Shanghai hospital warns of 'tragic battle' as COVID spreads The hospital expects half of the city's 25 million people will get infected by the end of next week, as the virus sweeps through China unchecked. Zoey Zhang,Bernard Orr Reuters

...

Uganda gets Ebola vaccine doses for trial on Sudan strain KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Uganda’s government says it has received more than 5,000 doses of Ebola vaccines for a clinical trial to assess their protection against the Sudan strain of the virus that caused an outbreak with over 50 deaths. AP NEWS

...

This outbreak, the first in a decade of the less common Sudan strain, is a chance for clinical trials of the three vaccines donated by the U.S.-based Sabin Vaccine Institute, University of Oxford and Merck.

US life expectancy falls to lowest levels since 1996 due to COVID, drug overdoses: CDC Two new CDC studies published Thursday found life expectancy fell to 76.4 years in 2021, the lowest recorded since 1996 -- mostly due to COVID and drug overdose deaths. ABC News ABC News

...

The US needs a Vaccines for Children program for adults Eliminating the cost barrier for adults, as we have successfully done for children, would be a game-changer for public health. dtodd The Hill

...

Pediatric medicine makers say they are running 24/7 to meet increased demand Pediatric medicine manufacturers told the White House this week that they are operating their facilities 24/7 in order to meet demand as parents across the country continue to deal with medicine sh… jchoi The Hill

...

India steps up Covid surveillance after China surge The government has instructed states to ensure genome sequencing of all positive cases in the country. BBC News

...

Bivalent Vax Adds Protection Against COVID Hospitalization, CDC Says Effectiveness against COVID-19 hospitalization north of 70% in seniors Ingrid Hein medpagetoday

...

Potential China wave is 'wild card' for ending COVID emergency - WHO advisors It may be too early to declare the end of the COVID-19 pandemic emergency phase because of a potentially devastating wave to come in China, several leading scientists and World Health Organization advisors told Reuters. Jennifer Rigby Reuters

...

Community-led responses ‘essential for ending pandemics’ – UNAIDS Communities must be empowered and appropriately resourced to lead the fight against HIV/AIDS and other pandemics, UNAIDS, the UN agency dedicated to tackling HIV/AIDS, stressed at an international meeting held in Thailand. UN News

...

...

As post-Thanksgiving COVID hospitalizations spike, Dr. Jha urges people to get new booster The White House's COVID-19 coordinator on Sunday said a sharp rise in cases and hospitalizations since Thanksgiving wasn't "totally" surprising -- and he reiterated that holiday gatherings would be safer if people received their updated vaccines. "Why hasn't this been happening?" she asked. YahooNews

...

Loved or hated, Fauci’s parting advice: Stick to the science WASHINGTON (AP) — Long before the bobbleheads and the “Fauci ouchie,” Dr. Anthony Fauci was a straight-shooter about scary diseases -- and “stick with the science” remains his mantra. Fauci steps down from a five-decade career in public service at the end of the month, one shaped by the HIV pandemic early on and the COVID-19 pandemic at the end. AP NEWS

...

COVID-19 still Spain's leading cause of deaths this year The number of deaths associated with the COVID-19 pandemic fell by almost a third in Spain in the first half of this year from a year ago, but the illness provoked by the virus remained the leading cause of fatalities, official data showed on Monday. Reuters Reuters

...

China reports first COVID deaths in weeks as official count questioned China reported its first COVID-related deaths in weeks on Monday amid rising doubts over whether the official count was capturing the full toll of a disease that is ripping through cities after the government relaxed strict anti-virus controls. Martin Quin Pollard,Liz Lee Reuters

...