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.

Global cancer cases and deaths expected to soar by 2050 despite advances in treatment

There has been a rapid increase in the global number of cancer cases and deaths between 1990 and 2023, despite advances in cancer treatment and efforts to tackle cancer risk factors over that same time period.

24 Sep 2025

Tracking antibiotic prescribing variation in Arkansas Medicaid patient-centered medical homes

In this study, researchers developed, implemented and measured a claims-based, practice-level performance measure to calculate, track and influence antibiotic prescribing variation across Arkansas Medicaid's patient-centered medical home (PCMH) program.

23 Sep 2025

How pandemic puppies changed children’s mental health and family life

Getting a puppy during the pandemic had mixed effects on children's mental health, emphasizing the need for safety and caregiver support in families.

23 Sep 2025

Alcohol-related mortality in the US surged 89% since 1999

A national study reveals a sharp rise in alcohol-induced deaths during COVID-19, with women and Native communities facing the greatest impact.

23 Sep 2025

Dental care habits predict broader preventive health behaviors in college students

For undergraduates, a trip to the dentist can reflect more than oral health. Those who kept up with dental exams were also more likely to schedule eye and physical exams, carry health insurance, and rate their overall health more positively, according to new study.

23 Sep 2025

George Mason University advances long-term study on child health

Scientists, nurses, and researchers in George Mason University's College of Public Health (CPH) have successfully progressed to the third phase of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) program studying a broad range of early life exposures on child health.

23 Sep 2025

SNAP benefit reductions increase food and financial hardship for families

A new study found that families experienced greater difficulty affording adequate food and household expenses after states began to lift emergency SNAP benefits that were provided to families at the start of the pandemic.

22 Sep 2025

Virtual care expansion in Ontario fails to extend specialist reach to distant patients

Despite the expansion of virtual care in Ontario prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, specialist physicians did not expand reach to patients living at great distances from where they provided care, found new research published in CMAJ.

22 Sep 2025

States are cutting Medicaid provider payments long before Trump cuts hit

Every day for nearly 18 years, Alessandra Fabrello has been a medical caregiver for her son, on top of being his mom.

22 Sep 2025

Amendments to the International Health Regulations enter into force worldwide

Today marks a milestone in global health governance as the amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) enter into force.

21 Sep 2025

Disability bias complaints peak as the office that investigates them is gutted

Families filed nearly 23,000 federal civil rights complaints against schools in fiscal 2024, the highest number ever.

19 Sep 2025

$Kennedy’s take on vaccine science fractures cohesive national public health strategies$

Kennedy’s take on vaccine science fractures cohesive national public health strategies

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has had a busy few months. He fired the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, purged the agency's vaccine advisory committee, and included among the group's new members appointees who espouse anti-vaccine views.

19 Sep 2025

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Ousted CDC officials clap back at RFK Jr.

Fired less than a month after being confirmed as head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Susan Monarez appeared at a dramatic Senate hearing this week alongside another ousted CDC official and directly contradicted Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy's earlier testimony about why she was fired.

18 Sep 2025

New NIH grant supports development of experimental pediatric HIV vaccine

A multi-institutional team led by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators has been awarded a five-year, $20.8 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, for advanced preclinical development of a promising experimental HIV vaccine.

18 Sep 2025

Light-activated coating kills bacteria and viruses

Light on – bacteria dead. Disinfecting surfaces could be as simple as that. To turn this idea into a weapon against antibiotic-resistant germs, Empa researchers are developing a coating whose germicidal effect can be activated by infrared light.

18 Sep 2025

Outdoor walking programs cut frailty in older adults

Findings indicate that while outdoor walking reduces frailty in older adults, maintaining these gains necessitates continuous, diverse intervention approaches.

18 Sep 2025

New study reveals a 25-year rise in alcohol-induced mortality

In an analysis by race, sex, age, and geography, alcohol-induced death rates in 2024 are nearly double those in 1999, with a sharp increase at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

18 Sep 2025

Research reveals widespread cardiac harm from COVID, offers solutions

Millions of people around the world are suffering with the serious cardiovascular effects of Covid infection and long Covid. A lack of clear guidance on how to reduce this suffering and prevent further harm means that patients are not receiving the care they need, and some are turning to unproven or unsafe treatments.

18 Sep 2025

Holder vs Retort: How milk pasteurization shapes preterm infants’ gut health

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center found that pasteurization methods shape the gut microbiomes of preterm infants fed donor human milk. Holder pasteurization preserved microbial diversity and beneficial taxa better than Retort, producing microbiomes more similar to those from mothers’ own milk.

17 Sep 2025

Covid vaccinations remain vital to protect global heart health

Regular Covid vaccinations should continue worldwide to reduce cardiac risks associated with the virus - according to new research from the University of East Anglia.

17 Sep 2025