United States

White House Covid-19 Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha leaving the administration

Thu, 2023-06-08 18:39 — mike kraft

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The White House was expected to disband its coronavirus response team after the Covid-19 public health emergency ended on May 11. A senior administration official previously told CNN that while the team would be disbanded, fighting Covid-19 remained an administration priority, and that “transitioning out of the emergency phase is the natural evolution of the Covid response.”

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U.S. CDC and House Commitee members tangle over information requests

Thu, 2023-06-08 12:14 — mike kraft

CDC comes under fire for inadequate information about its Covid response An HHS letter obtained by STAT said the CDC's restructuring effort was not a “large-scale” change and “was not executed behind closed doors.” Sarah Owermohle STAT

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Lawmakers were especially at odds over whether the CDC should require more data from state and local health departments, one facet of the reform efforts that Walensky has said they need congressional support for implementing.

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Loss of smell from COVID-19 much less likely with new variants-- study

Thu, 2023-06-08 12:01 — mike kraft

Loss of smell from COVID-19 much less likely with new variants, study shows - UPI.com The risk of losing sense of taste or smell is now only about 6% to 7% of what it was during the pandemic's early stages, according to researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine in Richmond, Va. UPI

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New Texas law bans COVID mask, vaccine and shutdown mandates, but some Republicans want more

Thu, 2023-06-08 11:14 — mike kraft

New Texas law bans COVID mask, vaccine and shutdown mandates, but som… The bill, recently signed by Gov. Greg Abbott and set to take effect Sept. 1, does not restrict pandemic rules by private entities. Patrick Svitek The Texas Tribune

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Analysis of how pandemic changed attitudes toward mandating childhood vaccinations

Thu, 2023-06-08 11:05 — mike kraft

Pandemic changed attitudes toward mandating childhood vaccinations CIDRAP

A new analysis of 21 polls conducted before and after the COVID-19 pandemic shows parents are changing how they think about school vaccination mandates, but not about vaccine safety.

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El Nino: It’s early, likely to be big, sloppy and add even more heat to a warming world

Thu, 2023-06-08 10:45 — mike kraft

Here comes El Nino: It's early, likely to be big, sloppy and add even more heat to a warming world After months of gradually warming sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean, NOAA officially issued an El Nino advisory Thursday and stated that this one might be different than the others. This El Nino started earlier than usual, which puts 2023 in the running for warmest year on record. Though the Atlantic hurricane season is typically quieter during these events, unusually warm waters in this region could challenge El Nino's dampening influence.

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Smoky haze blanketing US and Canada could last into the weekend

Thu, 2023-06-08 10:40 — mike kraft

Smoky haze blanketing US and Canada could last into the weekend With weather systems expected to hardly budge, the smoky blanket billowing across the U.S. and Canada from wildfires in Quebec and Nova Scotia should persist into Thursday and possibly the weekend. That means at least another day, or more, of a dystopian-style detour that’s chased players from ballfields, actors from Broadway stages, delayed thousands of flights, and sparked a resurgence in mask wearing and remote work — all while raising concerns about the health effects of prolonged exposure to such bad air. U.S.

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Face masks and protection against wildfire smoke--what doctors say

Thu, 2023-06-08 10:26 — mike kraft

Can a Face Mask Protect You Against Wildfire Smoke? What Doctors Say Many parts of the East Coast have “very unhealthy” or “hazardous” air quality, so can wearing a face mask help protect you? Yes, but they’re not perfect. Yahoo Life

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The public health lessons of Covid can help protect against the Canadian wildfire smoke

Wed, 2023-06-07 17:16 — mike kraft

How the public health lessons of Covid can help Americans protect themselves from wildfire smoke Here are just a few ways in which the public health lessons of Covid may now help people to minimize health risks from air pollution. J. Emory Parker STAT

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The primary health concern from wildfire smoke comes from the amount of very fine particulates in the air, smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter. The measure of this is commonly abbreviated as PM2.5.

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