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☆ Pfizer RSV vaccine that protects infants could receive FDA approval this summer
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Pfizer 's vaccine that protects infants from respiratory could receive Food and Drug Administration approval by the end of this summer. Pfizer on Tuesday said the FDA is reviewing the vaccine on an expedited basis. The agency is expected to make a decision on whether to clear the shot in August, just before respiratory virus season. The vaccine was 82% effective at preventing severe disease from RSV in newborns during the first 90 days of life, according to data from Pfizer's clinical trial. But infants face a higher risk of severe disease.

China’s official count 0 2.5 million 83,150 deaths Model based on Shanghai outbreak 1.6 million deaths LOW ESTIMATE HIGH ESTIMATE Estimate using travel patterns 970,000 deaths Estimate using recent testing data 1.5 million deaths Estimate based on U.S. death rates 1.1 million deaths China’s official count 0 2.5 million 83,150 deaths Model based on Shanghai outbreak 1.6 million deaths LOW EST. But China’s official Covid death toll for the entire pandemic remains strikingly low: 83,150 people as of Feb. 9. Four separate academic teams have converged on broadly similar estimates: China’s Covid wave may have killed between a million and 1.5 million people. Why official data underrepresents China’s outbreak83,150 deaths China’s official count on Feb. 9 0 2.5M 83,150 deaths China’s official count on Feb. 9 0 2.5 millionChina has a narrow definition of what counts as a Covid-19 death. But the work was unwavering in its ultimate conclusion: Ending the “zero Covid” policy was likely to overwhelm the health care system, producing an estimated 1.6 million deaths.

☆ China Says 60,000 Have Died of Covid Since Controls Were Lifted
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Keith Zhai | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Chinese officials say that 90% of the Covid-19 deaths recorded by hospitals involved patients with underlying conditions. SINGAPORE—Hospitals in China recorded roughly 60,000 Covid-related deaths since the government scrapped most of its zero-tolerance pandemic controls in early December, Chinese health authorities said in the first major accounting of the toll exacted by the Omicron wave currently sweeping the country. China had been criticized by public health experts and epidemiologists, including some at the World Health Organization, for publishing data that routinely showed deaths in the single digits in recent week—figures they said grossly underestimated the impact the virus had on the Chinese population.

China has said it only counts deaths of COVID patients caused by pneumonia and respiratory failure as COVID-related. The holiday travel rush is expected to last for 40 days, from Jan. 7 to Feb. 15, the Ministry of Transport said this week. China's official death toll of 5,246 since the pandemic began compares with more than 1 million deaths in the United States. The United States, India, Italy, Japan and Taiwan said they would require COVID tests for travellers from China. Omicron was still the dominant strain in China, Chinese health officials said this week.

☆ Supreme Court Title 42 vote keeps border shut to asylum seekers, and Biden policy close to Trump
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Layla M. Razavi | Grisel Ruiz | Layla M. Razavi Is The Interim Executive Director Of Freedom For Immigrants | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

The policy, known as Title 42, had already been ruled unlawful by a federal judge. Though President Joe Biden is now pushing for an end to Title 42, he previously fought in federal court to preserve the policy despite his campaign promise to restore asylum. Title 42 was never about public health. Indeed, Title 42 came to be after the Trump White House reportedly put the squeeze on the CDC. It’s no coincidence that Title 42 has disproportionately denied Black and brown migrants their right to seek asylum.

SummarySummary Companies COVID infections may peak next week- Chinese health officialChina reports no new COVID deaths for 3rd dayOverstretched health system braces for more severe casesBEIJING/SHANGHAI, Dec 23 (Reuters) - China is expecting a peak in COVID-19 infections within a week, a health official said, with authorities predicting extra strain on the country's health system even as they downplay the disease's severity and continue to report no new deaths. China reported less than 4,000 new symptomatic local COVID cases nationwide for Dec. 22, and no new COVID deaths for a third consecutive day. Authorities have narrowed the criteria for COVID deaths, prompting criticism from many disease experts. Experts say China could face more than a million COVID deaths next year. NO DATAThe World Health Organization has received no data from China on new COVID hospitalizations since Beijing lifted its zero-COVID policy.

The country spent big on quarantine and testing facilities over the past three years rather than bolstering hospitals and clinics and training medical staff, these people said. "There is no transition time for the medical system to prepare for this," said Zuofeng Zhang, professor of epidemiology at the University of California, Los Angeles. The failure to boost vaccination rates among the vulnerable could imperil China's health system, more than a dozen experts said. The death of a 23-year-old medical student in Chengdu on Dec. 14 fueled public ire at the strain on China's health system. Chen Jiming, a researcher at China's Foshan University, said there was every chance that China's medical system could cope now that the country has ended quarantine for asymptomatic and mild cases.

☆ Beijing braces for surge in severe COVID cases as world watches with concern
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Bernard Orr | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/4] People wearing face masks commute in a subway station during morning rush hour, following the coronavirus disease ( COVID-19) outbreak, in Beijing, China January 20, 2021. China, which uses a narrow definition of what can be classified as COVID fatalities, reported no new COVID deaths for Dec. 20, compared with five the previous day. Severe cases rose by 53 across China on Tuesday, versus an increase of 23 the previous day. China does not provide absolute figures of severe cases. Blood clots, heart problems and sepsis - an extreme body response to infection - have caused countless deaths among COVID patients around the world.

With the end of the year approaching, charitable giving is top-of-mind for many individuals. Give smarter for year-end impactYour personal portfolio and life events will best determine what a smart giving decision looks like to maximize the impact of your giving. IRA Charitable Rollover: Starting at age 70 1/2, you can make a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) from your IRA account. Charitable giving through a will or trust: Legacy gifts allow you to have a lasting impact on Doctors Without Border's work. Charitable gift annuities: If you're 65 or older and prepared to give $10,000 or more, a charitable gift annuity can provide income for one or two people via fixed payments for their lifetimes.

☆ Thanksgiving Poses Next Covid-19 Test as U.S. Looks to Dodge Severe Surge
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Jon Kamp | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Thanksgiving once again comes at a precarious time this year, as new Covid-19 subvariants take over and the cold weather brings people indoors, often in family gatherings where the virus can easily spread. The U.S. is heading into its third Covid-19 Thanksgiving in better shape than the last two, but holiday gatherings will provide a test of whether the nation can avoid another major winter surge, epidemiologists and virus experts say. Thanksgiving once again comes at a precarious time, as new subvariants take over and the return of cold weather brings people back indoors, often in family gatherings where the virus can easily spread. The holiday last year coincided with the arrival of an early version of the Omicron variant that kicked off an explosive rise in cases and the second-deadliest Covid-19 wave. Only the prior winter, when vaccination efforts were just beginning, saw a higher peak in deaths.

☆ As measles outbreak sickens children in Ohio, local health officials seek help from CDC
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —A growing measles outbreak in Columbus, Ohio, has sickened dozens of unvaccinated children and hospitalized nine of them, and local public health officials are seeking assistance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One child is 6 years old.”Health officials with Columbus Public Health and Franklin County Public Health have been investigating these cases and tracing any contacts who may have been exposed to the measles virus. In the 1950s, researchers isolated the measles virus in a patient’s blood, and in the 1960s, they were able to transform that virus into a vaccine. As of October 28, a total of 33 measles cases have been reported this year in five jurisdictions across the United States, according to the CDC. “So the possibility that someone carrying measles virus coming into the country could spread into an unvaccinated population is always there.”

☆ FDA lays out plan to combat bacterial illnesses in baby formula
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Brenda Goodman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The US Food and Drug Administration is charting a plan to enhance its surveillance of infant formula for Cronobacter bacteria. Cronobacter infections are rare, but they can be serious and even fatal, especially in newborns. Cronobacter lives in the environment, but when these infections are diagnosed in infants, they are often linked to powdered formula. Only one state, Minnesota, now requires doctors to report Cronobacter infections to the state health department. The infants had all consumed powdered formula manufactured at an Abbott Nutrition production facility in Sturgis, Michigan.

But this focus obscures what is happening on the ground, every day: Local and national public health workers and epidemiologists, or “disease detectives,” around the world are stopping outbreaks in their tracks and preventing epidemics. The case studies show what is possible when local, state and national communities mobilize a whole-of-society effort to prevent epidemics. When local efforts are supported by national and local government, we can stop and prevent epidemics. Another lesson is the substantial return on investment we can realize by prioritizing and funding preparedness efforts. Finally, there is a crucial role that coordination among local, state and federal agencies plays in epidemic prevention.

☆ Omicron subvariants pose a new threat to people with immune deficiencies
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( Benjamin Ryan | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Troubling recent reports reveal the emergence of new omicron subvariants that not only evade AstraZeneca’s Evusheld, the antibody drug authorized to prevent Covid infection, but also the sole antibody drug that has retained effectiveness as treatment for Covid, Eli Lilly’s bebtelovimab. Doctors have cautioned that should Laura get Covid, this could aggravate her autoimmune disease and lead to catastrophic kidney damage. Evusheld is a long-acting antibody injection given every six months that studies have suggested provides a robust buffer to the immunosuppressed. For now, immunocompromised people are anxiously watching the pandemic forecast to see if the subvariants that research indicates evade monoclonal antibodies will become predominant. “If fewer people are prescribed Evusheld,” she said, “there’s less incentive for drug companies to start developing newer therapeutics.

☆ Boy dies after being infected by a rare brain-eating amoeba, people warned about swimming in fresh water
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A boy from Las Vegas as died after being infected by a brain-eating amoeba. The fatal amoebas can be found in bodies of fresh warm water and enter the brain through the nose. "People need to be smart about it when they're in places where this rare amoeba actually lives." The Southern Nevada Health District said that the amoeba is typically found in bodies of fresh warm water and that precautions can be taken to avoid the risk of infection. These include avoiding jumping into bodies of warm fresh water, keeping your head above the water, and avoiding digging or stirring sediment in shallow warm fresh water.

☆ Monkeypox Researchers Recommend Vigilance as Cases Decline
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Denise Roland | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

As a global outbreak of monkeypox loses steam, disease researchers said they need a better understanding of how the virus spreads, and how well vaccination protects against it to predict whether it could come roaring back. A global outbreak that gained momentum in May spread the virus much farther than it had been found previously. The virus might have reached new animal hosts, increasing the risk of future outbreaks, said epidemiologists and infectious-disease specialists. The extent to which vaccination has protected the most at-risk people from catching monkeypox is unknown.

☆ The Covid-19 emergency may end, but there’s no rule to say when the pandemic is over
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Brenda Goodman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

For now, it remains a public health emergency in the United States, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services, and it’s still a public health emergency of international concern, or PHEIC, according to WHO. Each country, in turn, declares its own public health emergency – declarations that carry legal weight. In the United States, for example, the end of the public health emergency will have ramifications for health care coverage and cost-sharing of Covid-19 tests and treatments. At this point, WHO is not saying whether it will recognize an end to the Covid-19 pandemic. Instead, he said, WHO will continue to assess the need for the public health emergency, and an expert committee meets every three months to do that.

A day trader in her 20s will have much different view of stock diversification than a retiree looking to limit risk. Last week, we spoke about how to diversify a stock portfolio to both balance a longer-term view of your holdings while sharpening a shorter-term focus on factors that might necessitate changes. We're breaking this tutorial into seven sections: Understanding correlations Getting a portfolio started Is S & P 500 diversified? To better illustrate, let's consider the current make up of the S & P 500 — the diversification you'd achieve if you put an initial investment into an S & P 500 exchange-traded fund, or ETF. As of March 31, the end of the first quarter, the S & P 500 weighting was as follows: When you buy into an S & P 500 index fund, roughly 28 cents of every dollar goes into technology, while only 2.6 cents go into materials.

☆ Farmaceuticals: Vets face pressures to prescribe
▼ + stars: | 2014-09-15 | by ( Brian Grow | Reuters Graphic | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +29 min

The feed tickets examined represent a fraction of the tens of thousands issued annually to poultry farms run by or for major producers. Some of its feed has contained low levels of one antibiotic, feed tickets show. REUTERS/Randall Hill MODERN BARN: Nearly 20,000 broiler chicks are housed inside a Foster Farms chicken ranch in Stanislaus County, California. As the CDC studied what investigators informally called the “Foster Farms Outbreak,” researchers soon made a troubling discovery. Reuters asked to see Foster Farms’ feed tickets from that period; the company didn’t respond to that request.

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