US health authorities warned Thursday that a deadlier version of mpox (formerly monkeypox) spreading in the Democratic Republic of the Congo could soon cross international borders, urging those at risk to get vaccinated.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.