Caitlin M. Rivers

5 days ago | caitlinrivers.substack.com | Caitlin M. Rivers

Flu is off-season and quiet. Outpatient ILI has dropped to 1.8%. Activity is minimal or low in every state. Hospitalizations are very low at 0.5 hospitalizations per 100,000 people. Visits are down to 6.0% for those aged 0-4 years old, 2.8% for those 5-24 years old, and <1.5% for all other age groups. What a relief for parents!Flu B now accounts for a majority of samples in both clinical and public health labs, accounting for 74% of samples in the former and 57% in the latter.

1 week ago | caitlinrivers.substack.com | Caitlin M. Rivers

No updated totals since May 22, when the CDC listed 1,046 confirmed cases. CDC updates their data on Fridays. As a reminder, this measles series will end this Friday. Outbreak Outlook will continue, and regional editions will return in the fall. There are news reports of a measles case in South Central Idaho; it appears there were some publi…Keep reading with a 7-day free trialSubscribe to Force of Infection to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

2 weeks ago | caitlinrivers.substack.com | Caitlin M. Rivers

CDC has updated its total of confirmed cases to 1,046 cases so far this year. To date, 96% of these cases have been in individuals who were unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination status. As a reminder, this measles series will end next week. Outbreak Outlook will continue. A case was reported in a resident of the Municipality of Anchorage…Keep reading with a 7-day free trialSubscribe to Force of Infection to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

2 weeks ago | caitlinrivers.substack.com | Caitlin M. Rivers

Each year, I share a series of first aid videos to help remind everyone of basic, life-saving first-aid skills. I specifically chose these videos because they are only 2-5 minutes long, so you can get through the entire set on your coffee break. You may think you already know these skills, but unless you have occasion to put them into practice regularly, I encourage you to take another look. During emergencies, people can become so stressed or overwhelmed that they have trouble taking action.

2 weeks ago | caitlinrivers.substack.com | Caitlin M. Rivers

CDC has updated its total of confirmed cases to 1,024 cases so far this year. To date, 96% of these cases have been in individuals who were unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination status. The previous high was 1,274 cases in 2019. I still think it’s likely we’ll surpass that total, but activity has slowed considerably. One new case in the…Keep reading with a 7-day free trialSubscribe to Force of Infection to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.