Everything You Need to Know About Paxlovid — Especially, Should You Take It? Paxlovid has eclipsed other available therapies for preventing life-threatening covid symptoms in high-risk patients. But even as doctors praise its effectiveness, many say they have unanswered que… khnerich Kaiser Health News

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Reinfection, severe outcome more common with BA.5 variant; virus spike protein toxic to heart cells Compared with the earlier Omicron BA.2 subvariant, currently dominant Omicron BA.5 is linked with higher odds of causing a second SARS-COV-2 infection regardless of vaccination status, a study from Portugal suggests. Further, they found, in infected heart muscle cells only the SARS-CoV-2 spike interacted with so-called TLR4 proteins (Toll-like receptor-4) that recognize invaders and trigger inflammatory responses. YahooNews

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But across the small towns and farmlands, new research has found, Covid killed Black and Hispanic people at considerably higher rates than it did their white neighbors. Even at the end of the pandemic’s second year, in February 2022, overstretched health systems, poverty, chronic illnesses and lower vaccination rates were forcing nonwhite people to bear the burden of the virus...

Testing is crucial to getting monkeypox under control, but there's a 'shocking' lack of demand Testing for monkeypox, a crucial part of containing the growing outbreak, has gotten off to a sluggish start at the five commercial laboratories that are doing nearly all of the nation's testing, CNN has learned. Elizabeth Cohen, CNN Senior Medical Correspondent CNN

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White House: It Could Take $7B To Combat Monkeypox The nearly $7 billion estimate was presented to President Joe Biden as one of a number of different options to fund federal mitigation efforts. Meanwhile, the U.S. now has more monkeypox cases than… khnkit Kaiser Health News

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Viewpoints: Will Congress Pass Medicaid Expansion?; The Time To Reign In Monkeypox Is Now Editorial writers discuss Medicaid, monkeypox, covid vaccines and DEI. khnelysiag Kaiser Health News

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Barely a month after the Food and Drug Administration authorized Covid-19 vaccines for very young children, the prognosis that large numbers of them will actually get the shots looks bleak, according to a new survey of parents released on Tuesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation, which has monitored vaccine attitudes throughout the pandemic...

New York City urges WHO to rename monkeypox to avoid ‘stigmatizing effects’ The head of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene called on the World Health Organization (WHO) to rename monkeypox to prevent the “potentially devastating and stigmatizin… jchoi The Hill

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‘Absolutely ridiculous’: experts condemn Victoria’s scaling back of Covid PCR testing State government guidelines state ‘targeted’ testing approach is for ‘clinically vulnerable people’ and other at-risk groups the Guardian

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Should you wait for the Omicron booster? Why experts say you should 'get it now!' With new COVID-19 boosters expected later this year, health experts urge Californians not to put off a first or second booster shot until then. YahooNews

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"Trying to predict the future with this virus, even as close as the fall, is not a good idea," she said. "And even with the more Omicron-specific vaccines, it’s still highly unlikely that they will provide absolute protection against infection."

Addressing myths about monkeypox: A look at symptoms, treatment and other common questions Exploring common misconceptions about monkeypox infections and treatment and prevention strategies as the outbreak reaches pandemic level. YahooNews

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Fauci on needing a second generation of COVID vaccines: 'We have multiple variants of concern ... And it's getting more complicated' A new generation of vaccines is needed to continue fighting COVID-19, according to experts at the White House Tuesday. YahooFinance

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It's one reason why the White House Covid-19 Response Team is pushing for eligible adults to get first or second boosters, depending on their age, and is contemplating expanding second boosters for all adults.

US signs off on 800,000 more doses of monkeypox vaccine WASHINGTON (AP) — After weeks of delays, nearly 800,000 doses of the monkeypox vaccine will soon be available for distribution, U.S. health regulators said Wednesday. The announcement comes amid growing criticism that authorities have been too slow in deploying the vaccine, potentially missing the window to contain what could soon become an entrenched infectious disease . AP NEWS

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