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The U.S. heath secretary recently declared monkeypox as a public health emergency, paving the way for emergency use authorizations of additional vaccines or vaccine regimens to fight the disease. (Philip Krause and Luciana L. Borio, 8/9)

One solution available is to refer to the virus and illness with letters, rather than the full name. “Use the acronym MPV (short for monkeypox virus) to help reduce stigma and sensationalizing,” advises a fact sheet from GLAAD. “It is acceptable to use the term monkeypox on first mention for context, and then to use MPV thereafter.” GLAAD also suggests MPX as an abbreviation; it’s in use by some doctors and writers. (Hannah Docter-Loeb, 8/9)

The pandemic has amplified anti-vaccine sentiment, and in some cases, it has devolved into general hostility toward science and medical expertise. This might be the age of the mRNA vaccines that saved millions of lives, but it is also a period in which anti-vaccine campaigns cost lives. By one account, since coronavirus vaccines became widely available in 2021, some 200,000 deaths in the United States could have been averted if patients had not gone unvaccinated. (8/9)

The Covid-19 pandemic has been a lesson in speed: the speed at which a novel virus among humans can spread; the speed at which it can rack up fatalities and cripple economies; the speed at which vaccines can be designed and produced; the speed at which misinformation can undermine public health. (David Quammen, 8/10)

By all indications, the incidence of depression and anxiety among all children has surged dramatically. In December, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned that the country is facing a youth mental health crisis, exacerbated by the pandemic. This followed the declaration of a national mental health emergency by the country’s leading experts in pediatric health, particularly among the most vulnerable — LGBTQ kids, disabled kids, Black, brown and Indigenous kids, and kids involved in the child welf/are or juvenile justice systems. (Robin Abcarian, 8/10)

For the 63 million Americans who receive Medicare benefits, challenges that significantly affect their mental well-being continue to rise. (Sarah Peipert, 8/9)