Flu shots are doing OK vs. virus, US numbers indicate Early estimates suggest flu shots are performing OK in the current U.S. winter flu season. The vaccines were around 40% effective in preventing adults from getting sick enough from the flu that they had to go to a doctor’s office, clinic or hospital. AP News

...

Officials generally are pleased if a flu vaccine is 40% to 60% effective.

The shots tend to do better when they are well matched against the circulating flu strains. Officials say that’s what’s happened during this — relatively typical — flu season.

...

US respiratory virus levels remain high as flu rises in central states Respiratory illness levels in the United States remained high but stable last week, with flu activity rising in some regions of the country and indicators declining for both COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in its latest data updates. CIDRAP

...

CDC advisory panel says people 65 and older should get a Covid spring booster shot An expert panel advising the CDC on vaccines on Wednesday recommended that people 65 and older should get an additional Covid-19 vaccine shot this spring. Helen Branswell STAT

...

The recommendation was approved by CDC Director Mandy Cohen, allowing the United States to join Canada and the United Kingdom in offering a spring booster this year to people at high risk of severe disease if they contract Covid.

COVID-19 no longer means five days in isolation, CDC says U.S. health officials say Americans with COVID-19 no longer need to stay in isolation for five days. AP News

NEW YORK (AP) — Americans who test positive for COVID-19 no longer need to stay in isolation for five days, U.S. health officials announced Friday.

Racial minorities have greater long-term harms from COVID-19, data show A longitudinal study yesterday in Frontiers in Public Health shows Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) COVID-19 patients in America had greater post-COVID-19 burdens than non-Hispanic, white peers. CIDRAP

...

Few Americans say they know how much health care will cost: Gallup Less than 20 percent of Americans say they know how much they will have to pay before receiving health care treatments, according to a report. The Bentley-Gallup Business in Society Report survey, … lsforza The Hill

...

Many Americans postpone surgeries due to cost, job worries - UPI.com Older adults frequently delay needed surgery because of financial concerns, a new study finds. UPI

...Nearly half of people ages 50 and older who were very concerned about the cost of surgery wound up not having an operation they had considered, researchers reported Tuesday in the journal JAMA Network Open. 

...

Where Are the Nation’s Primary Care Providers? It’s Not an Easy Answer - KFF Health News Politicians keep talking about fixing primary care shortages. But flawed national data leaves big holes in how to evaluate which policies are effective. Lydia Zuraw KFF Health News

...

Measles making a comeback in US due to vaccine skepticism, says CDC The highly transmissible disease was found in north-east states in recent weeks and is likely to spread to the midwest and west coast The Guardian

...

The US hasn't seen syphilis numbers this high since 1950. Other STD rates are down or flat Infectious syphilis cases in the U.S. rose by 9% in 2022. That's according to a new federal government report released Tuesday on sexually transmitted diseases in adults. AP News

...

Religious people coped better with the COVID-19 pandemic, research suggests People of religious faith may have experienced lower levels of unhappiness and stress than secular people during the UK's COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 and 2021, according to new University of Cambridge ... Science X Phys.org

...