Category: Public Health

Biden’s plan for long COVID-19: 4 notes

President Joe Biden on April 5 issued a memorandum directing HHS to coordinate a governmentwide plan to address long COVID-19, estimated to affect 7 million to 23 million Americans. 

Why Black and Hispanic Seniors Are Left With a Less Powerful Flu Vaccine

Federal health officials haven’t taken a clear position on whether a high-dose influenza vaccine — on the market since 2010 — is the best choice for people 65 and older. Many in that group already opt for the costlier enhanced shot. Those who get the standard vaccine are disproportionately members of ethnic and racial minorities.

Doctors Trying to Prescribe Abortion Pills Across State Lines Stymied by Legislation

Some doctors are getting licensed in multiple states so they can use telemedicine and mail-order pharmacies to provide medication abortions to more women. At the same time, states are cracking down on telemedicine abortions, blunting the efforts of out-of-state doctors.

$11M for North Carolina Work-Based Rehab Raises Concerns

As overdoses surge and opioid settlement dollars flow, funding to North Carolina rehab foreshadows national discussion about the best approaches to treatment.

The ‘so what wave’: Why the US is so blasé about BA.2

CDC estimates show the omicron subvariant BA.2 now makes up 72 percent of U.S. cases, but the nation’s mood surrounding another potential wave is much different than previous COVID-19 surges. 

US COVID-19 cases to jump 64% in 2 weeks, Mayo projects

Daily COVID-19 cases are projected to increase 64.5 percent over the next two weeks as the omicron subvariant BA.2 continues to spread nationwide, modeling from Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic shows.

CDC to undergo structural review

The CDC plans to undergo a one-month review beginning April 11 to inform strategic change and modernizations at the agency, The Washington Post reported April 4. 

Flu hospitalizations rise for 8th week straight: 8 CDC notes

Flu activity appears to be declining slightly in central and south-central states but is still highest in these regions, according to the CDC’s April 1 FluView report. 

COVID-19 cases fell by just 3% last week: 10 CDC findings

The rate in which COVID-19 cases are falling nationwide has been slowing over the last month as the omicron subvariant BA.2 gains prominence, according to the CDC’s COVID-19 data tracker weekly review published April 1.

Omicron XE variant: 5 things to know

The World Health Organization is monitoring a new omicron variant — dubbed XE — that’s a hybrid of BA.1, the original omicron strain, and BA.2, a highly transmissible subvariant.