Animals carry millions of pathogens. So it's a daunting task to find the one with the greatest potential to spark a pandemic. Now scientists are rethinking the way they hunt for that next new virus.
As we launch a series about spillover viruses — like SARS-CoV-2, which triggered a global pandemic, you may have a lot of questions. So do we — 7, to be exact, in the quiz below. See how you do.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say 56% of Georgians are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. But only a quarter got the updated variant-targeting shots this flu season.
About one in every 215 children in Georgia have lost a caregiver due to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. That's nearly 12,000 people under the age of 18 whose parent or grandparent, that lived with them and provided support for them, died, according to data shared by the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute.
Researchers say diseases that spread between humans and animals will become increasingly commonplace as human expansion into previously uninhabited areas intensifies.
Some epidemiologists say the upcoming flu season is a bit of uncharted territory with respect to its expected intensity. That’s because, over the last two years, people have been wearing masks to avoid catching COVID-19, which also dramatically slowed transmission of influenza viruses.
After virtually disappearing for the last two years, there are troubling clues that the flu could come roaring back this year, to cause trouble alongside COVID.
Dr. Carlos del Rio with Emory University School of Medicine says last year’s booster has been replaced by the new bivalent one, and that people can expect an annual COVID vaccine similar to how the influenza vaccine is updated yearly.
A new study finds numbers far higher than previously thought. India has the greatest number of kids affected. The U.S. has 250,000 kids in this category but lags behind in aid for bereaved families.
The Food and Drug Administration earlier this week authorized the updated Pfizer-BioNTech booster shots. The endorsement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention came Thursday, hours after advisers to the CDC voted to recommend reformulated versions of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines.
Americans' life expectancy dropped for the second year in a row and is the biggest drop since the 1920s. COVID-19 is driving the downward trend, according to CDC data.
