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State public health officials have raised the risk of contracting Eastern equine encephalitis in five communities south of Boston after mosquito samples collected in Bristol and Plymouth counties tested positive for the virus. The risk was raised to high in Carver and Middleborough and to moderate in Bridgewater, Lakeville, and Rochester, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health said in a statement Friday. (Cabral Leite, 8/3)

A public health alert has been issued by the Galveston County Health District warning of an increase in flesh-eating bacteria-related illnesses after surveillance found cases from Galveston Beach. Vibrio infection reports have raised concerns about the health risks associated with exposure to the bacteria, the health district said in a statement. (Johnson, 8/2)

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) was confirmed yesterday in an adult female white-tailed deer found dead in Spokane, Washington. It's the state's first case of CWD. (Dall, 8/2)

The World Health Organization's chief said Sunday he was considering convening an expert committee to advise on whether the growing mpox outbreak in Africa should be declared an international emergency. (8/4)

Some CVS Health Corp. pharmacies are selling out of at-home Covid tests as a summer surge in infections drives up demand. As of Friday afternoon, CVS’s website showed that all brands of tests were out of stock at many locations in cities including Houston, Austin and Reno, Nevada. (Vahanvaty, 8/2)

Minnesota has seen an upward trend of hospitalizations from COVID-19, and it’s a little earlier than last year, when hospitalizations started to increase later in the summer toward the end of August, according to APM Research Lab data. Minnesota Department of Health experts still don’t have enough data to find a clear pattern or trend for the virus. Senior epidemiologist Keeley Morris said Minnesota does tend to experience a “summer increase” and that it appeared that the number of cases happened earlier this season. (Yang, 8/2)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Shingles Vaccine May Stall Dementia, And Vaccine Mandates Save Lives, Studies Suggest

�鶹Ů�� Health News senior fellow and editor-at-large for public health Céline Gounder discussed vaccines in a couple of recent media appearances. (8/3)