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Florida’s top health official called for a halt to using mRNA coronavirus vaccines on Wednesday, contending that the shots could contaminate patients’ DNA — a claim that has been roundly debunked by public health experts, federal officials and the vaccine companies. Florida Surgeon General Joseph A. Ladapo’s announcement, released as a state bulletin, comes after months of back-and-forth with federal regulators who have repeatedly rebuked his rhetoric around vaccines. Public health experts warn of the dangers of casting doubt on proven lifesaving measures as respiratory viruses surge this winter. (Diamond, Weber and Dawsey, 1/3)

The holidays have come and gone, and once again Americans are riding a tide of respiratory ailments, including Covid. But so far, this winter’s Covid uptick seems less deadly than last year’s, and much less so than in 2022, when the Omicron surge ground the nation to a halt. “We’re not seeing the signs that would make me think that we’re heading into another severe wave,” said Caitlin Rivers, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “So far, we’re in relatively good shape.” (Mandavilli, 1/3)

As kids go back to school and families return to a post-holiday routine, flu season is on track to be a rough one in some states, especially in the Southeast and parts of the West, doctors say. Thirty-three states are reporting high to very high case counts of influenza-like illnesses, and there have been about 4,500 flu-related deaths, including those of 20 children, since the 2023-24 season began in October. (Edwards, 1/3)

New York City Health + Hospitals, the city’s public health system, issued a mask mandate for all employees amid rising rates of Covid-19, flu and respiratory syncytial virus, H+H confirmed. H+H staff and visitors are required to mask up at all 11 of New York City’s public hospitals, as well as at community health centers and post-acute care facilities, said Chris Miller, spokesman for H+H. The requirement went into effect shortly after Christmas. (D'Ambrosio, 1/3)

Over 10 Main Line Health facilities are requiring temporary masks starting Thursday, Jan. 4 for at least the next two weeks due to the rise of COVID-19, flu, and RSV across the Philadelphia region. Officials said Wednesday all patients, employees, medical staff and visitors are required to wear masks in clinical and common areas. (Newbill, 1/3)

For those who aren’t vaccinated against COVID-19, probiotics could offer a level of protection against the virus, a new study suggests. In a randomized, placebo-controlled study led by Duke Health in North Carolina, probiotics were shown to have a "significant ability to delay a COVID infection and reduce symptoms" among people who had not been vaccinated and were exposed to the virus in their households, according to a press release. The study was published in the journal Clinical Nutrition. (Rudy, 1/4)

The Suffolk County Department of Health in New York is sounding the alarm on a whooping cough outbreak happening throughout school districts in the region, it detailed in a press release Saturday. ..."With so many respiratory illnesses currently circulating, some for which there are no treatment, we wanted to make sure that parents know that pertussis, also called whooping cough, can be treated with antibiotics if diagnosed early," Suffolk County Health Commissioner Dr. Gregson Pigott said in the release. (Coblentz, 1/3)