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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday alerted the medical community to an increase in pediatric cases of invasive group A strep infections. The spike in invasive strep A was first detected in the U.S. in November, among children at a hospital in Colorado, the CDC said. NBC News reported last week that several children’s hospitals across the U.S. had detected increases in invasive group A strep infections. However, the overall number of invasive group A strep infections among children remains low and the condition is rare, according to the CDC. Generally, people over 65 and those with chronic illnesses are most susceptible to invasive strep infections.

☆ Remote Workers Are Blowing the Whistle, Employees Exposing Companies
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Britta Lokting | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

The Securities and Exchange Commission — which implemented a whistleblower program in 2011 and where Haugen and others have sent documents — has received a historic jump in complaints over the past few years. How remote work sparked a flood of whistleblowersAs the pandemic spread and workers retreated to their makeshift home offices, employees began to reconsider their relationship with work. MacGann, the Uber whistleblower, told Politico that it wasn't until the pandemic that he "had time on his hands" to really ponder his decision to come forward about the ride-hailing company's treatment of workers. Remote work, she explained, helps to remove some of those barriers to whistleblowing. In addition to the record-breaking number of tips, the SEC whistleblowing program awarded $229 million in 103 cases this year.

Experts recommend isolating first, then taking at least two rapid tests, spaced a day or two apart. But if you don't use rapid tests in the right way at the right time, they won't provide accurate results. According to early studies from the UK and the US Food and Drug Administration, rapid tests still work. If you're planning to mingle, take a rapid test just as you arrive, not hours beforeA rapid COVID-19 test, the Abbott BinaxNow, administered by a health department in Livingston, Montana. 'One layer of reducing risk'A 4-year-old gets a rapid COVID-19 test in Palos Verdes Estates, California, on August 24.

☆ White House warns of possible Covid-19 winter surge: ‘This is not one disease in isolation’
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Mj Lee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —For Americans across the country preparing to gather and socialize with family and friends during the end-of-year holiday season, the White House has a clear warning: Covid-19 is not over, and you had better protect yourself. “This is not one disease in isolation,” Jha said, referring to the ongoing wave of Covid-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza. “The stress on hospitals and stress on health care workers is because of all the respiratory pathogens. As a part of its new push, the administration is restarting the free at-home Covid-19 test program, permitting each American household to order up to four free tests this winter from COVIDTests.gov. But it’s not like Christmas Day is the last day people socialize over winter,” Jha said.

The UK government has promised to overhaul the youth gender care system, after it was deemed inadequate by England’s regulator of health and social care. They described a deeply flawed system that is now hobbled by a toxic political climate around gender care. The letter said a decision would be made at some point from early 2022 on whether the child “is likely to meet the access criteria” for gender care. The family has received no NHS gender care or mental health support since the referral, she said. These recommended supporting “identity exploration” and mental health treatment as the first steps to ensure that any psychological issues are addressed.

☆ Philadelphia schools will require masks as U.S. COVID cases spike
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Philadelphia is among state and local agencies around the United States rolling out mask mandates or recommendations this month to fight a new surge in virus cases, which is expected to grow as Americans travel and socialize around the winter holidays. Health experts say the U.S. healthcare system is under strain because of a "tridemic" caused by COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). There is debate over the mandates' efficacy, as months of stringent public health rules early in the pandemic exacerbated the public's COVID fatigue and stoked political controversy. California's public health department on Thursday told Reuters it was urging people to wear masks, but stopping short of requiring them. While the political will to impose mask mandates may have waned, covering one's face remains the best way to avoid getting sick - and infecting others.

Just because rural areas are less populated doesn’t mean it’s cheaper to provide health services there. She recommends that rural counties explore lower-cost, evidence-based options like distributing naloxone, funding syringe service programs, or connecting people to housing or employment. “We couldn’t function if we didn’t partner for lots of different services.”In Colorado, pooling funds is built into the state’s model for managing opioid settlement money. “Nobody has paid any attention to our rural areas and this problem for years,” Laske said. They cross-referenced the results with a list of allowable uses for the $9 million in settlement funds they’ll receive over 18 years to create a priority grid.

☆ Getting a Covid booster? You may be eligible for discounts, or even a $75 gift card
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Renée Onque | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Financial incentives are a great way to get more people on board with pretty much anything, even vaccination efforts. The Bay State is offering $75 gift cards to residents who receive their omicron-specific boosters by December 31 at select vaccine clinics, for as long as supplies last. For children or teens under 18 years old, an accompanying adult must be present to receive the gift card(s)," the site states. WashingtonSimilarly, but on an even larger scale, the governor of Washington, Jay Inslee, wants to offer $1,000 to state workers who get the updated Covid-19 booster. These 4 stores are offering discounts for getting boosted against Covid-19If you're not a resident of Massachusetts or Washington state, there are some financial incentives you may be eligible to receive.

☆ Democrats detail effects of early pandemic failures in new Senate report
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Shannon-Pettypiece-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Shannon Pettypiece | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

The 242-page report, written by Democrats on the panel, cited long-term weaknesses in the country’s public health infrastructure, from staffing shortages and inadequate disease surveillance to poor testing systems. But the report indicated that the pandemic shortcomings extended beyond the Trump administration. Similarly, a DHS report said 96% of pharmacy owners and managers were already reporting a shortage of surgical masks, according to the report. It issued a variety of recommendations, including increasing funding to improve public health surveillance, data systems, health care surge capacity, domestic manufacturing capabilities and stockpiles of critical supplies. "This is not the first public health crisis that our nation has faced, and sadly, it won't be the last," Peters said.

☆ Home delivery of medications can help improve access, especially when time is tight
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

As the supply of Paxlovid has grown, efforts have been made to improve timely, equitable access to the treatment. Transportation is one significant barrier to health care access for many people, experts say, but creating equitable outcomes will involve a much more comprehensive approach. The initiative is meant to increase access to Covid-19 treatment, particularly for those in socially vulnerable or medically underserved communities. “It’s a combination of things that prevent access to care,” said Werner, whose research has focused on health equity. And those may be the ones that I think would be ripe for this kind of home-based delivery system,” Werner said.

☆ Britain's health regulator backs COVID vaccine for infants from six months
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne/File PhotoLONDON, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Britain's health regulator on Tuesday authorised a COVID-19 vaccine for infants as young as six months, opening the door for vaccinating the country's youngest children once the UK's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) agrees. Whether the vaccine is eventually deployed in this age group depends on a recommendation from the JCVI, which advises UK health departments on which shots should be used as part of the national vaccination programme. The vaccine is tailored for use in this age group - it is a lower dose version than the one used in children aged five to 11 years. U.S. officials rolled out this version of the Pfizer-BioNTech shot for the same age group earlier this year. Months ago, EU regulators also endorsed the use of COVID vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna (MRNA.O) for under-fives.

But just 31% of that group has gotten updated booster shots. Hospital physicians, state public health officials and advocacy groups for older adults pointed to a variety of factors fueling the low booster uptake. They include feelings of fatigue at the pace of Covid shots and a lack of awareness that the new booster could make the difference between a mild case and a hospital visit. Morell said she experienced dizziness, blurry eyesight and heart palpitations after her first Covid booster in November 2021. Wachter said the majority of people who have gotten the new booster get mild Covid, even if they’re older or have risk factors.

☆ United States to end mpox emergency declaration
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Dec 2 (Reuters) - Mpox is expected to no longer be considered a public health emergency in the United States from Feb. 1, 2023, the U.S. health department said on Friday. The months-long declaration was meant to tackle the largest-ever outbreak of cases in the country. The WHO label, a "public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC)", is designed to trigger a coordinated international response and could unlock funding to collaborate on sharing vaccines and treatments. The disease, which is endemic in parts of Africa, began spreading in Europe earlier this year before moving to the United States. More than 29,000 cases have been reported in the United States in the outbreak this year, including two deaths, according to government data.

But agency veterans, outside public health officials, and workplace organization experts said the current workplace structure could be a major barrier to that goal. As of early 2020, much of the workforce of the FDA and the National Institutes of Health was working remotely. Today, the NIH is mostly back in the office, but the FDA said many of its employees continue to work remotely when possible. Many people have fled the U.S. public health workforce in recent years, burned out from the covid-19 response. Benjamin said the CDC would likely have made its pandemic stumbles even if staffers hadn’t been working remotely.

☆ Drug and alcohol deaths increasing among US adults 65 and older, CDC data shows
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

In 2020, more than 5,000 adults 65 and older in the United States died of a drug overdose. Though drug overdose death rates for older adults tend to be lower than for other age groups – and made up just 0.2% of total deaths among adults 65 and older in 2020 – such deaths have been climbing. Between 2000 and 2020, the rates rose from 2.4 to 8.8 deaths per 100,000 people among adults 65 and older. Between 2000 and 2020, drug overdose deaths increased more among men than women, rising from 2.7 to 12.3 deaths per 100,000 men compared with 2.3 to 5.8 per 100,000 women. “Because of ageism, we typically do not think of older adults as having a substance use disorder nor do we think of older adults for being at-risk for a drug overdose.

☆ CDC will test sewage for polio outside New York to see if it's circulating elsewhere in nation
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Public health officials subsequently confirmed the virus was in fact spreading widely after sewage samples from five other New York counties tested positive. The virus spreading in the New York area is related to a strain used in the oral polio vaccine. Other countries do still use the oral polio vaccine because it is cheap, effective, easy to administer and generally safe. The U.S. uses an inactivated polio vaccine administered as a series of shots. The oral vaccine is very effective at blocking transmission and is typically used to crush outbreaks.

☆ Feds want a manager to oversee the troubled water system in Jackson, Mississippi
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

— The federal government filed a proposal Tuesday to appoint a manager for the troubled water system in Mississippi’s capital city, which nearly collapsed in late summer and continues to struggle. The goal is to achieve long-term sustainability of the system and the city’s compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act and other laws. According to the agreement, that litigation will be put on hold for six months while all parties try to improve the water system. Edward “Ted” Henifin was appointed as interim third-party manager of the Jackson water system and Water Sewer Business Administration, the city’s water billing department. While there is much more work ahead, the Justice Department’s action marks a critical moment on the path to securing clean, safe water for Jackson residents.″Jackson has had water problems for decades.

☆ Community health groups that played crucial role during Covid-19 pandemic say they’re being left out of government funding
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Elizabeth Cohen Lauren Mascarenhas | Elizabeth Cohen | Lauren Mascarenhas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

“A lot of times, the funding streams have names that say ‘community,’ ‘community-based organizations’ or ‘community health workers,’ but the funding often goes to states and doesn’t end up helping at a grass-roots level,” said Denise Smith, executive director of the National Association of Community Health Workers. “HRSA strongly values the critical role that community health workers play – and can increasingly play – in supporting the health and well-being of communities. “Community health workers are frontline public health workers who are trusted members of the community they serve. The group’s promotores de salud, or community health workers, encouraged vaccination and set up a hotline to distribute accurate information about the virus. “Grantees will be able to hire community health workers, as needed and appropriate,” said Nordlund, the CDC spokesperson.

☆ Measles is now an imminent global threat, WHO and CDC say in a new report
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Dana Varinsky | Dana Varinsky Is The Breaking Health News Editor For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Measles is one of the most contagious human viruses and is almost entirely preventable through vaccination. A record high of nearly 40 million children missed a measles vaccine dose in 2021 due to hurdles created by the Covid pandemic, the WHO and the CDC said in a joint report. While measles cases have not yet gone up dramatically compared to previous years, now is the time to act, the WHO’s measles lead, Dr. Patrick O’Connor, told Reuters. Last week, the public health department in Columbus, Ohio, reported a measles outbreak with 24 active cases, according to the NBC News affiliate WCMH. The new report estimates that in 2021, around 128,000 people died of measles worldwide.

☆ Measles poses growing threat to kids as vaccinations decline globally, CDC and WHO warn
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A growing number of children around the world are vulnerable to measles as vaccination rates have declined to the lowest levels since 2008, global health leaders warned on Wednesday. About 81% of children worldwide received the first dose of the measles vaccine in 2021, down from 86% in 2019 before the Covid pandemic began. This leaves 25 million kids vulnerable to measles, according the report. The measles vaccine comes in two doses, but the first shot is the most important because it's 93% effective at preventing disease. This can cause outbreaks if vaccination rates are too low in their communities, according to the CDC.

☆ As Ebola outbreak grows in Uganda, US ramps up preparedness plans
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

“All primary and secondary schools in Uganda are directed to close by November 25th, 2022 for third term holidays as a measure to contain Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the country,” Museveni said in a statement. Major US cities get Ebola plans in placeThe CDC estimates that 20% of travelers from Uganda will arrive without a cell phone or US-based phone number. “CDPH continues to work with our hospitals to screen patients for travel history and be alert for symptoms of Ebola virus disease or, more likely, malaria or circulating respiratory viruses. ‘We need to be prepared’The Ebola virus is transmissible – but not as transmissible as some other infectious diseases, like Covid-19. “If we do see any cases in the United States, the hope is that they will be identified quickly before there is further spread,” Barouch said.

☆ 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.

Private insurance and Medicare cover eight at-home tests a monthSince January, the Biden administration has required private insurers and Medicare to cover up to eight at-home tests per month. Free at-home tests from the government are no longer availableThe federal program that distributed up to 16 free at-home tests to households through the mail ended Sept. 2 because of a lack of congressional funding. At-home tests (also known as antigen tests), meanwhile, rarely give false positives but can give false negatives, even if someone is symptomatic. For other people, Covid tests never come back positive even though they feel sick and were exposed to the virus. In a study of college athletes with Covid, meanwhile, 27% still tested positive one week after their first positive tests.

☆ Thanksgiving is two weeks away. Get your updated Covid-19 shot now, health officials warn
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —With Thanksgiving just two weeks away, people who are eligible for an updated Covid-19 vaccine booster but still haven’t received the shot will need to roll up their sleeves Thursday to get as much protection as possible before the holiday. After getting the updated Covid-19 vaccine, that biological process can take about 10 to 14 days. Health officials say it’s fine to get the updated Covid-19 booster and flu vaccine at the same time. The vaccine candidate contains components of the companies’ updated Covid-19 booster and their investigational flu vaccine. Moderna is also developing a combined flu and Covid-19 mRNA vaccine and another combination vaccine targeting flu, Covid-19 and RSV.

The rise comes as other respiratory viruses, including respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, are also spreading early and rapidly. Common winter viruses tend to peak in December and January — not October and November — though it's unclear how the early and intense spread of respiratory viruses will ultimately play out this season. It's the first time since the beginning of the Covid pandemic that run-of-the-mill respiratory viruses are again circulating widely. Other respiratory viruses, including rhinoviruses and enteroviruses, are also circulating widely, and could account for some of those illnesses. "We'll probably start seeing cases rise on the West Coast in the coming weeks," said Dr. Meredith McMorrow, a pediatrician and team lead for Enhanced Surveillance Platforms at the CDC.

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