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Illnesses from three main respiratory viruses remain high across the nation, but, for a second week, some indicators that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) tracks, such as hospitalizations and SARS-CoV-2 wastewater levels, showed declines. In its latest updates for COVID-19, flu, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the CDC said rapid increases seen in the weeks leading up to the winter holidays have slowed, with decreases noted for COVID-19 and continuing declines in RSV activity in some regions. Overall, flu activity shows stable or declining trends, but the CDC said it is closely watching for a second spike that sometimes occurs after the winter holidays. (Schnirring, 1/19)

In California, a person who tests positive for Covid and has no symptoms does not need to isolate, according to new state health guidelines. People who test positive and have mild symptoms, meanwhile, can end isolation once their symptoms improve and they’ve been fever-free for 24 hours without medication — even if that point arrives in less than five days. ... The state's guidance differs from that of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which continues to advise people with Covid to stay home for at least five days, regardless of whether they have symptoms. (Bendix, 1/19)

America is over the Covid vaccine. Frantic lineups for scarce doses when Covid vaccines first became available have long since given way to widespread indifference. Each new round of boosters has drawn fewer bared arms than the round before it. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that, as of Jan. 6, a mere 21.5% of Americans aged 18 and older and 11% of children have been vaccinated with the latest Covid vaccine. (Branswell, 1/22)

This winter the U.S. is seeing a new spike in COVID-19 cases, and so doctors are urging people to get new vaccine booster shots for the dangerous respiratory virus — which has killed almost 1.2 million Americans since the pandemic started four years ago. (Padgett, 1/19)

The head of the World Health Organization on Monday voiced concern that countries may miss a May deadline to finish negotiations and adopt a legally binding pandemic treaty. "I must say I'm concerned that member states may not meet that commitment," said Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in an address to the global health agency's Executive Board. "In my view, a failure to deliver the pandemic agreement and the IHR (International Health Regulations) amendments will be a missed opportunity for which future generations may not forgive us," he said. (1/22)

Wastewater monitoring of norovirus can be a useful monitoring system and can provide an earlier signal than other surveillance methods, researchers from the University of Michigan reported yesterday in PLOS Water. ... Current surveillance relies on syndromic surveillance, such as school and emergency department data on gastrointestinal illnesses, which sometimes isn't specific to norovirus and isn't easily available to the public. (Schnirring, 1/19)

Cynthia Horton’s earaches are the stuff of nightmares. “I can wake up from my sleep in horrible pain, like I’m having a root canal with no anesthesia,” she said. “When I sit up, my ear is often weeping with infection, even oozing blood.” Already weakened by a lifelong battle with lupus, Horton’s immune system was devastated by rounds of radiation and chemotherapy after a 2003 surgery for a cancerous tumor in her ear. (LaMotte, 1/21)