Air pollution may boost risk of longer-term long-COVID symptoms, research suggests In California, one pregnant woman and her twins were sick, and both infants died. CIDRAP

Exposure to small- or fine-particle air pollution may predispose COVID-19 survivors to a longer duration of persistent symptoms by increasing the severity of the infection, among other contributing factors, finds a study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal).

U.S. to invest about $850M in improving water, drought systems in western states - UPI.com A nearly billion-dollar investment will go to almost a dozen western states for critical upgrades to water delivery and drought resilience infrastructure. UPI

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A North Carolina town is suing utility Duke Energy over climate change A small North Carolina town is suing Duke Energy for costs from climate change, claiming the utility knew its fossil fuel power plants were heating the planet and deceived the public. NPR

The small town of Carrboro, North Carolina is suing one of the country's largest electric utilities, Duke Energy, over climate change.

Respiratory illness season begins to ramp up now. Here’s what’s already starting to hit | CNN Respiratory disease season is off to a relatively slow start in the United States, but low vaccination rates threaten that trend and the rapid rise of some illnesses is already putting children at increased risk. Deidre McPhillips CNN

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Nursing Homes Fell Behind on Vaccinating Patients for Covid - KFF Health News Last winter, only 4 in 10 nursing home residents got an updated covid vaccine. The low uptake leaves a fragile population vulnerable. Some industry watchdogs say it could be a sign of eroding trust between nursing home residents and providers. khnkytjaw KFF Health News

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The CDC report also revealed that during January’s covid peak, the rate of hospitalizations among nursing home residents was more than eight times that of all U.S. adults, age 70 and older.

Bird flu is racing through farms, but Northwest states are rarely testing workers - Investigate Midwest On a recent Monday morning, workers began their week on a large poultry farm in Franklin County, Washington, home to over 800,000 chickens. By the end of the day, avian flu had been discovered among some of those chickens. By the end of the week, four workers came down with the illness, which had infected […] Lauren Cross Investigate Midwest

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Democrats push back on Republican COVID-19 report House Democrats on the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic on Tuesday released their own report responding to the Republican-led panel’s final report, deeming the subcommittee to … jchoi The Hill

House Democrats on the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic on Tuesday released their own report responding to the Republican-led panel’s final report, deeming the subcommittee to have “failed” in its endeavor to uncover the origins of COVID-19 and instead having “fueled extreme narratives.” ...

Unknown disease kills 143 in southwest Congo, local authorities say

House Covid-19 panel releases final report criticizing public health response to the pandemic | CNN A Republican-led House committee investigating broad aspects of the Covid-19 pandemic and its effects in the US released a final report Monday summarizing its two-year effort, saying it hoped the work would “serve as a road map for Congress, the Executive Branch, and the private sector to prepare for and respond to future pandemics.” Katherine Dillinger CNN

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UK buys 5 million bird flu vaccine doses in case of pandemic The government is adding a human H5 vaccine to its stockpile as part of its health threat preparedness plans. Lauren Chadwick euronews

The United Kingdom has bought more than five million doses of a bird flu vaccine for humans in case the virus adapts to better infect people and cause a possible pandemic.