Early COVID-19 variants remain in deer populations

While COVID-19 variants Alpha, Gamma and Delta are no longer circulating among humans, they continue to spread in white-tailed deer.

The animals are the most abundant large mammal in North America. Scientists aren't sure whether the deer could act as long-term reservoirs for these obsolete variants.

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Getting Government To Work For Public Health

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The strength of public health is derived from the deep connections developed with communities. When the workforce can reflect the diversity of these communities, health agencies are uniquely positioned to understand and respond to community needs.

To meet the public health challenges facing our nation, the public health system needs to operate at a high level of effectiveness. Unfortunately, in many places, it is impossible to recruit and retain a robust workforce to accomplish key goals. Within many states, the public and policymakers alike underappreciate the need for a high-quality workforce and efficiency in local governmental functions—manifest by underfunding, excessively bureaucratic structures, and inadequate administrative supportcreates a self-fulfilling prophecy of government underperformance and inefficiency.

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African countries lack 'immediate access' to cholera vaccine NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Africa’s public health agency says countries with deadly cholera outbreaks on the continent have no “immediate access” to vaccines amid a global supply shortage. AP NEWS

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The acting director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Ahmed Ogwell, told journalists on Thursday that the agency is working with the World Health Organization and the vaccine alliance GAVI on ways to obtain more doses.

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House Republicans float one spending cut in a debt ceiling bill: unspent Covid money There’s no Republican plan to resolve the debt ceiling problem. But some GOP lawmakers are considering using unspent Covid relief funds to reduce spending. YahooNews

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Draft WHO pandemic deal pushes for equity to avoid COVID 'failure' repeat Governments may have to reserve drugs and vaccines for the World Health Organization to distribute in poorer countries to avoid a repeat of the "catastrophic failure" during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an early draft of a global pandemic agreement. Jennifer Rigby,Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber Reuters

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US spends most on health care but has worst health outcomes among high-income countries, new report finds | CNN The United States spends more on health care than any other high-income country but still has the lowest life expectancy at birth and the highest rate of people with multiple chronic diseases, according to a new report from The Commonwealth Fund, an independent research group. Jacqueline Howard CNN

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U.S. FDA removes COVID test requirements for Pfizer, Merck pills The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday removed the need for a positive test for COVID-19 treatments from Pfizer Inc and Merck & Co Inc . Reuters Reuters

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Mpox is almost gone in the US, leaving lessons and mysteries in its wake | CNN The US public health emergency declaration for mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, ends Tuesday. Brenda Goodman CNN

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Experts say the outbreak has taught the world a lot about this infection, which had only occasionally been seen outside Africa.

Lingering COVID Cough That You Just Can’t Shake? You’re Not Alone For many, COVID cough persists after the other symptoms of acute COVID-19 illness resolve. Experts explain what you can do about it and when it becomes a sign of long COVID. Yahoo

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Study narrows down long-COVID-19 symptoms to seven - UPI.com A new study shows there are seven long-term health symptoms that are directly related to long-COVID-19, giving researchers a better understanding of how the virus that causes COVID-19 may mutate or evolve. UPI

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