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<\/a>Number of measles cases in the United States. Source: CDC; Annotated by Your Local Epidemiologist.<\/p>\nMost of the cases are coming from a large and fast-growing outbreak in South Carolina:<\/p>\n
243 cases in just the past 10 days<\/p>\n
558 total cases since October<\/p>\n
96% of cases are unvaccinated<\/p>\n
90% are children<\/p>\n
531 people are in quarantine, meaning weeks of missed school or work<\/p>\n
Spread has reached other states, including North Carolina, Colorado, and Washington<\/p>\n
This outbreak could easily become larger than last year\u2019s Texas outbreak.<\/p>\n
Another outbreak in Utah and Arizona has reached 433 cases since late last year, but the pace there seems to be slowing.<\/p>\n Like wildfires igniting in dry tinder, measles ravages areas with low vaccination rates. A new tool from Boston Children\u2019s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai highlights high-risk pockets. Zooming in on the South Carolina hot zone shows multiple very high-risk zip codes. Some news outlets reports some schools have less than 30% vaccination rate. (Measles herd immunity requires 95%.) <\/p>\n What this means for you: Check out your zip code here<\/a>. If you\u2019re fully vaccinated, you are very well protected, even if you live in a \u201chigh-risk\u201d area. If there\u2019s an active outbreak and you have a baby under 12 months, talk with your pediatrician about early vaccination at 6 months.<\/p>\n Visits for fever, cough, and sore throat are finally dropping. That\u2019s good news. But respiratory seasons often have two waves. Schools are back in session, and different flu strains\u2014like Flu B\u2014can take over. Flu season often lasts into March, so we\u2019re not done yet.<\/p>\n Covid-19 levels are moderate nationwide but vary by region. The Midwest is seeing very high levels, followed by the Northeast. Overall, things seem to be slowing, which suggests another relatively mild Covid winter.<\/p>\n What does this mean to you? There are still plenty of sick people around. Wash your hands, consider masking in crowded indoor spaces, and stay home when you\u2019re sick.<\/p>\n LiveItUp Super Greens has been recalled due to a Salmonella outbreak that has sickened more than 45 people and hospitalized 12 nationwide. If you have it, toss it:<\/p>\n Expiration dates August 2026\u2013January 2028<\/p>\n Sold online, including Amazon<\/p>\n One of the most important ways the U.S. government protects public health is by regulating pollution so that companies\u2019 activities don\u2019t harm people\u2019s health or the environment. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets and enforces limits on air, water, and soil pollution under laws like the Clean Air Act.<\/p>\n When the EPA evaluates a new regulation, it typically uses cost-benefit analysis to compare:<\/p>\n Costs\u2014 what companies (and sometimes consumers) will have to spend to comply (e.g., upgrading equipment, changing processes).<\/p>\n Benefits \u2014 how much better off the public will be if pollution goes down, including fewer illnesses, fewer hospital visits, less lost work time, and lives saved. To do this, economists estimate the value of reduced health risks in dollar terms, including a widely used figure called the value of a statistical life. This is essentially the amount society is willing to pay for reductions in mortality risk and has ranged<\/a>\u00a0from $6.8 million under the Bush administration to roughly $9.8 million under Biden.<\/p>\n Last week, the EPA announced a big change. For some major air pollutants, such as fine particles and ozone, cost-benefit analyses will no longer include the dollar value of health benefits. This is a significant shift because health benefits, especially avoided premature deaths, historically accounted for a large share of the quantified benefits in air pollution rules. This tilts the math in favor of corporate interests. Pollution rules now appear far more costly, making it easier for companies to push for weaker protections.<\/p>\n What happens next? Companies now have stronger legal arguments that pollution rules cost \u201ctoo much.\u201d Expect lawsuits aimed at weakening air quality standards.<\/p>\n Who is most at risk? The effects won\u2019t be immediate, but they will add up over time. Communities near highways, factories, and industrial sites, which are often low-income or historically marginalized communities, are likely to be hit hardest.<\/p>\n What can you do? Track your local air quality. AirNow<\/a> uses official data and can be found in your phone’s weather apps. PurpleAir <\/a>offers community-level data, though it\u2019s less precise (but getting better). Also, you may want to purchase an indoor air filter (Wirecutter has some good ones). <\/p>\n The scenes of fear, trauma, and threat to safety in communities, like in Minneapolis, are hard to watch. And many are not just watching, they are living it, like my daughter\u2019s school friend. <\/a><\/p>\n This situation has direct and indirect impacts on health, as it changes how families live, work, and, critically, how and when they seek medical care. When people worry about enforcement on the way to a clinic or hospital, many delay or avoid care even for serious conditions, which can worsen illness and increase community health risks.<\/p>\n What this means for you: Communities can still be a source of strength. Educators play a critical role in schools. Clinical care teams, whose primary role is to ensure patient safety, can take actionable steps to support these communities within the clinical setting. <\/p>\n But this is new territory. Marisa, YLE\u2019s correspondent in New York, pulled together resources for you to help support families carrying this burden. She also took a deeper dive into the data and noted the recent rollback of protections for sensitive locations. Check it out here:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The ripple effects of deportations<\/p>\n Immigration, one area experiencing significant policy change, is inextricably linked to public health. News of ICE raids has been all over the media, but what does that mean, and how do they affect New Yorkers\u2026<\/p>\n Read more<\/p>\n a year ago \u00b7 76 likes \u00b7 Marisa Donnelly<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Exhale. There is good news.<\/p>\n Funding restored<\/p>\n The American Academy of Pediatrics had $12 million in grants reinstated<\/a> after a court order.<\/p>\n $2 billion for mental health, substance use treatment, and overdose prevention was restored to SAMHSA after bipartisan pressure. This was less than a day after cuts affected 2,000+ organizations.<\/p>\n Overdose deaths are falling. From August 2024 to August 2025, overdose deaths dropped<\/a> in 45 states. This is in big thanks to naloxone access, service expansions, and improved treatment. There\u2019s still work to do, but this is progress to celebrate.<\/p>\n Cancer survivorship is at an all-time high. Seventy percent<\/a> of U.S. cancer patients diagnosed between 2015 and 2021 reached five-year survival. Gains were seen even among some of the deadliest cancers, including liver, lung, and multiple myeloma. Better prevention, screening, and treatments are saving and extending lives.<\/p>\n New hope for multiple myeloma. A recent trial<\/a> of a new immunotherapy combination showed that more than 80% of patients remained alive and progression-free for nearly three years (compared to 30% of patients who didn\u2019t receive the therapy).<\/p>\n Please be healthy and safe out there. And remember, power comes not only from the top down, but also from the bottom up. <\/p>\n Love, YLE<\/p>\n<\/a>Number of measles cases per week in South Carolina. Source: Yale School of Public Health.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>Source: CDC; Annotated by Your Local Epidemiologist.<\/p>\n<\/a>Source: CDC; Annotated by Your Local Epidemiologist.<\/p>\n<\/a>Monthly opioid deaths, United States. Data: CDC<\/a><\/p>\n