Philadelphia’s street opioid supply – or “dope” market – is constantly changing. As health care workers and researchers who care for people who use drugs in our community, we have…
Tag: Public health
5 years on, true counts of COVID-19 deaths remain elusive − and research is hobbled by lack of data
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers struggled to grasp the rate of the virus’s spread and the number of related deaths. While hospitals tracked cases and deaths…
Measles cases are on the rise − here’s how to make sure you’re protected
The measles outbreak that started in Texas in late January continues to grow. As of March 18, 2025, confirmed cases in the outbreak, which now spans Texas, New Mexico and…
5 years of COVID-19 underscore value of coordinated efforts to manage disease – while CDC, NIH and WHO face threats to their ability to respond to a crisis
Five years ago, on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of COVID-19 a global pandemic. The novel coronavirus, dubbed SARS-CoV-2, began as a “cluster of severe…
COVID-19 is the latest epidemic to show biomedical breakthroughs aren’t enough to eliminate a disease
The COVID-19 pandemic transformed over the past five years from a catastrophic threat that has killed over 7 million people to what most people regard today as a tolerable annoyance…
Texas records first US measles death in 10 years – a medical epidemiologist explains how to protect yourself and your community from this deadly, preventable disease
On Feb. 26, 2025, Texas health officials announced the death of a child in a measles outbreak – the first measles death in the United States since 2015. The outbreak…
CDC layoffs strike deeply at its ability to respond to the current flu, norovirus and measles outbreaks and other public health emergencies
In just a few short weeks, the Trump administration has brought drastic changes to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and public health. Beginning with the removal of websites…
How opioid deaths tripled in Philly over a decade − and what may be behind a recent downturn
After nearly a decade of almost year-over-year increases in overdose deaths, the tide may finally be turning in Philadelphia. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced in May 2024…
US dodged a bird flu pandemic in 1957 thanks to eggs and dumb luck – with a new strain spreading fast, will Americans get lucky again?
In recent months, Americans looking for eggs have faced empty shelves in their grocery stores. The escalating threat of avian flu has forced farmers to kill millions of chickens to…
Nutrition advice is rife with misinformation − a medical education specialist explains how to tell valid health information from pseudoscience
The COVID-19 pandemic illuminated a vast landscape of misinformation about many topics, science and health chief among them. Since then, information overload continues unabated, and many people are rightfully confused…
