The nation’s seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths all fell this week, according to the CDC’s COVID data tracker weekly review published Feb. 11.
Category: Public Health
US sees sporadic flu activity — 4 states reporting the highest levels
Sporadic flu activity continues across the U.S., with four states reporting moderate levels, according to the CDC’s FluView report published Feb. 11.
Prior infection 56% effective at preventing omicron, researchers estimate
A previous COVID-19 infection may offer less protection against future symptomatic infections from omicron compared to other variants, according to research published Feb. 9 in The New England Journal of Medicine.
2,600 daily COVID-19 deaths; 3 states where deaths are rising fastest
Nationwide, average COVID-19 deaths are beginning to plateau around 2,600 per day — still the highest level since February 2021, according to data tracked by NBC News.
Don’t be in a hurry to fast
There is a lot of confusion and outright falsehoods about fasting. You can search the internet for clarity and end up more confused than when you started. The fact is, fasting can be a very effective tool to improve your metabolic health, increase insu…
What Are Taxpayers Spending for Those ‘Free’ Covid Tests? The Government Won’t Say.
Inquiries lead from one federal office to the next, with no clear answers. At one Army Contracting Command, a protocol office employee says that “voicemail has been down for months.” And the email address listed for fielding media inquiries? “The army stopped using the email address about eight years ago.”
Exits by Black and Hispanic Teachers Pose a New Threat to Covid-Era Education
Schools that serve poor and disadvantaged kids have taken a series of hits during the pandemic. Now, teachers of color are leaving the profession at higher rates than are white teachers.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: FDA Takes Center Stage
Congress is set to start its once-every-five-years review of the law that authorizes user fees to finance the hiring of personnel to speed the FDA review of drugs. The periodic renewals of “PDUFA” also give lawmakers a chance to make other changes to the agency at the hub of the pandemic. Meanwhile, the FDA could also find itself at the center of the abortion debate and a controversial new medication to treat Alzheimer’s disease. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
Life expectancy by state: CDC
The life expectancy at birth in Hawaii is 80.9 years, the longest in the U.S., according to a Feb. 10 report from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.
Montana Mice May Hold the Secret to Virus Spillover
Researchers in Montana are working to figure out how climate change and biodiversity affect viruses’ jump from animals to people.
