In the News

The big question is whether people weary of vaccinations will roll up their sleeves again. Just half of vaccinated Americans got the first recommended booster dose, and only a third of those 50 and older who were urged to get a second booster did so.
 

Recent flooding in Jackson, Mississippi, exacerbated the city's already failing water system. Experts say it's a familiar threat in disinvested communities of color.
 

The Biden administration hopes that the boosters, formulated to target the prevalent subvariants of the omicron variant, willprovide better protection against infection and severe disease, but it's unclear how large an additional effect it will have given that much of the population has already been vaccinated, been exposed to the omicron variant, or both.
 

Administration officials say these new vaccines will be key to controlling a potential fall surge, but they will need to convince an increasingly checked-out public to get the shots.
 

Pfizer’s booster will be available to everyone 12 and older, while Moderna’s shot will only be offered to adults, according to the New York Times.
 

Since the start of the pandemic, gun deaths have reached record highs. In 2019, there were just over 15,000 gun fatalities. A year later, that number was more than 19,000, not including suicides. Meanwhile, in 2020, Americans bought 22.8 million guns, up 6 million from 2016.
 

Even if your medical records are in a faraway basement gathering dust, there are things you can do to piece together your vaccine history.
 

With the emergence of COVID-19 and the recent surge in monkeypox cases, scientists and doctors who specialize in infectious disease are issuing increasingly dire warnings, saying wealthy countries can no longer afford to ignore small outbreaks abroad.

The administration’s newest vaccine Hail Mary may not be enough to fix the U.S.’s monkeypox immunization problems.
 

Public health experts consider this an emergency, because polio paralysis cases represent the tip of an immunological iceberg: For every person paralyzed, at least several hundred more have likely carried asymptomatic infections, providing a refuge for the virus to replicate and transmit itself.
 

Despite growing awareness that children and teenagers can get depressed, substantial gaps remain in diagnosis and treatment.
 

Having an over-the-counter option will not only help bolster the knowledge base around hearing loss more generally, but it will also dramatically lower the cost of the devices across the board, saving people an estimated $2,800 per pair according to the FDA.