Category: Public Health

RSV in 'full swing,' CDC director says: 3 notes

CDC Director Mandy Cohen, MD, said the season of respiratory syncytial virus is in “full swing” as flu slowly begins and COVID-19 leads the most hospitalizations and deaths, CNN reported Nov. 30. 

Ohio declares outbreak of 'white lung syndrome,' Massachusetts also seeing cases

Hospitals in Warren County, Ohio, have reported 142 cases of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections in children since August, meeting the state’s definition of an outbreak, according to the local health department.

Explosive DeSantis-Newsom Debate Reflects Nation’s Culture Wars

The two governors exchanged heated verbal barbs when they faced off in a wide-ranging debate that covered various health-related topics, from abortion to gun violence.

‘Forever Chemicals’ Found in Freshwater Fish, Yet Most States Don’t Warn Residents

At least 17 states have issued PFAS-related fish consumption advisories, KFF Health News found. But with no federal guidance, what is considered safe to eat varies significantly among states, most of which provide no regulation.

‘Forever Chemicals’ Found in Freshwater Fish, Yet Most States Don’t Warn Residents

At least 17 states have issued PFAS-related fish consumption advisories, KFF Health News found. But with no federal guidance, what is considered safe to eat varies significantly among states, most of which provide no regulation.

KFF Health News’ ‘What the Health?’: Trump Puts Obamacare Repeal Back on Agenda

Although Republicans have never united behind a replacement for the Affordable Care Act, 2024 GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump said this week he wants to put the issue back on the national agenda. That delights Democrats, who have won at least two elections partly by defending the now-popular health law. Meanwhile, the Texas Supreme Court takes up a case brought by women who say their pregnancy complications further endangered their health due to the vagueness of Texas’ near-total ban on abortions. Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico Magazine, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Victoria Knight of Axios News join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Rachana Pradhan, who reported and wrote the latest “Bill of the Month” feature.

In Congress, Calls Mount for Social Security to Address Clawbacks

In the wake of a KFF Health News-Cox Media Group investigation, U.S. lawmakers are asking what Social Security will do about its demands on their constituents to repay money already distributed — and sometimes in error. Sen. Rick Scott called the agency’s actions “unacceptable.”

Young women face greater health threats than previous generations

Young women ages 25 to 34 in 2019-2021 are facing more health threats than previous generations, a new report by the Population Reference Bureau found.

Uncle Sam Wants You … to Help Stop Insurers’ Bogus Medicare Advantage Sales Tactics

The Biden administration wants to crack down on deceptive or misleading Medicare Advantage and drug plan sales tactics. It’s counting on beneficiaries to help catch offenders.

'This already happened in the US': Experts weigh in on China's respiratory virus surge

Experts say China’s current outbreak of respiratory illness is another example of what played out in the U.S. last year when COVID-19, flu and respiratory syncytial virus peaked simultaneously, allaying fears that a new virus is behind the surge.