New virus variants threaten a summer Covid-19 wave, but experts say the risk remains uncertain | CNN Covid-19 levels are about the lowest they’ve ever been in the United States, but another new crop of virus variants once again threatens to disrupt the downward trend as the country heads into summer. Deidre McPhillips CNN

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The mutations of the FLiRT variants make increased transmissibility — and a possible summer wave — a real threat. Covid-19 is settling into some seasonal patterns, which have included a summer bump in years past, but the exact level of risk for this year is unclear.

The New U.S. Strategy on Global Health Security | Think Global Health

The New U.S. Strategy on Global Health Security | Think Global Health The strategy seeks to make U.S. foreign policy on global health more effective Council on Foreign Relations

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How Europe reduced its greenhouse gas emissions last year The European Union's greenhouse gas emissions fell by 5% last year, official data published this week showed, continuing a trend of declining emissions in Europe. Kate Abnett Reuters

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Extreme heat will put millions more older adults at risk in the future By 2050, as many as an additional 246 million adults 69 and older could experience temperature extremes that exceed 37.5° Celsius. Aimee Cunningham Science News

The new projection suggests that more than 23 percent of the global population of these older adults — largely concentrated in Africa and Asia — will encounter this intense heat, compared with 14 percent today.

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UN agency authorizes second vaccine against dengue amid outbreaks in the Americas The World Health Organization on Wednesday authorized a second dengue vaccine, a move that could provide protection for millions worldwide against the mosquito-borne disease that has already sparked numerous ... Science X Medical Xpress

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Study: Before vaccines, 44% of COVID-19 patients in ICU died A new analysis of pre-vaccine data from scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that 18% of hospitalized patients and 44% of those admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) for COVID-19 died, with wide variations among different groups.  CIDRAP

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Before the mid-December 2020 introduction of COVID-19 vaccines, the pandemic caused approximately 480,000 hospitalizations, and 350,000 deaths in the United States.

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New study calculates climate change's economic bite will hit about $38 trillion a year by 2049 A new study says climate change will reduce future global income by about 19% in the next 25 years compared to a fictional world that’s not warming, with the poorest areas and those least responsible for heat-trapping gases taking the biggest monetary hit. AP News

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Climate change worsened deadly heat waves in April and May across Asia In the Philippines, the record heat was "virtually impossible" without climate change. Andrew Freedman Axios

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Extreme heat, spanning Lebanon to the Philippines since April, is being blamed for hundreds of deaths. It's added to the suffering of people who lack access to air conditioning, including displaced persons in the Middle East, the study notes.

Nursing Homes Wield Pandemic Immunity Laws To Duck Wrongful Death Suits - KFF Health News More than 172,000 nursing home residents died of covid. In lawsuits, some families who lost loved ones say they were misled about safety measures or told that covid wasn’t a danger in their facilities. khnkytjaw KFF Health News

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KFF Health News found that more than 1,100 covid-related lawsuits, most alleging wrongful death or other negligent care, were filed against nursing homes from March 2020 through March of this year.

COVID patient testing, isolation of sick staff cut in-hospital viral spread, modeling study suggests Interventions such as testing patients for COVID-19 on admission, isolation of ill healthcare workers (HCWs), and universal HCW masking from March 2020 to July 2022 significantly reduced SARS-CoV-2 transmission among patients and staff in UK hospitals, suggests a simulation study led by UK Health Security Agency researchers in London. CIDRAP

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People are drinking raw milk 'like crazy' as sales rise despite bird flu warnings Although raw milk is considered one of the "riskiest" foods people can consume, social media influencers heavily promote unpasteurized products. NBC News

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Since March 25, when the bird flu virus was confirmed in U.S. cattle for the first time, weekly sales of raw cow’s milk have ticked up 21% to as much as 65% compared with the same periods a year ago, according to the market research firm NielsenIQ.

How fast is bird flu spreading in US cows? ‘We have no idea’

Avian flu is spreading rapidly among cattle, but public health and infectious disease experts are concerned the United States is too limited in its testing, leaving an incomplete picture of the virus’s spread.  

The threat to the general public is currently low, health officials say, and the country’s milk supply is safe. Just one person has been infected. ...

But the outbreak is widespread; officials have found the virus in 42 herds across nine states. Dairy farm workers are at risk every time they are exposed to potentially infected cattle, and viral mutations could cause an outbreak, experts warn.  

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Why Medicaid’s ‘Undercount’ Problem Counts - KFF Health News Millions of people were surprised to find themselves booted from Medicaid over the past year after pandemic-era protections expired that had prevented states from terminating their coverage. Turns out, millions of them were also unaware they had been covered by the government program. Nearly 1 in 3 people enrolled in Medicaid in 2022 — or […] khnerich KFF Health News

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