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As if parents don’t have enough to worry about between the flu, RSV, Covid and all the other viruses circulating, here’s something new to add to the list of anxieties: severe cases of bacterial infections caused by strep A. (Lisa Jarvis, 12/19)

Americans have been warned — again — about lax attention to routine vaccinations. This time the warning comes from measles, an age-old, vaccine-preventable disease, with an outbreak in central Ohio among nearly 80 children and counting, almost all of them unvaccinated against measles. (Rhea Boyd, Bruce Lesley and Alexandra Quinn, 12/20)

Currently, we have no vaccine to prevent RSV. This may be partly why RSV is so unknown, as flu shot campaigns have made the influenza virus a part of our culture. We have only one preventative treatment for RSV that we save for the most vulnerable babies, a monoclonal antibody administered as a monthly injection during RSV season. (Janet A. Englund, 12/19)

It started with one person releasing a long, productive unmasked cough into the stale, recycled air on the rush hour train. The bodily fluids hung in the air like a certified holiday wrecking ball. In a matter of days, that single exhalation had transformed into a chorus of viral aerosols reverberating, unbridled coughs and sneezes and gargled throat clearings working in a sort of crude, sick harmony backed by a nose blowing percussion I envisioned infecting all bystanders, myself included. (Allison Hope, 12/20)

It took more than three months for the state of Texas to release its report Thursday documenting wide racial disparities and an increase in severe medical complications for pregnant women. (12/20)

Healthcare leaders must harness the power of partnerships—and the fuel of philanthropy—in order to meet the rising needs of our patients. (Katy Welkie, 12/20)