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A summertime wave of COVID-19 infections is arriving earlier than last year across a growing share of the country, federal data suggests, as a new variant called LB.1 could be on track to become the latest dominant strain of the virus. For the first time in months, the CDC estimates that no states or territories are seeing COVID-19 infections slow this past week. Key virus indicators appear to be worsening fastest across a number of western states, where trends first began climbing this month. (Tin, 6/21)

State legislators and law enforcement are reinstating dormant laws that criminalize mask-wearing to penalize pro-Palestinian protesters who conceal their faces, raising concerns among covid-cautious Americans. Republican lawmakers in North Carolina are poised to overturn Gov. Roy Cooper’s (D) recent veto of legislation to criminalize masking. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said earlier this month she supports legislative efforts to ban masks on the subway, citing an incident where masked protesters on a train shouted, “Raise your hands if you’re a Zionist. This is your chance to get out.” Student protesters in Ohio, Texas and Florida have been threatened with arrest for covering their faces. (Nirappil, 6/24)

Cannabis use is linked to an increased risk of more serious COVID-19 outcomes, including hospitalization and intensive care unit (ICU) admission—similar to risks from tobacco use—according to a study today in JAMA Network Open from researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. (Soucheray, 6/21)

 The partisan politics that have surrounded the federal and local responses to the Covid-19 pandemic continue to overshadow the committee aimed at examining – and learning from – the government’s response to the disease since the investigation’s start last year. Rep. Brad Wenstrup, a doctor who chairs the committee looking into the Covid response, told CNN he wants his probe to be nonpartisan, but the Ohio Republican struggles against the polarizing political climate. (Grayer, 6/24)

As the H5N1 outbreak in dairy herds approaches the three-month mark, America’s top animal health official is calling on farmers to step up the use of personal protective equipment, limit traffic onto their farms, and increase cleaning and disinfection practices in their barns and milking parlors. (Molteni, 6/24)

Lee Maassen is a dairy farmer in northwest Iowa. The area became a hot spot for bird flu after the first H5N1 infection was detected this year. It hit a commercial egg-laying operation with 4.2 million chickens in late May. The first case discovered in Iowa dairy cows came earlier this month. As of June 20, the area has seen 11 cases of the virus infecting dairy and poultry in five counties. (Brummer, 6/21)

A person has been infected with dengue fever in Hillsborough County. Health officials say the disease was acquired locally, meaning it was likely transmitted through a mosquito bite. Dengue fever is spread to humans through the bites of infected female mosquitoes of the Aedes genus, primarily Aedes aegypti. This is the eighth locally acquired case of dengue fever in Florida this year. (6/23)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Journalists Discuss Bird Flu, Tick-Borne Illnesses, And Lessons From Covid Response

�鶹Ů�� Health News and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media in recent weeks to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances. (6/22)