Public Health

The World Health Organization on Sept. 19 published its first-ever report on high blood pressure — a condition behind 10.8 million avoidable deaths every year, according to the report. 

Women are less likely than men to receive CPR in public places, but older people, especially older men, are less likely to get CPR in private locations, new research has found.

The Arkansas Department of Health is reporting one resident has died after contracting a brain-eating amoeba from a splash pad at the Country Club of Little Rock, according to a Sept. 14 news release.

This fall and winter, U.S. hospitals could see similar levels of capacity and resource strain as last year, the CDC said in a Sept. 14 outlook on respiratory virus season. 

The HHS has officially launched its Bridge Access Program to support access to free COVID-19 vaccines for uninsured Americans, according to a Sept. 14 news release.

There were nearly 19,000 new COVID-19 admissions in U.S. hospitals for the week ending Sept. 2, according to the latest data from the CDC. 

Vaccines for the three most closely watched viruses — COVID-19, flu and respiratory syncytial virus — will soon be available just before the respiratory virus season is in full swing.

The omicron subvariant BA.2.86 has been identified in at least seven states as of Sept. 13, according to outbreak.info, a platform that tracks data on COVID-19 variants and is supported by the CDC and other national research groups.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham released public health orders Sept. 8 outlining steps toward addressing two key issues: gun violence and the fentanyl crisis.

Healthcare leaders are closely watching respiratory virus trends heading into fall. Overall, there is a healthy dose of optimism that the U.S. won't see the same levels of severe disease that strained hospitals nationwide last year, though it's still too…