DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

CNN —While there are still five weeks until Election Day, voting is already underway across the country and a CNN review suggests pre-election voting this year will drop from the pandemic-era highs of 2020. That’s a tiny fraction of the roughly 158 million votes cast for president in the 2020 election. The downtick in interest in early voting so far shouldn’t be surprising. The 2020 election featured historic levels of pre-election voting during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, at the same point in the 2020 election, Democrats accounted for 66% of all ballot requests, while Republicans accounted for 24%.

Persons: Michael Frias, Donald Trump’s, there’s, Catalist’s Frias, It’s, ” Frias, Harris, ” Organizations: CNN, Edison Research, District of Columbia, of Disease Control, Republicans, Democrats, Black, Trump Locations: Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Florida, Georgia , Michigan

☆ Fentanyl crisis in Oregon: 90-day state of emergency declared in downtown Portland
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Amy Simonson | Lauren Mascarenhas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Oregon leaders joined forces to declare a 90-day state of emergency in downtown Portland, funneling resources into the city’s deadly fentanyl crisis. Oregon voters passed Measure 110 in 2020, which decriminalized some use of hard-drugs, including fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid. The measure has received criticism, as opioid overdose deaths steadily climbed since. Opioid overdose deaths in the state increased from 280 in 2019 to 956 in 2022, according to the state’s data. Experts say reversing the trends in overdose deaths really depends on broader access to and use of treatments for opioid use disorder.

Persons: Tina Kotek, Jessica Vega Pederson, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, ” Kotek, ”, “, ” Pederson Organizations: CNN, Oregon, Oregon Gov, Portland Mayor, US Centers of Disease Control, CDC, Portland Central City Task Force, Portland Police Bureau, Oregon State Police Locations: Portland, Multnomah, Portland’s Central City, Oregon

☆ Salmonella: Cases almost double as CDC expands warning of infections linked to recalled charcuterie meats
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Amanda Sealy | Jamie Gumbrecht | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —As cases of salmonella infections linked to recalled charcuterie meats double, the US Centers of Disease Control and Prevention expanded its warning in a new food safety alert on Thursday. That’s almost double the cases from the last update on January 5th where 24 illnesses and five hospitalizations had been reported in 14 states. The CDC cautions that the true number of illnesses is most likely higher and could also be in present in other states. The warning is now also being expanded beyond one specific lot number of Busseto brand Charcuterie Sampler. Fratelli Beretta recalled more than 11,000 pounds of the charcuterie meat products earlier this month, but only one specific lot code.

Persons: That’s, Fratelli Beretta, Gran Beretta, It’s Organizations: CNN, US Centers of Disease Control, CDC, Costco Locations: Arizona , Colorado , Connecticut , Idaho , Illinois , Kentucky, Maryland , Michigan, Minnesota , Missouri , Nebraska , New Jersey , New York , Ohio , Oregon , Pennsylvania, Texas , Utah, Virginia , Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin

☆ Nearly 2 million excess deaths followed China's sudden end of COVID curbs - study
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Bernard Orr | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The study by the federally funded Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle was taken from a sample of mortality data published by some universities in China and internet searches. It found an estimated 1.87 million excess deaths from all causes occurred among people over 30 years of age between December 2022 and January 2023, and were observed in all provinces in mainland China except Tibet. In the study, researchers performed statistical analysis using information from published obituaries and data from searches on Baidu, a popular Chinese internet search engine. "Our study of excess deaths related to the lifting of the zero-COVID policy in China sets an empirically derived benchmark estimate. The World Health Organization says there have been 121,628 COVID deaths in China, out of a total global toll of almost 7 million.

Persons: Thomas Peter, cremations, China's, COVID, Bernard Orr, Lincoln Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Baidu, Health Commission, Global, World Health Organization, National Bureau of Disease Control, Prevention, Global Times, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Rights BEIJING, U.S, Seattle, Tibet

☆ Sleep gummies: Possibly harmful doses of melatonin, CBD found
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Sandee Lamotte | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Testing of over two dozen melatonin “gummies” sold as sleep aids found some had potentially dangerous amounts of the hormone that helps regulate sleep, according to a new study. “Four of the tested products contained levels of CBD that were between 4% and 18% higher than on the label,” Cohen said. “We choose gummies over other products because we thought parents would chose edibles to give to their children,” Cohen said. Gummies sold as sleep aids had much higher levels of melatonin than stated on the label, as well as CBD, according to the study. “However, that doesn’t mean melatonin products are going to work or they’re a good idea to take.

The vast majority are either unvaccinated or have received just one of the two recommended doses of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, according to City of Columbus Public Health. The outbreak, the largest in the U.S. since 2019, is happening as resistance to school vaccination requirements is spreading across the country. The percentage of parents who said they were against vaccination requirements for school was even higher. "As I think about the challenges that we have to public health vaccine, misinformation is among the biggest threats," she said. "Here in Ohio, we have some pretty active anti-vaccine groups," said Tara Smith, a professor of epidemiology at the Kent State University College of Public Health.

☆ A 26-story pig skyscraper in China will slaughter 1 million animals a year, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Hannah Williams | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

China's skyscraper pig farm aims to tackle the country's growing pork demands, The Guardian reports. The Guardian reported the new tower in China is the largest "single-building pig farm in the world." Statements on the company's WeChat account analyzed by The Guardian reveal the farm-in-the-sky will house more than 600,000 animals. Animals are automatically fed via buttons in a central control room, and the pigs' waste is used to generate heating and power. Hubei Zhongxin Kaiwei Modern Farming, the company behind the development, has already sent 3,700 sows to the farm, The Guardian reported.

One person died, a woman lost her pregnancy, and over a dozen others were sickened in a listeria outbreak believed to be linked to deli meat and cheese, public health officials said Wednesday. At least 16 people in six states have been sickened, with New York state reporting the most people sickened, the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention said, but the real number is likely higher. In New York, where seven of the sick people were identified, five bought deli meat or cheese from at least one location of the NetCost Market chain, but others did not, according to the CDC. The CDC said investigators don’t think that chain is the sole source, and that products bought at deli counters in multiple states are the likely source. “A contaminated food likely introduced the outbreak strain of Listeria into delis in multiple states,” the agency said.

☆ Sleep deprivation affects nearly half of American adults, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Sandee Lamotte | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The analysis also found over 30% of adults reported an hour of sleep debt -— when you sleep less than your body needs — while nearly 1 in 10 adults had a sleep debt of two hours or more. “This is a well done study examining a very large and representative sample,” said Dr. Bhanu Prakash Kolla, a sleep medicine specialist in the Center for Sleep Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Social jet lagIn addition, nearly half of the adults in the study reported social jet lag – a bad fit between the sleep timing preferred by a person’s inner biological clock and the one dictated by society. Over 46% of the survey participants reported at least 1 hour of social jet lag, while 19.3% experienced at least 2 hours. Untreated social jet lag can have serious consequences, including insomnia, early waking or excessive sleepiness, daytime fatigue, difficulty concentrating, constipation or diarrhea and increased cortisol levels.

LONDON/SINGAPORE, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Global stocks rose on Friday for the first time in three days ahead of key U.S. jobs data, as investors took heart from reports China may relax its COVID rules, boosting major currencies against the dollar and prompting a 2% rally in oil. The Hang Seng (.HSI) rose 5.4%, bringing gains for the week to 8.75%, its strongest weekly performance in a decade. This has been one of the factors that has enabled the Fed to relentlessly raise interest rates to tame inflation. In commodities, oil bounced, fuelled by hopes for a relaxation of zero-COVID rules in China, which is home to some of the world's biggest energy consumers. Brent crude rose 3% to $97.66 a barrel, while U.S. crude gained 3.5% to trade at $91.26 a barrel.

☆ China to make 'substantial' COVID policy changes soon - ex-govt expert
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"The situation is changing now and China's 'dynamic zero' will also undergo major changes. Substantive changes will happen soon," he said, according to the recording of the session, which was titled "China's Exit Strategy from Zero-Covid". Chinese health authorities will hold a press conference on Saturday on COVID-19 prevention, according to a notice that said officials from the the National Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention would attend. LOCKDOWNS AND PROTESTSZeng was part of a top team at China's National Health Commission when the virus started to spread from the central Chinese city of Wuhan to other parts of China in 2020. On Wednesday, the country's National Health Commission said the nation should unwaveringly stick to zero-COVID.

☆ China to host press conference on targeted COVID prevention on Nov 5
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BEIJING, Nov 4 (Reuters) - China health authorities will host a press conference on targeted COVID-19 prevention on Nov. 5 at 3 pm (0700 GMT), according to an official notice. Experts and officials from China's National Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention will attend the meeting, according to the notice published on China.com.cn, where China releases official press conference schedules. Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Himani SarkarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

HONG KONG, Nov 4 (Reuters) - China may soon shorten COVID-19 quarantine requirements for inbound travellers from the current 10 days to seven or eight days, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday. Such a move would follow China's decision in June to slash quarantine time for inbound travellers by half. Health officials at the time said the shorter incubation period of the Omicron variant allowed for shorter quarantine times. Travel in and out of China has plunged as the country pursues "dynamic COVID zero" policies that include mandatory quarantine and RT-PCR tests for travellers upon arrival. International flights to and from China are at a small fraction of pre-COVID levels.

☆ How long it took to develop 13 vaccines in history
▼ + stars: | 2020-07-18 | by ( Natalie Colarossi | Taylor Ardrey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The COVID-19 pandemic has infected nearly millions of people, and scientists raced to develop a vaccine at record speed. But vaccines often take years, and sometimes even decades, to develop, test, and approve for public use. Here's how long it took to develop vaccines for infectious diseases throughout history, including COVID-19. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists were about to develop and distribute shots to prevent those infected from severe illness. To gain some perspective on the complexities of vaccine development, here's how long it took to develop vaccines for other infectious diseases throughout history.

Search resuls for: "of Disease Control"

14 mentions found