Public Health

The omicron variant has been detected in white-tailed deer on New York's Staten Island, underscoring an urgent need to monitor the virus's spread among this animal population and better understand its potential risks for humans, according to research published Feb.…

Several states are easing their masking rules in schools and public places as COVID-19 infections slow while the CDC maintains its guidance, with agency chief Rochelle Walensky, MD, noting "now is not the moment" for changes.

The worldwide COVID-19 case count surpassed 400 million on Feb. 8, just a month after hitting 300 million, according to data cited by The New York Times.

Six states that had imposed statewide mask mandates earlier in the pandemic are easing the rules as COVID-19 cases fall nationally, The New York Times reported Feb. 7.

The nation's flu vaccination rate has increased slightly over the past two seasons, though this growth has been slower than in past years, likely due to pandemic disruptions, a Feb. 7 report from ValuePenguin found.

The CDC plans to update its COVID-19 vaccine guidance for immunocompromised people, recommending that they receive a booster dose three months after completing their initial series, down from the current five-month interval, The Washington Post reported Feb. 4. 

GoFundMe campaigns for medical costs are rarely successful, with only 12 percent meeting their goals in 2020, a Feb. 3 study published in the American Journal of Public Health found.

The Utah Department of Public Healthis delaying the use of COVID-19 rapid tests at state-run testing facilities over concerns of false negative results, Fox affiliate Fox 13 Salt Lake City reported Feb. 6.

A version of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine tailored to target the omicron variant generated similar levels of immunity in monkeys as the current booster formulation, according to preliminary research from the National Institutes of Health.

The COVID-19 death toll in the U.S. has surpassed 900,000, President Joe Biden announced in a statement Feb. 4.