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More than half of American adults — 59 percent — say they do not expect to get the COVID-19 booster shot this autumn, according to new poll findings from health care policy group �鶹Ů��. Poll results show 23 percent of U.S. adult respondents said they will “probably not” get the vaccine, while 37 percent said they will “definitely not” get the shot. Americans who said they will “probably” or “definitely” not get the shot were also more likely to say they think changes to U.S. vaccine policy are “major” and will make people less safe. (O’Connell-Domenech, 8/1)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Sorting Out Covid Vaccine Confusion: New And Conflicting Federal Policies Raise Questions

If you want a covid-19 shot this fall, will your employer’s health insurance plan pay for it? There’s no clear answer. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine activist, has upended the way covid vaccines are approved and for whom they’re recommended, creating uncertainty where coverage was routine. Agencies within HHS responsible for spelling out who should get vaccinated aren’t necessarily in sync, issuing seemingly contradictory recommendations based on age or risk factors for serious disease. (Andrews, 8/4)

Silver Cross Hospital violated federal law when it fired two employees in 2021 who did not comply with the New Lenox hospital’s mandatory policy that all employees be vaccinated for COVID-19, lawsuits allege. (Nolan, 8/1)

Doehler Dry Ingredient Solutions, LLC is recalling boxes of Member's Mark freeze dried fruit due to potential listeria contamination, which can lead to serious illness. In an alert Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said the company discovered the problem affecting some 15-count boxes of "Member's Mark Freeze Dried Fruit Variety Pack" after internal product testing. So far, no illnesses have been reported. (Moniuszko, 8/1)

Health officials are warning of a rise in potentially deadly "flesh-eating" bacteria cases along the Gulf Coast, with Louisiana reporting higher numbers than usual this summer. Louisiana health officials have reported 17 cases of Vibrio vulnificus so far this year -- four of which have resulted in death. That compares to an average of seven cases and one death in the same period over the past 10 years. All 17 cases in Louisiana resulted in the person being hospitalized, the Louisiana Department of Health said. Meanwhile, health officials in Florida confirmed 13 cases and four deaths this year. (Louallen, 8/2)

Four radioactive wasp nests have been discovered at a South Carolina nuclear facility, according to federal officials. The first nest, which was found by workers at the Savannah River Site early last month, was recently disclosed in a report from the Department of Energy, which owns the site. The facility, near Aiken, S.C., produced material for nuclear weapons throughout the Cold War. Three additional nests have since been discovered at the site, officials told The Times on Friday. (Anthes, 8/1)

Yesterday in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, investigators from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and local health officials recounted 2024 raccoon roundworm infections in two children in Los Angeles County, California, that left one with severe cognitive, motor, and visual deficits due to initial misdiagnosis. After possibly ingesting raccoon feces and/or contaminated soil, the two unrelated boys presented with signs and symptoms such as encephalopathy, roundworm larva in the eye, peripheral and cerebrospinal fluid eosinophilia (high levels of a kind of white blood cell), behavioral changes, and unsteady gait. (Van Beusekom, 8/1)

Although it's been over a decade since game-changing curative drugs for hepatitis C were approved, progress has been slow and treatment remains out of reach for many. But one small clinic in Buffalo, New York, is proving that doesn't have to be the case. Hepatitis C is a silent epidemic in the U.S., affecting up to 4 million people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Many people don't know they have it. Left untreated, the disease can cause cirrhosis and liver cancer. With a model that's faster, more accessible and remarkably effective, La Bodega, a clinic at Erie County Medical Center, is curing patients at a staggering rate. (Gounder and Moniuszko, 8/1)

Gonorrhea vaccines will be widely available from today in sexual health clinics across the UK, in a bid to tackle record-breaking levels of infections. The jabs will first be offered to those at highest risk - mostly gay and bisexual men who have a history of multiple sexual partners or sexually transmitted infections. NHS England say the roll out is a world-first, and predict it could prevent as many as 100,000 cases, potentially saving the NHS almost £8m over the next decade. (Parry, 8/3)

Smoke from Canadian wildfires hovered over several Midwestern states Saturday, bringing warnings of unhealthy air for at least the third day. Air quality alerts were in effect in Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, as well as eastern Nebraska and parts of Indiana and Illinois. Forecasters said the smoky skies would remain for much of the day. Canadian environmental officials said smoke from the forest fires would persist into Sunday for some areas. (Thompson and Pineda, 8/2)

Some people don’t need a weather app — they feel the forecast in their bones. A storm rolls in and so do throbbing heads, aching joints and mood drops. For years, this phenomenon was dismissed as imagination or coincidence. Now, with sharper tools and larger datasets, more researchers are taking weather-related symptoms seriously. As former Agriculture Department chief meteorologist Albert Peterlin put it: “It’s not the weather. It’s the change in weather that causes stress.” (Rota, 8/2)