Situation Report

WHO, scientists call for urgent action on mpox strain The spread of mpox in Africa needs to be addressed urgently, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday, as scientists warned separately of a dangerous strain in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Jennifer Rigby Reuters

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Latest XBB COVID-19 vaccine offers protection against hospitalization, deaths Today, JAMA Internal Medicine published a study calculating the protection offered by the latest Pfizer COVID-19 XBB vaccine compared to older vaccines against COVID-associated hospitalization and emergency department (ED) or urgent care (UC) visits.  CIDRAP

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The authors compared outcomes among those who had received an updated XBB vaccine and those who had not received an XBB vaccine of any kind, regardless of prior COVID-19 vaccination or infection history.

Bird flu snapshot: USDA secretary urges farmers to take protective measures Read the second in a series of regular updates on H5N1 avian flu that STAT is publishing on Monday mornings. Megan Molteni STAT

As the H5N1 outbreak in dairy herds approaches the three-month mark, America’s top animal health official is calling on farmers to step up the use of personal protective equipment, limit traffic onto their farms, and increase cleaning and disinfection practices in their barns and milking parlors.

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