Hospitals

Some lab techs refuse to take blood from possible monkeypox patients, raising concerns about stigma and testing delays Many technicians at Labcorp and Quest Diagnostics, two of the largest commercial labs in the US, have been refusing to draw blood from patients who might have monkeypox, CNN has learned. Elizabeth Cohen and Danielle Herman, CNN CNN

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Reinfection, severe outcome more common with BA.5 variant; virus spike protein toxic to heart cells Compared with the earlier Omicron BA.2 subvariant, currently dominant Omicron BA.5 is linked with higher odds of causing a second SARS-COV-2 infection regardless of vaccination status, a study from Portugal suggests. Further, they found, in infected heart muscle cells only the SARS-CoV-2 spike interacted with so-called TLR4 proteins (Toll-like receptor-4) that recognize invaders and trigger inflammatory responses. YahooNews

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Hospitals struggle with staff shortages as federal Covid funds run out Public health experts fear the workarounds they’ve found could degrade the quality of care over time. POLITICO

Hospitals across the country are grappling with widespread staffing shortages, complicating preparations for a potential Covid-19 surge as the BA.5 subvariant drives up cases, hospital admissions and deaths...

We’re Testing for Monkeypox the Wrong Way No one should have to wait until they’re covered with sores. Benjamin Mazer The Atlantic

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