5 years on, true counts of COVID-19 deaths remain elusive − and research is hobbled by lack of data

Death data in the US is fragmented, incomplete and inconsistent. The consequences of undercounted deaths and lack of real-time tracking continue to be felt with each new public health crisis.

Dylan Thomas Doyle, Ph.D. Candidate in Information Science, University of Colorado Boulder • conversation
March 20, 2025 • ~10 min

End-of-life planning can be hampered by misconceptions − but the process is easier than you might think

COVID-19 highlighted the need to plan for medical emergencies, but most people still avoid the issue.

Anisah Bagasra, Associate Professor of Psychology, Kennesaw State University • conversation
March 11, 2025 • ~8 min

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

More than a century ago, the US learned what happens when there is no national response to a major health crisis.

Katherine A. Foss, Professor of Media Studies, Middle Tennessee State University • conversation
March 11, 2025 • ~11 min

5 ways schools have shifted in 5 years since COVID-19

Public school access to high-quality teachers is shrinking, while teen reports of feeling unsafe at school are on the rise.

Gravity Goldberg, Visiting Assistant Professor in Education Studies, Wesleyan University • conversation
March 10, 2025 • ~10 min

5 ways schools have shifted in 5 years since the COVID-19

Public school access to high-quality teachers is shrinking, while teen reports of feeling unsafe at school are on the rise.

Gravity Goldberg, Visiting Assistant Professor in Education Studies, Wesleyan University • conversation
March 10, 2025 • ~10 min

As tuberculosis cases rise in the US and worldwide, health officials puzzle over the resurgence of a disease once in decline

Reports of TB date back to the time of Hippocrates, but the Kansas outbreak shows that the ancient disease is very much a modern-day scourge.

Marcela Henao-Tamayo, Associate Professor of Microbiology & Immunology, Colorado State University • conversation
March 6, 2025 • ~9 min

COVID-19 is the latest epidemic to show biomedical breakthroughs aren’t enough to eliminate a disease

Scientific discoveries are necessary to eliminate epidemic diseases. But addressing socioeconomic factors is just as essential in the fight against diseases such as syphilis, AIDS and TB.

Powel H. Kazanjian, Professor of Infectious Diseases and of History, University of Michigan • conversation
March 5, 2025 • ~9 min

As flu cases break records this year, vaccine rates are declining, particularly for children and 65+ adults

So far, fewer than half of US children and older adults have been vaccinated during this year’s high-severity flu season.

Annette Regan, Adjunct Associate Professor of Epidemiology, University of California, Los Angeles • conversation
Feb. 28, 2025 • ~8 min

USAID’s apparent demise and the US withdrawal from WHO put millions of lives worldwide at risk and imperil US national security

USAID has a decades-long history of fighting smallpox, polio, malaria, tuberculosis and HIV.

Nicole Hassoun, Professor of Philosophy, Binghamton University, State University of New York • conversation
Feb. 25, 2025 • ~8 min

CDC layoffs strike deeply at its ability to respond to the current flu, norovirus and measles outbreaks and other public health emergencies

The CDC was instrumental in eradicating smallpox, identifying the causes of HIV and encouraging Americans to get the COVID-19 shot.

Jordan Miller, Teaching Professor of Public Health, Arizona State University • conversation
Feb. 19, 2025 • ~10 min

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