Health

Are mask mandates making a comeback? Hospitalizations have spiked in major cities, including Los Angeles, New York and Chicago. sthomas The Hill

In Southern California, most hospitals never ended their mask mandates after the COVID-19 pandemic. But now, more mandates are returning. ...

Hospitalizations are up sharply in major cities, including Los Angeles, New York and Chicago.

Health officials are advising the immunocompromised to mask in public to prevent illness, and in Wisconsin, a major health care group is reinstating a mask mandate beginning next week.

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Data show 7% rate of long COVID in college students About 7% of 428 Omicron COVID-19 survivors who were health-sciences students at a Saudi Arabian college reported persistent symptoms, notably loss of smell or taste, for more than 28 days. CIDRAP

About 7% of 428 Omicron COVID-19 survivors who were health-sciences students at a Saudi Arabian college reported persistent symptoms, notably loss of smell or taste, for more than 28 days.

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Flu emergency room visits now "very high" nationwide, CDC says Several Western states are seeing rates worse than last year's peak of flu season. CBS News

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Some of the highest levels of influenza are now in Western states, several of which have already topped the peaks recorded during the worst of last winter's flu season.

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Paxlovid tied to lower risk of hospital stay, heart problems, death in adults with kidney disease and COVID The antiviral drug nirmatrelvir-ritonavir (Paxlovid) was linked to a lower risk of hospitalization within 30 days and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) and death at 1 year in adults with COVID-19 and chronic kidney disease (CKD) or kidney failure, finds a study this week in Open Forum Infectious Diseases. CIDRAP

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