Nearly 35,000 COVID-19 patients were admitted to hospitals across the country in the week ending Dec. 30 — a 20% jump from the week prior. In the same week, more than 20,000 flu patients were hospitalized, according to the latest updates from the CDC. 

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, MD, PhD, has called for a halt to the administration of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines over concerns about what he calls nucleic acid contaminants, the office shared in a Jan. 3 news release. The move contradicts national guidelines from the CDC and FDA. 

Despite rising respiratory infections nationwide, Kim Bennion, the enterprise director of research and respiratory care at Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Healthcare, is optimistic about what 2024 may hold for respiratory care, thanks in-part to advances in technology like artificial intelligence. The advancements promise to streamline pulmonary care and could eventually be used to also monitor more acute respiratory conditions like COVID-19 or the flu. 

Multiple victims from a mass shooting at Perry High School in Perry, Iowa, the morning of Jan. 4 have been taken to Iowa Methodist Medical Center and MercyOne in Des Moines, a spokesperson for the hospitals confirmed to Becker's.

When the pandemic began in 2020, providing care to hospitalized COVID-19 patients cost hospitals around $10,394 per patient. Since then, the price to provide the same inpatient care climbed by 26% to $13,072 in just two years, according to the research published Jan. 3 in JAMA. 

New York state health officials are reporting a rise in cases of pertussis, also known as whooping cough. 

COVID-19 and flu admissions continue to climb across the country, with the majority of states now reporting high levels of respiratory virus activity. 

As hospitalizations and case counts increase for COVID-19, flu and respiratory syncytial virus nationwide following the holiday season, some places have brought back mask policies to curb the spike.

Artificial intelligence may be able to detect and predict severity of new COVID-19 variants, according to a study published Jan. 2 in PNAS Nexus.

Lack of oversight and increasing reports of infection are causing physicians to sound alarm bells about risks related to medical spas.

With holiday gatherings wrapping up, experts anticipate further increases in hospitalizations for respiratory illnesses over the next few weeks.

CDC data shows new COVID-19 hospitalizations increased for the sixth week straight, with nearly 26,000 admissions reported for the week ending Dec. 16. 

The omicron subvariant JN.1 has been identified in at least 37 states and the District of Columbia as of Dec. 18, according to outbreak.info, a platform that tracks data on COVID-19 variants and is supported by the CDC and other national research groups.

Pediatric cases of respiratory syncytial virus led to more emergency hospitalizations than the omicron variant of COVID-19 and influenza, according to a study published Dec. 26 in JAMA.

Outpatient visits for respiratory illnesses have risen for the seventh week in a row, according to the CDC. COVID-19, flu and RSV hospitalizations are also up across the country. 

A combination of the COVID-19 pandemic, physician shortages, and delays to receive in-person care have led to the boom of subscription-style healthcare services that promise a fast review of symptoms and streamlined ordering of prescriptions. But experts are questioning if this is truly the answer medicine needs, according to CBS News.

Heading into the week of Christmas, new hospitalizations and emergency department visits for respiratory viruses continued to rise nationwide. 

First detected in September, the latest COVID-19 variant to emerge, JN.1, has rapidly spread and now accounts for 44.1% of cases in the U.S., according to CDC data.

When Michael Ugwueke, DHA, FACHE, president and CEO of Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, realized his community of Memphis was ranked as the second heaviest city in the U.S., he decided to take action.

Outpatient visits for flu-like illness continue to rise as flu activity increases in most parts of the country, according to the CDC's Dec. 22 FluView report.