Nigeria rolls out new Oxford R21 malaria vaccine Nigeria launched a new malaria vaccine on Thursday that will be freely administered to recipients, its health minister said, marking a significant milestone in its fight against the deadly disease. Camillus Eboh Reuters

...

The world has a worsening water crisis and half of all food production will be at risk of failure by the middle of this century.

That’s the worrying message from a report released Wednesday by a major international study.

Helene and Milton are both likely to be $50 billion disasters, joining ranks of most costly storms Monstrous hurricanes Helene and Milton caused so much complex havoc that damages are still being added up, but experts in economics, insurance and risk say they are likely to be in the pantheon of super-costly $50 billion disasters. AP News

...

US FDA pauses Novavax's trial of combo COVID-flu shot on safety concerns The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has put Novavax's trial of an experimental COVID-flu vaccine combination on hold after one person who received the shot reported nerve damage, the company said on Wednesday. Reuters Reuters

...

IV fluid supply disruptions prompt Biden administration to invoke wartime powers to bolster recovery | CNN Disruptions from Hurricane Helene exacerbated shortages of critical intravenous fluids in the United States, and now the Biden administration has invoked the wartime powers of the Defense Production Act in the latest move to help speed recovery efforts. Deidre McPhillips CNN

...

3 doses of mRNA COVID vaccine show advantage against severe outcomes The authors said COVID-19 infection can result in a "brainstem insult" that results in clusters of physical long-COVID symptoms. CIDRAP

A team led by US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) researchers studying Medicare claims data during the early Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant months conclude that a third dose of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine provides significant protection against hospitalization and death compared with two doses but wanes substantially after 4 months.

...

Rapid tests: When to take them and do they actually expire? There are some rapid tests you might be able to take past the expiration date on the box. Here’s what to know. Gina Cook, Erika Gonzalez, News4 Anchor/Reporter, Patricia Fantis NBC4 Washington

...

According to Covid.gov, people should take an at-home test when:

Inside RSV: Researchers pinpoint markers of more severe cases Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) remains the top cause of hospitalization among young children, leading to respiratory issues like bronchiolitis and pneumonia. However, the reasons why some children ... Brigham and Women’s Hospital Medical Xpress

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) remains the top cause of hospitalization among young children, leading to respiratory issues like bronchiolitis and pneumonia. However, the reasons why some children experience only mild symptoms while others suffer from severe disease are not well understood.