US respiratory virus levels continue to decline as officials track shift in SARS-CoV-2 proportions Amid further declines in COVID activity, the CDC reported a steady rise in JN.1 spinoffs that have 2 added spike mutations, part of a group nicknamed FLiRT. CIDRAP

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Insight: As solar capacity grows, some of America's most productive farmland is at risk The solar industry is pushing into the Midwest, drawn by wide-open fields, cheaper land rents, access to electric transmission and federal and state incentives. The boom risks damaging some of America's richest agricultural soils. P.j. Huffstutter,Christopher Walljasper Reuters

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The Power of Us: Climate change has disproportionately impacted these vulnerable US communities, experts say The disproportionate impacts of climate change on the poorest communities are already affecting pockets of the U.S. ABC News ABC News

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Dubai’s deadly floods were made worse by climate change, scientists find | CNN The record-breaking rain that fell over the UAE and Oman was driven partly by the climate crisis, an analysis shows, pointing to the role of burning fossil fuels. Angela Dewan CNN

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COVID may have eroded doctors' belief that they are obligated to treat infectious patients A systematic review posted in Clinical Infectious Diseases reveals that, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, many physicians felt less ethically obligated to provide care to infectious-disease patients if they fear contracting the disease. CIDRAP

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Experts call for global genetic warning system to combat the next pandemic and antimicrobial resistance (medicalxpress.com)

...genomic surveillance could do much more to reduce the toll of disease and death worldwide than just protect us from COVID-19. Writing in Frontiers in Science, an international collective of clinical and public health microbiologists from the European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) calls for investment in technology, capacity, expertise, and collaboration to put genomic surveillance of pathogens at the forefront of future pandemic preparedness.

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Data: Optimal initiation of Paxlovid in hospitalized COVID patients is 3 to 5 days Taking the SARS-CoV-2 antiviral drug nirmatrelvir-ritonavir (Paxlovid) 3 to 5 days after COVID-19 symptom onset—not earlier or later—may result in the greatest reduction in viral loads, viral transmission, and viral rebound in hospitalized patients, a University of Hong Kong–led study finds. CIDRAP

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Monkeypox virus: dangerous strain gains ability to spread through sex, new data suggest Nature - A cluster of mpox cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo sparks worries of a wider outbreak. Kozlov, Max nature

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Evidence from past outbreaks indicates that this strain, called clade I, is more lethal than the separate strain that sparked the 2022 outbreak. Clade I has for decades caused small outbreaks, often limited to a few households or communities, in Central Africa. Sexually acquired clade I infections had not been reported before last year.

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Teen vaccination cut COVID-19 cases by 37% in California, new data show Researchers also estimated that 230,134 cases were averted in kids aged 5 to 11 years, a 24% reduction. CIDRAP

JAMA Network Open has published a new study showing that, from April 1, 2020, to February 27, 2023, in California, an estimated 146,210 COVID-19 cases were averted by vaccination in teens aged 12 to 15 years, representing a 37% reduction.

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New study uses AI to predict malaria outbreaks in South Asia (medicalxpress.com)

Researchers from NDORMS in collaboration with international institutions have demonstrated the potential of using environmental measurements and deep learning modeling to predict malaria outbreaks in South Asia. The study offers promising insights into improving early warning systems for one of the world's deadliest diseases.

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CDC launches online tool to help Americans manage extreme heat (medicalxpress.com)

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has launched a new online heat forecaster to help communities better prepare for summer's scorching temperatures.

The HeatRisk Forecast Tool is a joint effort between the CDC and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Weather Service to give Americans a week-long heads-up that broiling temperatures are headed their way. It is all close at hand at the HeatRisk Dashboard online—just enter a zip code for the latest forecast and updates.

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Tough new EPA rules would force coal-fired power plants to capture emissions or shut down A rule issued by the Environmental Protection Agency would force power plants fueled by coal or natural gas to capture smokestack emissions or shut down. AP News

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Nearly 40% of people in the US live with unhealthy air pollution, report says | CNN More people across the United States – nearly 40% – live in places with unhealthy levels of polluted air, according to a new report from the American Lung Association. Jacqueline Howard CNN

...Extreme heat, drought and wildfires are among the factors that have contributed to a rise in deadly air pollution, especially in the Western part of the country, said Katherine Pruitt, author of the report and senior director of the American Lung Association’s Nationwide Clean Air Policy. 

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