Vaccination shot vaccine injection child nurse
Child Health, Measles, Newborn and Infant Health, Public Health, Vaccines

Combatting the measles threat means examining the reasons for declining vaccination rates

The anti-vaccine literature is not anti-science. It is filled with statistics and references to scientific studies, although the facts are often wrong. Parents who read this literature need more than the simple reassurance of experts that vaccines are safe and effective. They need to be shown evidence and have confidence that their concerns are being taken seriously.

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influenza, Influenza/Flu, Politics, Vaccines

Flu deaths rise as anti-vaccine disinformation takes root

Flu-related deaths hit a seven-year high in January and February, the two months that usually account for the height of flu season, according to a Stateline analysis of preliminary federal statistics. There were about 9,800 deaths across the country, up from 5,000 in the same period last year and the most since 2018, when there were about 10,800.

Despite that, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has canceled or postponed meetings to prepare for next fall’s flu vaccine, when experts talk about what influenza strains they expect they’ll be battling.

flu cold patient bed influenza sick
influenza, Vaccines

As flu cases break records this year, vaccine rates are declining, particularly for children and 65+ adults

In February 2025, flu rates spiked to the highest levels seen in at least 15 years, with flu outpacing COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has classified this flu season as having “high” severity across the U.S.

The Conversation asked epidemiologist Annette Regan to explain why this flu season is different from last year’s and what people can do to help reduce the spread.

Vaccine egg candling 1
Health Policy, Infectious Disease, Politics, Public Health, Vaccines

CDC layoffs strike deeply at its ability to respond to the current flu, norovirus and measles outbreaks and other public health emergencies

The CDC began as a small branch of the U.S. Public Health Service in 1946 as an outgrowth of successes fighting malaria in southern states during World War II and before. Its founder, Dr. Joseph W. Mountin, envisioned that it would come to serve all states, addressing all communicable diseases. Since that time, the CDC has evolved into the nation’s premier public health organization, leveraging both clinical and population health sciences to prevent and mitigate challenges to the nation’s health.

A shot into a cup filled containing blue fentanyl-laced pills.
Addiction, Drugs, Fentanyl, Methamphetamine, Opioids

Stimulant Users Are Caught in Fatal ‘Fourth Wave’ of Opioid Epidemic

The first wave of the long-running and devastating opioid epidemic began in the United States with the abuse of prescription painkillers in the early 2000s. The second wave involved an increase in heroin use, starting around 2010. The third wave began when powerful synthetic opioids such as fentanyl started appearing in the supply around 2015. Now experts are observing a fourth phase of the deadly epidemic.

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Drugs, Mental Health, Research

Hallucinogens approved for treating psychiatric disorders: what does the science say?

Hallucinogens are now being presented as a breakthrough in the treatment of severe psychiatric disorders, such as depression or post-traumatic stress disorder, sometimes in combination with psychotherapy).

Despite being presented as innovations, the therapeutic potential of psychedelics is not a new discovery. In the 1960s and 70s, these substances were explored for medical use but quickly fell out of favour due to regulatory restrictions.

Now, in 2024, the question remains: Are psychedelics genuinely effective for treating psychiatric disorders?