‘No one really wants to talk about COVID anymore,’ the WHO’s pandemic lead laments. But the ‘worst case’ possibility of a new coronavirus exists “Omicron can cause severe disease” and “is not nature’s vaccine,” experts warned, raising concerns that evolution could produce a more dangerous variant—or a new coronavirus altogether. YahooFinance

... “until no one is at risk, everyone is at risk” of a disease that continues to evolve and affect different countries to different extents, Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead for COVID-19 at the WHO, added.

US cancer screenings slow to recover from initial pandemic dip Early in COVID-19, rates of lung and breast cancer screenings among Medicare enrollees were 24% and 17%, respectively, below expected rates, rising to -14% and -4% later on. CIDRAP

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Low income and historically marginalized races were tied to decreased prepandemic cancer screening rates and impaired recovery after the initial surge, which the authors said necessitates more targeted health-related initiatives, including vaccination and initial at-home cancer screening.

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People who know someone who died of COVID-19 more likely to get vaccinated - UPI.com People who know someone who was sickened by COVID-19 or who died from it were twice as likely to get their own vaccinations, a recent study found. UPI

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Hope fading as deaths in Turkey, Syria quake pass 11,000 GAZIANTEP, Turkey (AP) — With the hope of finding survivors fading, stretched rescue teams in Turkey and Syria searched Wednesday for signs of life in the rubble of thousands of buildings toppled by a catastrophic earthquake . AP NEWS

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WHO says Syria, already in crisis, needs massive humanitarian aid after quake Senior officials from the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday that Syria's humanitarian needs where the highest after a major earthquake killed thousands there and in southern Turkey. Reuters Reuters

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2022 was a breakthrough year for understanding rare diseases. 2023 needs to be better In the not-too-distant future, the state of rare disease diagnostics and therapeutics in 2023 will be seen as the stone age. But the rate of improvement offers optimism for the future. Patrick Skerrett STAT

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Political leaning influences doctors' beliefs about COVID treatments, study finds CIDRAP

Left or right political leaning in the United States predicts both physician and patient beliefs about COVID-19 treatments, with the two groups perceiving information differently, according to a study to be published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

The virus threat is easing, but US hospitals are still as full as ever | CNN At Massachusetts General Hospital in downtown Boston, the hallways of the emergency department are lined with dozens of patients waiting to get a room upstairs. Deidre McPhillips CNN

...hospitals are still about as full as they’ve ever been during the pandemic – at least three-quarters of available beds across the country were in use for all of 2022 – and that doesn’t seem likely to change any time soon. ...

Despite recent widespread illness in US, Covid-19, flu and RSV are not a concern for most, survey finds | CNN Respiratory viruses -- including the flu, RSV and the virus that causes Covid-19 -- are not a serious concern for most of the US public, even though they're still affecting many, according to new survey data from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Deidre McPhillips CNN

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COVID-19 public health emergency may end, but need remains for lifesaving treatments COVID remains the third leading cause of death in America, no matter if the emergency is ending. We must now develop innovative oral treatments. YahooNews

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