Axios

For many, the "damp" or "dry" lifestyle has gone beyond January.

Why it matters: This year, huge interest in the annual booze-free challenge Dry January marked a change in the way American adults think about alcohol.

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo contradicted federal health guidelines on measles this week by not urging parents to vaccinate their children against one of the world's most contagious viruses.

Why it matters: Ladapo's apathy toward measles vaccinations comes as a Florida elementary school is attempting to contain an outbreak and as measles cases have remerged across the U.S.

Patients across the country have been unable to get their prescriptions filled as health tech company Change Healthcare responds to a cyberattack.

Why it matters: It's still unclear when Change Healthcare will return to normal operations, and until then, local pharmacies that rely on the company to process payments through patients' insurance say they're facing outages and delays in filling prescriptions.

The idea that a full moon drives strange behavior is so deeply ingrained in our culture that some superstitious hospitals even bulk up on staffing when one is coming.

Why it matters: New data from hospital safety company Canopy suggests, well, they might be onto something.

The rates of firearm deaths among Black and Hispanic youth have surged since the start of the pandemic, a new KFF analysis of federal data shows.

The big picture: Guns became the leading killer of children during the pandemic, with disproportionate impacts on communities of color.

Job openings in health care and social services last year hit the second highest rate since data began to be collected in 2001, and the employment picture remained strong in January, especially in ambulatory care settings and hospitals.

Why it matters: The findings from Altarum reinforce just how much the health industry is fueling a robust labor market, even as it's beset by churn and high levels of worker burnout.

Americans see poor mental health as one of the biggest threats to public health, ranking just behind obesity and the long-running opioid epidemic, according to the latest Axios-Ipsos American Health Index.

The big picture: Almost 9 out of 10 people say their own emotional wellbeing is very or somewhat good, but they view mental health issues as a serious societal threat that now outranks access to firearms, cancer or COVID-19.