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Public Health

Do soda taxes fight obesity? How did Juul hook American teens? Vox tackles all your questions about public health issues and trends.

Science
Why don’t we have vaccines for fungal infections?Why don’t we have vaccines for fungal infections?
Science

The alarming rise of Candida auris highlights the need for better protection.

By Keren Landman, MD
Politics
How the US can stop the spread of Candida auris, a drug-resistant fungusHow the US can stop the spread of Candida auris, a drug-resistant fungus
Politics

With potential vaccines still in development, prevention is key.

By Nicole Narea
The doomers are wrong about humanity’s future — and its past
The Highlight

The necessity of progress.

By Bryan Walsh
Future Perfect
Why 70 percent of the world’s maternal deaths are in sub-Saharan AfricaWhy 70 percent of the world’s maternal deaths are in sub-Saharan Africa
Future Perfect

How do we ensure no person dies as a result of bringing life into this world?

By Rachel DuRose
Future Perfect
We can overcome vaccine hesitancy. Just look at the HPV shot.We can overcome vaccine hesitancy. Just look at the HPV shot.
Future Perfect

What we can learn from the shot that protected a generation of women from cancer.

By Rachel DuRose
Science
Why it’s so hard to get answers on long CovidWhy it’s so hard to get answers on long Covid
Science

Even the best-designed studies yield some head-scratching results.

By Keren Landman, MD
Policy
The campaign to make insulin less expensive just scored a major victoryThe campaign to make insulin less expensive just scored a major victory
Policy

The price of insulin has skyrocketed, but now one major drug company will limit patients’ costs.

By Dylan Scott
Policy
The pay gap between hospital CEOs and nurses is expanding even faster than we thoughtThe pay gap between hospital CEOs and nurses is expanding even faster than we thought
Policy

Some hospital CEOs quadrupled their salaries in a few years while nurses’ pay largely stayed stagnant.

By Dylan Scott
Future Perfect
The new scientific review on masks and Covid isn’t what you thinkThe new scientific review on masks and Covid isn’t what you think
Future Perfect

A meta-analysis seeks to be the last word on the effectiveness of masks, but finding answers in science isn’t that easy.

By Kelsey Piper
Health
How bad of a norovirus wave is the US in for?How bad of a norovirus wave is the US in for?
Health

Things could get real shitty.

By Keren Landman, MD
Science
Nobody but your doctor should know your menstrual historyNobody but your doctor should know your menstrual history
Science

The big problem with Florida asking for so much of its student-athletes’ health information.

By Keren Landman, MD
Climate
It doesn’t take that many electric cars to improve public healthIt doesn’t take that many electric cars to improve public health
Climate

Researchers have found that California’s electric cars are already keeping asthma patients out of ERs.

By Umair Irfan
Politics
Insulin is way too expensive. California has a solution: Make its own.Insulin is way too expensive. California has a solution: Make its own.
Politics

The drug’s cost crisis is spurring states to pursue a public version of an essential medication.

By Dylan Scott
Obesity in the age of Ozempic
Science

Drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are changing how patients view their own weight struggles. Will society follow?

By Julia Belluz
Science
Can you get bird flu?Can you get bird flu?
Science

The H5N1 avian flu virus isn’t a major human threat today. Here’s what it’d take to become one.

By Keren Landman, MD and Benji Jones
Money
What an abortion hotline reveals about reproductive care after RoeWhat an abortion hotline reveals about reproductive care after Roe
Money

Linda Prine, a physician and co-founder of the Miscarriage and Abortion Hotline, describes the new realities for patients in states where the procedure is banned.

By Marin Cogan and Victoria Chamberlin
Future Perfect
What can the world learn from China’s “zero-Covid” lockdown?What can the world learn from China’s “zero-Covid” lockdown?
Future Perfect

Short-term lockdowns could be key to ending pandemics early.

By Rachel DuRose
Politics
Believe it or not, we are not going to be sick foreverBelieve it or not, we are not going to be sick forever
Politics

This year’s weird, bad cold-and-flu-and-Covid season might have peaked.

By Dylan Scott
Science
Were bivalent boosters worth it?Were bivalent boosters worth it?
Science

The biggest questions about the newest Covid-19 vaccines are still unanswered.

By Keren Landman, MD
Future Perfect
Congress’s bipartisan deal to spend billions more fighting HIV and malaria abroadCongress’s bipartisan deal to spend billions more fighting HIV and malaria abroad
Future Perfect

At the surface, Congress is a total mess. Below, it’s actually getting some big stuff done.

By Dylan Matthews
Politics
A worrisome trend in American hospitals is hurting poor patientsA worrisome trend in American hospitals is hurting poor patients
Politics

When public hospitals are taken over by private companies, people on Medicaid are left worse off.

By Dylan Scott
Sports
Why we can’t turn off the NFLWhy we can’t turn off the NFL
Sports

America’s unbreakable fixation with football will only lead to more injuries like Damar Hamlin’s.

By Dylan Scott
The medical system has failed Black Americans for centuries. Could reparations be the answer?
Politics

The growing, and sometimes conflicted, calls for cash payments to achieve parity and better health outcomes, explained.

By Julia Craven and Margo Snipe, Capital B
Politics
2022 was the worst for many US hospitals. The aftershocks will last for years.2022 was the worst for many US hospitals. The aftershocks will last for years.
Politics

Constant health crises have made it impossible for some hospitals to plan for the future. Patients will pay the price.

By Dylan Scott
Science
Great news for germsGreat news for germs
Science

The US doesn’t have enough infectious disease doctors — and the situation is about to get worse.

By Keren Landman, MD
Future Perfect
Why are American lives getting shorter?Why are American lives getting shorter?
Future Perfect

US life expectancy got worse during Covid-19, and then kept getting worse.

By Siobhan McDonough
Politics
5 studies released in 2022 that might change how you think about health care5 studies released in 2022 that might change how you think about health care
Politics

From racial bias in CPR to private equity price hikes, here’s what researchers learned about US health care this year.

By Dylan Scott
Science
5 experts share how to make day care less germy5 experts share how to make day care less germy
Science

Lasting change is going to take more than just good hand hygiene.

By Keren Landman, MD
Politics
Ron DeSantis’s vaccine “investigation” is all about beating TrumpRon DeSantis’s vaccine “investigation” is all about beating Trump
Politics

Ron DeSantis’s increasingly aggressive anti-Covid vaccine crusade, explained.

By Dylan Scott
Politics
China’s health system isn’t ready for the end of “zero Covid”China’s health system isn’t ready for the end of “zero Covid”
Politics

Millions of lives are at stake as the country prepares to relax its Covid strategy.

By Dylan Scott
Science
The US has never recorded this many positive flu tests in one weekThe US has never recorded this many positive flu tests in one week
Science

And health care systems are getting absolutely crushed ... again.

By Keren Landman, MD
Why does the US keep running out of medicine?
Politics

America’s frequent drug shortages put patients’ health — and their lives — at risk.

By Dylan Scott
Science
Syphilis rates are soaring in South Dakota’s American Indian communities. What’s going on?Syphilis rates are soaring in South Dakota’s American Indian communities. What’s going on?
Science

The trend reveals the importance of data sharing between state, federal, and tribal health authorities.

By Keren Landman, MD
Going home for the holidays? Boost, mask, and test beforehand.
Even Better

Steps to take to protect your family from Covid-19, RSV, and flu.

By Allie Volpe
Science
New RSV vaccines are coming. This is very, very good news.New RSV vaccines are coming. This is very, very good news.
Science

The vaccines, along with other preventative treatments, could change cold season as we know it.

By Keren Landman, MD
Future Perfect
Forget tainted candy: The scariest thing on Halloween is parked in your drivewayForget tainted candy: The scariest thing on Halloween is parked in your driveway
Future Perfect

More American child pedestrians die on Halloween from cars than on any other day of the year.

By Muizz Akhtar
Science
Why everybody you know is sick right nowWhy everybody you know is sick right now
Science

What’s behind the early surge in RSV and flu — and what’s to come.

By Dylan Scott
The 2022 midterm elections, explained
John Fetterman survived a stroke. It could be an asset if he’s elected.John Fetterman survived a stroke. It could be an asset if he’s elected.
The 2022 midterm elections, explained

All of society benefits when workplaces include people with a range of disabilities.

By Keren Landman, MD
Our buildings are making us sick
Explainers

Here’s how to fix them — and what’s getting in the way.

By Keren Landman, MD
Target Malaria’s scientists are working to rid Africa of an ancient plague
The 2022 Future Perfect 50

Fred Aboagye-Antwi, Mamadou Coulibaly, Abdoulaye Diabate, and Jonathan Kayondo are developing a groundbreaking “gene drive” approach to eradicating malaria.

By Dylan Matthews