The compound 7-hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH, occurs naturally in trace amounts in kratom leaves, but products containing concentrated 7-OH — sometimes called “gas station heroin” — are now sold as tablets, gummies and liquid shots at gas stations, smoke shops and…
Public Health
Since 2020, trust in science has dropped across the world, with 72% of people reporting “some” or “a lot” of trust in 2025, according to a report from Wellcome Global Monitor. In 2020, that figure was 80%. In 2018, it…
Flu season is off to an early start, with weekly lab-confirmed flu hospitalizations nearly tripling between early September and early October, according to CDC data. Hospitals reported 3,334 flu admissions in the week ending Oct. 3. That’s up from 2,572…
Thirty-one Democratic and independent lawmakers are pressing CDC Director Erica Schwartz, MD, on the Trump administration’s childhood vaccine overhaul and the agency’s measles response. The lawmakers, led by Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., and Rep. Kim Schrier, MD, D-Wash., sent Dr.…
Flu season is arriving weeks earlier than usual this year, with health system, retail pharmacy and federal surveillance data all showing activity rising ahead of schedule. Five things to know: 1. Data from Epic Research shows flu rates are off…
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The CDC has implemented measures to identify and assess travelers from the Russian region where a woman may have died from pneumonic plague, ABC News reported Oct. 8. The agency said about 200 travelers from that region come to the…
The U.S. is on track for its worst measles year since 1991. The CDC had confirmed 4,080 cases as of Oct. 8, up 193 from the previous week and 78% above the 2,289 cases in all of 2025. The 2026…
HHS has launched four agencywide actions targeting vaccine injuries, including a new National Institutes of Health clinic for patients reporting health problems after vaccination and a proposed CMS policy to pay physicians for reporting suspected injuries. Six things to know:…
Americans see the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine as the safest and most effective of three common vaccines, and the COVID-19 vaccine as the least safe and effective, according to a study published Sept. 10 in the American Journal of…
The CDC is calling for greater surveillance of Cladophialophora bantiana after a clinical reference laboratory recorded a sharp increase in detections of the rare fungus, which is associated with a 60% to 70% case-fatality rate. The findings were published Oct.…