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Reducing socioeconomic disparities could help ‘pandemic-proof’ America
Social scientist David R. Williams says reducing socioeconomic disparities could help African Americans fare better when future pandemics hit.
More ICU capacity still needed in U.S. for COVID-19 patients
As the U.S. begins to reopen its economy, hospital intensive care units (ICUs) across the country still need more capacity to handle new COVID-19 cases, according to a new analysis from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health…
Opinion: How cutting public health budgets imperils America’s health at large
President Trump’s proposal to cut the annual budget for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) by just over 10% is short-sighted and would further strain the nation’s already struggling health system, according to a March 3,…
Debating the transparency surrounding risky pathogen research
Experts are trying to figure out how much the public should know about experiments that could make pathogens, such as viruses, more transmissible or more deadly. Scientists conduct this type of research in order to better understand how…
Keeping perspective on the coronavirus outbreak
News about the coronavirus that recently spread from Wuhan, China, has increasingly made headlines and filled news segments, yet epidemiologists and infectious disease experts are cautioning the public against panicking. “We don’t have evidence yet to suggest this…
Close to half of U.S. population projected to have obesity by 2030
About half of the adult U.S. population will have obesity and about a quarter will have severe obesity by 2030.
Preparing for future pandemics by learning from the past
October 3, 2018—In past pandemics, infrastructure failures and problematic language in the media have undercut efforts to contain disease, according to Harvard’s Allan Brandt. Brandt, professor of the history of science and Amalie Moses Kass Professor of the…
Off the Cuff: The 1918 Flu in 2018
If the 1918 flu virus—which killed between 50 million and 100 million people worldwide—were to appear in 2018 with all its lethality, would we be better or worse off than we were a century ago?
A new era of epidemics
In this week’s episode we speak with two leading experts on Zika virus—which grabbed international attention when it sickened a million people in dozens of countries more than two years ago.
Massachusetts report shows decline in opioid overdose deaths
A new Massachusetts Department of Public Health report showing a decline in the number of opioid overdose deaths for the first half of 2017 is encouraging news for health officials who hope the state is starting to make…