Public Health

The highly transmissible omicron subvariant BA.5 continues to gain dominance in the U.S. and now accounts for nearly 90 percent of all cases nationwide, according to the CDC's latest variant proportion estimates.

Changes in the genetic makeup of the polio virus suggest it has been spreading somewhere in the world for a year, a report from the CDC found.

The nation's shortcomings in responding to the monkeypox outbreak around messaging and vaccines are strikingly familiar to those of the pandemic, health experts told PBS NewsHour in an Aug. 15 report. 

Researchers in France have detected monkeypox virus on samples collected as part of routine sexually transmitted infection screenings of aymptomatic men who have sex with men, accoring to findings published Aug. 16 in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Around 98 percent of COVID-19 reinfections are occurring in patients previously infected with the virus more than 90 days ago, suggesting that waning immunity — rather than highly transmissible variants — is propelling the uptick, according to Helix, a lab…

COVID-19 hospitalizations appear to be plateauing nationwide, a trend that will likely continue through the end of the month, CDC forecasting suggests. 

Health officials investigating a polio case have detected the virus in wastewater in New York City, suggesting "likely" local circulation of the virus, the New York State Department of Health and the New York City Department of Health and Mental…

The World Health Organization is accepting proposals to rename monkeypox in an effort to align with "current best practices" for naming diseases and avoid offense to any group. 

Loosened COVID-19 guidance from the CDC was met with mixed reactions from the healthcare community, with some calling the less rigid recommendations appropriate at this stage of the pandemic, and others highlighting risks. 

The nation's seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases decreased by nearly 14 percent this week, marking the third consecutive week of decline, according to the CDC's COVID-19 data tracker weekly review published Aug. 12.