Social behavior

China's COVID spike not due to lifting of restrictions - WHO director GENEVA (Reuters) -COVID-19 infections were exploding in China well before the government's decision to abandon its strict "zero-COVID" policy, a World Health Organization director said on Wednesday, quashing suggestions that the sudden reversal caused a spike in cases. The comments by the WHO's emergencies director Mike Ryan came as he warned of the need to ramp up vaccinations in the world's No. 2 economy. Speaking at a briefing with media, he said the virus was spreading "intensively" in the nation long before the lifting of restrictions. YahooNews

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Vaccine fatigue is leaving the US vulnerable to flu | CNN The flu season ramped up early in the United States this year, but vaccination rates are far from keeping pace. Deidre McPhillips CNN

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The Case for Cautious COVID Optimism This Winter Several key factors mean that we're unlikely to face a major COVID-19 surge this winter, argue Drs. Michael Daignault and Monica Gandhi YahooNews

At this time last year and two years ago, daily new infections and covid-related hospitalizations were already accelerating at a fast clip. BQ.1 and BQ.1.1, the latest Omicron subvariants, came to comprise the majority of cases during a relative lull in the pandemic. Combined with a Thanksgiving Holiday that saw the most travelers since the pandemic started, there has been a steady increase in covid metrics.