Three months into bird flu outbreak in U.S. dairy cows, experts see deep-rooted problems in response Three months into the H5N1 bird flu outbreak in U.S. dairy cows, experts see deep-rooted problems in the government's response. Andrew Joseph STAT

Three months since an outbreak of avian influenza in U.S. dairy cattle was declared, the country is failing to take the necessary steps to get in front of the virus and possibly contain its spread among cows, according to interviews with more than a dozen experts and current and former government officials.

Supreme Court rejects COVID-19 vaccine appeals from nonprofit founded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The Supreme Court has rejected two appeals related to COVID-19 vaccines from Children’s Health Defense, the anti-vaccine nonprofit founded by independent presidential candidate Robert F. AP News

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The justices did not comment in letting stand rulings against the group from the federal appeals courts in New Orleans and Philadelphia.

Extreme heat waves aren’t ‘just summer’: How climate change is heating up the weather, and what we can do about it The June heat wave triggered warnings of a flash drought and caused a surge in ER visits. Many other countries have been facing extreme heat at the same time. Yahoo News

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CDC warns a surge in global dengue cases is raising risk in US | CNN The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a warning to doctors Tuesday to be on the look out for cases of dengue. A surge in dengue cases globally is raising the risk that people could catch the disease in the US. Jen Christensen CNN

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The West is warming and drying so fast that a crucial drought-monitoring tool can’t keep up, study says Drought in the American West is becoming a persistent reality instead of a periodic emergency due to climate change, and a recent study found that an essential tool used to measure drought can&#821… Elise Schmelzer The Denver Post

Drought in the American West is becoming a persistent reality instead of a periodic emergency due to climate change, and a recent study found that an essential tool used to measure drought can’t keep up.

Gavi Includes Ebola, Meningitis, Rabies And Hepatitis B Vaccines In Its Portfolio - Health Policy Watch (healthpolicy-watch.news)

Gavi Includes Ebola, Meningitis, Rabies And Hepatitis B Vaccines In Its Portfolio - Health Policy Watch Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, announced last week that it will offer high risk countries the option of obtaining preventative Ebola vaccines, particularly for Health Policy Watch

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The Covid summer wave is here Infections are most likely rising in at least 39 states, driven in part by a trio of new variants. NBC News

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Several variants are likely to be contributing to the nationwide trend, said Dr. Dan Barouch, director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

Finland to start bird flu vaccinations for humans, in world first Finland plans to offer preemptive bird flu vaccination as soon as next week to some workers with exposure to animals, health authorities said on Tuesday, making it the first country in the world to do so. Reuters Reuters

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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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US surgeon general declares US gun violence an urgent public health crisis | CNN Gun violence in the United States is an urgent public health crisis that demands the “collective commitment of the nation” to stop it, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy says in a new advisory released Tuesday. Jen Christensen CNN

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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.

USDA finds unusual twist: Bird flu moved from dairy cows to poultry in Michigan LANSING — A team of epidemiologists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture have traced the H5N1 viral spread in Michigan to a single herd of dairy cattle ... The Blade

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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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