Warm, sunny weather in summer and fall is perfect for outdoor celebrations. Independence Day, Labor Day, family reunions, parades, cookouts, birthday parties—these are all occasions for which folks gather together to enjoy each other’s company, eat great food, and often top off the event with fireworks.

Few things say “summer” like splashing around in water, leaping off a diving board, and soaking up the sun. We’ve all heard the tried-and-true advice for swimming: don’t run near water, don’t swim after eating, don’t do horseplay. But there are some lesser-known ways to reduce your chances of having an accident.

We’ve seen the return of many things, good and bad, as society has reopened and life has found the so-called new normal. One of those things this year is the flu—and it’s back with a vengeance. Thankfully, it isn’t too late to get vaccinated, and it’s easy for employees at NCI Frederick and Frederick National Laboratory to do so.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Especially in the medical world, it’s far more effective and, often, more convenient to avoid an ailment entirely rather than to treat it. Occupational Health Services (OHS) at Frederick National Laboratory (FNL) has long championed this ideology, but the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 posed new challenges for prevention, especially for employees traveling.

The emergence of a virus known as monkeypox has raised many questions, most notably: Is this the new pandemic?