In The News: School of Public Health

It was March 12, 2020, when Governor Steve Sisolak announced a state of emergency in Nevada in response to the growing infections and deaths from COVID-19. Five days later, he announced a statewide business shutdown. And something no one ever thought would happen happened: The Las Vegas Strip shut down for 78 days.

It was March 12, 2020, when Governor Steve Sisolak announced a state of emergency in Nevada in response to the growing infections and deaths from COVID-19. Five days later, he announced a statewide business shutdown. And something no one ever thought would happen happened: The Las Vegas Strip shut down for 78 days.

It was March 12, 2020, when Governor Steve Sisolak announced a state of emergency in Nevada in response to the growing infections and deaths from COVID-19. Five days later, he announced a statewide business shutdown. And something no one ever thought would happen happened: The Las Vegas Strip shut down for 78 days.

The National Institutes of Health will cancel or cut back dozens of grants for research on why some people are reluctant to be vaccinated and how to increase acceptance of vaccines, according to an internal email obtained by The Washington Post on Monday.

The National Institutes of Health will cancel or cut back dozens of grants for research on why some people are reluctant to be vaccinated and how to increase acceptance of vaccines, according to an internal email obtained by The Washington Post on Monday.

Four months ago, Tara McKay, an associate professor at Vanderbilt University, received an award from the National Institutes of Health recognizing her contributions to the field of LGBTQ+ health research.

Five years after becoming Nevada’s first diagnosed COVID-19 patient, Ronald Pipkins reflects on the lasting division the pandemic carved into America’s social fabric — a fracture that still echoes today as public trust in vaccines, science and government intervention remains perilously low.

With 146 confirmed cases of measles in the current Texas outbreak, and the first U.S. death from the disease in a decade, you may be wondering whether you actually did get all your childhood vaccinations. These include the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine, designed to protect you from the notoriously contagious measles.
With 146 confirmed cases of measles in the current Texas outbreak, and the first U.S. death from the disease in a decade, you may be wondering whether you actually did get all your childhood vaccinations. These include the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine, designed to protect you from the notoriously contagious measles.
The funding was supposed to last for at least several more months, said Jace Flatt, an associate professor of health and behavioral sciences at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. But on Friday, he and several other scientists studying LGBTQ+ health received a letter from the National Institutes of Health informing them that some existing, ongoing grants from the federal government were terminated, effective immediately.
Vaccines are one of, if not the, most important developments in public health history, and despite nearly a century of data, some people still doubt their safety and efficacy. Infectious disease experts, however, do not—and if you're 50 years old or older, you're going to want to get certain specific jabs to keep yourself safe from some awful (and awfully contagious) illnesses.
At the end of February 2025, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 164 cases of measles in 9 jurisdictions in Alaska, California, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, Rhode Island, and Texas. An outbreak of measles is considered when there are 3 or more related cases, and 3 outbreaks have been reported in 2025 with most cases in Texas. A large majority of these cases were unvaccinated individuals and 20% were hospitalized with one confirmed death. This is a cause of alarm for the public as measles was declared to have been eliminated in 2000 in the United States. Hence, we need to be cognizant of precautions and preventive measures.