Bivalent vaccines help prevent COVID-related stroke, heart attack, US data show Mohammed Haneefa Nizamudeen/iStock CIDRAP

Bivalent (two-strain) COVID-19 vaccines help protect against COVID-19–related thromboembolic events, including strokes, embolisms, and heart attacks, more so than monovalent (one-strain) vaccines, according to a study today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Preventing health care violence in the ER requires moving from safety to security Health care workers facing violence in the ER need more than just safety — they need security. Torie Bosch STAT

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As COVID cases rise, rapid tests are taking longer to detect infection As COVID cases rise over the winter, health experts are finding that it’s taking longer for people using rapid tests to get a positive result after symptoms appear. Cameron Lallana NBC Bay Area

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The problem is: people who initially test negative and then don’t test later may be unknowingly spreading the virus.

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Renewables grew rapidly in 2023, but must grow faster still to meet climate change target, IEA says The amount of renewable energy installed around the world last year grew at its fastest rate in the past 25 years. AP News

The world’s renewable energy grew at its fastest rate in the past 25 years in 2023, the International Energy Agency reported Thursday in its first assessment since nations agreed in December on ambitious new targets to slow dangerous climate change.

Why are 1,500 Americans still dying from COVID every week? Despite availability of COVID vaccines and treatments, an average of 1,500 Americans are dying from the virus every week. Experts explain why this might be happening. ABC News ABC News

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Experts said there are several reasons why people might still be dying from the virus, including not enough people accessing treatments or getting vaccinated as well as waning immunity.

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A discovery in the muscles of long COVID patients may explain exercise troubles Long COVID patients can experience severe energy crashes after physical exertion. New research provides clear evidence that there's a biological basis for the symptoms. NPR

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By taking biopsies from long COVID patients before and after exercising, scientists in the Netherlands constructed a startling picture of widespread abnormalities in muscle tissue that may explain this severe reaction to physical activity.

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Long-term respiratory illness is here to stay Covid is not the only disease with a long version Yahoo News

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Some Southern Hemisphere countries experiencing rise in COVID COVID is at higher-than-expected levels in some parts of South America. CIDRAP

Some countries in the Southern Hemisphere, currently in their summer season, are experiencing higher-than-expected levels of respiratory disease activity for this time of year due to COVID-19, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said yesterday in an epidemiologic update.

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