Mpox

Mpox cases in the US are on the rise as vaccination rates lag and new threats loom | CNN Mpox cases in the United States are twice as high as they were at this time last year, and experts are stressing the importance of improving vaccination coverage as transmission risks rise. Deidre McPhillips CNN

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Transmission rates are still far below levels from 2022, when there were tens of thousands of cases in the US. But after a quieter year last year, experts say the US is vulnerable to increases in spread in a number of ways.

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WHO grants emergency listing for Corbevax COVID vaccine Non-exclusive licensing of the yeast strain by developers will allow others to develop effective, low-cost vaccines. CIDRAP

The World Health Organization (WHO) has approved another COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use listing (EUL): Corbevax, a recombinant protein–based vaccine developed by scientists at Texas Children's Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine.

UN confirms sexual spread of mpox in Congo for the 1st time as country sees a record outbreak The World Health Organization said it has confirmed sexual transmission of mpox in Congo for the first time as the country experiences its biggest-ever outbreak. AP News

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“This is the first definitive proof of sexual transmission of monkeypox in Africa,” Oyewale Tomori, a Nigerian virologist who sits on several WHO advisory groups, said. “The idea that this kind of transmission could not be happening here has now been debunked.”

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Most US COVID markers show declines Deaths were up a bit, but hospitalizations, emergency department visits, and test positivity trended downward. CIDRAP

COVID metrics showed more declines last week, though deaths from the virus—one of its severity indicators—rose 4.2% compared to the previous week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in its latest data update. Deaths were up a bit in a number of states but were up more sharply in Oregon.