A recent change in how federal officials are recommending the COVID-19 vaccine may have far-reaching implications for health equity in Georgia — especially for Black residents, who were among the hardest hit during the pandemic. Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices shifted its recommendation for the COVID […]
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Mpox Isn’t Just in the Past, Fulton County Health Officials Warn
Ever since the 2022 global outbreak of mpox, the number of cases has died down in the United States, but Fulton County officials warn that mpox hasn’t fully left Atlanta. At a Fulton County Board of Health meeting last week, the county’s director of epidemiology, Sasha Smith, stated that mpox is one of the diseases […]
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Health Alert: West Nile Virus Confirmed In Atlanta-Area Mosquitoes
Fulton County health officials confirmed that mosquitoes trapped in two locations in the county have tested positive for West Nile virus. The traps were located at the Atlanta Virtual Academy in the Grove Park neighborhood and the Hoyt Smith Recreation Center in Hapeville. To combat the threat, county officials said in a press release that […]
Posted inHealth, Politics & Policy
Former CDC Official Warn Budget Cuts Could Deepen HIV Crisis for Black Women in Georgia
A former official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that funding cuts outlined in the proposed fiscal year 2026 federal budget could endanger the health of Black communities. And especially in Georgia, where HIV rates are some of the highest in the country, he warned that Black women are extra vulnerable to […]
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CDC Reinstates HIV Prevention Staff Months After Controversial Layoffs
After undergoing layoffs earlier this year, hundreds of previously fired staff at the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are now being asked to return to work. Employees who worked for the National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and Tuberculosis Prevention; the National Center for Environmental Health; the Immediate Office of the Director; […]
Posted inHealth, Politics & Policy, Public Services
CDC Cuts HIV Communications, Leaving Vulnerable Black Georgians in the Dark
As infectious diseases like measles, salmonella, and hepatitis quietly spread across the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has gone largely silent. Of particular concern for Atlanta residents is the CDC’s lack of communication about HIV. According to the CDC, Georgia had the second-highest HIV diagnosis rate and the second-highest rate of HIV […]
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CDC Employees Say Layoffs Under Trump Hit Black and Marginalized Staff Hardest
Employees at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta are accusing the Trump administration and the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) of laying off Black CDC workers at higher rates than other racial demographic groups. Three employees — two of whom received layoff notices on Tuesday — told Capital B Atlanta […]
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“My Back Is Against the Wall”: Atlanta’s Black Federal Workers Reeling From Layoffs
Some of the Atlanta-based federal government workers who were recently laid off due to cost-saving efforts by the Trump administration and the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had questions for their union leader on Thursday that she couldn’t answer. IT specialist Ryan Melton was one of nearly 600 laid off Centers for Disease […]
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CDC Boosts Monkeypox Testing With Cases on the Rise
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is boosting efforts to offer monkeypox testing. On Wednesday, the CDC announced a partnership with Labcorp to address an increase in cases locally and nationwide. Labcorp, one of the largest clinical laboratory testing networks in the country, is aiming to administer 10,000 orthopoxvirus tests per week. The […]
Posted inCOVID-19, Health
How the New CDC Mask Guidance Affects You
Since the start of the pandemic, Black residents in metro Atlanta have been hit especially hard. Despite a drop in cases statewide, Black patients make up 40% of hospitalizations while representing one-third of the population in the state. Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shifted the focus of its guidance for mask wearing, […]