Global COVID cases will increase in coming months, but at a slower pace -report Daily global COVID-19 infections are projected to rise slowly to about 18.7 million by February from the current 16.7 million aveage daily cases, driven by the northern hemisphere's winter months, the University of Washington said in an analysis. Reuters Reuters

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First on CNN: Most people feel socially connected as Covid-19 precautions ease, but many still need support, survey finds | CNN

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Lots of research has been done on links between loneliness, social connection, health and well-being, but a new international survey by the analytics firm Gallup and Facebook’s parent company, Meta, aims to shed some light on exactly how connected people feel and how they connect with others.

They found that most people around the world feel a sense of social connection as Covid-19 precautions ease, but many still need support or help from others – and the factors that drive feelings of connection vary by country.

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Merck to donate Ebola vaccine candidate for research program in Uganda | Reuters

Oct 25 (Reuters) - Merck & Co (MRK.N) said on Tuesday it was planning to produce and donate investigational Sudan ebolavirus vaccine to a global non-profit organization's research program in Uganda, which is facing an outbreak of the disease.

The investigational vaccine that will be donated to IAVI is similar to Merck's Ervebo vaccine, which is approved against the Zaire ebolavirus strain.

Products - Data Briefs - Number 447 - October 2022 (cdc.gov)

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Death rates in the United States are higher in rural than urban areas, and the difference has grown over the last 2 decades (1). Death rates for all of the 10 leading causes of death in 2019 were higher in rural than urban areas (1). In 2020, deaths due to COVID-19 became the third leading cause of death in the United States (2). This report presents COVID-19 death rates for rural and urban areas in 2020 by sex and age group (under age 65 and 65 and over). Rates are presented for the six categories of urbanicity according to the decedent’s county of residence (3). Urban areas include large central metropolitan, large fringe metropolitan, medium metropolitan, and small metropolitan; rural areas include micropolitan and noncore (nonmetropolitan).

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Here's why one SARS-CoV-2 variant still reigns supreme : Shots - Health News : NPR

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Has the evolution of the virus finally started to ebb, possibly making it more predictable?

The answer — according to a dozen evolutionary biologists, virologists and immunologists interviewed by NPR — is no.

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First on CNN: Administration's new Covid-19 vaccine ads target 'high-risk' communities | CNN

New ads promoting the Covid-19 vaccines are making their debut this week, targeting specific communities that have had a slow uptake of the updated shots.

Black audiences are encouraged to get vaccinated in the “On Point” video, released by the US Department of Health and Human Services on Monday.

A Spanish-language ad titled “No te pierdas el juego” also started airing Monday, targeting Latino audiences. An English version of the ad, the title of which translates to “Don’t Miss the Game,” is scheduled for release next month during the FIFA World Cup.

Biden administration amps up efforts to boost new COVID-19 shots | The Hill

President Biden on Tuesday will announce a series of new efforts to boost the administration of the bivalent COVID-19 booster shots, including partnerships with several major companies and pharmacy chains.

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Medicare will also be sending out email reminders to about 16 million people in the next week informing them of how they can get the updated booster.

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COVID disrupted measles vaccinations in Africa and now cases are surging | Reuters

The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted measles vaccine campaigns globally in 2020 and 2021, leaving millions of children unprotected against one of the world's most contagious diseases, whose complications include blindness, pneumonia and death.

After what health experts call the biggest backslide in a generation, 26 large or disruptive measles outbreaks have sprung up worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. A devastating outbreak in Zimbabwe has killed more than 700 children this year, chiefly among religious sects that do not believe in vaccinations.

Among Seniors, a Declining Interest in Boosters - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

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Although Americans over 65 remain the demographic most likely to have received the original series of vaccinations, at 92 percent, their interest in keeping their vaccinations up-to-date is steadily declining, data from the C.D.C. shows. To date, about 71 percent have received the first recommended booster, but only about 44 percent have received the second.

Younger people have also been less likely to receive boosters than the original vaccinations, and only about one-third of people of all ages have received any booster, The New York Times vaccine tracker indicates. But seniors, who constitute 16 percent of the population, are more vulnerable to the virus’s effects, accounting for three-quarters of the nation’s 1.1 million deaths.

“From the beginning, older people have felt the virus was more of a threat to their safety and health and have been among the earliest adopters of the vaccine and the first round of boosters,” said Mollyann Brodie, the executive director of public opinion at Kaiser Family Foundation, which has been tracking vaccination rates and attitudes.

Covid-19 vaccine study links side effects with greater antibody response | CNN

People who reported experiencing side effects to the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines such as fever, chills or muscle pain tended to have a greater antibody response following vaccination, according to new research.

Having such symptoms after vaccination is associated with greater antibody responses compared with having only pain or rash at the injection site or no symptoms at all, suggests the paper published Friday in the journal JAMA Network Open.

Ivermectin: Still on a Losing Streak as COVID-19 Treatment | MedPage Today

WASHINGTON -- There were no differences in relief from mild-to-moderate COVID-19 symptoms for patients on ivermectin versus placebo, according to the ongoing ACTIV-6 trial.

Among >1,000 vaccinated and unvaccinated patients, the median time to recovery was 12 days for those in the ivermectin group and 13 days in the placebo group, reported Matthew McCarthy, MD, of Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City, at IDWeek.

As a result, the hazard ratio for improvement in time to recovery was 1.07 (95% credible interval 0.96-1.17, posterior P=0.91), McCarthy and colleagues stated in JAMA, where the results were simultaneously published.

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Uganda applies well-honed lessons to new Ebola outbreak (nbcnews.com)

...the East African country — lauded for its coronavirus response, which was built around engaging the community and training health officials — is drawing lessons from the first Ebola outbreak in 2004.

ALSO SEE: Uganda reports worrisome increase in Ebola cases in capital

Six people who tested positive for monkeypox have died, health departments confirm | CNN

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The two Chicagoans who died after testing positive for monkeypox had multiple other health conditions, including weakened immune systems, according to the Chicago Department of Health (CDPH).

“Though the number of new MPV cases has declined substantially since summer, this is a stark reminder that MPV is dangerous and can cause serious illness, and in very rare cases, even death,” said CDPH Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady.

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