WHO: New COVID cases, deaths keep falling nearly everywhere GENEVA (AP) — The number of new coronavirus cases and deaths reported globally continued to fall nearly everywhere in the world in what the World Health Organization described as a “welcome decline” at a media briefing on Wednesday. AP NEWS

... WHO said COVID-19 infections dropped everywhere in the world while deaths decreased everywhere except for Southeast Asia, where they climbed by 15% and in the Western Pacific, where they rose by 3%. 

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UK downgrades Covid-19 alert level amid falling cases Chief medical officers said the wave of Omicron variants was ‘subsiding’, although ‘further surges are likely’ PA Media the Guardian

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Study explores differences in the efficiency of COVID-19 vaccine boosters In a new study, researchers predicted the efficacy of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine boosters. News-Medical.net

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The study findings indicated that variant-modified booster vaccines could result in significantly higher neutralization titers against prevalent and ancestral SARS-CoV-2 variants compared to ancestral-based boosters.

10 key questions about monkeypox the world needs to answer Monkeypox is not a new disease. But scant attention paid to it for decades means there are big unanswered questions about the disease and the virus that causes it. Megan Molteni STAT

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Coronavirus Antigen Levels Associated with COVID-19 Severity The levels of SARS-CoV-2 antigen in the blood of hospitalized COVID-19 patients appear to line up with how severe the illness is and other clinical outcomes, according to a new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. WebMD

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New Covid Variant BA.4.6 Outcompeting Dominant BA.5 Across Swath Of U.S. For First Time CDC data indicates a new Omicron variant dubbed BA.4.6 may be able to outcompete the now-dominant BA.5 strain across the United States. Tom Tapp Deadline

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While BA.4.6 has been in the U.S. since at least May, it remained below 2% of new cases sequenced until July, when it gradually began to rise, even as BA.5 continued to do the same. As of this week’s CDC reporting, it currently stands at 7.5%. But the real wrinkle comes when the variant proportions are broken out regionally.

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As hospitals raise their prices, U.S. workers and businesses suffer Many of health care's corporate leaders have exploited the Covid-19 crisis to further consolidate, drive up costs, and collect billions in federal funds with few, if any, strings attached. Patrick Skerrett STAT

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US clears updated COVID boosters targeting newest variants WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. on Wednesday authorized its first update to COVID-19 vaccines, booster doses that target today’s most common omicron strain. Shots could begin within days. The move by the Food and Drug Administration tweaks the recipe of shots made by Pfizer and rival Moderna that already have saved millions of lives. AP NEWS

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Mississippi capital: Water everywhere, not a drop to drink JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi's capital city is grappling with multiple water problems — there's been too much on the ground after heavy rainfall in the past week, and not enough safe water coming through the pipes for people to use. AP NEWS

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Texas reports first U.S. death in person with monkeypox Texas on Tuesday reported the first death in a severely immunocompromised person who was diagnosed with monkeypox, according to state health department officials. Julie Steenhuysen Reuters

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The case is still under investigation to see what role monkeypox played in the death. Although painful, monkeypox is rarely fatal....

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