Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) on Friday declared a state disaster emergency over polio after an unvaccinated individual tested positive for the virus and officials have detected samples of polio in the city's wastewater.
Driving the news: Poliovirus has been detected in wastewater in New York counties, in addition to New York City, providing evidence of transmission of the contagious virus, which can lead to paralysis or meningitis.
A crush of out-of-state patients at abortion clinics is causing backlogs in care and forcing some to have the procedure later in their pregnancies, when treatment is more intensive and costs are higher.
Superbugs are strengthening their foothold: The COVID-19 pandemic spurred a 15% increase in hospital-related infections and deaths in 2020, per the CDC.
Why it matters: The U.S. was already reporting an antimicrobial resistant (AMR) infection every 11 seconds, and a death from them every 15 minutes before the pandemic. Low- and middle-income countries face worse conditions.
People seeking green cards and visas will no longer be subject to a test of how much they'd likely rely on Medicaid and other government benefits in the future under a Department of Homeland Security rule published on Thursday.
Driving the news: The Biden administration moved to rescind a contentious Trump administration policy that sought to restrict legal immigration by people likely to subsist on government benefits.
Dwindling public demand for COVID vaccines and private market pressures should combine to cost manufacturers billions of dollars once the federal government stops buying the shots, eating into Pfizer and Moderna's pandemic profits.
Between the lines: The federal government bought far more vaccine than Americans would ever use to ensure that vaccine would be accessible.But private purchasers won't tolerate redundancy or waste.
