public health

The FDA has approved Shionogi's ensitrelvir (Xocova) for post-exposure prophylaxis of COVID-19, the first oral antiviral cleared for that indication in the US.

The CDC logged 1,952 measles cases through May 21, 2026 — on pace to surpass last year's high not seen since 1992 — as a Lancet study concludes four of seven elimination indicators have already been missed.

A rare Bundibugyo virus outbreak with no licensed vaccines or treatments has been declared a PHEIC, with over 650 suspected cases and 160 suspected deaths across three DRC provinces and Uganda.

Fresh 52-week safety data presented at ATS 2026 reinforce cytisinicline's profile ahead of a June 20 FDA decision that could bring the first new smoking cessation drug to US patients since 2006.

UK health officials are widening the MenB response in Kent by offering second doses to people already given a first shot, after an outbreak that has left two people dead and 21 confirmed cases.

Phase 3 PreVenTB trial of 12,717 people across India shows VPM1002 cuts extrapulmonary tuberculosis by 50%, but neither candidate prevents pulmonary TB or latent infection.

A study of nearly 250,000 U.S. adults finds the shingles vaccine dramatically reduces heart attacks, strokes, and deaths in people with existing cardiovascular disease.

The 2026 AMR Benchmark reveals a 35 percent contraction in pharmaceutical antibiotic pipelines since 2021, while the WHO publishes new target product profiles for urgently needed drugs against carbapenem-resistant bacteria, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus, and drug-resistant meningitis.

The FDA is simultaneously overhauling its GRAS ingredient notification system, phasing out petroleum-based food dyes by year-end, and confronting PFAS contamination in produce, marking the broadest transformation of US food chemical regulation since the 1958 Food Additives Amendment.

A federal court has halted sweeping changes to the national childhood immunization schedule and frozen Kennedy's ACIP appointments, finding the reconstituted panel likely violated federal law.

ARMR Sciences begins Phase 1 trials of a vaccine that trains the immune system to intercept fentanyl before it reaches the brain, a preventive approach with no precedent in addiction medicine.

A second-generation Pro-Active Genetics system spreads via bacterial conjugation to disable resistance genes on plasmids, working even inside biofilms.