Long COVID and Suicide; Brutal Flu Season Ahead? COVID Test Company Investigated

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Queen Elizabeth II, 96, is under medical supervision; her physicians are concerned for her health after she appeared to deteriorate sharply earlier today. (New York Times)

Links between long COVID and suicide risk need study, experts say. (Reuters)

Could the cause of long COVID be lingering viral reservoirs that provoke people’s immune systems? The Long COVID Research Initiative aims to find out. (Wall Street Journal)

Series 8, the new line of Apple Watch, will feature a temperature sensor that can help keep track of ovulation, among other health data. (CNBC)

If the most recent flu season in the Southern Hemisphere is any indication, the rest of the world is in for a sickly winter. (The Atlantic)

Department of Health and Human Services declared that the monkeypox public health emergency justifies emergency use authorizations for monkeypox tests.

To expand access to monkeypox testing, the FDA says it is now smoothing the road to authorization for manufacturers of monkeypox tests by providing templates for paperwork and prioritizing these requests.

Monkeypox cases are declining, but Black and Hispanic men are disproportionately infected. (AP)

Michigan’s strict anti-abortion law was struck down by a judge who had previously suspended the law in May. (The Guardian)

The Philippines are finally ending the outdoor mask mandate across the country, known for one of the longest COVID lockdowns in the world. (ABC News)

Omicron subvariant BA.4.6 shows signs of evading the monoclonal antibody combination tixagevimab/cilgavimab (Evusheld), a preprint study suggests. (bioRxiv)

USA Today publishes its multipart investigation of a questionable COVID-19 testing company and its financial ties to Republican politicians.

Researchers report that SARS-CoV-2 viral load rebound was comparable between users of nirmatrelvir-ritonavir (Paxlovid) and placebo during the Delta variant wave. (New England Journal of Medicine)

An investigational malaria vaccine is poised to provide better protection than the one currently available. (BBC News)

Older women detail their struggles with medical costs and other expenses on a limited budget. (Kaiser Health News)

A large cohort study draws a link between higher artificial sweetener consumption and incident cardiovascular disease. (The BMJ)

Walmart and UnitedHealthGroup are combining forces on a preventive health program for older adults. (Reuters)

The University of Florida reports the first U.S. case of a dolphin found infected with bird flu and suggests caution for humans encountering wild dolphins.