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☆ Children’s health leaders call for emergency response as respiratory viruses continue to spread across the US
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

And health care systems nationwide continue to feel the strain of a respiratory virus season that has hit earlier and harder than usual. There have been about 8 flu hospitalizations for every 100,000 people this season – rates typically seen in December or January. While the Covid-19 emergency declaration remains in place, the federal government has not made a formal emergency declaration around children’s health care. HHS and the CDC are in regular contact with health care leaders and providers, actively monitoring situational needs and ready to provide assistance on a case-by-case basis, an HHS spokesperson told CNN. They also urge all those eligible to get their flu and Covid-19 vaccines, along with other routine vaccinations.

☆ Covid-19 boosters could keep thousands of kids out of hospitals, but uptake remains low
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

And if Covid-19 booster coverage reached 80% among school-age children by the end of the year, more than 50,000 hospitalizations could be averted. Preventing Covid-19 hospitalizations could help ease the strain on pediatric hospitals, which have been especially full for the past few weeks as the respiratory virus season – including flu, RSV and Covid-19 – sweeps the country earlier than usual. But more than 2,400 children were admitted to the hospital with Covid-19 last week – nearly three times higher than the week before, CDC data shows. And Covid-19 vaccination rates among children have long lagged behind those for adults. Just 32% of children ages 5 to 11 and 61% of those ages 12 to 17 have competed their initial series of Covid-19 vaccination, compared with 78% of adults.

CNN —Even before their daughter was born in June, Aaron and Helen Chavez knew she would need heart surgery. Data reported to the US government shows that as of Friday, more than three-quarters of pediatric hospital beds and 80% of intensive care beds for kids are full. Federal data shows that the strain on hospital beds for kids began in August and September, which is right around the start of the school year in many areas. It may also mean children who have chronic conditions and need procedures or hospital care, but whose conditions are stable, may have to wait. She was very thin for a baby,” Aaron said.

☆ Flu season already hitting hard across half of the US
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —About half of the US – 22 states, along with Washington, DC, New York City and Puerto Rico – is reporting high or very high respiratory illness activity, as flu season sweeps through the country weeks earlier than usual. “Among the people who study flu, there’s a little saying: ‘If you’ve seen one flu season, well, you’ve seen one flu season,’ ” said Dr. William Schaffner, a professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. Although the numbers are especially high for this time of year, experts say the trends are otherwise following an expected pattern, and the early arrival of flu season doesn’t necessarily mean it will last longer or be more severe. It’s not like we’re seeing a lot of hospitalizations without a lot of illness.”Flu activity has been highest in the South, CDC data shows. And millions fewer flu vaccines have been distributed this season than at this point in previous years.

Across the United States, cases of respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, and influenza are increasing. Influenza activity continues to increase in the US – the number of flu illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths so far this season nearly doubled in the past week. RSV cases are also increasing nationally, although there are regional differences in the circulation of these viruses, Romero said. In the South and Mountain West, RSV cases appear to have peaked in October. There are signs that RSV cases are slowing in the southern region of the US, but test positivity rates and cases continue to rise in other regions, especially the Midwest.

☆ Flu season in the US hasn't been this bad this early in more than a decade
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Flu season has ramped up early in the United States, and flu hospitalizations are worse than usual for this time of year, according to data published Friday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s been more than a decade – since the H1N1 swine flu pandemic – since flu hospitalization rates have been this high at this point in the season. “We’re in a bit of a race with the virus,” he said, with the flu season starting at least a month earlier than usual. “The flu season will be with us for at least a few more months. And the flu season is ramping up amid the surge of RSV that is filling pediatric hospitals and an ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

☆ First on CNN: Most people feel socially connected as Covid-19 precautions ease, but many still need support, survey finds
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

They found that most people around the world feel a sense of social connection as Covid-19 precautions ease, but many still need support or help from others – and the factors that drive feelings of connection vary by country. In-person connection still mattersEven amid a pandemic, in-person interaction was the most common method for social connection. The nonprofit consulting group is focused on building healthy and equitable communities but was not involved in the new survey. It might be easier to feel that sense of connection with an in-person connection, she said, but positive interactions and inclusivity are critical. Get CNN Health's weekly newsletter Sign up here to get The Results Are In with Dr. Sanjay Gupta every Tuesday from the CNN Health team.

☆ Covid-19 vaccines will be on the 2023 vaccine schedule, but that doesn’t mean they’re required in schools
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —Covid-19 vaccines will be part of recommended immunization schedules in 2023 for both children and adults, after a unanimous vote by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s independent Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. The board members addressed concerns from the public that adding Covid-19 vaccinations to the schedule would force schools to require the shots. This discussion does not change that.”In fact, Covid-19 vaccines are explicitly banned from being included in school mandates in at least 20 states. “Mandates may not do anything to those people who would pull their kids out of public school,” Hackell said. Schools are public spaces with a level of control, and 95% vaccination coverage is a goal with intent.

☆ Formula shortage has improved in the US but still poses challenges for many
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Despite improving stock rates, many families with new babies in the United States are still having trouble finding baby formula. But stock rates are still worse than they were before the formula shortage hit. My baby’s 7 months old now.”Throughout the formula shortage, quantifying the severity of the situation has been challenging. The Census survey data adds an important measure of personal experience to the mix, but it has limitations, too. About half of all baby formula sold in the United States is purchased with WIC benefits.

☆ Poor mental health in US teens exacerbated by negative experiences during Covid-19 pandemic, survey finds
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Poor mental health among teens in the United States was a concern before the Covid-19 pandemic, and major disruptions to school and social life since early 2020 have only exacerbated the situation. A new study from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that most adolescents experienced negative events during the Covid-19 pandemic – and those experiences were linked to higher prevalence of poor mental health and suicide attempts. About 1 of every 13 adolescents (8%) reported experiencing four or more adverse events during the Covid-19 pandemic. “Youth are in crisis,” Kathleen Ethier, director of the CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health, said in March. Approaching the mental health of teens and youth is nuanced and should be different from the way adults are treated, he said.

☆ Abortion is a key motivator for US voters in midterm elections, new survey finds
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —About half of registered voters in the United States say they are more motivated to vote in next month’s midterm elections than they were in previous elections – and abortion is a key issue driving that motivation, according to new survey data from the Kaiser Family Foundation. After the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization removed the federal right to abortion, some states moved to make local laws more restrictive. Voters in states with full abortion bans were more likely to say that those laws were making them more motivated to vote than in prior elections, according to the KFF survey. The economy is the top issue for Republicans, and abortion is the top issue for Democrats. Separately, the KFF survey found that most voters were not aware of the Inflation Reduction Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law in August.

☆ Drug overdose death rates highest among American Indian people and middle-age Black men, study shows
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Drug overdose deaths in the United States increased sharply throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, reaching record levels in 2021. But by 2021, rates among Black men had surpassed those of American Indian men. In 2021, overdose death rates among Black men ages 35 to 64 were higher than any other demographic group. Drug overdose deaths continue to rise, with the CDC’s latest provisional data showing that more than 109,000 people died of a drug overdose in the 12-month period ending March 2022. Relative to state population, rates of overdose deaths were by far the highest in West Virginia, with 83 overdose deaths for every 100,000 residents.

☆ 4 out of 5 pregnancy-related deaths in the US are preventable, CDC finds
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

(CNN) The vast majority of deaths among pregnant women and new mothers in the United States are preventable, according to a new report. The data, published Monday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is based on detailed assessments of more than 1,000 pregnancy-related deaths between 2017 and 2019. The analysis captures a period of time before the Covid-19 pandemic and before the US Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and the federal right to an abortion. Since then, maternal mortality in the US has gotten worse. study published in June found that maternal mortality spiked in the first year of the pandemic, especially among Hispanic and Black women.

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