Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Progesterone-only contraceptive pill linked to increased asthma attacks in some women

A major study of around 260,000 women shows that taking the progesterone-only contraceptive pill can increase asthma attacks in some women.

7 May 2025

Trump policies at odds with ‘make America healthy again’ push

In his March address to Congress, President Donald Trump honored a Texas boy diagnosed with brain cancer. Amid bipartisan applause, he vowed to drive down childhood cancer rates through his "Make America Healthy Again" initiative.

7 May 2025

HIV testing and outreach falter as Trump funding cuts sweep the South

Storm clouds hung low above a community center in Jackson, where pastor Andre Devine invited people inside for lunch. Hoagies with smoked turkey and ham drew the crowd, but several people lingered for free preventive health care: tests for HIV and other diseases, flu shots, and blood pressure and glucose monitoring.

6 May 2025

CEPI and University of Bergen collaborate on global vaccine mapping project

Supported by CEPI funding of up to $ 1.5 million over three years, researchers at Norway's University of Bergen will maintain an up-to-date overview of every vaccine candidate being developed around the globe for CEPI's priority pathogens as well as other emerging viral threats identified by CEPI.

5 May 2025

Trump team’s $500 million bet on old vaccine technology puzzles scientists

The Trump administration's unprecedented $500 million grant for a broadly protective flu shot has confounded vaccine and pandemic preparedness experts, who said the project was in early stages, relied on old technology, and was just one of more than 200 such efforts.

5 May 2025

Alabama can’t prosecute groups helping patients get abortions elsewhere, judge rules

Reproductive rights groups in Alabama wasted no time resuming their work after a federal judge ruled in early April that the state's attorney general can't prosecute — or threaten to prosecute — people or organizations who help Alabama residents seek an abortion by traveling to another state.

5 May 2025

New albumin-based vaccine shows promise for mucosal immunity

Vaccines save millions of lives every year, but there is still an urgent need for more efficient vaccines. Strategies to combat serious outbreaks of viral infections are particularly important.

2 May 2025

Covered California pushes for better health care as federal spending cuts loom

Faced with potential federal spending cuts that threaten health coverage and falling childhood vaccination rates, Monica Soni, the chief medical officer of Covered California, has a lot on her plate — and on her mind.

2 May 2025

COVID-19 leaves longer-lasting symptoms than flu or pneumonia, study finds

A large U.S. cohort study found that post-acute symptoms after COVID-19 vary by initial disease severity, age, sex, and comorbidities. Compared to influenza and pneumonia, long COVID presented with distinct symptom patterns and longer-lasting effects.

1 May 2025

HHS and NIH announce the development of next-generation, universal vaccine platform

Colorized transmission electron micrograph of influenza A/H1N1 virus particles. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the National Institutes for Health (NIH) today announced the development of the next-generation, universal vaccine platform, Generation Gold Standard, using a beta-propiolactone (BPL)-inactivated, whole-virus platform.

1 May 2025

Urgent action needed to close gaps in global pandemic preparedness

The Global Virus Network (GVN) is highly concerned that the world is unprepared for the next pandemic and has not incorporated the lessons learned from COVID-19.

30 Apr 2025

Brensocatib once-daily pill shows benefits for chronic lung disease

Results of a large, global clinical trial spanning five continents with over 1,700 patients with bronchiectasis, published this April in the New England Journal of Medicine, demonstrated benefits of an investigational, once-a-day pill called brensocatib as a therapy for the chronic lung condition.

30 Apr 2025

Extreme temperatures drive people toward high-fat diets, study finds

Short-term exposure to extreme temperatures alters dietary patterns by increasing fat intake, even when total calorie consumption remains stable. This shift, driven by physiological appetite regulation, raises the risk of high-fat diets and diet-related diseases, especially among vulnerable groups.

30 Apr 2025

New antiviral compounds show broad protection against COVID-19 variants

Novel Mpro inhibitors exhibit broad activity against SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses.

30 Apr 2025

Disrupted body clocks raise risk of early death, study finds

A large cohort study from China and the U.S. shows that Circadian Syndrome (CircS)—a cluster of metabolic and behavioral disruptions—is linked to higher all-cause and cause-specific mortality. The risk increases with the number of CircS components, especially among adults aged 40–60.

29 Apr 2025

Measles makes a deadly comeback in Europe as vaccine gaps widen

In 2024, measles cases in Europe soared to the highest levels in decades, with over 35,000 reported cases, 87% from Romania alone. Most affected were unvaccinated children, revealing critical immunity gaps and suboptimal vaccination coverage across the EU/EEA.

29 Apr 2025

Global Virus Network urges action to prevent H5N1 pandemic

Today, the Global Virus Network (GVN), representing eminent human and animal virologists from 80+ Centers of Excellence and Affiliates in 40+ countries, published a comprehensive analysis and call-to-action in The Lancet Regional Health-Americas on the North American avian influenza virus, or H5N1, outbreak. The GVN calls on world governments to address the threat of H5N1 avian influenza by enhancing surveillance, implementing biosecurity measures, and preparing for potential human-to-human transmission.

29 Apr 2025