COVID-19 cases increased nationwide this week for the first time since mid-January, according to the CDC's COVID-19 data tracker weekly review published April 8.

Despite public health experts' fears about coinciding surges of flu and COVID-19 engulfing the country, a so-called "twindemic" never materialized. Now, scientists are considering a theory that could explain why, The New York Times reported April 8.

Life expectancy in the U.S. fell again last year after a dramatic drop in 2020, according to research published April 7 in the medical preprint server MedRxiv.

COVID-19 cases will likely rise nationwide over the next few weeks, but hospitalizations may not follow suit, Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told Bloomberg April 6. 

COVID-19 deaths are falling nationwide, but eight states are still seeing higher daily death averages than recorded two weeks ago. 

The FDA's outside panel of vaccine experts largely agreed for the need to tailor future COVID-19 vaccines during a virtual meeting April 6, though the exact path and timeline to do so is still unclear, according to NPR.

It can take years for scientists to determine endemic patterns while pandemics settle, and consequences of widespread illness can be long lasting after new infections fade, leaving the endemic stage of COVID-19 a "mystery," The New York Times reported April 7.

President Joe Biden on April 5 issued a memorandum directing HHS to coordinate a governmentwide plan to address long COVID-19, estimated to affect 7 million to 23 million Americans. 

CDC estimates show the omicron subvariant BA.2 now makes up 72 percent of U.S. cases, but the nation's mood surrounding another potential wave is much different than previous COVID-19 surges. 

Blood shortages weren't uncommon before the pandemic, but COVID-19 stalled blood donations and escalated the situation into a crisis. Blood shortages can have profound effects on patient care, operations and profitability. The good news is that leading US blood centers are adopting innovative management practices and community-driven solutions to help hospitals deliver better patient care and realize better performance.

Daily COVID-19 cases are projected to increase 64.5 percent over the next two weeks as the omicron subvariant BA.2 continues to spread nationwide, modeling from Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic shows.

The CDC plans to undergo a one-month review beginning April 11 to inform strategic change and modernizations at the agency, The Washington Post reported April 4. 

Flu activity appears to be declining slightly in central and south-central states but is still highest in these regions, according to the CDC's April 1 FluView report. 

The rate in which COVID-19 cases are falling nationwide has been slowing over the last month as the omicron subvariant BA.2 gains prominence, according to the CDC's COVID-19 data tracker weekly review published April 1.

The World Health Organization is monitoring a new omicron variant — dubbed XE — that's a hybrid of BA.1, the original omicron strain, and BA.2, a highly transmissible subvariant.

New CDC data shows teenagers' mental health took a significant hit during the pandemic, with 44 percent reporting persistent sadness or hopelessness in the past year. 

COVID-19 deaths are falling nationwide, but seven states are still seeing higher daily death averages than recorded two weeks ago. 

A number of states have announced they are no longer operating in crisis mode to manage COVID-19 as cases nationwide continue to fall. 

As it stands, the nation's healthcare infrastructure is not equipped to withstand routine bouts of COVID-19 surges, Megan Ranney, MD, wrote in a March 28 opinion piece published in The Washington Post.

State and local officials are scaling back public health efforts and closing vaccination sites amid a national lull in COVID-19 activity and low demand for the services, a move some health experts say may be premature amid the omicron subvariant BA.2's growing prevalence in the U.S., The New York Times reported March 30.