Floor swabbing could help prevent COVID-19 outbreaks in hospitals COVID-19 is here to stay. As restrictions and human testing have waned, new research is tackling the challenge of how we can monitor, predict, and prevent cases and outbreaks of COVID-19, especially among ... Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute Medical Xpress

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Is this year’s COVID booster a good match for new variants? Depending on when you last got vaccinated, that COVID-19 shot may no longer be a good match for the variants expected to dominate this fall and winter. amartichoux The Hill

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While they may not be a perfect match, the latest variants have enough in common with the KP.2 and JN.1 that the boosters should still offer effective cross-protection.

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Mpox vaccine rollout in Congo slower than expected, health official says

Annual report cites avian flu, mpox as pandemic threats The report said countries will need to adopt a One Health approach. CIDRAP

The Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB), which tracks and monitors global pandemic preparedness, launched its annual report today (Oct. 14).

"Outbreaks of avian influenza H5N1 in cattle and its spillover to humans, and a new strain of mpox in Central Africa are the most recent signals of concern," the report begins. "The high likelihood that they will spread further should be a wake-up call for the global community."