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Coal power grew in 2023 driven by China’s expansion and a slowdown of US plant closures | CNN Global coal capacity increased by 2% last year, its highest annual increase since 2016, sparking concerns about the world’s ability to meet climate commitments CNN

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US respiratory virus activity declines, with few hot spots reported Outpatient visits for flulike illness is below the national baseline for the first time since October. CIDRAP

Activity from the three main respiratory viruses continues to decline in the United States, with one of the main flu markers—outpatient visits for flulike illness—now below the national baseline for the first time since October, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in its latest updates for flu, COVID, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

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Sweden will miss its climate goals without policy changes, environment agency says Sweden will not reach its climate targets without further political action to cut carbon emissions, the Environmental Protection Agency said on Friday. Greta Rosen Fondahn Reuters

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Nearly 1 in 4 Adults Dumped From Medicaid Are Now Uninsured, Survey Finds - KFF Health News A first-of-its-kind survey of Medicaid enrollees found that nearly a quarter who were dropped from the program in the last year’s unwinding say they’re uninsured. khnkytjaw KFF Health News

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The first national survey of adults whose Medicaid eligibility was reviewed during the unwinding found nearly half of people who lost their government coverage signed back up weeks or months later — suggesting they should never have been dropped in the first place.

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Covid vaccines aren't linked to sudden death in young people, a new CDC report finds. The new report debunks widespread misinformation that the mRNA shots were connected to sudden cardiac death in young athletes. NBC News

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the analysis shows that the risk of sudden death in young adults after being vaccinated is significantly lower than the risk of sudden cardiac death from all causes — about 1 in 500,000 per year, compared to 1 in 100,000 per year, according to his estimates.

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To rebuild trust in public health: Better communication, fewer mandates, and small wins Rebuilding trust in the CDC won't be quick or easy — especially in a divisive political season — but that doesn't make it any less important. Patrick Skerrett STAT

by Tom Frieden, former head of CDC

... In many countries — notably the United States — the pandemic dissolved trust between parts of the community and the public health system. How can that trust be restored? In a word: gradually. Trust is built in drops and lost in buckets.

Bird flu pushes US dairy farmers to ban visitors, chop trees Dairy farmers in the United States are raising their defenses to try to contain the spread of bird flu: banning visitors, cutting down trees to discourage wild birds from landing, and disinfecting vehicles coming onto their land. Tom Polansek Reuters

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Here's what worries scientists about bird flu's spread among cattle Avian influenza is still spreading among dairy cattle. Scientists are paying close attention to how the virus is changing and what that means for its pandemic potential. NPR

The unlikely spread among cattle and one dairy worker has scientists looking through the data to better understand this spillover. They say the risk to humans hinges on whether the virus can evolve in key ways to better infect mammals.

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Surveys spotlight pregnant women's drop in confidence over COVID vaccines Spanish-speaking Hispanic women had the highest self-reported rate of any COVID-19 vaccination. CIDRAP

A new study details dramatically lower confidence in COVID-19 vaccine safety in pregnant and recently pregnant women in 2023 compared to 2021, despite evidence to the contrary, according to findings published yesterday in JAMA Network Open.

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