Here is Dr. Klotman’s Week 306 video address. My summary and commentary follows.
TEPHI Data
- SARS (COVID) is slightly elevated this week
- Flu and Adenovirus B are also still around
- Mpox continues elevated – especially in Austin and Houston
Measles
- Last year (2025) we had 2255 cases
- One month in 2026, we have already recorded 416 cases
- Only 2% of the 2026 cases have been hospitalized and there have not yet been any deaths
- The big hot spot is South Carolina
COVID
- Test positivity and ER visits for SARS-CoV-2 are rising
- Current COVID hospitalizations are 1.3 per 100K population
- COVID deaths are 0.7% of all US deaths
- Because the national wastewater levels for COVID are falling, we may have already reached the seasonal peak for this illness
- Airport wastewater analysis shows the same trend of COVID viral levels falling
Influenza
- Flu cases are waning
- The CDC expects 18M cases with 230K hospitalizations, and 9,300 deaths this season
Health Policy
- The US has withdrawn from the WHO -the epitome of stupidity
- RFK’s “faux” ACIP has made Polio vaccine, like Measles vaccine, “optional”
Cancer
- There have been significant declines in Lung, Breast, and Brain cancers as well as leukemias
- Colon cancer has become increasingly common among young people <50yo
- Colon cancer among this group has increased about 1.1%/yr since ~2005
- Recent research at BCM into the treatment of Pancreatic cancer shows promise
My Comments: I have friends with children of my son’s age (~40s) who have had colon cancer. There are a number of unproven hypotheses as to why this cancer is becoming more prevalent among younger folks. These include exposure to microplastics, intestinal colonization with a particular strain of E. coli that elaborates a toxin that makes the cells of the colon more likely to accumulate mutations that lead to cancer, and so forth. At this time, all that I can suggest is that you advise your offspring to have their first colonoscopy before age 45.
You might say that my message is, “Get your ass screened sooner rather than later!”