Data

China records 1st population fall in decades as births drop BEIJING (AP) — China’s population shrank for the first time in decades last year as its birthrate plunged, official figures showed Tuesday, adding to pressure on leaders to keep the economy growing despite an aging workforce and at a time of rising tension with the U.S. AP NEWS

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Covid-19 antibody levels jump among elderly after autumn booster The 35-49 age group now has the lowest estimated level of antibodies. Ian Jones, PA AOL

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Some 96.3% of people aged 80 and over in England were likely to have antibodies at the start of December 2022, up from 89.2% in early September.

For 75 to 79-year-olds, the proportion stands at 95.8%, up from 87.4%.   ...

The figures are “likely a result of the vaccination booster campaign”, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which has published the data.

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Covid-19 killed fewer people in the US in 2022, but early data suggests it was still a leading cause of death | CNN Covid-19 has killed more than 1 million people in the United States since the start of the pandemic, and life expectancy has been cut by nearly 2.5 years since 2020. Deidre McPhillips CNN

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Despite the lower death toll, however, Covid-19 will likely remain the third leading cause of death in the US in 2022 for the third year in a row.

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WHO appeals to China to release more COVID-19 information BEIJING (AP) — The World Health Organization has appealed to China to keep releasing information about its wave of COVID-19 infections after the government announced nearly 60,000 deaths since early December following weeks of complaints it was failing to tell the world what was happening. AP NEWS

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