Health

US states have relied on vaccine mandates since the 1800s, when a smallpox vaccine offered the first successful protection against a disease that had killed millions. More than a century later, Florida’s top public health official said vaccine requirements are unethical and unnecessary for high vaccination rates. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list “You can still have high …

It might now be a distant memory, but by the end of last winter, the average cost of a dozen eggs soared to a record high of $6.23. (It’s now at $3.49.) The cause was H5N1, a highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza — or bird flu — that wild birds shed near farms as they migrate for the winter. …

As the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 stretched on, scientists watched for all sorts of unintended effects, from social to economic to environmental. But the experts who predict disease transmission wondered specifically whether infectious diseases other than COVID-19 would surge after the prolonged isolation of the population. Would social distancing cause us to have less immunity to common diseases? Would those …

Asymptomatic human avian influenza A(H5N1) infections occur, and person-to-person transmission is likely in some settings, reveals a scoping review by US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) researchers. The study, published yesterday in JAMA Network Open, involved a search for studies on confirmed highly pathogenic H5N1 infection published through August 25, 2025. “Since 1997, more than 1,000 infections with highly …

It happens. You’re mid-sentence when you realize you totally forgot what you’re saying, or you’re driving to work—on a route you’ve traveled 100 times—but you take a wrong turn. The truth is that occasional forgetfulness, wrong turns, mind farts—whatever you want to call them—are a part of life, but that doesn’t make them any less unsettling, especially as you, or …

SAN MATEO COUNTY, CA — County health officials confirmed Thursday that a bat found in a San Mateo County park has tested positive for rabies. On Oct. 24, a bat was found near the Little People’s Park playground at Portola Valley Town Center, officials said. “Encounters with rabid animals in San Mateo County are very rare, but we take every …

It is no secret that high-fat, high-sugar ultra-processed foods make a person sluggish and depressed. It is also not a surprise that a sedentary lifestyle compounds those effects. In a recent study, University College Cork researchers discovered that a two-month junk food diet, one that mirrored an ultra-processed food (UPF) diet typical in the US, drastically altered the gut environment of rats, changing …

Former CDC official on new mpox cases and current federal resources  The Hill Recent California mpox cases spur vaccine push for high-risk people  San Francisco Chronicle What public health experts want you to know about the severe mpox strain appearing in the U.S.  Advocate.com 3 cases of new mpox strain reported in California  NPR Concerning mpox strain lands in California: Here’s what that means  Substack …

Children may be more likely to be diagnosed with autism and other neurodevelopment disorders if their mother had a Covid-19 infection while pregnant, according to a new study. Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital analyzed more than 18,000 births that occurred in the Mass General Brigham health system between March 2020 and May 2021, assessing records for laboratory-confirmed Covid-19 tests among …

It’s not just your body that needs to be ‘worked out’. Your brain also needs training to stay young and fit. A digital brain exercise, developed by the American biotech company Posit Science Corporation, has been put to the test by neurologists at McGill University in Canada, with some promising results. In a rigorous, double-blinded controlled trial, 82 healthy adults …