Study: Before vaccines, 44% of COVID-19 patients in ICU died A new analysis of pre-vaccine data from scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that 18% of hospitalized patients and 44% of those admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) for COVID-19 died, with wide variations among different groups.  CIDRAP

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Before the mid-December 2020 introduction of COVID-19 vaccines, the pandemic caused approximately 480,000 hospitalizations, and 350,000 deaths in the United States.

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New study calculates climate change's economic bite will hit about $38 trillion a year by 2049 A new study says climate change will reduce future global income by about 19% in the next 25 years compared to a fictional world that’s not warming, with the poorest areas and those least responsible for heat-trapping gases taking the biggest monetary hit. AP News

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Climate change worsened deadly heat waves in April and May across Asia In the Philippines, the record heat was "virtually impossible" without climate change. Andrew Freedman Axios

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Extreme heat, spanning Lebanon to the Philippines since April, is being blamed for hundreds of deaths. It's added to the suffering of people who lack access to air conditioning, including displaced persons in the Middle East, the study notes.

Nursing Homes Wield Pandemic Immunity Laws To Duck Wrongful Death Suits - KFF Health News More than 172,000 nursing home residents died of covid. In lawsuits, some families who lost loved ones say they were misled about safety measures or told that covid wasn’t a danger in their facilities. khnkytjaw KFF Health News

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KFF Health News found that more than 1,100 covid-related lawsuits, most alleging wrongful death or other negligent care, were filed against nursing homes from March 2020 through March of this year.

COVID patient testing, isolation of sick staff cut in-hospital viral spread, modeling study suggests Interventions such as testing patients for COVID-19 on admission, isolation of ill healthcare workers (HCWs), and universal HCW masking from March 2020 to July 2022 significantly reduced SARS-CoV-2 transmission among patients and staff in UK hospitals, suggests a simulation study led by UK Health Security Agency researchers in London. CIDRAP

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People are drinking raw milk 'like crazy' as sales rise despite bird flu warnings Although raw milk is considered one of the "riskiest" foods people can consume, social media influencers heavily promote unpasteurized products. NBC News

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Since March 25, when the bird flu virus was confirmed in U.S. cattle for the first time, weekly sales of raw cow’s milk have ticked up 21% to as much as 65% compared with the same periods a year ago, according to the market research firm NielsenIQ.

How fast is bird flu spreading in US cows? ‘We have no idea’

Avian flu is spreading rapidly among cattle, but public health and infectious disease experts are concerned the United States is too limited in its testing, leaving an incomplete picture of the virus’s spread.  

The threat to the general public is currently low, health officials say, and the country’s milk supply is safe. Just one person has been infected. ...

But the outbreak is widespread; officials have found the virus in 42 herds across nine states. Dairy farm workers are at risk every time they are exposed to potentially infected cattle, and viral mutations could cause an outbreak, experts warn.  

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Why Medicaid’s ‘Undercount’ Problem Counts - KFF Health News Millions of people were surprised to find themselves booted from Medicaid over the past year after pandemic-era protections expired that had prevented states from terminating their coverage. Turns out, millions of them were also unaware they had been covered by the government program. Nearly 1 in 3 people enrolled in Medicaid in 2022 — or […] khnerich KFF Health News

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Pandemic treaty talks will go on after missed deadline, some progress, WHO says The document aims to shore up the world's defenses against new pathogens after the COVID pandemic. Jennifer Rigby Reuters

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FDA warns about using over-the-counter COVID-19 tests from Cue Health - UPI.com The Food and Drug Administration, citing a increase of false results. advised consumers Monday not to use over-the-counter COVID-19 tests by Cue Health and to throw them out. UPI

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KP.2 is now the dominant COVID variant. Experts say US may see a summer increase in cases A new offshoot of omicron, KP.2, has become the dominant variant in the U.S. Experts are predicting the country may see a mild "swell" of cases this summer. ABC News ABC News

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Over the past four years, the U.S. has seen summer waves of COVID and this summer may also bring a rise in cases, but not severe as in past seasons.

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Data: Heart-failure patients have 82% better odds of living longer if vaccinated against COVID The first study of COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness in a large population of adult heart-failure patients suggests that vaccinated participants are 82% more likely to live longer than their unvaccinated peers, according to an analysis presented over the weekend at the Heart Failure 2024 scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) in Lisbon, Portugal. CIDRAP

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Hstoday COLUMN: Preparedness Grants are Key to Resilience - HS Today