Covid pandemic ‘had lasting impact’ on brain health of people aged 50 or over UK study finds cognitive function and working memory in older adults declined even if they were not infected with virus The Guardian

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USDA report: Around half of those eligible for WIC in 2021 received benefits Only half of people eligible for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) receive benefits from it, a new United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) rep… tsuter The Hill

Only half of people eligible for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) receive benefits from it, a new United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) report has found.

Migrants in cities across the US may need medical care. It's not that easy to find Migrants who have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border and travel to cities around the country are running into a disjointed health care systems when they need treatment. AP News

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The ACA proved critics wrong One prediction came from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which estimated that between 5 and 20 million fewer people would be covered through their employers by 2019. POLITICO

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New research from the nonprofit Employee Benefit Research Institute signals — in time for open enrollment season on the exchange — the prediction didn’t come to pass. Between 2014 and 2022, institute researchers found that more people had access to benefits, as the share of eligible workers rose 5 percentage points.

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Advocates for homeless seek creative solutions as car-camping laws rise 213% - UPI.com Homelessness has been a compounding issue for more than 40 years in the United States and advocates are seeking creative ways to address the root of the problem and protect the rights of the unhoused. UPI

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‘Worse Than People Can Imagine’: Medicaid ‘Unwinding’ Breeds Chaos in States - KFF Health News As Medicaid programs across the nation review enrollees' status in the wake of the pandemic, patients struggle to navigate the upheaval. khnkytjaw KFF Health News

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Study: Paxlovid safe, effective in pregnancy EmiliaU / iStock CIDRAP

A study based on 211 pregnant women given the antiviral drug nirmatrelvir and ritonavir (Paxlovid) during pregnancy for acute COVID-19 infections shows no increased risk of adverse events in the women or their babies and a reduced risk of complications called the maternal morbidity and mortality index (MMMI).

The findings, published today in Nature Medicine, suggest the drug is safe to use in pregnancy and is effective in reducing MMMI risk but not COVID-related hospitalizations.

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Opinion

America Is Gambling With Another Low-Vax Winter - The Atlantic

A Winter of Low COVID Vaccination Will Probably Seem Fine Missed vaccinations ultimately mean more illness, more total lives lost, and more gaps in our defenses against the virus. Katherine J. Wu The Atlantic

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Health misinformation and lack of confidence in vaccines continue to grow, years after the Covid-19 pandemic, survey shows | CNN Vaccine misinformation, which first began spiraling during the Covid-19 pandemic, has grown in the United States in the years since, according to a new survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. Carma Hassan CNN

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These Are the Top COVID Hot Spots in the U.S. These are the counties with the highest recent averages for new COVID-19 hospital admissions per capita. Christopher Wolf U.S. News & World Report

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Children’s hospitals prepare for surge in admissions amid shortage of RSV drug A supply shortage means a drug that can prevent respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in infants won’t have a major immediate impact, children’s hospitals said, and they are preparing for a… nweixel The Hill

“Widespread access [to the new antibody drug] will take time across many sectors of the pediatric population and won’t have as great an impact on volumes this immediate respiratory season,” the Children’s Hospital Association said in a statement.

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