Interest in getting vaccinated against COVID-19 increased significantly right after the May 13 CDC update that said fully vaccinated Americans don't need to wear masks in most indoor settings, according to vaccines.gov data obtained by CNN.

The American Academy of Physician Assistants is adopting "physician associate" as the official title for the PA profession.

As of May 28, more than 592,000 people in the U.S. had died after contracting COVID-19, according to The New York Times.

COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the U.S. have dropped significantly compared to previous peaks, a promising trend, according to The New York Times database.

Nearly three-fourths of people who recover from COVID-19 have at least one lingering symptom, according to a study published May 26 in Jama Network Open.

People with mild or asymptomatic COVID-19 cases may be just as infectious as those with severe cases who require hospitalization, a study published May 25 in Science found.

The head of a major physicians' union in Japan is calling on the country to cancel the Summer Olympics, warning that the event could cause new coronavirus variants to spread globally. 

COVID-19 immunity persists for at least a year, perhaps even a lifetime, according to two recent studies, The New York Times reported May 26. 

President Joe Biden this week instructed U.S. Intelligence agencies to investigate the COVID-19 pandemic's origins amid renewed calls from health officials and scientists for a more in-depth probe, reports The New York Times.

Many recent COVID-19-related studies have focused on patient outcomes and explored more on potential long-term effects. 

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, food insecurity among Americans has grown significantly. When malnourished individuals are hospitalized with critical illnesses, many face increased health risks and negative outcomes. Early enteral nutrition can help by maintaining the lean body mass and muscle function that supports the return to mobility.

White patients were 227 percent more likely to be diagnosed with anxiety than their Asian counterparts, according to a May 25 report by Athenahealth.

Forty-one states require children to have parental consent to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, according to data Kaiser Health Foundation released May 26.

New Orleans-based LCMC Health and Downers Grove, Ill.-based Chamberlain University aim to address nursing workforce shortages through a new tuition-free nursing program, the organizations said May 25.

Physicians should offer pregnant women counseling to support them in maintaining a healthy weight throughout pregnancy, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force said in updated guidance released May 25. 

Arizona revised guidelines on allocating scarce medical resources during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic to resolve a federal complaint filed last summer, the HHS Office of Civil Rights said May 25.

Roche's rheumatoid arthritis drug tocilizumab was linked to a lower risk of death 90 days after treatment in patients with moderate to severe COVID-19 or pneumonia, especially patients with high C-reactive protein levels, according to a May 24 JAMA Internal Medicine research letter.

As U.S. COVID-19 infections drop and vaccination rates rise, the CDC director said vaccinated Americans can safely gather to celebrate Memorial Day weekend. 

COVID-19 cases and deaths have fallen globally over the past three weeks, but the world remains in a fragile situation, according to Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, director-general of the World Health Organization.

While the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted testing for other diseases, the U.S. could still meet its goal of ending the HIV epidemic by 2030, according to the White House chief medical advisor.