Problem

We aren’t doing enough about the risk of bird flu – but we can | CNN

The United States’ response to H5N1 – “bird flu” – has been fragmented and inadequate. With three cases reported in people in the United States and clusters from Michigan to Texas, it’s clear that the virus is widespread among animals. To protect people, animals, and our economy, and to restore trust in public health, we need to get this right....

We have a lot to learn and no time to lose. First, states and national authorities must work with one another. This will require multiple federal agencies – including CDC, USDA, APHIS – and their state counterparts to share information transparently and in real time with each other and with the public. Second, Congress needs to provide resources to respond to the next pandemic and also for systems, workforce, and infrastructure so we are prepared to stop new and unknown events before they become epidemics. Third, and perhaps most importantly, we must quickly build relationships with farm owners and workers by being responsive to their needs and addressing questions and concerns.

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Surgeon General demands warning label on social media apps | CNN Business Surgeon General Vivek Murthy in an op-ed in the New York Times Monday said the threat social media poses to children is an emergency, and he urged Congress to put a label on the apps as with cigarettes and alcohol. David Goldman CNN

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Bird Flu Tests Are Hard To Get. So How Will We Know When To Sound the Pandemic Alarm? - KFF Health News If widely used, flu tests could be helpful now. In the meantime, the government needs to clear a path for H5N1 tests, researchers warn, to avoid the early missteps of the covid pandemic. khnkytjaw KFF Health News

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Secure access to food and water is decreasing for US children, research finds (medicalxpress.com)

Between 2005 and 2020, the number of children facing simultaneous water and food insecurity in the United States more than doubled. Additionally, Black and Hispanic children were several times more likely than white children to experience food and water insecurity at the same time....

In a study published in Nature Water, the researchers examined water insecurity, food insecurity and their simultaneous occurrence among children in the United States.

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