Flu surges in the Southeast Presented by Novavax — This comes as the worst of flu season approaches.{beacon} Health Care Health Care   The Big Story  Flu surges in the Southeast New federal data shows inf… emartin The Hill

The most recent weekly summary update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) designated nine U.S. states and territories as having high or very high levels of activity related to influenza-like illness (ILI). 

As holiday season gets underway, here’s how to protect yourself and your family from respiratory viruses | CNN With Thanksgiving just days away, people across the United States are finalizing travel plans or racing through grocery stores in search of the perfect turkey, but there’s another plan to consider ahead of the holiday season: how to stay healthy and avoid the mix of seasonal viruses in circulation. Amanda Musa CNN

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Bill Gates Climate Change article

Portugal just ran on 100% renewables for six days in a row For nearly a week, the country of 10 million met customer needs with wind, hydro and solar — a test run for operating the grid without fossil fuels. Canary Media

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Earth likely briefly passed critical warming threshold on Friday The 2-degree threshold for a single day is symbolic, but indicative of how swiftly the climate is warming. Andrew Freedman Axios

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The indication that Friday was the first day on record to have a global average surface temperature above 2°C when compared with preindustrial levels, emerged first from a dataset maintained by the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF)

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US to offer more free COVID tests nationwide The U.S. government on Monday will start taking orders for another round of free COVID-19 tests for delivery across the country, a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) spokesperson said. Ahmed Aboulenein Reuters

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Thousands more doses of RSV shot for infants expedited for release amid shortage | CNN Amid an ongoing shortage of nirsevimab, an RSV immunization for young children, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has announced that more than 77,000 additional doses will be distributed “immediately.” Jacqueline Howard CNN

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Air filters may not reduce risk of catching airborne virus, study shows - UPI.com Air filters might help keep the air in your home fresh, but a new review finds they don't appear to reduce your risk of catching an airborne virus. UPI

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Technologies designed to make indoor spaces safer from infection are not effective in the real world, researchers from the University of East Anglia in the UK argue.

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COVID aid fuels telehealth expansion in rural America - Roll Call As rural hospitals deal with workforce shortages and declining populations, some say telehealth offers a chance to bridge the gap. Lauren Clason Roll Call

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Federal pandemic aid also helped slow the rate of rural hospital closures. But as facilities contend with lingering inflation, workforce shortages and declining populations, the pace of those closures is picking up again.

Telehealth offers a chance to bridge the gap in hospital deserts.

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Germany's highest court annuls a decision to repurpose COVID relief funding for climate measures Germany’s highest court has annulled a government decision to repurpose 60 billion euros ($65 billion) originally meant to cushion the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic for measures to help combat climate change and modernize the country. AP News

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The court ruled that the government’s move was unconstitutional and said it will have to find other ways of filling the resulting hole in the climate fund.

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