Public Health

Cleveland Clinic and the city council will provide tens of millions of dollars in funding over the next several years to protect children and ensure safe lead levels in Cleveland homes. 

The word "flurona" — used to describe flu and coronavirus co-infections — has recently made headlines as the omicron variant rapidly spreads nationwide, fueling a major COVID-19 surge in the middle of flu season.

Three states reported very high flu activity for the week ending Jan. 8, according to the agency's most recent FluView report.

COVID-19 cases, hospitalization rates and deaths are increasing nationwide as omicron accounts for an estimated 98 percent of new infections, according to the CDC's COVID data tracker weekly review published Jan. 14.

The omicron COVID-19 variant accounted for nearly all genomic samples sequenced in New York City for the week ending Dec. 25, according to a Jan. 13 report from the city's health department. 

The word "mild" has saturated American discourse on omicron in recent weeks, causing many to adopt a dangerously cavalier mindset about the variant, health experts told The Atlantic.

The U.S. plans to ship 1 billion rapid at-home test kits to Americans, President Joe Biden said during a Jan. 13 update on the nation's COVID-19 response efforts. 

A record-high 15 million new COVID-19 cases were reported worldwide in one week, World Health Organization officials said during a Jan. 12 news briefing. 

The CDC does not plan on updating its COVID-19 mask guidance to recommend that people wear higher-quality masks over cloth ones.

The White House has selected Tom Inglesby, MD, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in Baltimore, Md., as it's new COVID-19 testing director.