A ‘silent’ COVID surge may hit the US over the holidays, experts warn — here's what that means This year's winter wave is off to a late start, and experts expect cases to keep rising. Here's what to know. TODAY

This year's winter COVID wave is off to a later start than usual, and some experts are warning about a potential "silent" surge in transmission over the holidays.

Illnesses caused by respiratory viruses increase in US Ahead of the Christmas holiday week, respiratory virus activity triggering healthcare visits is at the moderate level, with further rises seen for flu, activity up from low levels for COVID-19, and high levels for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in its updates, which also included updated seasonal outlooks. CIDRAP

...

Here’s how public health fared in 2024

The world faced many public health challenges this year, including dangerous heat waves and outbreaks of the infectious diseases dengue and mpox. In the United States, after years of increases, there are early but promising signs of a downward trend in drug overdose deaths.

Dengue, mpox and bird flu raised alarms

...