Public Health

From a public health perspective, this fall could be one of the worst the U.S. has ever faced, CDC Director Robert Redfield, MD, said during an Aug. 12 interview with WebMD.

State-issued lockdowns and social distancing protocols are effective in slowing the spread of COVID-19 but can bring about negative socioeconomic and psychological effects, such as the increased number and severity of intimate partner violence cases occurring during the pandemic.

New York City's spike in deaths amid the COVID-19 pandemic this spring was comparable to the death toll at the peak of the 1918 flu pandemic, a study published in JAMA Network Open found.

There are plans to build a $400,000 security fence around the official residence of Gov. Kristi Noem, officials said Aug. 12, according to NBC News.

Federal health officials and drugmakers are taking several steps to boost flu vaccinations this fall and prevent hospitals from becoming overwhelmed with the double whammy of flu season and the COVID-19 pandemic, reports The Wall Street Journal. 

The U.S. saw its deadliest day of the summer Aug. 12, reporting 1,485 deaths — the highest single-day increase since 1,507 deaths were confirmed May 15, according to data from the COVID Tracking Project.

Teenagers and young adults who vape face a significantly higher risk of contracting COVID-19, a new study shows.

Sanjay Gupta, MD, associate chief of neurosurgery at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, outlined why he will not be sending his three daughters to school this fall in an op-ed for CNN.

The U.S. reported an average of 53,723 cases daily in the past week, down 18 percent from the average seen two weeks ago, reports The New York Times.

A 52-year-old former nurse has become the first person to receive a face transplant twice in the U.S. She is also the second in the world to receive a second face transplant.