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New data highlights the need for the most vulnerable to get updated vaccines, while a growing body of evidence highlights the impact of climate change on our health (and what biotech can do on both fronts). (432 words, 2 minutes, 9 seconds) |
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As we start cold and flu season, a few more viruses are in the mix, but we have new methods of protection. The problem? People, especially the most vulnerable, need to get them.
The good news: We have flu shots, updated COVID-19 vaccines, and—for the first year ever—protection against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) for vulnerable populations.
The bad news: 43% of U.S. adults don’t plan to get their flu vaccine, and as many as 60% don’t plan to get an updated COVID shot, found a recent survey.
And worse: Older adults account for two-thirds of COVID hospitalizations this year and face serious risk from RSV, but medical experts worry they’re not getting vaccinated, either, reports CNN.
RSV is not as common as COVID and flu—but it’s “associated with more severe disease than COVID-19 or influenza” among hospitalized older adults, says a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“Vulnerable? Vaccinate,”says the World Health Organization (WHO), urging the “very young and the very old” to “take up any offer for vaccination to prevent or mitigate the impact of these co-circulating respiratory infections.”
What they’re saying: “Vaccination remains our strongest tool against both influenza and COVID-19,” says Stella Kyriakides, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety. |
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Air pollution is a heartbreaker |
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Air pollution and climate change are heartbreakers—literally. And the problem could only get worse.
What’s happening: Practically every day, news reports detail how rising temperatures are causing an increase in disease (and perhaps reawakening viruses frozen for nearly 50,000 years) and making cities and towns uninhabitable as temperatures overwhelm the body’s ability to cool itself, The Washington Post reports.
Air pollution has long been a public health concern—especially when it comes to our hearts, says a new Bio.News explainer.
Here’s why: Cardiovascular disease can be caused by pollutants triggering inflammation, oxidative stress, and endothelial dysfunction. Particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and ozone are among the more harmful, explains a cardiac surgeon.
Climate change changes the rules—worsening air pollution’s impact while adding further stressors. Extreme heat and severe weather patterns have been associated with increased cardiovascular disease, and heart disease is a major cause of post-hurricane mortality.
Beyond health, biotech provides solutions—such as sustainable aviation fuels and biomanufacturing, which can reduce carbon emissions and particulate matter. Biotech crops can grow with fewer inputs and capture carbon, too. |
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