TimeMagazine 
On August 4, the U.S. federal government declared monkeypox—with more than 6,600 cases in the country—a public health emergency. Monkeypox is now the second simultaneous public health emergency in the U.S.; the other is COVID-19. The emergency status allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Xavier Becerra, more discretion in accessing additional funds and … Read more
In the U.S., a record-setting 81,000 people died from overdoses involving opioids in 2021. But despite that grim number, there’s hope: medications like buprenorphine can treat opioid-use disorder, while harm-reduction methods such as needle exchanges can limit threats like infectious disease. There’s also another promising tool, naloxone. The emergency medication reverses the effects of opioids … Read more
For more than two years, COVID-19 has had its way with humanity. But humans are not the only victims of the virus. The disease, which leading theories still indicate spilled over from animals to humans in a Wuhan, China seafood wholesale market, has now infected pets and animals from farms, laboratories, and zoos. It has … Read more
At the supermarket, work, schools, restaurants, sports events, and airports we are witnessing a remarkable change. Masks are rarely seen. People are hugging, crowding, traveling. The latest Google COVID Community Mobility Report shows that most forms of activity have returned to near normal relative to the pre-pandemic baseline. But some people are understandably confused and … Read more
WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency is warning residents who live near medical sterilizing plants in 13 states and Puerto Rico about potential health risks from emissions of ethylene oxide, a chemical widely used in their operations. Laredo, Texas; Ardmore, Oklahoma; and Lakewood, Colorado, are among the communities facing the highest risk from ethylene oxide … Read more
Until recently, monkeypox rarely spread from person to person. In 2005, a study declared a cluster of six cases in the Republic of Congo “the longest uninterrupted chain of human monkeypox fully documented to date.” That has changed, to say the least. So far this year, more than 25,000 monkeypox cases have been recorded across … Read more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is calling for a new Office of Long COVID Research and Practice to direct an “all-hands-on-deck, whole-of-government approach” to researching Long COVID—a condition marked by long-term symptoms following a case of COVID-19—and supporting those who have it, according to a Long COVID research action plan released … Read more
Blistering temperatures aren’t just uncomfortable. They can quickly escalate to become life-threatening: According to data from U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers, more than 700 people nationwide died from heat-related causes annually from 2004 to 2018. Some research suggests that the death toll will rise in the coming years as climate change makes … Read more
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is set to name top officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to serve as the White House coordinators to combat the growing monkeypox outbreak. The White House said Biden will announce Tuesday that he has tapped Robert Fenton, who helped lead … Read more
In June, children as young as six months finally became eligible for COVID-19 vaccines when infant- and toddler-sized options from Pfizer and Moderna were authorized. But now that the highly contagious BA.5 Omicron subvariant is driving increased transmission around the country, some children who have started their vaccination course may get infected before they can … Read more