GENEVA, July 15 (Reuters) - Nearly 23 million children missed out on routine vaccinations last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the highest number in more than a decade, fuelling outbreaks of measles, polio and other preventable diseases, U.N. agencies said on Thursday.

Measles, one of the world's most contagious diseases, can be fatal to children under the age of five, especially in African and Asian countries with weak health systems, according to the World Health Organization. Polio can cripple a child for life.

The gap in global vaccination coverage has set up a "perfect storm", leaving more children vulnerable to infectious pathogens just as many countries ease COVID-19 restrictions, the WHO and U.N. Children's Fund said in an annual report.

US overdose deaths hit record 93,000 in pandemic last year NEW YORK (AP) — Overdose deaths soared to a record 93,000 last year in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. government reported Wednesday. That estimate far eclipses the high of about 72,000 drug overdose deaths reached the previous year and amounts to a 29% increase. AP NEWS

NEW YORK (AP) — Overdose deaths soared to a record 93,000 last year in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. government reported Wednesday.

White House shifts to biweekly calls with governors on coronavirus The White House is reducing the frequency of its weekly calls with governors to discuss the response to the coronavirus pandemic, multiple sources confirmed on Tuesday. Brett Samuels TheHill

The White House is reducing the frequency of its weekly calls with governors to discuss the response to the coronavirus pandemic, multiple sources confirmed on Tuesday.

Today, CommuniVax, a group led by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security at the Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Department of Anthropology at Texas State University released a new report, Carrying Equity in COVID-19 Vaccination Forward: Guidance Informed by Communities of Color, that outlines findings from local research within Black and Hispanic/Latino communities in Alabama, California, Idaho, Maryland, and Virginia and provides specific guidance to government officials on adapting COVID-19 vaccination efforts to achieve greater vaccine coverage in underserved populations and, through this, to develop sustainable, locally appropriate mechanisms to advance equity in health.

Key findings of the local research are:

Superspreader 'explosions' continue to plague pandemic efforts New coronavirus strains are a risk, but experts say human behavior and social interactions that lead to superspreader events remain the most serious threat. NBC News

Superspreader events that first seeded the coronavirus in the United States are keeping the pandemic smoldering, with experts pointing to human behavior and social circles as the main drivers.

Here’s a map showing where low vaccination rates meet high case counts as U.S. Covid infections surge

‘The pandemic is not over’: Chicago reinstates COVID-19 travel order for 2 states CHICAGO —  The Chicago Department of Public Health announced Tuesday that two states have been added back to its emergency travel order. Missouri and Arkansas are the only states where unvacci… Marisa Rodriguez WGN-TV

CHICAGO —  The Chicago Department of Public Health announced Tuesday that two states have been added back to its emergency travel order.