China drops COVID-19 group travel bans to 78 nations including U.S., Japan - UPI.com China announced Thursday it was removing its COVID-19-era restrictions on group travel to nearly 80 countries including the United States and Japan. UPI

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China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced group travel could continue to 78 nations including the two popular destinations as well as Australia, Britain, Germany, Qatar and South Korea.

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COVID cases surging again in Florida. Here's what you need to know about new variant, Eris It's summer and that means a new surge of COVID cases. But after three years of vaccines and previous infections, experts say cases may not be as bad. Yahoo News

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Treasury announces tax credit bonus for renewables in low-income areas A proposed rule from the Biden administration would add an increase of up to 20 percentage points to the tax credit for solar and wind facilities in low-income areas. Treasury Department offic… zbudryk The Hill

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Deaths, disabilities from heart problems related to air pollution are on the rise, study finds | CNN The number of people killed or disabled by certain heart problems caused by exposure to air pollution has risen significantly since 1990: 31% worldwide, according to a study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association. Jen Christensen CNN

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With Eris on the rise, US CDC sees no major shift in COVID variants Currently spreading COVID-19 variants such as EG.5, or Eris, do not represent a major shift and updated vaccines in September will offer protection, the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday. Reuters Reuters

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Vaccine hesitancy behind most decisions to not get COVID-19 vaccines The level of hesitancy for the COVID-19 vaccine was much higher than for other routinely given vaccines. CIDRAP

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Vaccine hesitancy, which began to grow steadily in the US during the early 2000s with false claims that common childhood vaccines caused autism, soared again during the pandemic, as employee vaccine mandates became political footballs.

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Extroverts more likely to refuse vaccines, study finds - UPI.com Compared to other personality styles, extroverts were 18% more likely to refuse the COVID-19 vaccine, a new study found. UPI

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When studying which personality types were more likely to resist getting vaccines, researchers got a surprise.

Biden's health care wins are being undone — and at the worst possible time Millions are being pushed off the Medicaid rolls, undoing the biggest health care coverage expansion since Obamacare. POLITICO

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UK releases recommendations for fall COVID boosters Drazen Zigic/iStock CIDRAP

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In its announcement today, the UK's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI) detailed the people who will be eligible to receive the vaccine in the fall—those most likely to benefit from vaccination. Aside from those ages 65 and older, the list includes people in nursing facilities and their caregivers, people ages 6 months to 64 who are in clinical risk groups, people ages 12 to 64 who are family contacts of immunocompromised people, and frontline health and social care workers.

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COVID hospitalizations jump again: Maps show where it’s worst In about two dozen states, the surge in hospitalizations was either “moderate” or “substantial.” amartichoux The Hill

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WHO tracking new EG.5 coronavirus variant spreading in UK and US - Tedros The World Health Organization is currently tracking several coronavirus variants, including the EG.5 variant that is spreading in the U.S. and U.K., Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday. Reuters Reuters

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July hit a crucial warming threshold that scientists have warned the world should stay under | CNN The average global temperature in July was around 1.5 degrees Celsius warmer than the pre-industrial era that ended in the mid-to-late 1800s, new report shows. Rachel Ramirez CNN

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