The rate of new COVID-19 hospitalizations is falling in every state but Alaska and Hawaii, spurring a sigh of relief from many clinical leaders. 

Researchers are concerned about whether the next COVID-19 variant of concern will be spotted in time as multiple countries are constricting their surveillance work, Nature reported Jan. 24. 

Texas and Oklahoma are suing HHS for granting the World Health Organization the authority to determine and define what constitutes a public health emergency in the U.S. 

In the last two years, St. Louis Children's Hospital has given out about 5,000 free gun locks to anyone who needs them, no questions asked. Leaders at the hospital say the initiative is one example of how healthcare organizations can address the nation's gun violence epidemic and reduce the stigma of talking about gun safety, according to a Jan. 22 CNN report. 

As part of a planned end to its state of emergency declaration in February, California's Department of Public Health plans to close multiple COVID-19 testing sites in areas where officials have seen demand for the service decrease, a spokesperson confirmed to Becker's.

A case of measles in Kentucky has been linked to the outbreak in Ohio, which has infected at least 85 people. 

The FDA is considering a new COVID-19 vaccination strategy that would mirror the process for creating and administering annual flu shots, federal documents show.

COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths fell nationwide this week, even as the highly transmissible omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 grew to account for about half of all U.S. infections, according to the CDC's COVID-19 data tracker weekly review published Jan. 20. 

No state or region in the U.S. saw "very high" levels of flu activity for the week ending Jan. 14, the CDC's latest FluView report shows. Not since October has no state reported very high flu activity. 

Patients who present in the emergency room with signs of a possible transient ischemic attack require in-depth evaluation even if symptoms are no longer present, according to new guidelines issued by the American Heart Association.

A unique strain of gonorrhea identified in two residents in Massachusetts showed little or no response to five classes of antibiotics, health officials said Jan. 19.

COVID-19 hospitalizations are declining nationwide even as the highly transmissible omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 gains prevalence. 

Holiday disruptions are likely behind discrepancies in COVID-19 data that have emerged in the last few weeks, according to health experts. The nation's daily average for hospitalizations has fallen by about 15 percent over the last two weeks, data from The New York Times shows. Meanwhile, data also suggests COVID-19 deaths have risen within the same time frame.

In the first two years of the pandemic, St. Louis Children's Hospital saw the average number of children and teens needing treatment for gunshot wounds increase by 50 percent, St. Louis Public Radio reported Jan. 18. 

HHS does not have a strong framework in place to adequately monitor research involving potential pandemic pathogens, the U.S. Government Accountability Office said in a Jan. 18 report. 

Hybrid immunity, the combination of COVID-19 recovery and immunization, provides up to 12 months of protection against severe reinfection or hospitalization, according to a study published in The Lancet on Jan. 18. 

The weekly rate of emergency department visits and hospitalizations for flu, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus peaked in early December, new CDC data shows. 

Thirty-eight percent of Americans said they put off medical treatment in 2022 because of the cost, according to a Gallup poll published Jan. 17. This marks a 12 percentage point increase from those who said the same a year earlier, and the highest since Gallup began tracking the question in 2001. 

Although the highly transmissible omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 is gaining prevalence nationwide, COVID-19 cases are flat and hospitalizations have dipped. The data suggests the U.S. will see more of a COVID-19 "bump" this winter versus a full-fledged surge, according to The New York Times.

Of more than 96,000 specimens tested for influenza at U.S. clinical laboratories for the week ending Jan. 7, 8.6 percent were positive, the CDC's latest FluView report shows. This figure hovered around 25 percent for several consecutive weeks in December.