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News Scan for Sep 08, 2021

CDC and AmeriCorps announce new public health partnership

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today announced the creation of Public Health AmeriCorps through a partnership with the federal agency for volunteering and national service, AmeriCorps. The new program will help recruit, develop, and train new public health leaders.

  • AmeriCorps for public health
  • New H5N6 avian flu case in China
  • DRC meningitis outbreak

News Scan for Sep 07, 2021

Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine 96% effective in pregnant women, study says

Results from an observational cohort study of pregnant women indicated a 96% vaccine effectiveness (VE) against COVID-19 infection and an 89% VE against hospitalization for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in pregnant women, according to a study in Nature Medicine today.

  • COVID vaccine protection in pregnant women
  • US COVID vaccine inequities
  • Nipah case in India
  • BSE ('mad cow') in Brazil
  • H5N1 avian flu in Botswana

News Scan for Sep 03, 2021

Survey shows COVID-19 reduced AMR resources across 73 countries

A survey across 73 countries assessing the impact of COVID-19 on the prevention and control of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) highlights reduced availability of nursing, medical, and public health staff for AMR efforts. The study was published today in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.

  • Antibiotic resistance resources during COVID
  • More CWD in Wisconsin
  • H9N2 avian flu case in China
  • Polio in 5 countries

News Scan for Aug 23, 2021

Breakthrough COVID-19 may be less infectious

Being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 significantly decreased the probability of virus culture positivity in breakthrough cases versus cases in unvaccinated healthcare workers, according to a study on the non–peer-reviewed research server, medRxiv.

  • Breakthrough COVID-19 infectivity
  • Youth perceptions of COVID vaccines
  • Another Chinese H5N6 avian flu case

News Scan for Aug 20, 2021

Study finds antibiotics, other medications in urban streams

Screening of a network of urban streams in Baltimore revealed high concentrations of pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics, researchers reported this week in Environmental Science & Technology.

  • Antibiotics in urban streams
  • Variant flu cases in Wisconsin
  • H5N6 avian flu case in China
  • H5 avian flu in Benin, Taiwan
  • Polio emergency extension

News Scan for Aug 19, 2021

Convalescent plasma didn't prevent severe COVID-19 in high-risk patients

Early use of convalescent plasma didn't prevent COVID-19 progression in a group of high-risk adult outpatients, concludes a National Institutes of Health (NIH) study yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

  • Convalescent plasma for COVID
  • Facebook ads and COVID-19 behavior
  • New clues in Ivory Coast Ebola case
  • H5N6 avian flu case in China

News Scan for Aug 17, 2021

Ivory Coast launches Ebola vaccination, is monitoring 9 contacts

The Ivory Coast yesterday launched an Ebola vaccination campaign aimed at frontline health workers and other high-risk groups, part of the response into an imported Ebola case involving a woman who had just arrived from Guinea.

  • Ivory Coast Ebola vaccination
  • Antibiotic use in animals
  • Salmonella shrimp outbreak
  • India H5N1 avian flu details

News Scan for Aug 12, 2021

Moderna COVID-19 vaccine found to be non-inferior in adolescents

Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine was safe in adolescents 12 to 17 years old, with a similar immune response to that in young adults, according to results of an ongoing phase 2-3 trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine yesterday.

  • Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in adolescents
  • Malaria monoclonal antibody preventive
  • Jamestown Canyon virus in NH
  • H5N1 avian flu in Ivory Coast

News Scan for Aug 11, 2021

Corticosteroid tied to shorter recovery in non-severe COVID-19

Inhaled budesonide, a corticosteroid often used for Crohn's disease, was tied to a shorter recovery time in COVID-19 patients who were at a higher risk of severe infection, according to a study published in The Lancet yesterday.

  • COVID-19 and corticosteroids
  • US COVID testing
  • H5N6 avian flu case in China
  • More breaded chicken Salmonella cases

News Scan for Aug 06, 2021

China confirms 2 more H5N6 avian flu infections

Chinese officials reported two more H5N6 avian influenza infections in patients from two different provinces, raising the country's total this year to 13, the Hong Kong Centre for Health Protection (CHP) said today in a statement.

  • H5N6 avian flu cases in China
  • Azithromycin-resistant gonorrhea in Germany
  • Polio cases in 4 countries

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