WHO declares mpox outbreaks in Africa a global health emergency as a new form of the virus spreads The World Health Organization has declared the mpox outbreaks in Congo and elsewhere in Africa a global emergency. AP News

LONDON (AP) — The World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreaks in Congo and elsewhere in Africa a global emergency on Wednesday, with cases confirmed among children and adults in more than a dozen countries and a new form of the virus spreading. Few vaccine doses are available on the continent.

Study: COVID vaccines saved 1.6 million lives in Europe New estimates published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine show that at least 1.6 million European lives have been directly saved by COVID-19 vaccinations, with 60% of those lives saved when Omicron became the dominant strain of the virus—and those numbers may be an undercount.  CIDRAP

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As of March 2023, 2.2 million COVID-19–related deaths have been reported across Europe. 

Intersection of long COVID and disability highlighted in CDC study (medicalxpress.com)

Just as coronavirus transmission fluctuated in waves, so too have our responses to it. The world is four years from the acute phase of the pandemic, but not without lasting impact—including those who have maintained debilitating symptoms from COVID, adding to a large population of people with disabilities.

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The largest study conducted by the CDC to capture the scope of disability in the U.S. and representing 245 million people, the authors found that nearly half of those over 65 reported being disabled, and that long COVID symptoms were present in 11% of those who reported disabilities, versus 7% of those without disabilities.

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Healthy pre-COVID lifestyle may protect against severe infection A University of Oxford-led study links a healthy pre-infection lifestyle to a 36% lower risk of long COVID, a 41% lower odds of death, and 22% lower chance of hospitalization. CIDRAP

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The researchers assessed the association of modifiable lifestyle factors (eg, smoking, alcohol use, body mass index, physical activity, time spent in sedentary activities, sleep duration, diet) with long COVID, death, and hospitalization among 68,896 adults in the UK Biobank cohort who tested positive for COVID-19 from March 2020 to March 2022.

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What to know about the updated COVID vaccines coming this fall Updated COVID-19 vaccines are expected to be rolled out in August or September. Here's everything you need to know about the shots. ABC News ABC News

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The updated 2024-25 COVID-19 vaccines will target the JN.1 lineage of the virus, an offshoot of the omicron variant.

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Global measles cases spiked 140% in 2019 amid falling vaccinations in many nations, study estimates A new study from Columbia University shows that measles cases around the world surged 140% from 2010 to 2019, with declining vaccination rates in 59 of 194 nations fueled by socioeconomic factors in some low-resourced countries and vaccine reluctance in wealthier nations. CIDRAP

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The results were published yesterday in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases.

Study: Pandemic widened global economic disparities The COVID-19 pandemic hit low-income countries harder than wealthier nations, according to a new study in PLOS One, further slowing progress toward health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  CIDRAP

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On average, the pandemic caused low-income countries to experience an average progress loss of 16.5% across all health indicators, whereas high-income countries have seen losses as low as 3%, the authors said.

If You're Experiencing Any Of These COVID Symptoms, Doctors Say You Should Seek Medical Attention ASAP There are some COVID-19 symptoms that aren’t normal. View Entire Post › BuzzFeed

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Experts share what COVID-related issues should be instant red flags, plus some advice on what to do:

Research on bird flu in cows shows how efficiently it has spread among mammals The more the virus spreads uncontrolled in mammals, the higher the chance it could evolve to be transmitted to humans. NBC News

New research into the ongoing bird flu outbreaks on dairy farms describes in unprecedented detail how efficiently the virus has spread among cows, and from cows to other mammals, including cats and a raccoon.