Public Health

More than 24 million people worldwide have contracted COVID-19 and nearly 400,000 have died as of Jan. 19, according to data from Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins University.

Arizona's worsening COVID-19 surge could soon mirror the dire situation in California, where intensive care unit availability is at 0 percent in much of the state, The Wall Street Journal reported Jan. 15.

The fast-spreading coronavirus variant first identified in the U.K. has been found in Chicago, health officials said Jan. 15, according to NBC affiliate WMAQ-TV.

The COVID-19 pandemic is projected to reduce U.S. life expectancy by an average of 1.13 years, a decline that's even greater among Black and Latino populations, according to a study published Jan. 14 in Proceedings of the National Academy of…

The Austin (Texas) Convention Center, now transformed into a field hospital, accepted its first three patients after opening Jan. 12, local NBC affiliate KXAN reports. 

Global COVID-19 deaths passed 2 million Jan. 15, just about a year after the first case was reported Dec. 12 in China, according to data from Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins University.  

The fast-spreading coronavirus variant first identified in the U.K. will become the dominant strain in the U.S. within two months, the CDC predicted Jan. 15.

The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for the flu at clinical laboratories was 0.4 percent for the week ending Jan. 9, up from 0.1 percent the week prior, according to the CDC's FluView report.

Members of President-elect Joe Biden's COVID-19 advisory team said they've had multiple conversations with vaccine makers and do not anticipate that the plan to release nearly all available doses will delay people from getting their second shot on time, CNBC…

New Jersey officials' decision to include smokers among high-risk groups  with priority access to the COVID-19 vaccine has been met with surprise by some health experts and front-line workers in the state, reports The Washington Post.