Month: September 2021

“He’s a very strong public health leader with many years of experience, and would bring great connectivity to African leaders and community partners,” said Dr. Chris Beyrer, a professor of public health and human rights at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. (Dr. Beyrer was on a short list of candidates for the position.) PEPFAR, the largest public health program in the United States, was started in 2003 by President George W. Bush. Since its launch, the U.S. government has invested more than $85 billion in more than 50 countries, saving an estimated 20 million lives. Funds distributed by the scheme are used to support prevention programs, testing and antiretroviral therapy for H.I.V. Some directors have been heavy-handed in setting priorities for African nations, so a le...

A Humboldt County resident in their 50s has died from COVID-19. Department Operations Center staff share their sympathies with the family, friends and caregivers of those who have died. Two hospitalizations have also been reported, including a person in their 20s and one in their 50s. Seventy-two new cases have been reported, bringing to 8,254 the total number of residents who have tested positive for the virus. Public health officials continue to urge residents to get tested for COVID-19, particularly unvaccinated individuals, those experiencing symptoms, and those who have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for the virus. Testing is available at most Public Health vaccine clinics, where residents will have the option of getting tested, vaccinated or both. As al...

Coronavirus infections among children continue to hit near-record highs in the United States, with pediatric cases accounting for nearly 26% of all new cases reported last week, according to a new report. Nearly 226,000 new pediatric cases were reported between Sept. 9 and 16, which is slightly lower than the previous two weeks’ totals but still higher than at any other time during the pandemic, according to the report released Monday by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association. The weekly case count did drop slightly ― from 243,373 the previous week to the latest tally of 225,978 ― but pediatric cases overall made up 25.7% of all cases reported in the country, up from 15.5% the week prior. This latest boom in COVID-19 infections among children ha...

Eggs tend to be a common source of Salmonella outbreaks, though many foods and animals can spread it as well. Photo: Justin Sullivan (Getty Images) A sweeping outbreak of Salmonella bacteria has sickened people in at least 25 states, health officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have reported. So far, though, the exact source of the foodborne illness remains a mystery, and officials are asking for people with a suspected stomach flu to report it to their local health departments. As of September 17, according to the CDC, there have been 127 cases of the outbreak reported. Of these, 18 people have been hospitalized, and none have died. Cases have been found from coast to coast, though Texas has seen the most, with 45 so far. Salmonella are fuzzy-looking, rod-sh...

In the least vaccinated states, roughly eight people out of every 100,000 residents died of Covid-19 over the past week, compared with only about two out of every 100,000 people in the 10 most vaccinated states. CNN used data from Johns Hopkins University and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the analysis. Less vaccinated states tend to have higher hospitalization rates, too. The latest data from the US Department of Health and Human Services shows an average of 39 Covid-19 hospitalizations per 100,000 people in the 10 least vaccinated states, nearly three times higher than the average rate of 14 per 100,000 people in the 10 most vaccinated states. The states with the lowest vaccination rates have fully vaccinated less than 45% of their residents. They are Alabama, ...