The BA.5 variant now accounts for 65% of COVID-19 cases, with BA.4 contributing another 16%. The average number of daily deaths in the U.S. rose 26% over the past two weeks, to 489 on July 12. (ABC News)
The Food and Drug Administration declined to approve two drugs, sulopenem and tebipenem, to treat drug-resistant urinary tract infections. Some UTI patients now require IV treatments for bladder infections that typically would be treated with oral antibiotics. (Endpoints News)
The number of confirmed monkeypox and orthopoxvirus cases in the U.S. has surpassed 1,000. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 1,053 cases in 41 states and Puerto Rico, with cases worldwide exceeding 11,000. (Fox News)
The U.K. government launched a program encouraging people to receive their booster shots. The program is set to begin this fall and will target people aged 50 and over, residents and staff at care facilities, individuals in clinical risk groups, individuals who are immunosuppressed and frontline workers. (Reuters)
U.S. healthcare providers are increasingly encountering a virus that can cause seizures, meningitis and other severe illnesses in infants under 3 months old. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notified doctors and public health departments that cases of parechovirus have been seen in newborns and infants since May. (NBC News)
