First US bird flu death is announced in Louisiana The first U.S. bird flu death has been reported. Louisiana health officials announced the death Monday of a person who had been hospitalized with severe respiratory symptoms. AP News

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Are mask mandates making a comeback? Hospitalizations have spiked in major cities, including Los Angeles, New York and Chicago. sthomas The Hill

In Southern California, most hospitals never ended their mask mandates after the COVID-19 pandemic. But now, more mandates are returning. ...

Hospitalizations are up sharply in major cities, including Los Angeles, New York and Chicago.

Health officials are advising the immunocompromised to mask in public to prevent illness, and in Wisconsin, a major health care group is reinstating a mask mandate beginning next week.

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Why The U.S. Could Be Making The Same Mistakes With Bird Flu As It Did With COVID-19 The first severe human case of bird flu was recently reported in the U.S. Here are some ways the U.S. may be repeating the same mistakes as from the COVID-19 pandemic. Omer Awan Forbes

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Data show 7% rate of long COVID in college students About 7% of 428 Omicron COVID-19 survivors who were health-sciences students at a Saudi Arabian college reported persistent symptoms, notably loss of smell or taste, for more than 28 days. CIDRAP

About 7% of 428 Omicron COVID-19 survivors who were health-sciences students at a Saudi Arabian college reported persistent symptoms, notably loss of smell or taste, for more than 28 days.

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Flu emergency room visits now "very high" nationwide, CDC says Several Western states are seeing rates worse than last year's peak of flu season. CBS News

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Some of the highest levels of influenza are now in Western states, several of which have already topped the peaks recorded during the worst of last winter's flu season.

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US respiratory virus infections rise, led by flu During Christmas week, respiratory virus activity continued a steady rise across much of the nation, with the largest spikes seen for flu. COVID-19 levels continue to climb from low levels, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) activity is still very high in many regions, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in its latest updates. CIDRAP

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Paxlovid tied to lower risk of hospital stay, heart problems, death in adults with kidney disease and COVID The antiviral drug nirmatrelvir-ritonavir (Paxlovid) was linked to a lower risk of hospitalization within 30 days and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) and death at 1 year in adults with COVID-19 and chronic kidney disease (CKD) or kidney failure, finds a study this week in Open Forum Infectious Diseases. CIDRAP

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Opinion | Biden faltered on bird flu. Here’s how Trump can course-correct. The Biden administration’s bird flu response has been too slow. Now comes a test for Trump’s White House. The Washington Post

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5 things we know and still don't know about COVID, 5 years after it appeared Five years after the virus that causes COVID emerged in China it still holds some mysteries. The disease has killed an estimated 20 million people globally, according to the World Health Organization, and thousands are still dying every year. AP News

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