Though there are major reasons to be concerned about the novel coronavirus outbreak, there are also several reasons to be optimistic, writes Paul Sax, MD, clinical director of the infectious diseases division at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
Public Health
Several U.S. cities, counties, and states have declared public health emergencies in the midst of an outbreak of the new strain of coronavirus, dubbed COVID-19.
In total, 106 novel coronavirus cases and six related deaths have been reported in the U.S. Worldwide, 92,283 COVID-19 cases and 3,129 deaths have been confirmed.
The first two U.S. deaths related to the novel coronavirus have been reported, while HHS has launched an investigation into a manufacturing defect in early testing kits, according to The Wall Street Journal.
More than half of Americans are not concerned about contracting COVID-19, the disease that has already sickened more than 84,000 people since China detected a novel coronavirus strain in December 2019, according to a new survey from Kaiser Family Foundation.
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Plans for the country's first supervised injection site, scheduled to open next week in Philadelphia, abruptly ended Feb. 28, according to ABC affiliate WPVI.
Only a fraction of U.S. physicians believe the government is taking strong precautions against the spread of the new strain of coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, according to a new survey.
The CDC estimates flu has caused 32 million illnesses, 310,000 hospitalizations and 18,000 deaths this season, according to the agency's most recent FluView report.
HHS on Feb. 26 awarded $117 million in funding to help communities nationwide increase access to HIV treatment and prevention services.
The coronavirus outbreak is at a "decisive point," but could still be contained with aggressive measures, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, said in a Feb. 27 media briefing.