Public Health

The North Korean government has imposed a 5-day lockdown on its capital city as it fights the "recurrent flu and other respiratory diseases". In August, North Korea claimed that it had eradicated the coronavirus without vaccines after reporting its first outbreak of Covid-19 in May of last year.…

At the end of December, the state of California banned flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes. R.J. Reynolds, a cigarette manufacturer that makes Camel and Newport cigarettes, is using round-about language to reach the same target audience of menthol cigarettes, saying that they…

The World Health Organization (WHO) is urging travelers to wear masks as a new variant of COVID-19 has been spreading rapidly. The WHO is recommending that individuals wear masks in public spaces, practice physical distancing, and follow other public health measures to help slow the spread of the…

Provincial official Kan Quancheng for China’s third most populous province, Henan, announced at a press conference that 90% of people in the province are infected with COVID-19. The Chinese government decided to abandon their zero-Covid policies in December due to pressure caused by an increase in…

The National Science Foundation, which operates McMurdo Station on the southern tip of Antarctica’s Ross Island, announced new measures over the weekend to help control a COVID-19 outbreak at an American scientific research station in Antarctica. U.S. officials have been forced to temporarily halt…

Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of the World Health Organization has reported that COVID-19 deaths have dropped by 90% globally since February. This can be celebrated as a success for vaccines and boosters and a cause for optimism for the future of the virus. Cases, as well as…

CVS and Walgreens reached a settlement to pay approximately $5 billion over their role in the opioid crisis, which could only be the beginning of several long years of opioid litigation. Since 2013, local governments have attempted to make companies reduce the ongoing costs of addiction, death, and…

Privatization of COVID-19 response measures like tests, treatments, and vaccines as federal funding is beginning to run out. This will create a financial barrier for the most vulnerable Americans at a time where cases are expected to rise going into the winter. This comes in response to Covid-19…

According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau and National Center for Health Statistics published this month, Covid is more common among women than men. Over 17% of women have had long Covid during the pandemic compared to 11% men. A JAMA study looked at more than 16,000 adults who tested positive…

President Biden has warned of a potential winter rise in COVID-19 cases, deaths, andhospitalizations if more Americans do not receive an updated booster shot. “We've seen casesand hospitalizations rise in Europe in recent weeks, and the weather is getting colder,” Biden saidfrom the White House.…

White house COVID-19 response coordinator Ashish Jha has said the US might face a “tripledemic” in the winter. This would include a rise in cases of COVID-19, the flu, and RSV. The last 2 winters have had large Covid spikes which is expected to happen again this winter, especially with the…

In comparison with past years, numbers of flu cases are rising earlier this year. As a result, many health officials suggest getting vaccinated against the flu as soon as possible. It is also important to keep an eye out for when cases in your region are rising, in order to best time your vaccine.…

For the first time in 7 months California is loosening COVID-19 mask wearingrecommendations. The state has voided the recommendation that was made in mid-February forall people regardless of vaccination status to stay masked when in indoor public settings. Thiscomes in response to the decrease in…

President Biden has declared the COVID-19 pandemic is over in an interview with Scott Pelleyon 60 Minutes that aired Sunday night. The President said “If you notice, no one’s wearingmasks. Everybody seems to be in pretty good shape. And so I think it’s changing. And I thinkthis is a perfect example…