Beginning Jan. 5, travelers from China, Hong Kong and Macau will be required to test negative for COVID-19 before boarding flights headed to the U.S., the CDC said in a Dec. 28 announcement. The move comes as concern mounts over a growing surge of cases in China. 

Research scientists at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine developed a blood test to successfully detect a biomarker specific to Alzheimer's disease, according to a study published in Brain Dec. 27. 

The number of traveling nurses boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic, but now many find their wages slashed to 50 percent or less upon renewal. Traveling nurses are fighting back with lawsuits claiming the companies are using "bait-and-switch" tactics, NBC News reported Dec. 28.

A new virtual course to assist in cross-training non-pediatric nurses so they can help colleagues manage the surge in severe respiratory cases in children is now available for free from the Children's Hospital Association and American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.

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.

Here are six major nursing grants and donations used to fight nurse shortages in 2022:

A recent study found using an automated texting program can reduce readmissions and emergency department visits by 41 percent.

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 2022-2023 flu season is well underway, with the U.S. seeing the highest hospitalization rates in more than a decade.

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. 

Supporting nurses and promoting their well-being was a top priority for chief nursing officers this year amid workforce shortages and ongoing pandemic stressors. 

A new study suggests there may be an underlying genetic cause for why some children develop a rare but serious inflammatory condition known as multisystem inflammatory syndrome, or MIS-C, after a COVID-19 infection. 

Charlottesville-based University of Virginia Health System researchers found commonly used antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors can interact with inflammation in a mother's body, resulting in permanent brain changes in a fetus, Science Daily reported Dec. 20.

Early evidence suggests a cocktail of two existing medications could mitigate or eliminate brain fog among patients with long COVID-19, according to researchers at Yale University in New Haven, Conn.