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The first national data on influenza vaccination among nursing home residents finds that they are less likely to receive flu shots than older adults living in the community, according to a new analysis. Only 61% of nursing home residents received flu shots during the 2024-2025 flu season, compared with 76% of people over age 75 who live in the community, according to a report published yesterday in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. (Szabo, 4/24)

Six more US children died of influenza last week as seasonal respiratory virus activity continues slowing, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported today in its weekly FluView report. Pediatric flu deaths so far this season now total 149. About 85% of the children who died and had a known vaccination status were unvaccinated. (Van Beusekom, 4/24)

Nancy Cox, who for decades was a global leader in influenza research, has died. Cox headed the influenza team at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for 22 years, shepherding it from a branch of 14 people to a division of over 100. She was also director of the World Health Organization’s Collaborating Center for the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Control of Influenza at the CDC. (Branswell, 4/25)

Two cases of measles in the Baltimore metro area have been confirmed by health officials, the Maryland Department of Health announced in a release. (Byrne, 4/24)

In April 2020, people around the globe were struggling to come to grips with the strictures of unprecedented societal shutdowns aimed at slowing the spread of Covid-19. Flattening the curve, in 2020-speak. Six years later, school and business closures, mask wearing, and social distancing are dim, unpleasant memories. And Covid, though it still animates political animus plenty, feels like a threat from yesteryear. (Branswell, 4/27)

The virus that causes COVID-19 does not appear to linger in placental tissue after a pregnant patient recovers from acute infection, according to a small case-control study published this week in JAMA Network Open. The findings suggest that placental infection is unlikely in the weeks and months after illness, even in cases with adverse outcomes. (Bergeson, 4/24)

Diagnosing pneumonia in patients hospitalized for respiratory failure can be challenging, particularly when the patients are children. Children frequently carry bacterial pathogens in the upper throat and airways that could cause pneumonia. But just because those bacteria are present doesn’t necessarily mean there’s an infection, according to Emily Lydon, MD, an infectious disease (ID) physician and clinical fellow at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Those pathogens might just be taking up residence. (Dall, 4/24)

Transmission of clade 1 mpox virus during commercial air travel appears to be uncommon, according to a study published yesterday in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The analysis looked at data from five commercial flights taken by three men with active mpox symptoms to assess the risk of in-flight transmission. The three men were aged 20 to 40 years. The flights took place from November 2024 to January 2025. (Bergeson, 4/24)

Tick season seems to be off to a fast start, with an unusually high number of bites already reported across the country. Some U.S. doctors are worried about the potential for a bad year for tick-borne diseases. “If you have a lot of exposures, there will probably be more cases of tick-related infections,” said Dr. Alina Filozov, an infectious disease doctor at Middlesex Hospital in Middletown, Connecticut. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an early advisory to the public this week to guard against ticks. (Stobbe, 4/25)

Experts explained what to do if you find a tick attached to your skin, including how to remove it and document it, and when to seek medical advice. (Felton, 4/25)

���ϳԹ��� News: ���ϳԹ��� News’ ‘On Air’: Gounder Culls The News, From Ticks And AI To Who Might Lead CDC

Céline Gounder, ���ϳԹ��� News’ editor-at-large for public health, discussed the increase in hospital visits during tick season on CBS’ CBS Mornings on April 20. On April 18, for CBS News’ The Daily Report, Gounder discussed how some health podcasts generated by artificial intelligence are spreading misinformation. She also spoke with Scripps News about President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Erica Schwartz. (4/25)