Drug overdose deaths in the U.S. declined from 2022 to 2023, the first decrease since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data from the CDC.
Category: Public Health
Texas Measles Outbreak Nears 100 Cases, Raising Concerns About Undetected Spread
Health officials expect a measles outbreak in West Texas to exceed 100 cases because of low vaccination rates and undetected infections. Vaccine misinformation and new laws may make such situations more common and harder to contain.
Wyoming reports 1st human bird flu case: 3 updates
A woman in Platte County, Wyo., has been hospitalized with the state’s first reported case of H5N1 avian flu, the fourth severe case in the U.S., CIDRAP reported Feb. 17.
An Ice Rink To Fight Opioid Crisis: Drug-Free Fun vs. Misuse of Settlement Cash
A decision about how to spend settlement funds in Carter County, Kentucky, which was hit hard by the opioid epidemic, offers a window into the choices that surround this windfall.
Why this flu season is so severe
After a moderate influenza season last year, flu has returned with a vengeance this winter.
KFF Health News’ ‘What the Health?’: Medicaid in the Crosshairs, Maybe
President Donald Trump has said he won’t support major cuts to the Medicaid health insurance program for people with low incomes, but he has endorsed a House budget plan that calls for major cuts, leaving the program’s future in doubt. Meanwhile, thousands of workers at the Department of Health and Human Services were fired over the holiday weekend, from the National Institutes of Health, the FDA, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with possibly more cuts to come.
Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
Fewer clinicians entering primary care: 5 report card findings
Investments in primary care are declining and fewer clinicians are entering the field at a time when chronic disease rates are rising, according to a new report from researchers at the American Academy of Family Physicians.
Hospitals and measles: What to know
As hospitals navigate a severe virus season, measles is emerging as another infectious disease threat.
1st Ohio human bird flu case detected: 4 updates
A farmer in Mercer County, Ohio, has tested positive for H5N1 influenza, marking the state’s first human case of bird flu.
Flu deaths surpass COVID-19 for 1st time since pandemic began: 5 updates
For the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, more people in the U.S. died of influenza than from COVID-19, according to CDC data for the week ending Jan. 25.
