• California/Louisiana: CDC on Wednesday reported the first U.S. case of severe illness from bird flu in a patient from Louisiana. The patient, who is currently hospitalized, had been in contact with sick and dead birds from a backyard flock on their property. According to Emma Herrock, a spokesperson for the Louisiana Health Department, the hospitalized patient is over 65 and has underlying medical conditions, which may have put them at higher risk of complications from the virus. So far, 61 human cases of bird flu have been detected in the United States, though some research suggests this number may be an undercount. As bird flu continues to spread, particularly through dairy cows, some health officials are escalating their response. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) declared a state of emergency to help combat the ongoing spread of bird flu in dairy cattle in the state. Over 300 dairy herds in California have tested positive for bird flu in the last 30 days alone. "This proclamation is a targeted action to ensure government agencies have the resources and flexibility they need to respond quickly to this outbreak," Newsom said, though he noted that bird flu's risk to the public remains low. (Sun, Washington Post, 11/18; Stone, NPR, 11/18; Habeshian, Axios, 11/18; Reed, Axios, 11/18)
• District of Columbia: According to a new study published in Health Affairs, almost 30% of U.S. drugstores that were open in the last decade had closed by 2021, with Black and Latino neighborhoods being the most vulnerable to closures. For the study, researchers analyzed data from the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs. Between 2010 and 2017, the number of U.S. pharmacies increased due to store openings, but the pace of closings began to pick up beginning in 2018. In 2021, over 29% of the almost 89,000 U.S. retail pharmacies that had operated between 2010 and 2020 had closed. This amounts to more than 26,000 store closures. According to the Associated Press, this trend may have increased since the study's timeframe, as many drugstores continue to struggle financially. In the last three years, major pharmacy chains like Walgreens and CVS have closed hundreds of additional retail stores, and Rite Aid has reduced its footprint following a bankruptcy reorganization. (Murphy, Associated Press, 12/3)
• District of Columbia/Texas: The American Heart Association and the American Red Cross released updated first aid guidelines for bystanders and emergency responders, which are the first comprehensive revisions to the guidelines since 2010. The updated guidelines have expanded the scope of emergency care conditions to include scenarios such as opioid overdoses, tick bites, open chest wounds, external bleeding, seizures, heatstroke, hypothermia, and more. "These updates reflect the changing landscape of public health challenges and aim to equip trained professionals and the public with lifesaving skills that are more critical than ever," said Elizabeth Hewett Brumberg, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and co-chair of the writing group. "Providing first-aid care is about recognizing that an emergency has occurred – that someone is ill or injured – and assessing them and then prioritizing their needs. First-aid training is essential to apply the appropriate knowledge and skills for saving lives and reducing harm." (Tribune News Service/The Mercury News, 12/3)

The fight against COVID-19 has pushed healthcare to quickly adopt virtual tools at a rate much faster than normal. Some of the most promising pandemic-related health technologies go beyond just telehealth — for example, analytics and artificial intelligence (AI). Read on to learn three ways AI can be used to help with future pandemics.