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The antiviral pill Paxlovid does not significantly reduce COVID-19 hospitalizations in vaccinated older adults, according to new research by UCLA doctors. The findings were published Thursday in a research letter in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The takeaway is not that Paxlovid doesn’t work — but rather that its effectiveness is lower in vaccinated older adults than was previously reported in unvaccinated adults, said the study’s lead author Dr. John Mafi, an associate professor of medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine. (Ho, 2/20)

Women have a higher risk of developing long covid than men, depending on their stage of life and whether they have experienced menopause, according to a new nationwide study from RECOVER, the long covid research initiative funded by the National Institutes of Health. The research, published in January, studied over 12,000 adults and found that overall, female participants had a 31 percent higher risk of developing long covid after an infection with the coronavirus than male counterparts. (Morris, 2/20)

Two dairy workers in Michigan may have transmitted bird flu to their pet cats last May, suggests a new study published on Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In one household, infected cats may also have passed the virus to other people in the home, but limited evidence makes it difficult to ascertain the possibility. (Anthes and Mandavilli, 2/20)

The United States has so far avoided vaccination as a strategy to eradicating bird flu in poultry, instead relying on culling infected flocks. With the escalating outbreak driving up egg prices to record highs, could that approach soon change? ... The Agriculture Department on Friday gave its strongest sign yet that the federal government could be shifting its strategy. The agency said it granted a conditional license for an H5N2 bird flu vaccine designed to work against variants of the H5N1 virus, the strain circulating among herds of dairy cows and domestic poultry in the U.S. (Lovelace Jr., 2/20)

A measles outbreak in West Texas is continuing to spread. And with kindergarten vaccination rates dipping across the country, more communities may be at risk of outbreaks. But it's not just kids who should be vaccinated. Infectious disease experts say some adults may need to get revaccinated, too. Measles can spread incredibly fast — it's one of the world's most contagious diseases, more than flu, polio, Covid, or just about any other infectious disease. (Godoy, 2/21)

The World Health Organization (WHO) monitors the global supply of seasonal influenza vaccines, and a new analysis shows the 2023 supply matches numbers from 2019, suggesting flu vaccine production was sustained through the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was published this week in Vaccine, and the authors said monitoring seasonal flu vaccine capacity is important for estimating potential pandemic flu vaccine capacities in different global regions. (Soucheray, 2/20)

The number of new cholera cases is down worldwide to start the year, despite a new outbreak in Angola, according to the latest update from the World Health Organization (WHO). As of January 26, a total of 34,799 new cholera cases were reported in 19 countries across three WHO regions, marking a 27% decrease from December 2024. (Dall, 2/20)