New tuberculosis (TB) drugs with little existing antimicrobial resistance enable a pan-TB treatment regimen, intended for universal use without prior drug-susceptibility testing. However, widespread use of such a regimen could contribute to an increasing prevalence of antimicrobial resistance, potentially rendering the pan-TB regimen ineffective or driving clinically problematic patterns of resistance. We developed a model of multiple sequential TB patient cohorts to compare treatment outcomes between continued use of current standards of care (guided by rifampin-susceptibility testing) and a hypothetical pan-TB approach. A pan-TB regimen that met current target profiles was likely to initially outperform the standard of care; however, a rising prevalence of transmitted resistance to component drugs could make underperformance likely among subsequent cohorts. Although the pan-TB approach led to an increased prevalence of resistance to novel drugs, it was unlikely to cause accumulation of concurrent resistance to novel drugs and current first-line drugs.

Widespread use of e-cigarette (EC) or vaping products causes respiratory disorders including the nationwide outbreak of e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) in 2019. Chronic adverse health effects are now being reported as well. To address this important public health issue, an innovative approach of epidemic control and epidemiologic study is required. We aimed to assess the association between short-term and long-term use of EC products and respiratory health in adults using smartphone app data.

Omicron surged as a variant of concern in late 2021. Several distinct Omicron variants appeared and overtook each other. We combined variant frequencies and infection estimates from a nowcasting model for each US state to estimate variant-specific infections, attack rates, and effective reproduction numbers (R). BA.1 rapidly emerged, and we estimate that it infected 47.7% of the US population before it was replaced by BA.2. We estimate that BA.5 infected 35.7% of the US population, persisting in circulation for nearly 6 months. Other variants-BA.2, BA.4, and XBB-together infected 30.7% of the US population. We found a positive correlation between the state-level BA.1 attack rate and social vulnerability and a negative correlation between the BA.1 and BA.2 attack rates. Our findings illustrate the complex interplay between viral evolution, population susceptibility, and social factors during the Omicron emergence in the US.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a large mortality and morbidity burden globally. For individuals, a strong immune response is the most effective means to block SARS-CoV-2 infection. To inform clinical case management of COVID-19, development of improved vaccines, and public health policy, a better understanding of antibody response dynamics and duration following SARS-CoV-2 infection and after vaccination is imperatively needed.

Most dual-eligible Medicare-Medicaid beneficiaries are enrolled in bifurcated insurance programs that pay for different components of care. Therefore, policymakers are prioritizing expansion of integrated care plans (ICPs) that manage both Medicare and Medicaid benefits and spending.

In assigning manner of death (MOD) for inclusion on death certificates, medical examiners and coroners do not always apply uniform criteria. Previous research indicates surveillance statistics based on death certificates, such as the National Vital Statistics System, grossly miscount unintentional firearm deaths. The National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) has taken steps to reduce variability in manner of death coding by providing uniform criteria for assigning an “abstractor manner of death” (AMD). AMD has five categories: unintentional, suicide, homicide, undetermined, and legal intervention homicide. A previous study found good accuracy of AMD coding for unintentional firearm deaths, all ages, 2003-2006, but a more recent study reported that the NVDRS undercounted self- and other-inflicted unintentional firearm deaths in which both the victim and shooter (for other-inflicted injuries) were under age 15 (2009-2018).