How COVID-19 Vaccines and Infections Are Tweaking Our Immunity A study shows our immune systems may be getting better at protecting against new variants. TIME

Your immune system may be getting smarter every time you encounter COVID-19, a new study suggests. After getting vaccinated and infected, the immune system generates broader defenses against the virus, including against new variants.

Latest global COVID snapshot shows rising cases, drop in deaths Mateescu Mugur/iStock CIDRAP

Over the past month, global COVID-19 cases rose slightly, with a steady drop in deaths from the virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its latest monthly update.

However, the group cautioned about interpreting the data, given that less than half of countries reported their COVID metrics during the latest reporting period, which covers December 11, 2023, to January 7.

Oral antiviral simnotrelvir shows promise for treating mild COVID-19 The length of COVID-19 symptoms was on average 36 hours shorter in the simnotrelvir group. CIDRAP

..in the New England Journal of Medicine Chinese researchers have published positive trial results of simnotrelvir, an oral antiviral that can shorten the duration of mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms.

Cameroon starts world's first malaria vaccine program for children Cameroon will be the first country to routinely give children a new malaria vaccine as the shots are rolled out in Africa. AP News

Cameroon will be the first country to routinely give children a new malaria vaccine as the shots are rolled out in Africa.

The campaign due to start Monday was described by officials as a milestone in the decades-long effort to curb the mosquito-spread disease on the continent, which accounts for 95% of the world’s malaria deaths.

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Flu activity ticked down last week, but respiratory virus season is far from over in the US

The United States started the new year awash in respiratory illness, with high levels of flu, Covid-19 and RSV across most of the country. The latest data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that some measures of flu activity dipped in early January, but the single week of decrease is not a trend – and experts warn that more increases are likely to come.

In the latest update this week, and consistently through the season, the agency’s Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics has suggested that this respiratory disease season will probably result in a similar number of hospitalizations as last season. And while current hospital capacity is considered stable overall, the CDC says that hospitals in some parts of the country have reported strains on their resources due, in part, to increases in respiratory illness.

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