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In the central city of Wuhan, where the pandemic erupted in late 2019, there were more signs of life with some areas busy with commuters on Friday. "They've relaxed the measures but still, there’s nobody about," said a taxi driver surnamed Wang, who didn't want to give his full name. But there are signs the reassuring new message has still to convince many of the country's 1.4 billion people. China's current tally of 5,235 COVID-related deaths is a tiny fraction of its population of 1.4 billion, and extremely low by global standards. Some experts have warned that toll could rise above 1.5 million if the exit is too hasty.

The number of people hospitalized with flu nearly doubled during Thanksgiving week — 19,593 compared to 11,378 people admitted to the hospital the week prior. On Friday, the CDC reported that flu is spreading at high levels in 45 states, even in Southern states and others where the virus has been spreading since October. As of Dec. 2, 77% of pediatric hospital beds nationwide were full, according to Health and Human Services data. There is no data yet to show how protective this year's flu vaccine is against the current strains. Dr. Kavita Patel said that "almost everybody" she's seen test positive for flu at Mary’s Center, a community health center in Maryland, is unvaccinated.

☆ China's people are protesting the country's severe zero-COVID policies, and public-health experts agree with them
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | Paola Rosa-Aquino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Protests are erupting across China over the country's restrictive zero-COVID policies. Public-health experts say the policies are unsustainable, ineffective, and unnecessarily severe. Without vaccination campaigns targeting older adults, China's lockdowns may only delay a catastrophic COVID wave. Tyrone Siu/ReutersThere is no easy way forward for China, but constant 2020-style lockdowns are not the solution, according to public-health experts, who called the policies unsustainable, ineffective, and irrational. As a result, Huang thinks the zero-COVID lockdowns are completely unwarranted.

So far this season, an estimated 6.2 million flu illnesses have been logged, according to the latest CDC data. Of the samples reported to the CDC this season, about 76% are the H3N2 strain of influenza A. With the early start to the flu season this year, many people were infected before they had a chance to get vaccinated, making it easier for the virus to spread. “It’s a pretty safe bet that flu activity is going to continue on for several more weeks or months,” said Brammer. “Then the floodgates opened.”Now, 30% to 40% of Rice’s patients in need of the most intensive care have the flu.

There are no proven treatments for long Covid. No one knows exactly what causes the range of lingering issues associated with long Covid. Stanford's study aims to enroll 200 adults who have had long Covid symptoms for at least three months, without a recent diagnosis of the disease. "We really feel that with long Covid, you shouldn't wait until you already have all of these problems to address them. He's been struggling with the effects of long Covid for a year and a half.

☆ Daylight Saving Time debate sheds light on growing racial inequities in sleep health
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the Sleep Research Society and other medical groups have advocated for ending the practice, calling for the adoption of a permanent standard time that would not involve shifting forward each spring and falling back each autumn. She authored a paper, published in September in the journal Sleep, detailing the potential health benefits of adopting a permanent standard time. Now, some sleep researchers worry about the potential effects that continuing to change standard time twice each year may have on sleep health inequities. “Fortunately, sleep health is largely modifiable.”As for the inequities seen in sleep health, it’s not that White adults don’t also experience a lack of sleep and its health consequences – but people of color appear to disproportionately experience them more, and that’s believed to be largely due to social systems in the United States. Improving sleep health has been a national objective in the federal government’s past two Healthy People programs, noted Caraballo-Cordovez, who is not involved in the programs.

☆ New subvariants, family gatherings may bring more Covid-19 after holiday, but experts don’t expect severe surge
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Brenda Goodman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Experts expect that Thanksgiving gatherings will stir up social networks and give new coronavirus subvariants fresh pockets of vulnerable people to infect. And we are concerned that after holiday gathering, lots of people coming together, that we may see increases in Covid-19 cases as well,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Tuesday on CNN. For the week ending Nov. 19, the CDC estimates that BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 were causing about half of all new Covid-19 cases in the US. Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths have remained flat for the past four weeks. “It’s probably got a bit more of a fitness advantage, so what we’re seeing is gradual replacement without a massive change in the total number of Covid-19 cases,” he said.

☆ The number of US adults carrying a loaded handgun every day doubled to an estimated 6 million in just 4 years
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

US adults carrying loaded handguns on a daily basis nearly doubled from 2015 to 2019, a new study found. They applied that nationally representative data to the estimated 53 million US adults who owned handguns in 2019, concluding that about 16 million adults carried a loaded handgun at least once a month, and 6 million did so daily. They bought about 18.9 million guns in 2021, a record year surpassed only by 2020, according to estimates by The Trace, a publication dedicated to investigating gun violence. "Between increases in the number of people who own handguns and the number of people who carry every day, there has been a striking increase in handgun carrying in the US," Rowhani-Rahbar said in a press release. "In light of that ruling, our study reinforces the importance of studying the implications of handgun carrying for public health and public safety," Rowhani-Rahbar said.

Easing Covid measures means accepting a rise in cases that is likely to get worse as winter approaches. Residents buy medications at a pharmacy in Shijiazhuang, China, last week. “There will always be complaints.”Though many people in China still support “zero-Covid,” the strict measures have also stoked growing resentment. China is thus now facing a dual challenge, said Donald Low, a professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. “You’re going to see the Hong Kong story played out on a much larger scale” in mainland China, Low said.

☆ Updated boosters add limited protection against Covid-19 illness, first real-world study shows
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Brenda Goodman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The new study found that the updated boosters work about like the original boosters. Compared with people who were unvaccinated, adults 18 to 49 who had gotten bivalent boosters were 43% less likely to get sick with a Covid-19 infection. The relative vaccine effectiveness showed the added protection people might expect on top of whatever protection they had left after previous vaccine doses. So overall, the updated boosters got them to around 50% effectiveness against symptomatic infection. According to CDC data, roughly two-thirds of Americans have completed at least their primary series of Covid-19 vaccines.

Most of the worst of respiratory illnesses remain concentrated in Southern states like Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. There are signs that flu is ramping up in other areas such as Colorado, New Mexico and Texas, according to the CDC. Such widespread flu activity this early in the typical flu season hasn't been recorded in the U.S. in more than a decade. "We don't have any," a pharmacist in Charlotte, North Carolina, told NBC News, adding that the drug is on backorder, at least at her pharmacy. North Carolina's flu activity remains "very high" according to the latest CDC report.

☆ Sperm counts may be declining globally, review finds, adding to debate over male fertility
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Brenda Goodman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Over the past 50 years, human sperm counts appear to have fallen by more than 50% around the globe, according to an updated review of medical literature. The review, and its conclusions, have sparked a debate among experts in male fertility. Overall, the researchers determined that sperm counts fell by sightly more than 1% per year between 1973 and 2018. Normal sperm counts are considered to be over 40 million per milliliter. In other research, Levine says, he and others have teased out some factors that are associated with lower sperm counts.

In October 2021, Da’Vion Miller was found unconscious in the bathroom of his home in Detroit a week after receiving his first dose of Pfizer's Covid vaccine. Courtesy Da’Vion MillerMiller is one of a very small group of people in the United States who have experienced myocarditis following vaccination with the Pfizer-BioNTech or the Moderna Covid vaccines based on mRNA technology. Video: CDC says waiting longer between Covid vaccine doses could reduce myocarditis risk. Cooper joined an expert advisory panel formed by Moderna to monitor its Covid vaccine safety. The Pfizer study will include people who were previously hospitalized with vaccine-associated myocarditis, and it will also follow those who were more recently diagnosed.

☆ Flu season already hitting hard across half of the US
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —About half of the US – 22 states, along with Washington, DC, New York City and Puerto Rico – is reporting high or very high respiratory illness activity, as flu season sweeps through the country weeks earlier than usual. “Among the people who study flu, there’s a little saying: ‘If you’ve seen one flu season, well, you’ve seen one flu season,’ ” said Dr. William Schaffner, a professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. Although the numbers are especially high for this time of year, experts say the trends are otherwise following an expected pattern, and the early arrival of flu season doesn’t necessarily mean it will last longer or be more severe. It’s not like we’re seeing a lot of hospitalizations without a lot of illness.”Flu activity has been highest in the South, CDC data shows. And millions fewer flu vaccines have been distributed this season than at this point in previous years.

☆ Uganda university drops mandatory pregnancy tests for students after outcry
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Amarachi Orie | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —A university in Uganda has withdrawn a requirement for female nursing and midwifery students to take a pregnancy test before sitting their exams, after facing a backlash. Female nursing and midwifery students being asked to take a pregnancy test, at their own cost as a pre-condition for sitting exams is peak nonsense!!! !”Dr. Githinji Gitahi, CEO of non-profit Amref Health Africa, responded by tweeting: “What? Because pregnancy has what to do with exams? I wish you all the best in the forthcoming exams,” he continued.

☆ Covid, flu, RSV: Here are the best masks and masking methods for protection against the 'tripledemic'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Renée Onque | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

As we get deeper into fall season, experts are warning of a potential 'tripledemic' – the circulation of Covid-19, the flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), all at the same time. "The KN95 and N95 [masks] have a particulate filtration efficiency of 95% or above," Taubner explains. "Cloth masks [without filters], which don't have a minimum threshold, probably test in the neighborhood of 20% or 30%." But it's important to keep in mind that, depending on where you purchase your KN95 and N95 masks, you could be receiving less protection than you think, he says. When purchasing masks, he suggests: Buying from a reputable companySeeking out companies that are transparent about their supply chain, including listing their manufacturerReferring to the CDC's guidance for masksMasking methods for the most protection

Across the United States, cases of respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, and influenza are increasing. Influenza activity continues to increase in the US – the number of flu illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths so far this season nearly doubled in the past week. RSV cases are also increasing nationally, although there are regional differences in the circulation of these viruses, Romero said. In the South and Mountain West, RSV cases appear to have peaked in October. There are signs that RSV cases are slowing in the southern region of the US, but test positivity rates and cases continue to rise in other regions, especially the Midwest.

☆ 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 make substantial changes to COVID policy soon- former govt expert
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Zeng Guang, a former chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention who has remained outspoken on China's COVID fight, said that the conditions for China opening up were "accumulating", citing new vaccines and progress the country had made in antiviral drug research. He has previously urged against using excessive measures to fight COVID that risk exhausting people, and in March said that China would look for a route to "flexible and controllable opening up". read moreWhile most of the world has largely done away with virus curbs, China has resolutely stuck to a zero-tolerance approach that reacts to even single cases with lockdowns and mass testing. China reported 3,871 new locally transmitted cases for Thursday, its highest since early May. Reporting by Beijing and Shanghai Newsrooms; Editing by Alex Richardson and Edmund KlamannOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ We all have different Covid comfort levels these days—here's how to manage those relationships
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Now more than ever, people's attitudes toward Covid comfort and risk are changing, experts say. That means it's harder than ever to find two people with the same approach toward the virus, and it's making our relationships harder to manage. Here are four experts' tips for dealing with those who have a different Covid comfort level than you do. Find potential accommodationsOnce you know someone's Covid comfort level, you can figure out potential accommodations to make. If you're worried about the risk of Covid transmission at your friend's party, you might attend but wear a mask the entire time.

☆ Conservative policies linked to higher mortality, except regarding marijuana
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Aria Bendix | Aria Bendix Is The Breaking Health Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Conservative state policies regarding the environment, gun safety, labor, taxes and tobacco have been associated with higher mortality rates among working-age people relative to liberal policies, new research found. Conservative policies did the opposite. The link between liberal marijuana policies — such as legalization and access to medical cannabis — and higher mortality was also unexpected, Montez said. By contrast, if all had adopted the most conservative policies, nearly 218,000 more working-age people might have died. Warraich's own research has shown that death rates in counties that voted for Democrats in presidential elections fell 22% between 2001 and 2019, while death rates in Republican-voting counties declined by just 11%.

☆ RSV: Pandemic 'immunity gap' is probably behind surge in respiratory cases, scientists say
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Jen Christensen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

That “immunity gap” from the last few years is probably behind the “unprecedented” early surge in RSV infections this year, scientists say – and it has thrown other seasonal respiratory viruses out of whack around the world. Across the US, the number of flu cases has also been increasing a little earlier than usual. A handful of schools have seen large absences, and medical offices say they are seeing more people sick with other respiratory viruses at times that don’t fit the usual patterns. Like Covid-19, RSV and the flu spread through droplets released into the air when people cough or sneeze. The pandemic behaviors created an “immunity gap” or “immunity debt” that makes more people in the US vulnerable to diseases like RSV.

☆ Should you WFH or take a sick day? What to consider this cold, flu and Covid season
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( Jennifer Liu | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

There are already hints that this year's cold and flu season could be bad: The CDC reported early increases in seasonal flu activity, and anecdotally, people are letting their Covid precautions slip and showing up to work sick anyway. If your second at-home test is negative, or if you complete a PCR test that's negative, then you likely don't have Covid, but you could still have another respiratory virus or infection. "You're going to be the best judge as to whether that's a work-from-home day or you can completely sign off." And if a full day off is in order, discuss how you'll be more productive and engaged after you've rested. Yes, you can WFH if your colleague keeps showing up sickNayyar says it's up to managers to model good behavior to stay home while sick.

☆ 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.

☆ It's time to stop saying 'fully vaccinated' for Covid, experts say—here's why
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

If you still say "fully vaccinated" for Covid, it's time to stop. 'Fully vaccinated' is not the term that we want to use," Cindy Prins, an epidemiologist at the University of Florida, tells CNBC Make It. The definition of fully vaccinated hasn't changed since the first Covid vaccines were rolled out almost two years ago. It means two initial doses of a vaccine from Pfizer, Moderna or Novavax, or one dose from Johnson & Johnson. Here's why experts say you shouldn't use the term anymore, and what you should do instead:

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