U.S. Flu Activity Already at Mid-Season Levels

Feb. 3, 2023 – The massive bird flu outbreak that is responsible for skyrocketing egg prices now appears to be spilling over into mammals. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and its counterpart in the United Kingdom say the virus has been detected in mammals such as raccoons, foxes, bears, skunks, and even a cat in France.

Feb. 2, 2023 – People no longer need a positive COVID-19 test to be prescribed the antiviral medications Paxlovid or Lagevrio. The FDA announced the changes Wednesday in letters sent to the drugs’ manufacturers, Pfizer and Merck. Both medications are approved to treat mild to moderate COVID-19 in...

The Wall Street Journal reports that scientific evidence suggests it could be, as “dangerous fungal infections are on the rise.”. The temperature of the human body is too high for most fungi. But as temperatures have risen, some are adapting to higher heat, including within people, the newspaper wrote. “Climate change might also be creating conditions for some disease-causing fungi to expand their geographical range, research shows.”

Feb. 4, 2023 – California will no longer require schoolchildren to be vaccinated in order to attend in-person classes. Public health officials said the move aligns school policies with the forthcoming end of the federal public health emergency in May, the Los Angeles Times reported. In October 2021, California...

Feb. 3, 2023 -- A new survey from the CDC found that 57.3% of U.S. respondents support policies banning the sale of all tobacco products and 62.3% support banning the sale of menthol cigarettes. Even among smokers, there was some support for the bans. About a third of smokers supported...