Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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'Monumental Public- Health Achievement' on Cigarette Front

Just 1 in 11 US adults said they were smokers in 2025, a record low

(Newser) - The cigarette smoking rate among US adults dropped to another all-time low last year, with 1 in 11 adults saying they were current smokers, according to government survey data released this week. Cigarette smoking is a risk factor for lung cancer, heart disease, and stroke, and it's long been...

Captain Says He Can't Land in US. Then Came the Masks

Air France flight to Detroit diverted due to unpermitted Congo passenger amid Ebola outbreak

(Newser) - A trans-Atlantic flight bound for Detroit instead touched down in Montreal on Wednesday after US officials refused it entry over a passenger from Congo, where an Ebola outbreak is underway. US Customs and Border Protection said it blocked Air France Flight 378, which originated in Paris, from landing at Detroit'...

Kennedy's Vaccine Pushback Lives On
Kennedy's Vaccine
Pushback Lives On
May 14, 2026 11:00 AM CDT

Kennedy's Vaccine Pushback Lives On

Experts sound alarm as tens of millions of dollars are being spent on vaccine safety reviews

(Newser) - Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. may have gone quiet on vaccines in public, but inside his department, they're front and center. As the New York Times and Politico report, Kennedy is driving a sweeping, largely undisclosed effort across federal health agencies to probe whether vaccines are tied to a...

Overdose Deaths Dropped 14% Last Year

Sharp fall in fentanyl deaths was the biggest factor

(Newser) - CDC scientists are seeing "very promising" signs in the latest figures for US overdose deaths. Preliminary CDC figures show an estimated 69,973 people died from drug overdoses in 2025, a drop of nearly 14% from 2024 and the third straight yearly decline, the Wall Street Journal reports. Fatalities...

In Fighting Ship Virus, Expert Says, 'CDC Is Not Even a Player'

Inaction causes concern for disease response

(Newser) - No quick dispatching of disease investigators. No televised news conference to inform the public. No timely health alerts to doctors. In the middle of a hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship that involves Americans and is making headlines around the world, the US government's top public health agency, the...

Another Cruise Ship, a Whole Other Illness

CDC says norovirus outbreak on Caribbean Princess headed to DR has sickened at least 115

(Newser) - A Caribbean cruise has turned rough for more than 100 people dealing with a norovirus outbreak on board. The CDC says 102 passengers and 13 crew members on the Caribbean Princess reported gastrointestinal symptoms, including vomiting and diarrhea, during the current April 28-May 11 sailing, reports ABC News . The ship,...

She Drank Raw Milk, Saw Her Whole Life 'Blown Apart'

As demand grows, health experts warn that unpasteurized dairy can host dangerous germs

(Newser) - Backers of raw milk are pushing to make the potentially dangerous product more widely available and easier to obtain, even as a new disease outbreak—one of at least five in the past year—sickens US children. More than three dozen bills supporting raw milk have been introduced in statehouses...

California Woman Dies After Snake Bites Her 3 Times

Rattlesnake bites suspected in 78-year-old's death

(Newser) - A Northern California woman's routine walk on rural property ended in a rare but deadly outcome: she was bitten three times by a snake and died two days later, Mendocino County officials say. The 78-year-old, who has not been publicly identified, was taken by relatives to a local hospital...

Trump Picks Erica Schwartz to Run Reeling CDC

Nominee was deputy surgeon general in Trump's first term

(Newser) - President Trump has nominated retired Rear Adm. Erica Schwartz to be director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has been without a permanent chief for months. Schwartz, a physician and former senior Coast Guard medical official, needs Senate confirmation to hold the job at the beleaguered agency,...

Thanks to Iran War, This City Will Cut Its Fluoride Levels

Baltimore says drinking water will remain safe despite temporary move

(Newser) - Baltimore's tap water is getting a tweak, thanks to a global conflict half a world away. The city's Department of Public Works says it's temporarily cutting fluoride levels in drinking water, citing supply chain problems tied in part to the war in Iran and broader regional turmoil....

Deadly Childhood Disease Rebounding as Vaccine Rates Drop

Doctors report new Hib meningitis cases as pediatric vaccinations decline

(Newser) - A once-dreaded deadly childhood infection that many doctors have never actually seen is starting to edge back into view, NBC News reports. Haemophilus influenzae type b, or Hib, was a leading cause of meningitis and other life-threatening infections in young children before a vaccine arrived in 1987. Before that, about...

Tick-Borne Meat Allergy Emerges as Growing Threat
Tick-Borne Meat Allergy
Emerges as Growing Threat
LONGFORM
Mar 29, 2026 8:40 AM CDT

Tick-Borne Meat Allergy Emerges as Growing Threat

Alpha-gal syndrome has even proven fatal, linked to rising cases in hot spots across US

(Newser) - A meat allergy that starts with a tick bite is no longer a medical oddity, and doctors are now tying it to deaths. The New York Times reports on the rapid spread of alpha-gal syndrome , an allergy triggered by the lone star tick that can make people have reactions hours...

COVID's Latest Variant Stands Out From the Rest

'Cicada' has big number of spike protein mutations, though it's not leading to more severe illness

(Newser) - A coronavirus offshoot that spent years lurking in the background is now surfacing in US data—and scientists are watching it closely, but not panicking. The variant, called BA.3.2 and nicknamed "cicada" (like the insect that also stays hidden underground before emerging), has turned up in wastewater...

Costco Recalls Meatloaf Kits Over Salmonella Risk

Meal kits sold widely in US linked to possible contamination from unspecified ingredient

(Newser) - Costco's premade meatloaf dinner might need to go straight from your fridge to the trash. The retailer is recalling its meatloaf with mashed Yukon potatoes and glaze over concerns that one of the ingredients supplied by Griffith Foods Inc. could be tainted with salmonella, reports USA Today . The kits...

States Sue Over CDC Shift on Childhood Vaccinations

New recommendations endanger public health, filing says

(Newser) - More than a dozen states sued the Trump administration on Tuesday over its rollback of vaccine recommendations for children, calling the move an illegal threat to public health. The states argue that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention put children's lives at risk when it announced last month...

Child Obesity Hits Record High, as Adult Rates Level Off

CDC data show 1 in 5 youths is now considered obese, up from 1 in 20 in the early '70s

(Newser) - American adults may finally be hitting a plateau on obesity. Kids, however, are not. Two new CDC reports based on decades of federal health survey data find, among other things, that 40.3% of US adults ages 20 and older were obese between August 2021 and August 2023, slightly below...

FDA Defends Rare Refusal of Moderna Vaccine Application

Agency says trial used substandard comparator shot for seniors

(Newser) - Moderna's surprise stumble with its experimental mRNA flu shot is turning into a very public spat with its regulator, NBC News reports. One day after the company said it was blindsided by the Food and Drug Administration's refusal to review its vaccine application, the agency fired back, accusing...

Study: Minority Births Outnumber White Births in US for First Time

Researchers analyzed 33M CDC-recorded births across racial groups

(Newser) - For the first time in US history, babies born to racial and ethnic minorities collectively outnumber those born to white parents, a new study cited by ABC 7 finds. Researchers at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell analyzed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention records on 33 million births...

In One State, 99 New Measles Cases in 3 Days

South Carolina's outbreak centered in Spartanburg County is now among worst in United States

(Newser) - South Carolina's measles outbreak exploded into one of the worst in the US, with state health officials confirming 99 new cases in the past three days. The outbreak centered in Spartanburg County grew to 310 cases over the holidays, and spawned cases in North Carolina and Ohio among families...

CDC Drastically Overhauls Childhood Vaccine Schedule

Number of recommended vaccines drops from 17 to 10

(Newser) - The federal government took the unprecedented step Monday of dropping the number of vaccines it recommends for every child—leaving other immunizations, such as flu shots, open to families to choose but without clear guidance. Officials said the overhaul to the federal vaccine schedule won't result in any families...

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