Public Health

COVID-19 cases have jumped more than 40 percent over the last two weeks in New Mexico, Illinois and Minnesota, The New York Times reported Nov. 15.

Increased stress, isolation and burnout among patients and clinicians amid the pandemic shed light on a widespread lack of mental health resources. Many hospitals and health systems quickly pivoted their mental health strategies to meet this growing need.

Two-thirds of physicians worried they missed signs of addiction among one or more of their patients during the pandemic, a report published Nov. 15 by Quest Diagnostics found. 

Racial and ethnic minorities are at an increased risk for COVID-19 infection and severity, but at lower risks for death, a study published Nov. 11 in JAMA Open Network found. 

As the holiday season approaches, a new national survey found about half of Americans will ask their guests to wear masks during gatherings. 

New Mexico and New York City have both expanded COVID-19 booster eligibility to all fully vaccinated adults.

The seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases — which had been on the decline nationally since September — first plateaued and is now ticking upward, with states in different regions experiencing the most pronounced increase in cases. 

Bloomberg Philanthropies, the philanthropy company of billionaire Michael Bloomberg, said Nov. 10 it plans to invest $120 million over five years to fight opioid overdoses in five states. 

New Mexico was reporting high flu activity for the week ending Nov. 6, according to data from the CDC's FluView report published Nov. 12.

From conception through age five, maternal morbidity for all 2019 births in the U.S. is projected to cost society an estimated $32.3 billion, according to a Nov. 12 report from the Commonwealth Fund.