As BA.5 slowly descends, a collection of omicron relatives now make up 18.7 percent of U.S. COVID-19 cases, according to the CDC’s latest variant proportion estimates.
Category: Public Health
Nursing Home Surprise: Advantage Plans May Shorten Stays to Less Time Than Medicare Covers
Private Medicare Advantage health plans are increasingly ending coverage for skilled nursing or rehab services before medical providers think patients are healthy enough to go home, doctors and patient advocates say.
Viewpoint: Wastewater surveillance raises privacy, consent questions
The accuracy of wastewater surveillance, which can track a sample to somewhere as specific as a home, raises ethical questions regarding privacy and consent, Fortune reported Oct. 2.
A look at New York’s battle against 3 disease outbreaks
Public health officials across New York are attempting to cope with the threat of three simultaneous disease outbreaks — COVID-19, monkeypox and polio — which emphasizes how the nation’s public health infrastructure is not equipped to handle multiple o…
50% of Americans know little or nothing about omicron boosters: KFF survey
Updated omicron boosters have been available since late August, though just 17 percent of Americans say they have heard “a lot” about the updated shots, according to Kaiser Family Foundation’s latest COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor survey.
US COVID-19 cases to jump 10% in next 2 weeks, Mayo forecasts
While COVID-19 cases have been falling for more than 10 consecutive weeks, modeling from Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic suggests this trend will reverse over the next few weeks.
Hospital leaders meet at White House to talk ‘twindemic’ strategies
Federal health officials held a meeting with leaders from 10 health systems and groups on Sept. 29 to discuss mitigation strategies ahead of a likely COVID-19 surge and severe flu season this fall.
Severe Sleep Apnea Diagnosis Panics Reporter Until He Finds a Simple, No-Cost Solution
An industry has grown up around sleep apnea, stirring concerns about overdiagnosis and overtreatment.
Pregnant women who get COVID, then vaccine more likely to pass antibodies to babies: study
University of California Los Angeles researchers found pregnant women who receive the COVID-19 vaccine after recovering from the virus are more likely than other mothers to pass antibodies to their newborns, HealthDay reported Sept. 29.
‘Fully vaccinated’ term may get a rebrand with omicron boosters
The CDC revised its “up to date” COVID-19 vaccination term Sept. 30 to include the primary series and the recently authorized omicron-targeting booster.
