That "summer cold" you have? It's COVID. You've got COVID. It's a fact and it's still ripping through the world completely unrestrained.
— Clayton Cubitt (@claytoncubitt.bsky.social) August 4, 2025 at 1:43 PM
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COVID-19 activity is rising in much of the country.
— The Associated Press (@apnews.com) August 2, 2025 at 9:00 AM
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The CDC has not provided a SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance update for 6 weeks. That is unacceptable
— Eric Topol (@erictopol.bsky.social) August 1, 2025 at 10:39 AM
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Experts say a lack of data is making it harder to track COVID-19 in real time, but the available information indicates the expected seasonal wave is happening.
thehill.com/policy/healt…— Ian Weissman, DO (@drianweissman.bsky.social) August 4, 2025 at 9:55 PM
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US Weekly COVID update: Aug 4, 2025
🔸1 in 95 People Currently Infected
🔸505,000 New Daily Infections
🔸3,535,000 New Weekly Infections
🔸177,000 to 707,000 Weekly Long COVID Cases
🔸1,300 to 2,100 Weekly Deaths
Source: pmc19.com/data/— Denis – The COVID Info Guy (@thecovidinfoguy.bsky.social) August 4, 2025 at 6:56 PM
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@tmprowell.bsky.social
— Physicians for a Healthy Democracy (@physiciandemocracy.medsky.social) August 5, 2025 at 12:02 PM
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COVID Cases Rising in Florida Ahead of Back-to-School Season www.fox13news.com/news/covid-c…
— Data Report (@datareport.bsky.social) August 4, 2025 at 1:46 PM
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Analysis: 2024-25 COVID vaccines offered strong protection against worst outcomes in seniors
Vaccine efficacy for Spikevax was 84.9% against hospitalization.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/c…— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) July 31, 2025 at 3:09 PM
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KFF poll shows most Americans plan to skip fall COVID booster
Only 49% of poll respondents said they trust the Food and Drug Administration or the CDC to make sure vaccines are safe.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/c…— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) August 4, 2025 at 3:33 PM
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In a global study of 11,801 adults across 33 countries, 1 in 5 COVID-19 survivors developed long COVID.
ICU admission, being female, and acute fatigue were top risk factors, while vaccination and African or Asian ethnicity were linked to lower risk.
www.nature.com/articles/s41…— thetranscendedman (@atranscendedman.bsky.social) August 3, 2025 at 4:04 PM
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Disadvantaged COVID survivors at over twice the risk for long-term symptoms, researchers say
www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/dis…
#LongCovid #disparities #socialjustice #SDOH— Judy Stone (@drjudystone.bsky.social) August 2, 2025 at 3:47 PM
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Korean scientists say they developed oral drug against COVID-19.
"A group of scientists, primarily from South Korean universities, has confirmed the efficacy of an oral anti-viral treatment, called CP-COV03 or Xafty, against COVID-19 after a clinical trial."
www.upi.com/Health_News/…— Denis – The COVID Info Guy (@thecovidinfoguy.bsky.social) August 4, 2025 at 9:16 PM
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COVID significantly increases risk of death from metastatic cancer. Viruses like COVID-19 and the flu could awaken dormant cancer cells that have previously spread to the lungs, triggering the growth of metastatic disease.
healthimaging.com/topics/clini…— Ian Weissman, DO (@drianweissman.bsky.social) August 5, 2025 at 10:29 PM
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Why Your Gut Hasn’t Been the Same Since COVID
"A major international study has revealed a troubling surge in gut-brain disorders like IBS and functional dyspepsia since the COVID-19 pandemic."
scitechdaily.com/why-your-gut…— Denis – The COVID Info Guy (@thecovidinfoguy.bsky.social) August 5, 2025 at 2:52 AM
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Scientists identify shared biological roots of long COVID and chronic fatigue syndrome medicalxpress.com/news/2025-08…
— Data Report (@datareport.bsky.social) August 4, 2025 at 6:36 AM
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USA: Did FDA Pick the Wrong COVID Vaccine Strain Last Season?
By mid-2024, KP.3.1.1 and XEC had largely replaced JN.1. The BNT162b2 JN.1 booster showed 71.7% and 76.8% protection vs hospitalisation, and 90.9% and 76.3% vs death for KP.3.1.1 and XEC, respectively.
Source: archive.md/Fb4Xs— Denis – The COVID Info Guy (@thecovidinfoguy.bsky.social) August 4, 2025 at 8:37 PM
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Romania sees sharp rise in COVID-19 cases in July 2025 — Up 232% from June.
"Romania had recorded 3,586,193 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 69,266 related deaths since the start of the pandemic"— Denis – The COVID Info Guy (@thecovidinfoguy.bsky.social) August 5, 2025 at 8:03 PM
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#Breaking: Health secretary RFK Jr. shuts door on U.S. investment in mRNA vaccine research
www.statnews.com/2025/08/05/m…— STAT (@statnews.com) August 5, 2025 at 7:07 PM
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I'm seeing a lot of big accounts missing the mark on this story. HHS through BARDA is cancelling contracts for mRNA vaccine research related to viral respiratory illnesses. This does not affect mRNA cancer research by NIH and Moderna.
It's still bad news but let's try to keep our facts straight.— Thomas A. Nguyen DO (@tom.medsky.social) August 5, 2025 at 9:09 PM
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Major medical groups have been pushed out of roles supporting CDC's vaccine advisors. 8 medical organizations have gotten notices from CDC's "secretariat" that ACIP—Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices—doesn't need them. That includes the AMA & American Academy of Pediatrics, among others👇
— Delthia Ricks (@dricks.bsky.social) August 3, 2025 at 7:10 PM
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At his confirmation hearing, RFK Jr claimed he wouldn’t take away vaccines. So far he has:
Removed COVID vaccine recommendations
Fired the CDC’s vaccine committee
Replaced scientists with antivaxxers
Cancelled vaccine hesitancy research
Pulled $500m in mRNA vaccine research— Dr. Lucky Tran (@luckytran.com) August 5, 2025 at 10:41 PM
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open.substack.com/pub/pauloffi…
RFK Jr.'s wants to eliminate vaccines. Here is how he will do it.— Paul Offit (@pauloffit.bsky.social) August 5, 2025 at 7:07 AM
… On January 25, 2025, during RFK Jr.’s confirmation hearing before the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) committee, Elizabeth Warren (D, MA) provided a frightening glimpse into the future. “As Secretary of HHS,” she said, “You could make more injuries eligible for compensation even if there is no causal evidence…You could change which claims are compensated in the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. I’m asking you to commit right now that you will not take a financial stake in every one of those lawsuits so that what you do as Secretary will also benefit you financially down the line.” Robert F. Kennedy Jr. refused.
Sometime in the next couple of months, RFK Jr. will hold up a bogus “study” that he will claim proves that aluminum adjuvants in vaccines cause autism or some other chronic disorder. Although the “study” won’t have been published in a reputable journal, won’t have been peer-reviewed, will be methodologically flawed and basically uninterpretable, he will call it “landmark” or “gold-standard.” He will also claim that all the studies exonerating aluminum adjuvants were unduly influenced by Big Pharma. Then he will manipulate the VICP to make vaccines less available, more expensive, and more feared. His action won’t lessen the incidence of autism; it will only increase the incidence of suffering and hospitalization from vaccine-preventable diseases.
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As federal vaccine policy shifts under US health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., lawmakers are looking to give state-level public health officials authority to ignore federal recommendations. www.wired.com/story/states…
— WIRED (@wired.com) July 31, 2025 at 2:57 PM
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My comments and interview with @dallasnews.com
www.dallasnews.com/news/public-…— Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD DSc(hon) (@peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social) July 31, 2025 at 11:55 AM
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"Vaccine skepticism in the U.S. also kills more children outside the U.S. — because it transfers that skepticism — outside the United States.”
www.statnews.com/2025/08/04/b…— Ian Weissman, DO (@drianweissman.bsky.social) August 4, 2025 at 9:42 PM
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Air, wastewater may play roles in H5N1 transmission on dairy farms
The group conducted extensive air, farm wastewater, and milk sampling from 14 of California’s outbreak farms across two different farming regions.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/a…— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) August 4, 2025 at 4:53 PM
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#Birdflu may be airborne on dairy farms, scientists report. In unpublished research, researchers found live virus on equipment, in wastewater and in the air in so-called milking stations www.nytimes.com/2025/08/04/health/bird-flu-airborne.html?smid=bs-share
— Delthia Ricks (@dricks.bsky.social) August 5, 2025 at 5:28 PM
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Raw milk linked to 21 E coli, Campylobacter infections in Florida
Seven people have been hospitalized, and severe complications have been reported for at least two cases.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/c…— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) August 5, 2025 at 3:45 PM
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H5N1 avian flu hospitalizes Cambodian man
Global health groups yesterday updated their risk assessment of H5N1 based on recent developments, including an ongoing spike in human infections in Cambodia.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/a…— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) July 29, 2025 at 4:08 PM
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The world nearly beat polio but fake records & an imperfect vaccine have aided its return. Some vaccinators in Pakistan have been instructed to mark records of unvaxxed kids as fully immunized. Pakistan is a country where polio stubbornly continues & mistrust of eradication effort persists👇
— Delthia Ricks (@dricks.bsky.social) August 5, 2025 at 4:35 PM
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this is really interesting, I had no idea Russia was cooking up an HIV epidemic
— post malone ergo propter malone (@proptermalone.bsky.social) August 1, 2025 at 10:15 AM
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In the Guangdong province of China, COVID-like hospital quarantines are in effect to help stop the spread of chikungunya virus.
— Forbes (@forbes.com) August 5, 2025 at 4:45 PM
cain
I’ve been sick from thursday till sunday. Pretty sure it isn’t covid though. Definitely a bad breakfast burrito. :/
sab
@cain: Four plus days seems long for food poisoning.
People I know who got Covid last year had gastrointestinal symptoms.
Bruce K in ATH-GR
I went to the Greek government’s COVID vaccination site, which told me that my last shot was in October 2024 and did not provide information on scheduling a new booster. This is somewhat disheartening. I’m going to ask my work’s healthcare provider about how they plan to handle COVID boosters going forward.
p.a.
The Martians have ended their offensive military spending. Their consensus: “we just have to be patient.”
satby
Debating which updated COVID vaccine to get this year. Last two were Novovax, before that Moderna and Pfizer. Info on which have been updated for 2025 seems scanty, for which I assume we can thank the mass-murderer in charge now.
feather as a light
Your weekly reminder that Michael Hoerger/PMC (the source for this post) is a guy with no subject expertise who is doing his research on the internet. His methods are unpublished, and un-reviewed, and many experts have pointed out that he’s making basic errors.
Expertise matters, now more than ever. If you wouldn’t point platform RFK Jr., don’t platform Michael Hoerger. There are reputable sources of covid information.
Baud
My throat is scratchy so I took a COVID test, but it came back negative.
satby
@feather as a light: so what sources do you suggest, for example?
feather as a light
@satby: ddefying all expectations, CDC’S covid tracker is quite good and has continued to provide all the data products as during the last administration and even added some quite nice new ones.
But the bigger point is that elevating amateurs who do their research on the internet over actual experts has gotten us in quite a bit of trouble lately. If there isn’t data from a reputable source, maybe we should just say that there’s no reputable data?
JMG
Anecdotally speaking, two people I know from our public golf course, a starter and a member, have had covid in the last month. Both recovered.
lowtechcyclist
I’ve been under the weather for the past two and a half weeks. Did wonder if it was Covid. My home test and the local urgent care’s test both came back negative.
New Deal democrat
Confirming the point in this post, BIobot’s latest wastewater analysis “ shows that COVID-19 continues to increase slowly in week 30 (through July 26, 2025).” The CDC’s wastewater update for the same timeframe also shows an increase from 2.22 to 2.99 particles per mL. All regions are participating. This is almost twice the level at the nadir in mid-June, but only 35% the level of one year ago. JP Weiland’s latest forecast is for a September peak of the summer wave of slightly over 1/2 the level of infections as one year ago. That would imply an increase in the number of deaths per week to about 750.
bsky.app/profile/jpweiland.bsky.social/post/3lvehhvt5i22x
Deaths continued at a very low rate, with only 76 deaths preliminarily in the week of July 26, and a final count of 165 for the week of July 5. The 52 week count made another all time low of 34,200.
As noted in the article, the CDC appears to have discontinued variant updates. I was hoping Canada might be maintaining statistics, but apparently it is not.
Only 14 new confirmed cases of measles were reported in the past week, bringing the total to 1333 so far this year. 40 jurisdictions have reported cases. 92% of all cases were among the unvaccinated. 13% required hospitalization. Cases continue to break down roughly as 1/3rd each among the under 5 age group, older children and teenagers, and adults. Hospitalizations were more often required among the youngest children.
NotMax
@New Deal democrat
34,200.
That would be the entire population of Butte, Montana. All gone.
lowtechcyclist
We wipe out Butte every year with motor vehicles, and few give it a second thought.
Baud
@lowtechcyclist:
I read that as “We wipe our butts every year…”
cmorenc
Likely not because the % of anti-vaxxers has increased, but more likely because with RFK riding herd on the CDC, they realize Kennedy is trying to create a self-fulfilling prophecy by sabotaging the HHS / CDC staff and process responsible for insuring vaccine safety. Putting Kennedy in charge of HHS is like putting a moon-hoax true believer in charge of NASA.
lowtechcyclist
@Baud:
I hope you do it with somewhat greater frequency than that! :D
Ten Bears
( ping ) headlined this
NotMax
@lowtechcyclist
One Butte is more than enough. We don’t need a second one.
AM in NC
@cain: I had an awful bug a few weeks ago, headache and vomiting and muscle aches and fever – turns out it was a tick-borne illness, and doxycycline was the solution. Please, if you live where ticks live, ask your doctor about this possibility. The longer it goes untreated, the worse the issues.
lowtechcyclist
@NotMax:
I think it’s time to paper over this entire digression.
rikyrah
I try to not be around people. Two weeks ago, had to do mandatory, in person all day meetings with our entire Department FOR AN ENTIRE WEEK.
You know how this ends.
Glad I took my paranoid self to Urgent Care. Got Paxlovid. I am ok now.
I for damn sure will be getting that Fall Booster.😠😠😠
lowtechcyclist
@rikyrah:
As the old saying goes, just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you. Glad you got Paxlovid and are doing better now!
ErikaF
@lowtechcyclist: I’ve already wiped it from my mind.
frosty
@AM in NC: I know all about this, being a Tick Magnet. One thing I learned from my doc the last time I got them: if you find one and call in the first 72 hours, one dose of doxy is enough. It you procrastinate they’ll prescribe a 30-day treatment.
Jay
Thank you, Anne Laurie.
I was hoping that both you and Adam would be able to take a break this year, but apparently not,……………..
Van Buren
@lowtechcyclist: Nah, just roll with it.
XeckyGilchrist
I have been masking up religiously on public transit since the pandemic started, and probably will for the rest of my life.
On the train right now, with some gentleman nearby unable to control a hideous gargly cough.
“Return to Office” is gonna kill me, innit
Joy in FL
I appreciate this update. I forget about Covid, and your posts help me remember to keep masks in my purse.
Matt McIrvin
I kind of hate the “your ‘summer cold’ is COVID” declarations because they are factually not accurate. Your summer cold MIGHT NOT be COVID. There’s other stuff going around just like always.
For whatever reason, this COVID wave hasn’t been happening in New England though in the latest wastewater counts you can see hints of it coming.
dkinPa
Thanks, A.L., for these continuing updates! Guess I’d better get in the habit again of masking up for the next couple of months whenever I go shopping. . . .
feather as a light
@New Deal democrat: Just FYI, the CDC’s Wastewater Viral Activity Level is not a measure of particles per mL (normalized or not). It is in essence a Z-score, and measures changes relative to a rolling average of the last year’s data. So it can’t be used to compare to levels in the past. (This is one of the major mistakes that JPWeiland and Michael Hoerger are making – the CDC WVAL does not measure prevalence.)
The data methods are described here.