A study of pediatric outpatient prescriptions over a 10-year period found that flu and respiratory syncytial virus are associated with meaningful proportions of pediatric antibiotic prescribing, researchers reported in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.
Kentucky announced two pertussis deaths in infants over the past six months, and neither the infants nor their mothers had been vaccinated against the highly contagious bacterial infection also known as whooping cough. According to the Kentucky Department for Public Health, these are the first whooping cough deaths in the state since 2018.
Terminally ill New Yorkers would have the legal ability to end their own lives with pharmaceutical drugs under a bill passed Monday in the state Legislature. The proposal, which now moves to the governor's office, would allow a person with an incurable illness to be prescribed life-ending drugs if he or she requests the medication and gets approval from two physicians. A spokesperson for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she would review the legislation. The New York Senate gave final approval to the bill Monday night after hours of debate during which supporters said it would let terminally ill people die on their own terms.
Hiring alone won't fix workforce shortages in healthcare. Leaders in skilled nursing, health systems and senior living are scrambling to fill shifts while balancing staff preferences, operational budgets and quality of care. A significant opportunity is in offloading the work that's pulling healthcare staff away from patients and residents, and that's where AI agents are starting to make a real impact.
The number of measles cases in the U.S. so far this year has quadrupled compared to 2024 and is nearing a 30-year high. As of Friday, there have been 1,168 confirmed measles cases across 33 states nationwide, according to data from the CDC. Last year, the U.S. saw just 285 measles cases, CDC data shows.
FBI Director Kash Patel said in an interview this week that his agency made a "breakthrough" as it continues to investigate former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, a key player in the early response to the COVID-19 pandemic.