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Best to get new booster before Halloween, White House COVID coordinator Dr. Jha says Ideal to get the updated COVID vaccine between mid-September and mid-October, Dr. Ashish Jha said, and no later than the end of October. ABC News ABC News

To optimize protection ahead of another pandemic winter, White House COVID coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said Friday people should consider getting the newly-updated COVID-19 booster before Halloween.

Scientists debate how lethal COVID is. Some say it's now less risky than flu They argue the threat posed by COVID has lessened because of preexisting immunity and access to treatment. Plus, some deaths may be incorrectly blamed on COVID. Others caution it's too soon to tell. NPR.org

...there's still plenty of differing views on this topic. While the threat from COVID-19 may be approaching the peril the flu poses, skeptics doubt it's hit that point yet.

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Climate change jeopardizes health care services, report says WASHINGTON (AP) — Dr. Suzy Fitzgerald remembers looking out the windows as wildfire flames surrounded the hospital where she worked. “We had fire in all three directions,” Fitzgerald recalled. AP NEWS

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US warns monkeypox could mutate to resist antiviral drug WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health officials are warning against overuse of the lone drug available to treat monkeypox, saying that even a small mutation in the virus could render the pills ineffective. AP NEWS

The Food and Drug Administration updated its guidance this week for Tpoxx, which has been prescribed to tens of thousands of patients with the virus.