Category: Public Health

CDC advisory panel OKs Pfizer's 5 in 1 meningitis vaccine

The CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices formally recommended Pfizer’s meningitis vaccine Oct. 25, five days after the FDA granted it full approval.

Doubts Abound About a New Alzheimer’s Blood Test

Quest Diagnostics is selling a blood test online to consumers. But results may not be reliable or easy to interpret. And it isn’t covered by insurance.

6 things to know about dengue fever

Concerns are growing among U.S. health experts about rising cases of dengue fever, an infection caused by mosquito bites that could become endemic to some states within the next decade. 

12 million Americans have received new COVID-19 shots: CDC

The nation’s new COVID-19 vaccine rollout has been off to a slow start, with about 12 million Americans receiving the shots since mid-September, according to an Oct. 24 report from Politico.

California Expands Paid Sick Days and Boosts Health Worker Wages

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation expanding paid sick leave to five days, extending bereavement leave to miscarriages and failed adoptions, and approving an eventual $25-an-hour health care minimum wage. Still, in a possible sign of national ambitions, the Democrat vetoed free condoms in schools and refused to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms.

Epidemic: What Good Is a Vaccine When There Is No Rice?

What good is a vaccine when there is no rice? Episode 7 of “Eradicating Smallpox” explores the barriers public health workers face in communities where people’s basic needs aren’t being met.

Millions of Rural Americans Rely on Private Wells. Few Regularly Test Their Water.

More than 43 million Americans drink, bathe, and cook with water from private wells, which can be tainted by farm or industrial runoff, leaky septic systems, or naturally occurring minerals.

Henry Ford hospital sees highest strep rate in 25 years

Officials at Henry Ford Medical Center Fairlane in Dearborn, Mich., thought they may have had faulty testing swabs for strep throat when rates were so high, but the swabs are accurate, radio station WWJ reported Oct. 23. 

Dr. Fauci's worst fear post-COVID-19: A short memory

In the 38 years Anthony Fauci, MD, spent as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, he was often asked what his worst nightmare was. His answer remained consistent: The emergence of a new viral pathogen capable of sp…

Officials pushing vaccination by end of October, but shot rollout still slow

Although both COVID-19 cases and flu are now both low nationwide, health officials are still encouraging individuals to get vaccinated before the end of October.