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News for October 14 — Kids Fight Off COVID Better

Kids fight off COVID better: https://www.aol.com/why-does-covid-19-usually-100339804.html . Antibodies in children’s bloodstreams stay higher longer after exposure to the COVID virus. Israel claims two Hamas leaders killed in drone strike: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20231014_17/ . The Israelis remain focused on the annihilation of Hamas. Israel announces 6-hour evacuation window in Gaza: https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/14/middleeast/gaza-israel-evacuation-saturday-intl-hnk/index.html . Here is another unmistakable sign that …

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News for October 13 — Florida COVID Hospitalizations Spike

Florida COVID hospitalizations spike: https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/nowhere-to-go-hospitalizations-surge-in-florida-as-desantis-administration-advises-those-under-65-to-avoid-newly-approved-boosters/ss-AA1i9IM7?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=59fcf291018d40999979f4e09566afec&ei=38 . DeMentis sticks to his anti-science recommendation to those under 65 to avoid the COVID boosters. 2024 Medicare Part B premiums: https://www.aol.com/medicare-part-b-premiums-2024-175939123.html . The premium increase of 6% is not as bad as some expected, because utilization of the new Alzheimer’s drug has not been as high as feared. However, …

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News for October 12 — Slow Updated COVID Shot Update

Slow updated COVID shot uptake: https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2023-10-12/over-7-million-americans-have-gotten-updated-covid-vaccines . Note that we have a lower vaccination total than at the same time in the last campaign. Kaiser strike talks resume: https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2023-10-12/kaiser-permanente-resumes-talks-with-healthcare-workers-union-week-after-strike . RSV shots for infants in short supply: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rsv-antibody-shot-babies-beyfortus-supply-cost/ . Feds charge 17 Florida sheriff’s office employees with COVID fraud: https://abcnews.go.com/US/17-florida-sheriffs-office-employees-charged-covid-relief/story?id=103939451 . WSJ: 2024 Social Security …

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News for October 11 — US Overdose Deaths Keep Rising

US overdose deaths keep rising: https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/11/health/us-overdose-deaths-continue-to-rise-nchs-data/index.html . Fentanyl is a significant part of the overdoses. China is a significant supplier of the component chemicals to the Mexican cartels. WSJ: Crypto still lacks significant regulation: https://www.wsj.com/finance/currencies/whats-changed-for-crypto-after-ftx-not-much-17daba37 . More: https://www.wsj.com/finance/currencies/caroline-ellison-tells-jury-she-dreaded-inevitable-collapse-of-ftx-62f46947 . UAW expands strike: https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/11/business/uaw-strike-kentucky-ford-truck-plant/index.html . Sadly, this indicates settlement is not near with any of the …

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News for October 10 — Parkinson’s May Start in Gut

Parkinson’s may have gut start: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/parkinsons-may-start-from-bacteria-in-the-gut . I lost a lifelong friend to this horrible disease. As to prevention, eating yogurt to maintain the gut and rigorous dental health are two things I already practice. This article gives me a strong additional incentive to continue. WSJ: Diagnosing Alzheimer’s through the eye: https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/is-the-eye-the-window-to-alzheimers-cc52f9fd . The claim …

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News for October 9 — DeMentis Loses COVID Data Fight

DeMentis loses COVID data fight: https://www.newsweek.com/ron-desantis-loses-lawsuit-allowing-covid-data-released-1833216 . Just about every smart-aleck thing Ron has done in the last two years has been a failure. No surprise there … Employer weight loss drug coverage could double next year: https://www.aol.com/news/u-employers-covering-weight-loss-184427312.html . Scientists discover exclusome protecting DNA: https://www.livescience.com/health/meet-the-exclusome-a-mini-organ-just-discovered-in-cells-that-defends-the-genome-from-attack . Walgreens walkout disrupts pharmacy services: https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/09/business/walgreens-walkouts-cvs-pharmacy/index.html . The yield …

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News for October 8 — Intermediaries Raise Health Insurance Costs

Intermediaries raise health insurance costs: https://www.aol.com/profits-most-america-baffling-health-174845152.html . This of course is no surprise to those of us attempting to manage health care costs. The Economist article points out the financial effects of industry consolidation. In 2022, the combined revenue of the nine largest players was 45% of the entire industry, up from 25% in 2013. …

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News for October 7 — AI Delivers Empathy to Healthcare

AI delivers empathy to healthcare: WSJ: https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-empathy-business-applications-technology-fc41aea2 . Weirdly, this makes some sense. For example, suppose you are speaking with a medical professional over the phone. They have an AI program which provides real-time suggested empathetic response on the professional’s computer screen. Isn’t this input likely to improve the quality of the response? WSJ: Kaiser …

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News for October 6 — US COVID Hospitalizations Decline Again

US COVID hospitalizations decline again: https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2023-10-06/new-covid-19-hospitalizations-decline-for-3rd-straight-week . Three straight weeks does make this a trend, based on my experience. Remember, however, that for much of the pandemic, waves came in 2 week intervals, so we could see another uptick in the next several weeks. WSJ: AI’s future in transforming medicine: https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/artificial-intelligence-medicine-innovation-6739b4f8 . I absolutely agree …

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News for October 5 — US Leading Causes of Death

US leading causes of death: https://www.foxnews.com/health/these-are-10-leading-causes-death-us-adults-cdc . Sadly, USAFacts and/or Fox can’t do basic math. Total deaths are 3.46 million. The top 3 causes of death total 1,717,653, which is 49.6% of the total and so not a majority. Gee, there’s a quality control problem at Fox … Older adults dominate COVID hospitalizations: https://abcnews.go.com/Health/older-adults-make-thirds-covid-hospitalizations-year-cdc/story?id=103749710 . …

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