Public Health

Immunization against vaccine-preventable diseases should be required for healthcare workers as a condition of employment, a prominent group of infectious disease specialists said.

More than 90 percent of U.S. adults say they think healthcare workers should be prioritized when a vaccine against the new coronavirus becomes available, a new survey shows.

The number of COVID-19 tests conducted daily in the United States stands at 73 percent of the level deemed necessary by Harvard researchers to mitigate the spread of the virus. Testing activity is below the recommended level in 33 states…

The U.S. has reported an average of 43,144 new COVID-19 cases daily in the past week, up 13 percent from the average seen two weeks ago, reports The New York Times.

Several Wisconsin hospitals are implementing waitlists for patients, canceling surgeries or transferring patients due to capacity constraints amid the state's surge in coronavirus-related hospitalizations, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 

The daily rate of positive coronavirus tests in New York City has jumped to 3.25 percent, a "cause for real concern," Mayor Bill de Blasio said Sept. 29, according to The New York Times.

After pausing elective and nonurgent surgery early during the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals are increasing the number of these procedures and seeing an uptick in patients seeking bariatric surgeries, which can help with weight loss, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Minnesota state health officials said a coronavirus survey was halted after public health workers were harassed by residents who shouted "racial and ethnic slurs," the New York Times reports.

Police departments across the country reported brief outages of emergency 911 dispatch services Sept. 28, reports CNN.

The global COVID-19 death toll surpassed 1 million Sept. 28, with U.S. virus deaths accounting for more than 20 percent of the total.