Current messaging surrounding how monkeypox spreads is focused on sustained physical contact. But as the outbreak grows, with more than 6,000 cases now confirmed in the U.S., questions are also rising about whether and to what extent respiratory transmission plays a role. 

The pace of COVID-19 deaths has remained steady since May at about 400 deaths a day, with a slight uptick in July, USA Today reported Aug. 3.

Health officials investigating the nation's first polio case in nearly a decade have detected the virus in wastewater samples, the New York State Department of Health said Aug. 1.

President Joe Biden plans to sign an executive order that directs HHS to consider ways to support patients who travel out of state for abortion, the White House said Aug. 3. 

Omicron and its sublineages' now 10-month influence likely won't recede anytime soon, one expert predicts. 

Exposure to a group of chemicals found in many household items may be tied to infertility, diabetes and other medical conditions, according to a new study that involved almost 5,000 Americans.

With U.S. monkeypox cases now surpassing 5,800, the CDC has issued isolation and prevention practices for those infected. 

Many Americans' concern over COVID-19 has dwindled amid access to vaccines and other life-saving therapeutics, but the nation is still grappling with serious health issues exacerbated by the pandemic, The Wall Street Journal reported July 31.

The U.S.' monkeypox outbreak could become "one of the worst public health failures in modern times" if it becomes endemic, according to Scott Gottlieb, MD, former FDA commissioner. 

CDC models are, for the second week in a row, forecasting an uncertain trend for COVID-19 admissions, as the highly transmissible omicron subvariant BA.5 spreads nationwide. 

An investigation of the first U.S. polio case in nearly a decade found evidence of a connection between the U.S. infection and sewage samples from London and the Jerusalem area, according to a July 29 ProPublica report. 

Twenty states and the District of Columbia have reported cases of the newest omicron subvariant BA.2.75 as of  Aug. 8, early disease surveillance data shows. 

The U.S. saw minor fluctuations in COVID-19 cases, admissions and deaths this week, according to the CDC's COVID-19 data tracker weekly review published July 29.

At least 43 abortion clinics nationwide have closed a month after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, according to research published July 28 from The Guttmacher Institute, a left-leaning research and policy organization focused on sexual and reproductive health.

New York state declared an imminent threat and San Francisco issued a state of emergency over monkeypox July 28 as the virus continues to spread in the U.S., NBC News reported. 

The U.S. could soon declare monkeypox a public health emergency, according to people familiar with the matter, Politico reported July 27. There have been 4,639 cases confirmed in the U.S. as of July 27. 

Ramping up COVID-19 booster administration this fall could save up to 160,000 lives and prevent more than 1 million hospitalizations, according to a July 26 analysis from the Commonwealth Fund.

More than two years into the pandemic, researchers are still struggling to answer a crucial  question about the virus: How long is someone with COVID-19 infectious? Though the question seems simple, the answer is anything but, scientists and infectious disease experts told Nature.

The U.S. may need nearly $7 billion to adequately address the monkeypox outbreak, Biden administration officials told Congress this month, The Washington Post reported July 26. 

The world has experienced a slew of surges caused by an alphabet of variants since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Thankfully, none of the variants has led to a significant increase in disease severity.