The COVID-19 crisis in China is creating more opportunities for the virus to change, spurring concern that a new variant could emerge, CBS News reported Dec. 25. 

A measles outbreak in Columbus, Ohio, is sparking concern among health officials who believe that increased vaccine hesitancy will intensify a resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases, according to The Washington Post.

The nation's worst flu outbreak in more than a decade is slowing down, though flu activity remains high overall, according to the CDC's latest FluView report. 

Omicron subvariant XBB is encroaching on BQ.1 and BQ.1.1's dominance, CDC data shows, as it accounts for 18.3 percent of U.S. cases and makes up more than 1 in 2 infections in the Northeast. 

The CDC issued a health advisory Dec. 22 to alert the medical community of a rise in severe strep A infections among children. 

The National Institutes of Health is partnering with Sheba Medical Center in Israel to create a pandemic research institute, the organizations said Dec. 22.

Global health experts are closely monitoring COVID-19 activity in Beijing where the highly transmissible omicron subvariant BF.7 is fueling a surge in cases.

While the respiratory "tripledemic" continues to slam emergency rooms and children's hospitals, there are two glimmers of hope on the horizon, according to a Dec. 22 report in The New York Times. 

Last year, the average life expectancy for Americans shortened by over seven months, according to new CDC data. 

This winter is unlike the first two pandemic winters, with all common respiratory viruses back in full gear. With many people coming down with the flu, respiratory syncytial virus and/or COVID-19, chatter about "immunity debt" has persisted for months. 

COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are steadily rising in the U.S. as new, highly transmissible omicron subvariants account for more than 75 percent of cases nationwide. 

As researchers continue to test the efficacy of the bivalent boosters and COVID-19 treatments, about 3 in 4 COVID-19 infections are from omicron subvariants BQ.1.1, BQ.1 and XBB, CDC data shows. 

Sore throat and runny nose are now the two most common symptoms reported among COVID-19 patients, according to new data from the U.K.'s ZOE Health Study.

The U.S. resumed its program that ships four free COVID-19 tests to every household Dec. 15 as the mostly vaccinated but scarcely boosted nation braces for a winter surge in cases. 

The CDC has awarded Helix a $5 million contract to develop a pan-respiratory viral surveillance program with Renton, Wash.-based Providence and Bloomington, Minn.-based HealthPartners. 

At least four children's hospitals in the U.S. are seeing an increase in severe strep A infections, NBC News reported Dec. 14. 

Long COVID-19 has contributed to the deaths of at least 3,544 people in the U.S., according to a CDC analysis of death certificates published Dec. 14. Experts who reviewed the report say the findings are almost certainly an undercount. 

Emergency room and critical care physicians continue to see significant levels of respiratory syncytial virus activity, according to survey data published Dec. 14. 

New York's executive order on polio is "no longer necessary" as the number of positive wastewater samples has declined, health officials said Dec. 12. Efforts to increase vaccination uptake, however, will continue as coverage rates in affected areas remain too low. 

States and healthcare organizations can use regulatory flexibilities permitted under the COVID-19 public health emergency to address capacity challenges stemming from a severe respiratory virus season, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra told governors this month, according to AHA News.