Public Health

In 2024, the U.S. maternal mortality rate was 17.9 deaths per 100,000 live births — the lowest level since 2018, according to a CDC report published March 4.  Five notes: 1. In 2024, there were 649 maternal deaths in the…

Children’s Hospital Association opened a new population health department and appointed Heidi Baskfield as vice president of mental and population health. The department was created to support children’s hospitals in addressing mental, behavioral, and physical health; help unify leadership and…

Measles outbreaks could cost the U.S. healthcare system $1.5 billion annually by 2030 if vaccination rates continue to drop, according to a new analysis from researchers at Yale School of Public Health in New Haven, Conn.  The report, published Feb.…

The World Health Organization has recommended updating all three viral strains included in influenza vaccines for the Northern Hemisphere’s 2026 flu season. The changes include two influenza A strains and one influenza B strain, including a new A(H3N2) variant known…

One in 5 children aged 2 to 19 in the U.S. are living with obesity, marking the highest rate ever recorded, according to newly published data from the CDC. The agency published two reports Feb. 25 examining obesity prevalence in…

Months after the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel removed national healthcare organizations from internal operations, the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists has withdrawn from the committee.  The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which has reviewed and developed vaccine recommendations to…

Medical experts believe measles-related hospitalizations in South Carolina are significantly higher than reported, since the state does not require hospitals to report admissions for the virus, ProPublica reported Feb. 20.  South Carolina is experiencing the nation’s largest measles outbreak since…

The CDC’s influential Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has canceled a meeting that had been scheduled for Feb. 25-27.  “We will not hold the ACIP meeting later this month,” HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said in a statement to Becker’s. “Further…

After exiting the World Health Organization in January, the Trump administration is proposing to spend $2 billion annually on a U.S.-run replacement, The Washington Post reported Feb. 19. The effort would replicate systems provided by the WHO, including laboratories, rapid-response…

In 2026, the FIFA World Cup will be hosted across 16 cities in North America, with the majority of matches taking place in the United States. For health systems, this is not a one-day surge event. It is a multiweek,…