Data: Optimal initiation of Paxlovid in hospitalized COVID patients is 3 to 5 days Taking the SARS-CoV-2 antiviral drug nirmatrelvir-ritonavir (Paxlovid) 3 to 5 days after COVID-19 symptom onset—not earlier or later—may result in the greatest reduction in viral loads, viral transmission, and viral rebound in hospitalized patients, a University of Hong Kong–led study finds. CIDRAP

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Teen vaccination cut COVID-19 cases by 37% in California, new data show Researchers also estimated that 230,134 cases were averted in kids aged 5 to 11 years, a 24% reduction. CIDRAP

JAMA Network Open has published a new study showing that, from April 1, 2020, to February 27, 2023, in California, an estimated 146,210 COVID-19 cases were averted by vaccination in teens aged 12 to 15 years, representing a 37% reduction.

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Massive amounts of H5N1 vaccine would be needed if there's a bird flu pandemic. Can we make enough? The first signs that H5N1 avian flu was starting to spread from person to person would trigger a race to produce massive amounts of vaccine. Helen Branswell STAT

There is no way to predict if the virus will acquire the capacity to spread between people, or when and under what conditions it would make that fateful leap if it does.

Q&A: Climate change and health care—how individuals and institutions can help

Unseasonably mild winters. Forest fires and smoke. More reports of catastrophic storms. We've experienced increasingly extreme weather changes in the past few years, and the intersection between environmental issues and health is a pressing concern.

Myles Sergeant is an assistant clinical professor in McMaster's Department of Family Medicine who is deeply involved in efforts locally, provincially and nationally to reverse the effects of climate change. ...

We spoke with Sergeant about the dangers of climate change, the power individuals and the health care sector have to make more sustainable choices, and why he hasn't lost hope to save our "frail planet."

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