Category: Health

(NEW YORK) — A major update to federal women’s health preventive guidance will make it easier for women to get screened for cervical cancer, including a self-collection option that allows some women to test themselves at home instead of going to a doctor for a pelvic exam.

The new option will be covered by private insurance beginning in January 2027.

The updated Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) guidance now advises that people receive a high-risk HPV test – which checks for the virus types most likely to cause cervical cancer – every five years for average-risk women ages 30 to 65 as the preferred screening approach. This can be done with a clinician-collected sample or by the patient at home. 

Women in that age group still have other choices: a combination of an HPV and Pap test every five years, or Pap testing alone every three years if HPV testing isn’t available. 

“The addition of self-collection really empowers women to make this choice for themselves,” Ann Sheehy, MD, the HRSA’s chief medical officer, told ABC News. “We do retain the option for Pap smear … this is just an additional choice for women.”

For women ages 21 to 29, the recommendations stay the same: Pap tests every three years, which Sheehy said aligns with available evidence.

“By doing this, we’re going to get some of those people that have been falling through the cracks and not getting this testing done in advance,” Tom Engels, administrator of the HRSA, told ABC News. “And by doing that, we’re going to save lives.”

Engels emphasized that the update is meant to expand testing options, not replace the Pap test. Self-collection is intended to remove barriers for women who find in-office screening difficult to schedule, uncomfortable, or hard to access, he stressed. 

American Cancer Society (ACS) guidelines updated in December, by contrast, recommend that cervical cancer screening should begin at age 25 and centers on primary HPV testing, including self-collection tests.

“The combination of good evidence of the benefits of self-collection, which include increased access to cervical cancer screening, combined with FDA approval, led the ACS and HRSA to include self-collection in their guideline update,” Dr. Robert Smith, senior vice president, Early Cancer Detection Science at the American Cancer Society and author of the organization’s updated guidelines, told ABC News.

Cervical cancer screening is often cited as a major public health success. Over the last 50 years, cervical cancer incidence and deaths have fallen by more than 50% in the U.S., according to the American Cancer Society, largely because screening can catch precancerous changes early, before patients notice any symptoms.

When cervical cancer is found early, five-year survival is higher than 90%, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data suggests. But the HSRA guidance notes that more than half of diagnoses happen beyond the earliest stage, after the disease is spread to other areas of the body. In those later stages, five-year survival is only about 20%, according to the CDC.

Wide use of the HPV vaccine is expected to push cervical cancer rates even lower over time, but most of the historical decline happened before widespread vaccination efforts.

Sheehy said she has seen the consequences when screening doesn’t happen, and why early detection matters.

“I’ve seen women who didn’t have access to screening, and their cancer presented at a very late stage,” she said. “Most women who have early-stage cervical cancer or precancer lesions are asymptomatic, and the only way we’re going to detect that is with screening.”

The updated guidance aims to address stubborn gaps despite the decades of progress, she added, pointing out that about half of women diagnosed with cervical cancer have either never been screened or their screening isn’t up to date, and about one in four women in the U.S. are not up to date with screening, according to the CDC.

Only FDA-approved tests are recommended for self-collection. The FDA first expanded approvals in May 2024 to allow patients to self-collect samples in a clinical setting. In May 2025, the FDA approved the first at-home self-collection cervical cancer screening kit.

The at-home option is available by prescription. Exactly how patients access a covered self-collecting test may vary by insurer and plan.

“There’s some FDA tests that are approved for self-collection in an office-based setting and there is one that is available for self-collection at home,” Sheehy noted.

Sheehy and Smith both added that a positive HPV result is not a cancer diagnosis, but it can mean additional testing is necessary.

The updated guidance also aims to reduce costs that can pile up after an abnormal screening result by clarifying what insurers must cover without cost-sharing, including follow-up testing and diagnostic evaluation such as Pap testing, biopsy, and lab work, depending on individual needs.

A separate HRSA guideline that took effect Jan. 1 also requires insurance coverage for patient navigation services that help women schedule screenings, address care challenges, and follow up after abnormal results.

“We know the health care system is incredibly complicated for patients to navigate,” Sheehy said.

Both Engles and Sheehy emphasized how optimistic they are about the potential benefits of expanding access to cervical screening.

“This could be really, really, game-changing for women,” Sheehy said.

Radhika Malhotra, MD, is an internal medicine-preventive medicine resident at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and a member of the ABC News Medical Unit. 

ABC News’ Liz Neporent contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — New York is reporting the highest number of flu hospitalizations recorded in a single week, the state’s health department said on Friday.

During the week ending Dec. 27, 4,546 people were hospitalized with flu, a 24% increase from the 3,666 who were hospitalized the previous week, according to data from the New York State Department of Health (NYSOH)

It comes after the state reported a record-breaking number of flu cases in a single week with 72,133 infections during the week ending Dec. 20.

NYSDOH issued a declaration last month stating influenza is prevalent in New York, which requires health care facilities and agencies to ensure any staff who have not received this year’s flu vaccine wear masks in any areas where patients and residents may be present.

“We are having a more severe flu season than prior years, almost 1,000 more people were admitted to a hospital during this most recent seven-day period compared to the prior week,” Dr. James McDonald, the state’s health commissioner, said in a statement on Friday.

Meanwhile, flu activity is also spiking nationwide. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates there have been at least ​7.5 million illnesses, ​81,000 hospitalizations and ​3,100 deaths from flu so far this season.

New York is one of 20 states recording “very high” levels of respiratory illness activity, according to the latest CDC data.

Public health experts previously told ABC News that many of this season’s cases are linked to a new flu strain called subclade K — a variant of the H3N2 virus, which is itself a subtype of influenza A.

Subclade K has been circulating since the summer in other countries and was a main driver of a spike in flu cases in Canada, Japan and the U.K.

Of the 1,600 flu samples tested by the CDC, roughly ​92% were H3N2. Of those samples, nearly ​90% belonged to subclade K.

Experts expect flu-like illnesses to continue to climb in the coming weeks after holiday gatherings and colder weather.

Currently, the CDC recommends that everyone aged 6 months and older, with rare exceptions, get a flu vaccine.  

The federal health agency states on its website that getting an annual flu shot prevents millions of illnesses and flu-related doctors’ visits every year and is especially important for those at higher risk of serious complications.

The flu vaccine is currently available to New Yorkers aged 2 years and older at a health care provider’s office or at participating pharmacies while children aged 6 months and older can receive the flu vaccine at a health care provider’s office, according to the state health department.

“There is still time to get a flu shot and remember, flu can be treated with antiviral medication if started within 48 hours of symptom onset and your doctor deems appropriate,” McDonald said.

ABC News’ Youri Benadjaoud contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — Children who miss early vaccinations are far more likely to miss the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine by age 2, a new study found.

The findings come as the U.S. recently surpassed 2,000 measles cases for the first time in more than 30 years, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

CDC data shows that MMR vaccination declined over the last several years, but the authors say that factors linked to delayed or missed vaccination since the COVID-19 pandemic have not been well studied.

For the new study, published Friday in the journal JAMA Network Open, the team looked data from Truevata, an electronic health records database that includes several U.S. health care systems.

Participants included more than 321,000 children who received routine care within the first two months, first year and second year of life between Jan. 1, 2018 and April 30, 2025.

The CDC currently recommends that people receive two doses of the MMR vaccine, the first at ages 12 to 15 months and the second between 4 and 6 years old. One dose is 93% effective, and two doses are 97% effective against measles, the CDC says.

Most children during the study period received the MMR vaccine on time, with 78.4% doing so.

About 13.9% of children had delayed vaccination, 1% received the MMR vaccine early and 6.7% did not receive the MMR vaccine by age 2, according to the study.

The strongest predictors for no MMR vaccination was delay in receiving the recommended 2-month and 4-month vaccines, the study noted.

These early vaccines included diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis (DTaP); Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib); pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV); and the inactivated poliovirus vaccines (IPV).

Nina Masters, lead author of the study and senior applied research scientist at Truveta, told ABC News that it’s not surprising children who miss early vaccines also miss later vaccines, but it highlights that some parents become vaccine hesitant when their children are young.

“This also means the opportunity for intervention to engage parents and provide more education about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines has to happen very early,” she said. “This may be challenging as parents may have yet had the time to forge a strong bond with their child’s pediatrician, but the study highlights the importance of pediatric providers having vaccination discussions and building trust as early as possible with parents.”

Results from the study showed that those who received their 2-month vaccines on time were seven times more likely to get the MMR vaccine.  

The team found that the percentage of children who received the MMR vaccine on time changed over the study period, increasing from 75.6% in 2018 to 79.9% in 2021, and then falling to 76.9% in 2024.

This decrease between 2021 and 2024 was associated with an increase in the percentage of children who did not receive the MMR vaccine by age 2, increasing from 5.3% in 2020 to 7.7% in 2024, according to the study.

Children who were more likely to be unvaccinated for the MMR shot by age 2 were boys, and white and non-Hispanic or Latino, the study found.

Rural residence slightly increased the risk of no MMR vaccination, even among children receiving routine care, according to the study.

The study only included children with regular access to care, so real-world vaccination delays may be worse in the broader U.S. population, the team noted.

The authors added that these results point to increased vaccine hesitancy or unmeasured access challenges, highlighting the importance of timely intervention so children are less likely to delay or miss vaccination.

Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, who was not involved in the study, said the findings have major public health implications because there are questions about whether the U.S. will retain its measles elimination status and increasing vaccination is “the way out of this problem.”

“If you want to live in a society where measles is a problem of the past, where we don’t have to think about it, where schools don’t have to come up with contingency plans, where we don’t have children unnecessarily dying from measles, then that’s a reason to get the vaccine,” he told ABC News.

Adalja added that vaccination doesn’t just protect the individual against infection, but it also has a community benefit.

“The higher the vaccination level is in a given community, the more resilient that community will be to those infectious diseases,” he said. “And if you’re someone that’s immunocompromised, you may want to live in to live in an area that has high vaccination rates because you are at higher risk, and if you’re in a high vaccination area, there’s going to be a lowering of that risk because of the community level immunity that exists in that area.”

Crystal Richards, MD, MS is a pediatric resident doctor at New-York Presbyterian Hospital Columbia University Medical Center and a member of the ABC News Medical Unit.

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(NEW YORK) — The U.S. has surpassed 2,000 measles cases for the first time in more than 30 years, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As of Dec. 23, a total of 2,012 cases have been reported in the U.S. Of those cases, 24 were reported among international visitors to the U.S.

States with confirmed cases include Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

The last time the U.S. recorded more than 2,000 cases occurred in 1992, when there were 2,126 confirmed infections over the course of a year, CDC data shows.

The CDC says 11% of measles patients in the U.S. this year have been hospitalized, over half of whom are under age 19.

Among the nationally confirmed cases, the CDC says about 93% are among people who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown.

Meanwhile, 3% of cases are among those who have received just one dose of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine and 4% of cases are among those who received the recommended two doses, according to the CDC.

There have been 50 outbreaks reported across the U.S. in 2025, CDC data shows. By comparison, 16 outbreaks were reported during 2024.

There have been several high-profile measles outbreaks this year, including an ongoing outbreak in South Carolina.

South Carolinas department of public heath reports that 179 cases have been confirmed as of Dec. 30 with the most cases (176) around Spartanburg County, which sits on the border with North Carolina.

Over the course of the outbreak, hundreds of students have been forced to quarantine at home due to outbreaks at their schools.

The CDC currently recommends that people receive two doses of the MMR vaccine, the first at ages 12 to 15 months and the second between 4 and 6 years old. One dose is 93% effective, and two doses are 97% effective against measles, the CDC says.

However, CDC data shows vaccination rates have been lagging in recent years. During the 2024-2025 school year, 92.5% of kindergartners received the MMR vaccine, according to data. This is lower than the 92.7% seen the previous school year and the 95.2% seen in the 2019-2020 school year, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

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(NEW YORK) — From robotic surgery performed 7,000 miles away to the first blood test to help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease, 2025 has been a year full of medical breakthroughs.

Scientists discovered a brain implant to give some patients back their independence, prevented others from needing to take opioids and made a discovery that could help solve the organ shortage crisis.

Here are seven of the biggest innovations in the health and science space this year.

ALS patient is 1st to control iPad by thought with implantable brain sensor

A patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) became the first person in the world to control an iPad entirely by thought, neurotech company Synchron announced earlier this year.

The patient, Mark Jackson, from western Pennsylvania, controls the tablet without using his hands or voice command but rather with an implantable brain-computer interface (BCI) that translates his thoughts into actions.

At the time, Jackson told ABC News he doesn’t have use of his arms so the BCI helps him watch TV shows, listen to audiobooks, browse social media and send text messages to his children.

BCIs are sensors implanted in the brain and translate brain signals into actions outside of the body. The BCI that Jackson is using was developed by the company Synchron, which involves a device implanted into one of the veins within the brain in a minimally invasive procedure.

“This is really an exciting field, because I think the opportunities are boundless,” Dr. Leah Croll, a neurologist at Maimonides Medical Center in New York City, told ABC News. “I think that we’re going to see, moving forward, not only using BCIs to control other electronic devices, but also using them to give patients back movement, to give patients back language, really bodily functions that they weren’t able to do after whatever neurologic insult happened to them.”

Croll said it’s important, going forward, to consider legal and ethical considerations such as privacy and data storage.

She also encouraged more research and clinical trials to generate data on how patients can be protected in both research and real-world settings.

“There’s so much we haven’t figured out legally and ethically when it comes to storing personal, private data from your brain, and how is that used, and how do we manage that responsibly,” she said. “There’s a lot of bio-ethical minds at work as to how we deal with this issue and how do we make it so that a patient isn’t sort of signing away the rights to their entire brain and inner world and manage something responsibly for them that’s helpful and not harmful.”

First pill for obstructive sleep apnea may be around the corner

The first oral pill for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) could soon be available after a late-clinical showed positive results, according to pharmaceutical company Apnimed Inc.

The drug, AD109, showed “clinically meaningful and statistically significant reductions” in airway obstruction after 26 weeks, the company said in a press release in July.

OSA is a sleep disorder in which the airways become narrowed or blocked while sleeping, causing breathing to pause.

The investigational once-daily pill is a neuromuscular modulator that stabilizes upper airway muscles and prevents them collapsing, improving oxygenation.

OSA patients treated with the medication saw a nearly 50% reduction in the severity from baseline at week 26, compared to 6.8% of those in the placebo group.

The reduction was “significant” at the end of the study period, which concluded at 51 weeks. At the end of the trial, nearly 23% of participants saw “complete disease control.”

More recent trial data published in October found that a meaningful number of patients achieved complete disease control and experienced significant improvements in oxygenation measures.  

First non-opioid medication in more than 20 years approved by FDA

Earlier this year, the FDA approved a new type of non-opioid pain medication to treat moderate to severe acute pain, the first of its kind on more than 20 years.

Suzetrigine, also known by the brand name, Journavx, is manufactured by biotech company Vertex Pharmaceuticals and doesn’t have addictive properties, unlike opioids often used for this type of pain.

“It’s significant in light of all the concerns about the opioid epidemic and addiction substance use disorder,” Dr. Jianguo Cheng, a professor of anesthesiology and medical director of the Cleveland Clinic Consortium for Pain at Cleveland Clinic, told ABC News.

In two clinical trials, tested on adults between ages 18 and 80, Journavx was found to reduce moderate to severe acute pain for adults from baseline by about 50% in 48 hours.

The average time to meaningful pain relief ranged from two to four hours, compared to eight hours in the placebo group, according to the trial.

Cheng, who was not involved in the clinical trials, said the studies demonstrated efficacy of the drug not compared to not only placebo, but also to weak opioids.

“Its efficacy is as good as a weak opioid. So why that is important?” Cheng said. “Because not all patients need opioids, and not all patients need a strong opioid. … If most of them do need a weak opioid, and if this can replace the weak opioid, that can be a big deal.”

Scientists discover immune reaction behind pig kidney rejection in transplant patients

Although gene-edited pig kidneys have been seen as a way to help ease the shortage of organs available for those on transplant waiting lists, many of the organs have been rejected not long after transplant surgery.

“Until 2021, we had never put one of these gene-edited pig organs into a human … so it was a bit of a mystery when we started doing the pig-to-human transplants, about what we were going to encounter,” Dr. Robert Montgomery, director of the NYU Langone Transplant Institute, told ABC News.

Last month, a team at NYU Langone Health published a study in which they discovered immune reactions that may explain why these organs get rejected.

The team collected two months of data from a patient who was brain dead and had a genetically engineered pig kidney transplanted into them. The family had donated the patient’s body to science.

The team learned that pig organs were being rejected due to an immune system reaction from specific antibodies — which recognize and attach themselves to foreign substances so they can be removed from the body — and from T cells, which are white blood cells that help the body fight off germs and other unfamiliar invaders.

‘So you have this very coordinated immune response that involves antibodies and white cells, and it seems to happen somewhere between two and four weeks after the transplant,” said Montgomery, lead author of the study. “Now the good news on that front is that we can detect when it’s coming before rejection happens, and we can begin to respond, and we have very good therapeutics that can block the rejection and prevent it from causing damage.”

After rejection, the team used an FDA-approved drug combination to successfully reverse it, with no signs of permanent damage or reduced kidney function.

In a second study, Montgomery and his team looked at the body’s immune response to the pig organ in greater detail. By measuring levels of biomarkers in the blood, they were able to spot an attack up to five days before it would be visible in bodily tissue.

Montgomery said the findings could lead to a future where gene-edited pig organs are a realistic alternative to human organs.

“The pig organ can really replace a human organ and do all the things that a human organ can do, and it’s really just a matter of overcoming the immunosuppression and preventing rejection,” he said. “I think it’s going to happen … and people will be receiving xenotransplants on a regular basis. It’s going to be normalized, and it’s going to be something that will benefit thousands, first, and then millions of people around the world.”

FDA clears 1st blood test to help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease

In May, the FDA cleared the first blood test to help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease.

The test, manufactured by Fujirebio Diagnostics, is for those aged 55 and older who are already exhibiting signs and symptoms of the disease, according to the federal health agency.

The new blood test works by measuring the ratio of two proteins — pTau217 and β-amyloid 1-42 — which are found in human plasma, a component of blood. That ratio is then linked to the presence or absence of amyloid plaques in the brain to determine whether a patient is showing signs of Alzheimer’s disease.

In a clinical study, more than 91% of nearly 500 cognitively impaired patients who tested positive on the blood test had their results confirmed by other diagnostic tools.

“Essentially, it does provide a first quantitative measure of an Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis,” Dr. Jeffrey Savas, an associate professor in the department of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, told ABC News. “This is very important to identify patients which could be good candidates for some of the emerging therapeutics.

Savas said the test is rapid, highly accurate and less expensive or invasive compared to previous diagnostic tests.

Because many Alzheimer’s patients need to wait months to see a specialist, the test can allow primary care providers to start the diagnostic process.

“Many neurological research centers have huge backlogs of patients, and there’s not enough physicians or nurses to really see the patients in a timely manner,” Savas said.

“Having this quick diagnostic test, which could be taken in other medical settings, should pave the way for quicker, more effective opportunities and chances for being treated in a timely manner.”

In October, the FDA cleared a second blood-based test called Elecsys pTau181, made by Roche.

Groundbreaking remote robotic surgery

A patient living in Angola with prostate cancer underwent surgery this year to cut the cancer out, but the doctor performing the surgery was 7,000 miles away in Orlando, Florida.

The patient was the first in a groundbreaking human clinical trial approved by the FDA to test transcontinental robotic telesurgery.

A team at OrlandoHealth operated on the patient via a multimillion-dollar robot with enhanced visuals and nimble controls.

Using a robot allows for the procedure to be less invasive, more precise and typically comes with a faster recovery time.

The team has said underserved areas in the U.S. and around the world could benefit from the technology by having a surgeon perform an operation even if they are not nearby.

1st-ever gene fix for rare deadly disease saves baby’s life

A baby with a rare and life-threatening metabolic disorder underwent a personalized treatment involving a first-of-its-kind type of gene-editing.

KJ Muldoon was diagnosed as a newborn with carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase 1 deficiency as a newborn. The disorder affects a bodily cycle that causes deadly levels of ammonia to build up in the blood, which can lead to severe and permanent brain damage.

If left untreated, it will typically result in the death of the patient, according to the National Organization for Rare Disorders.

The treatment for KJ involved the powerful gene-editing tool CRISPR, which allows scientists to precisely slice and repair faulty genes. Using CRISPR, the team was able to create a treatment tailored to the baby’s specific genetic mutation.

In June, KJ went home after spending the majority of his life at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Earlier this month, he reached a big milestone: taking his first steps ahead of Christmas.

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(NEW YORK) — Flu activity is increasing across the U.S. amid holiday travel and gatherings, according to the latest data the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC estimates there have been at least 4.6 million illnesses, 49,000 hospitalizations and 1,900 deaths from flu this season so far, according to data updated as of Dec. 19, and experts expect these numbers will continue to rise.

Public health experts previously told ABC News that many of this season’s cases are linked to a new flu strain called subclade K — a variant of the H3N2 virus, which is itself a subtype of influenza A — that has been circulating since the summer in other countries. 

Of the 163 samples of H3N2 viruses collected since Sept. 28 and genetically characterized, 89% were subclade K, according to the CDC. 

Additionally, three pediatric flu deaths have been reported so far this season, according to an ABC News tally.

Last season, the U.S. saw 288 children die from flu, which is the same number of children who died during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. About 90% of kids who died from flu last year were not vaccinated, a CDC study published earlier this year found.

Meanwhile, New York state is reporting the highest number of flu cases it has ever recorded in a single week. 

“The emergency room has been busy, and we’ve been following these numbers,” Dr. Darien Sutton, a board-certified emergency medical physician and ABC News medical correspondent, told “Good Morning America” on Monday. “Just a note, national numbers typically lag during the holiday, but state health department numbers are giving us insight to just how severe this flu season is.”

A total of 71,123 flu cases were reported for the week ending Dec. 20, according to the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH). This marks the highest number of flu cases in a single week since it became mandatory for states to report in 2004. 

This is also 38% higher compared to the previous week which saw 51,365 infections reported, bringing the total flu cases reported in the state to 189,312.

Hospitalizations climbed by 63% in the most recent week, increasing from 2,251 to 3,666 weekly admissions, according to data from NYSDOH.

Sutton said it’s important to understand that flu is present and to take steps to reduce risk, including masking, washing hands with soap and water and getting the flu vaccine.

Currently, the CDC recommends that everyone aged 6 months and older, with rare exceptions, get a flu vaccine.  

The federal health agency states on its website that getting an annual flu shot prevents millions of illnesses and flu-related doctors’ visits every year and is especially important for those at higher risk of serious complications.

“The flu is so much more than a simple cold. I am treating it in the emergency room,” Sutton said. “Understand that people are coming in feeling like they are so sick that it has to be something else than the flu.”

Sutton noted that he is seeing more people in the emergency room and more people being hospitalized but that the disease itself is not more severe, adding “it’s not like a super flu.”

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(NEW YORK) — Flu activity is increasing across the country, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

New York City is seeing some of the highest levels of flu-like activity across the country. States including Alabama, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Texas are seeing “moderate” activity of respiratory illnesses. All other states are seeing low or very low levels.

The CDC estimates that there have been at least 4.6 million illnesses, 49,000 hospitalizations, and 1,900 deaths from flu this season so far.

The bulk of flu illnesses so far are being linked to the new variant known as subclade K, according to hundreds of samples sent to the CDC. Of just over 900 flu samples, roughly 90% were A(H3N2). Of those that had further genetic testing, nearly 90% belonged to subclade K.

The mutations seen in the new variant result in a mismatch with this season’s flu vaccine composition, the CDC notes. Experts believe that the flu vaccine will still help reduce the risk of severe illness, including hospitalization and death.

Two pediatric flu deaths were reported this week, bringing the total to three for this season. Last season had a record tying 288 die from flu – the same number during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. It’s the highest levels seen since 2004, which is when flu child deaths became mandatory for states to report to CDC.

About 90% of kids that died from flu last season were not vaccinated, a CDC study found. Flu vaccinations among kids have dropped 10% points lower than pre-pandemic with about 40% of kids getting the shot this season.

About 140 million doses of the flu vaccine have been distributed nationally so far this season, compared to 128 million last season.

The CDC recommends that everyone over the age of 6 months get their annual flu shot. Experts say it is not too late to get vaccinated.

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(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on Thursday a series of proposed actions to limit access to gender-affirming care for minors.

It comes after HHS released a final version of its report on pediatric gender-affirming care last month, claiming it found “medical dangers posed to children,” which received pushback from medical groups.

Speaking at press event, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy said doctors providing gender-affirming care for minors are endangering lives and lambasted medical organizations that have supported such care for transgender youth.

“They betrayed their Hippocratic Oath to do no harm,” Kennedy said. “So-called ‘gender affirming care’ has inflicted lasting physical and psychological damage on vulnerable young people. This is not medicine. It is malpractice. We’re done with junk science, driven by ideological pursuits, not the well-being of children.”

Kennedy also signed a declaration finding that gender-affirming surgeries do not meet professional recognized standards of health care, with an HHS press release stating that doctors who perform these procedures would be deemed “out of compliance with those standards.” 

The proposed regulations include actions from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Office of Civil Rights (OCR).

CMS will issue a proposal barring hospitals from participating in Medicare and Medicaid programs if they provide gender-affirming to children under age 18.

Another CMS proposal will prohibit federal Medicaid funding for hospitals providing gender-affirming care on children under age 18 and funding from the federal Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Additionally, the FDA is issuing warning letters to 12 manufacturers and retailers for “illegal marketing” of breast binders, a compression garment worn to flatten the appearance of breasts, to children with gender dysphoria.

The agency said the letters will note that the companies are facing significant regulatory violations and how to take corrective action.

FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary claimed that long-term use of breast binders among children has been linked to pain and compromised lung function. Physicians say chest binding is generally considered safe when practiced with a physician’s guidance.

“Pushing transgender ideology in children is predatory. It’s wrong, and it needs to stop,” Makary said at Thursday’s press event.

The top pediatrician group in the nation reacted to Kennedy’s declaration and the proposed actions, saying they set a “dangerous precedent.”

“Unprecedented actions and harmful rhetoric [took] place today,” the American Academy of Pediatrics said in response to the HHS announcement. They went further, saying that the proposed rules were a “baseless intrusion in the patient-physician relationship.”

Lastly, the HHS announced the OCR will move to reverse a Biden-era rule that included gender dysphoria within the definition of a disability.

November’s HHS report alleged that gender-affirming care — including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and gender-affirming surgeries — caused significant, long-term damage. 

An early version of the report, published in May, referred to itself as a “comprehensive review” of transgender care for children and teens, calling for a broader use of psychotherapy for young people with gender dysphoria rather than gender-affirming medical interventions.

The HHS referred to the final version of the report as “peer-reviewed,” but some of those who reviewed the contents are researchers who have spoken against gender affirming care.

Some major medical groups pushed back, stating that psychotherapy first is the standard approach in gender-affirming care and that additional care, such as hormonal therapies, only occurs after in-depth evaluations between patients and doctors.

“Everyone in this country should have access to the care they need to stay healthy, including transgender and nonbinary young people,” Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, senior vice president of public engagement campaigns at The Trevor Project, a nonprofit focusing on suicide prevention efforts among LGBTQ+ youth, said in a statement.

“Personal medical decisions ought to be made between patients, their doctors, and their families — not through a one-size-fits-all mandate from the federal government,” the statement continued. “The multitude of efforts we are seeing from federal legislators to strip transgender and nonbinary youth of the health care they need is deeply troubling.”

In January, Trump signed an executive order stating the U.S. would not “fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support” gender transition of those under age 19 and would “rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures.”

Transgender adults and youth may experience extreme psychological distress due to a mismatch in their gender presentation and identity, medical groups have said. They experience significantly higher rates of suicide than the general population, but some studies suggest gender-affirming care eases those feelings of distress.

While some individuals and groups have called for a slower approach to gender-affirming care for minors, other pediatric gender care experts and advocates have said ending such care can have a harmful effect on patients’ mental health and well-being.

ABC News’ Youri Benadjaoud contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — Concerns about the flu spreading in the U.S. are growing as the U.K. continues to see a spike in cases among children and young adults.

The increased number of cases in the U.K., could be a predictor for the flu season in the U.S., according to ABC News chief medical correspondent Dr. Tara Narula.

“We know that England or other places can be a marker for what is going to happen here, because their flu season happens a few weeks earlier than ours,” Narula said on “Good Morning America” Monday, adding, “We have low numbers of cases so far but they are increasing.”

Some hospitals are starting to implement flu season visitor restrictions, including the Detroit Medical Center and Children’s Hospital of Michigan, which are allowing, as of Monday, up to two visitors per patient and only those 13 years of age and older are permitted on inpatient hospital floors or in observation units.

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, flu activity in the U.S. is up at least 7% in the last week, and so far, there have been nearly 2 million illnesses, 19,000 hospitalizations, and 730 deaths from the flu.

Last year, the U.S. saw an extremely severe flu season, with 560,000 hospitalizations and approximately 38,000 deaths from the flu, the CDC reported in September.

Meanwhile, in the U.K., where flu season started earlier than usual this year and has yet to peak, doctors are seeing increasing flu activity that’s currently at “medium” level with hospitalizations for the flu around 7.79 per 100,000, according to UK Health Security Agency data.

Some hospitals, such as the Sherwood Forest Hospitals in Nottinghamshire, have also reintroduced face mask policies in some hospital areas in light of the uptick in flu cases.

What flu variant is circulating?

The predominant flu strain that is currently circulating the most in the U.S. is the subclade K variant.

“The strain that is circulating most … subclade K, which is a variant of H3N2, seems to have a little bit more severe symptoms and maybe more severely affects the elderly and children,” Narula said Monday.

What are the symptoms of the flu?

Flu symptoms can vary from mild to severe intensity, and according to the CDC, they can come on suddenly.

Symptoms can include as fever, chills, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body or muscle aches, headaches, fatigue, and vomiting or diarrhea, two symptoms which tend to be more common in children rather than adults.

People who are at more at risk of developing complications from the flu, according to the CDC, include older adults over 65, children younger than 2, and people with underlying conditions such as asthma and chronic lung disease or heart disease. Complications from the flu may vary, but they may include pneumonia, sinusitis, ear infections, and kidney and respiratory failure.

How to protect against the flu

Although the subclade K flu variant is not a perfect match for this year’s flu vaccine, doctors and the CDC still recommend everyone over the age of 6 months to receive one as a protective measure.

“When they look at studies abroad in England, they have found that the vaccine lowers the risk of hospitalizations for children by about 70% to 75%, which is really good, and adults by about 30% to 40%,” Narula said.

“Everyone thinks [the flu is] not that serious, it’s just a cold, but no, it can really cause complications and death,” Narula added.

Emergency physician Dr. Stephanie Widmer also recommended practicing regular hygienic habits to stay healthy.

“On top of getting the vaccine, washing your hands often, covering your coughs and sneezes, avoid[ing] touching your face and staying home if you’re feeling sick are all things [to do],” Widmer said on “ABC News Live.”

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