Pandemic News and Research

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A pandemic is a global disease outbreak. During a pandemic, transmission can be anticipated in the workplace, not only from patient to workers in health care settings, but also among co-workers in general work settings. A pandemic would cause high levels of illness, death, social disruption, and economic loss. Everyday life would be disrupted because so many people in so many places become seriously ill at the same time. Impacts could range from school and business closings to the interruption of basic services such as public transportation and food delivery.

Common antibacterial soaps and wipes may worsen antibiotic resistance crisis

An international team of scientists is warning that everyday antibacterial soaps, wipes, sprays, and other "germ‑killing" products are quietly contributing to the global rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) while providing no added health benefit for most consumer uses.

31 Mar 2026

New T cell mechanism could lead to longer-lasting vaccines

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine have identified a possible way to make longer lasting vaccines for respiratory viruses like influenza and the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

31 Mar 2026

Children’s screen use surged significantly during and after pandemic

First systematic review to track long-term trends across pre- and post-pandemic periods finds dramatic rise in screen use among children and adolescents.

30 Mar 2026

Antidepressant fluvoxamine reduces long COVID fatigue in clinical trial

A randomized placebo-controlled trial found that fluvoxamine, a low-cost antidepressant, reduced fatigue and improved quality of life in adults with long COVID, offering one of the first evidence-based medication options for this persistent condition. In contrast, metformin did not provide meaningful benefit for established long COVID fatigue, highlighting fluvoxamine as the more promising treatment candidate in this study.

30 Mar 2026

Study explores airborne bird flu decay in livestock environments

Discovering how the bird flu virus degrades in the air around livestock and how engineering solutions can effect that degradation quickly and efficiently are core aims of a new University of Michigan Engineering-led project funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

27 Mar 2026

New AI tool assesses the potential threat posed by new bacteria

Researchers have developed an AI tool that can help determine whether unfamiliar bacteria carry genetic features linked to disease.

27 Mar 2026

Trump team claims successes against ACA fraud while pushing for more controls

Complaints about enrollment fraud in Affordable Care Act health insurance coverage have bedeviled the federal marketplace for years.

27 Mar 2026

Do multi-strain probiotics improve long covid symptoms?

Multi-strain probiotics show potential to modulate gut microbiome in long COVID, yet their impact on inflammation and recovery is not statistically significant.

27 Mar 2026

Global maternal deaths decline but progress slows worldwide

Global maternal deaths have declined over the past three decades, yet progress has slowed in recent years and remains uneven across countries, according to new Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2023 research published today in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology, & Women's Health.

26 Mar 2026

CDC’s acting chief promises a return to stability in a tumultuous moment

President Donald Trump will soon nominate a permanent director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, its acting chief, National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya, told agency employees at a Wednesday staff meeting.

25 Mar 2026

COVID-19 virus evolved quickly but within strict genetic limits

A new paper in Genome Biology and Evolution, published by Oxford University Press, indicates that while the COVID-19 virus has developed rapidly since 2019, it has done so within limited genetic channels.

25 Mar 2026

An Arm and a Leg: Steep health care costs steer Americans to tough decisions

Health insurance is out of reach for millions of Americans this year. Many are making difficult decisions about how to pay for coverage amid the loss of Affordable Care Act subsidies and nosebleed-high premiums.

25 Mar 2026

No link between Covid-19 vaccines and sudden cardiac death

The study reveals COVID-19 vaccines do not increase sudden cardiac death risk in youth, highlighting the importance of accurate health messaging.

24 Mar 2026

COVID-19 learning losses could deepen class gaps for years

COVID-19 school closures are projected to reduce educational attainment and weaken intergenerational mobility, with children from less advantaged backgrounds facing the greatest losses. The paper’s simulations suggest that unequal access to continued learning during the pandemic could deepen educational inequality and reverse mobility gains, especially in the absence of remedial recovery measures.

23 Mar 2026

Study highlights neurological and psychiatric impacts of long COVID

Nearly three years after the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic was declared over, conservative estimates suggest that between 80 million and 400 million people worldwide have long COVID.

23 Mar 2026

Rising health costs push some middle-aged adults to skip the doc until Medicare

John Galvin knows he needs a colonoscopy. But he's waiting to schedule the procedure until December, when he turns 65 and qualifies for Medicare.

23 Mar 2026

Researchers use AI to reveal the true scale of COVID-19 mortality in the US

A machine learning model applied to US death certificate data estimated that over 155,000 COVID-19 deaths were unrecognized between March 2020 and December 2021, suggesting total mortality was about 19% higher than official counts. These undercounted deaths disproportionately affected marginalized populations, including racial minorities, lower-income groups, and residents of the Southern United States.

19 Mar 2026

Lawmakers seek to protect crisis pregnancy centers as abortion clinic numbers shrink

Conservative lawmakers in multiple states are pushing legislation drafted by an anti-abortion advocacy group to increase protections for crisis pregnancy centers, organizations that provide some health-related services but also work to dissuade women from having abortions.

19 Mar 2026

Pre-pandemic health patterns influence risk of developing post-COVID

Women who frequently sought healthcare for recurring symptoms before the pandemic were more likely to later be diagnosed with post-COVID, according to a thesis at the University of Gothenburg.

18 Mar 2026

More US adolescents are obese but fewer are trying to lose weight

The rising obesity rates in American adolescents, coupled with declining weight-loss efforts, signal urgent needs for targeted public health interventions.

18 Mar 2026