The CDC has activated an Emergency Operations Center to deal with monkeypox. Clinics nationwide will start offering vaccinations against monkeypox to anyone who may have been exposed. Previously, vaccinations were only available to people with known exposure.
Meanwhile, around 60,000 Army Reserve and Army National Guard soldiers remain unvaccinated one week before the vaccination deadline. The Army has struggled the most despite setting their deadline seven months later than any other branch of the service.
FDA advisers have recommended updating covid boosters to also target some form of Omicron or its subvariants. Pfizer and Moderna wanted a vaccine combining the current vaccine paired just with Omicron; however, Omicron has been outdated by its variants. Together BA.4 and BA.5 now account for over 50 percent of the new cases in the US. The advisers did not consider who should be eligible for a fall booster. The article I read called combating a virus evolving faster than clinical trials can deliver results "scientific angst." I do like that term.
The lockdowns in Shanghai, while officially over, continue to affect people. Some are suffering a form of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Some districts in the city will briefly lock down for mass testing each weekend until the end of July. It's not looking like a good summer there.
Scientists say that evidence is mounting that persistent pockets of covid in the gut or elsewhere may contribute to long covid. Covid proteins, most commonly the covid spike protein, have been found in the blood of 65 percent of long covid patients tested up to 12 months after the original diagnosis. This only happens if there is a reservoir of virus somewhere in the body.
Dr. Fauci is having rebound symptoms after finishing a first course of Paxlovid. He tested negative for three days and then tested positive on the fourth day. He is now on a second course of Paxlovid. While many sources say that a rebound infection is less severe than an initial one, Dr. Fauci describes his symptoms as "much worse." He is calling for an "aggressive" national vaccine campaign. He estimates that the number of covid cases is at least a couple fold if not more than the number reported. He says he has many friends who tested positive at home but due to no or mild symptoms never reported the result.
Two quickies to end with. Elmo, age 3 1/2, got vaccinated! This upset Ted Cruz. He also got upset when Big Bird, age six, got vaccinated. And scientists have confirmed the first case of a cat transmitting covid to a veterinary surgeon.
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