The Public Health Communications Collaborative (PHCC) has released new ready-to-share resources to help communities prepare for respiratory virus season and communicate about flu, RSV and COVID-19 vaccination. The materials include quick guides for children and adults, explanations of respiratory vaccine recommendations, a step-by-step vaccination guide and an overview of respiratory virus se…

Sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) rates have increased among Black infants since 2020, widening a persistent racial disparity in infant mortality. A study of nearly 58 million U.S. live births found the infant mortality gap between Black and White babies rose from 6.0 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2019 to 6.4 in 2024, with SUID driving the increase. Preterm birth was more common among B…

Higher consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) is associated with increased risks of cardiovascular events, cancer, metabolic syndrome or diabetes, and death. An analysis of nearly 8.8 million adults across the Americas, Europe, Asia and Oceania found that each additional 100 grams of UPFs consumed daily was associated with a 14% higher risk of cardiovascular events, 4% higher cancer risk…

A new national cancer report finds that declining lung cancer mortality is driving continued reductions in overall cancer deaths among U.S. men and women. Released Sept. 22, the 2026 Annual Report to the Nation found cancer death rates fell 1.6% annually among men and 1.1% among women from 2019 to 2023, while lung cancer mortality declined 4.7% and 3.0%, respectively. Since the early 2000s, s…

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is undergoing a major membership change that could affect how preventive care recommendations are developed and reviewed. Eight new members have been appointed, including specialists in oncology, cardiology and gastroenterology, as well as a health insurance and health care value expert. The task force had been unable to meet for more than a year amid v…

The Public Health Visual Commons is live! Finding the right image shouldn’t be one of the hardest parts of public health communication. The Visual Commons, from Health Resources in Action, is a free library of public health images designed to help health communicators move beyond generic stock photos and tell the story of public health more effectively. The library offers images for social me…

Public health communicators are invited to an upcoming webinar offered by PHCC that can help communities understand how civic participation connects to the programs, services, and initiatives that shape health, called “Connecting the Value of Public Health to Civic Participation.”   On October 1 at 11:30 am EST, leaders from across the civic health movement will discuss strategies for buil…

A new CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) highlights substantially higher heat-related emergency department visit rates during a 10-day heat dome affecting much of the eastern, midwestern, southern, and south-central United States from June 28–July 7, 2026. About 221 million people, or 65% of the U.S. population, experienced at least one day of major or extreme HeatRisk across 42…

Accessibility is essential to effective public health communication, particularly as up to 27% of U.S. adults have a disability that may affect how they access health information. The figure underscores the importance of ensuring public health messages can be understood and used by people with disabilities. The Public Health Communications Collaborative (PHCC), in partnership with the Disabil…