To rebuild trust in public health: Better communication, fewer mandates, and small wins Rebuilding trust in the CDC won't be quick or easy — especially in a divisive political season — but that doesn't make it any less important. Patrick Skerrett STAT

by Tom Frieden, former head of CDC

... In many countries — notably the United States — the pandemic dissolved trust between parts of the community and the public health system. How can that trust be restored? In a word: gradually. Trust is built in drops and lost in buckets.

Bird flu pushes US dairy farmers to ban visitors, chop trees Dairy farmers in the United States are raising their defenses to try to contain the spread of bird flu: banning visitors, cutting down trees to discourage wild birds from landing, and disinfecting vehicles coming onto their land. Tom Polansek Reuters

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Here's what worries scientists about bird flu's spread among cattle Avian influenza is still spreading among dairy cattle. Scientists are paying close attention to how the virus is changing and what that means for its pandemic potential. NPR

The unlikely spread among cattle and one dairy worker has scientists looking through the data to better understand this spillover. They say the risk to humans hinges on whether the virus can evolve in key ways to better infect mammals.

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Surveys spotlight pregnant women's drop in confidence over COVID vaccines Spanish-speaking Hispanic women had the highest self-reported rate of any COVID-19 vaccination. CIDRAP

A new study details dramatically lower confidence in COVID-19 vaccine safety in pregnant and recently pregnant women in 2023 compared to 2021, despite evidence to the contrary, according to findings published yesterday in JAMA Network Open.

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Did political shaming shape who got the COVID vaccine? A new poll shows most consider vaccines safe, but fewer than half of Republicans think so. Yahoo News

While most people believe COVID-19 vaccines are safe and their side effects are now clear, a new HarrisX poll conducted for the Deseret News finds a big partisan difference in how people view COVID-19 vaccine safety and effectiveness.

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Feds Have Seized More Than $1.4 Billion From Fraudulent Covid Relief Recipients Three years into its work, a federal task force has seized more than $1.4 billion in Covid-19 fraud, but it’s likely only a fraction of the total losses. James Farrell Forbes

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New York map shows where state will become underwater from sea level rise New York City and swaths of Long Island are vulnerable to being consumed by the rising ocean as sea ice melts in the coming century. Newsweek

Parts of Manhattan, Long Beach and Coney Island are at risk of being consumed by water as sea levels rise due to the effects of climate change in the coming century, modeling suggests.

These are the 10 worst U.S. states to live in for your mental health, according to a new study Number one is home to the highest proportion of “mentally unhealthy adults.” Fortune

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City-Country Mortality Gap Widens Amid Persistent Holes in Rural Health Care Access - KFF Health News People in their prime working years living in rural America are 43% more likely to die of natural causes, like diseases, than their urban counterparts, a disparity that grew rapidly in recent decades, according to a new federal report. khnkytjaw KFF Health News

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Those not vaccinated against COVID-19 more likely to be poorer, immigrants, study shows Physicians with the largest proportion of unvaccinated patients were more likely to be male. CIDRAP

A study today in CMAJ describes the characteristics of family practice physicians who see the largest share of patients unvaccinated against COVID-19, and reveals that the largest percentage practice in marginalized, lower-income neighborhoods.