Europe

EU's disaster response fund at limit as climate crises mount The European Commission warned on Tuesday that the EU urgently needs more funding to respond to climate change-fuelled crises after its emergency aid reserve was exhausted in both 2021 and 2022 and natural disasters have increased this year. Kate Abnett Reuters

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In hopeful sign for the US, flu vaccine shows strong protection against hospitalization in South America, CDC report shows | CNN Early data from South America shows that the flu vaccine has cut the risk of hospitalization in half this year, a hopeful sign that the vaccine will provide a similar level of protection in the United States as the country heads into its own respiratory virus season. Deidre McPhillips CNN

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WHO airs concerns about global COVID trends Meanwhile, several more BA.2.86 sequences were reported, as Moderna notes reassuring lab findings against BA.2.86 for its updated vaccine. CIDRAP

At a briefing on global health issues today, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said there are concerning trends ahead of the Northern Hemisphere winter, including rising deaths in parts of the Middle East and Asia and increased hospitalizations in multiple regions.

Limited data suggest rising global COVID-19 activity The WHO said today it will shift its global COVID roundups from weekly updates to monthly reports. CIDRAP

hough case reporting doesn't accurately reflect COVID-19 activity because of decreased testing and reporting, the number reported over the past month increased by 63%, with increased cases reported in three regions, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its latest weekly update yesterday. ...