In April, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched a new center to better forecast infectious disease outbreaks. It also underwent a month-long review to examine their current systems and inform future strategies. Together, these announcements paint a picture of an agency at a crossroads, in the wake of enormous public scrutiny during…  read on >  read on >

Rare cases of COVID patients relapsing after taking the antiviral pill Paxlovid are raising questions among some experts. An earlier study of 1,000 adults showed that Paxlovid was highly effective at preventing severe COVID and the U.S. government has bought enough of the drug to treat 20 million people. But there have been reports of…  read on >  read on >

Adults with autism have high rates of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and shots, a new study shows. That’s good news, because autistic adults have multiple risk factors for COVID-19 infection and for more severe illness if they contract the disease, the researchers said. “Reaching this group effectively in public health messaging about vaccination is critical,” said…  read on >  read on >

High blood pressure complications during pregnancy can be scary, but a new study warns they also significantly raise a woman’s risk for heart disease later in life. “Women with a history of gestational hypertension or preeclampsia should be informed that they have an increased risk for cardiovascular disease,” said study author Jennifer Stuart. She is…  read on >  read on >

America’s kids have a weight problem, but regulations that boosted the nutritional standards for school meals may have helped slowed down weight gain among low-income students, a new study finds. For decades, the National School Lunch Program has provided free or low-cost meals to U.S. schoolchildren. As of 2016, more than 30 million students nationwide…  read on >  read on >