California and New York Aim to Curb Diet Pill Sales to Minors

California and New York would be the first states to require anyone under 18 to obtain prescriptions to purchase over-the-counter weight loss products, which some research has linked to eating disorders.