A 'Shrewd' New Virus; 'The Family Will Kill You'; Hospitals Fear Staff Shortages

— Health news and commentary from around the Web gathered by MedPage Today staff

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Morning Break over illustration of a syringe, Covid virus, and DNA helix over a photo of green vegetation.

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A newly identified virus -- Langya henipavirus (LayV) -- already has infected dozens of people in China and is believed to have been transferred to humans from shrews. (Washington Post, New England Journal of Medicine)

TikTok owner ByteDance continued its foray into the healthcare space, buying China's largest private hospital chain. (Bloomberg)

Nearly two-thirds of adults over 50 who have had at least one COVID vaccine are ready to get a booster shot this fall, according to a University of Michigan survey.

After a single Johnson & Johnson vaccine dose, T cells contributed substantially to protection against SARS-CoV-2 replication in macaques. (Science Immunology)

As of Wednesday at 8:00 a.m. EDT, the unofficial U.S. COVID-19 toll reached 92,343,457 cases and 1,034,654 deaths, increases of 102,149 and 633, respectively, since this time yesterday.

Doctors in Iraq are getting violently attacked -- often by patients or their families -- and are leaving the country in droves because of it. (The Guardian)

The FDA sent warning letters to three companies -- Amazon, Ariella Naturals, and Justified Laboratories -- for selling unapproved skin tag and mole removal products.

Hospitals are taking too long to comply with a federal law requiring them to post their prices, consumer advocates say. (USA Today)

Meanwhile, hospital executives in states that have passed laws restricting or banning abortions are worried about staffing shortages. (Bloomberg Law)

Haimen Shengbang Laboratory Equipment Co. is recalling viral transport media containers used to collect coronavirus and other viral samples because the containers are not authorized, cleared, or approved by the FDA.

Hotter nights may increase the mortality rate worldwide by 60% by the end of the century, a study finds. (NPR)

Tens of thousands of people are silently infected with bat coronaviruses each year, researchers found. (Nature)

You've heard of researchers getting a heads up on coronavirus outbreaks by testing wastewater? Now they're using that same idea to find monkeypox outbreaks. (Kaiser Health News)

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    Joyce Frieden oversees MedPage Today’s Washington coverage, including stories about Congress, the White House, the Supreme Court, healthcare trade associations, and federal agencies. She has 35 years of experience covering health policy. Follow