Flu season in the Southern Hemisphere is winding down and health officials in the Northern Hemisphere are reviewing data on the flu vaccine's effectiveness in anticipation of the fall. According to a CDC report released Sept. 8, the flu vaccine helped reduce influenza-associated hospitalizations by 52 percent in the Southern Hemisphere.

COVID-19 hospital admissions are up almost 16 percent from the week prior, according to the CDC's most recent data. Deaths due to the virus have also risen nearly 11 percent in the same time. 

Patients with autoimmune rheumatoid disease who have more antibodies specific to the common cold may be more likely to develop long COVID-19, according to new research published Sept. 6 in Science Translational Medicine.

A nationwide poll of Generation Z Americans conducted by the Association of American Medical Colleges Center for Health Justice found that the majority of people, despite political affiliation, agree that healthcare is a basic human right.

New forecasting from life science analytics company Airfinity suggests U.S. hospitalizations from COVID-19, flu and respiratory syncytial virus will peak at the end of January. 

More than 80 percent of men in the U.S. believe they live a healthy lifestyle, though this may be an inaccurate perception, given many respondents indicated they have unhealthy habits and lifestyles, according to new survey findings from Cleveland Clinic. 

The FDA has extended expiration dates for many rapid at-home COVID-19 tests, meaning some test kits that have been stored away from earlier in the pandemic may still provide accurate results. 

Respiratory syncytial virus activity has increased across the Southeast in recent weeks, suggesting the U.S. will see a national uptick within several months, according to a Sept. 5 CDC health alert.

New lab data suggests COVID-19 variant BA.2.86 — a distant omicron relative that has been making headlines over the past few weeks because of its large number of mutations — may not be as transmissible or immune-evasive as experts initially believed, CNN reported Sept. 4.

Health officials at the CDC have issued a health advisory warning clinicians to look out for cases of Vibrio vulnificus, a sometimes deadly flesh-eating bacteria. 

The CDC updated its risk assessment on distant omicron relative BA.2.86 on Aug. 30, saying the strain — which has concerned experts over the large number of mutations it carries — has been detected in at least four states. 

Patients have been canceling appointments at Chillicothe, Ohio-based Adena Regional Medical Center over rumors and concerns about a Legionnaires' disease outbreak, which the health system has since described as "misinformation." 

Health officials in Virginia are warning clinicians about an outbreak of meningococcal disease, according to an Aug. 30 news release from the state's department of health.

A Texas resident died after being exposed to Naegleria fowleri — the bacteria that causes a brain-eating amoeba infection — from swimming in a lake in Travis County near Austin, Texas, according to an Aug. 30 news release.

While the COVID-19 variant EG.5 accounts for more than 20 percent of cases across the U.S., according to CDC data, the emergence of a new subvariant, BA.2.86 is drawing close attention from health experts.

The CDC updated its annual flu shot recommendations Aug. 23, with experts noting one key change: People with egg allergies can now get any flu vaccine, egg-based or non-egg based. 

Hurricane Idalia put Florida hospitals on high alert this week, preparing for potential flooding or power outages that could disrupt operations. Clinical leaders and health officials should also be vigilant for a separate threat in the coming weeks: infectious diseases. 

COVID-19 admissions are increasing in 37 states — with more than half of states reporting a "substantial" jump — as new virus strains circulate nationwide, CDC data shows.

At least eight hospitals in the U.S. have brought back mandatory mask rules as COVID-19 admissions tick up.

Despite the emergence of the latest COVID-19 mutation-heavy variant, BA.2.86, and a recent uptick in hospital admissions due to the virus, some clinicians are still optimistic that this fall and winter will not become a 'tripledemic' repeat.