State lawmakers are pushing for vaccine exemptions even as childhood vaccination rates fall Vaccination bills are popping up in more than 15 states as lawmakers aim to potentially resurrect or create new religious exemptions from immunization mandates, establish state-level vaccine injury databases or dictate what providers must tell patients about the shots. AP News

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US flu markers show more rises as COVID levels decline Test positivity for flu rose to 25%, with emergency department visits very high and affecting all age-groups. CIDRAP

In its regular weekly snapshot on respiratory virus activity, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that illness levels remain high, mainly due to impacts from the flu season.

Analysis shows significant financial burden of long COVID in US Approximately 93% to 95% of these costs come from productivity losses. CIDRAP

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Using current estimates of US long-COVID burden (assuming the probability of long COVID is 6% and symptoms last 1 year), cases cost an average of $2.01 billion annually. The economic burden of long COVID already surpasses that of carpal tunnel, Lyme disease, and psoriasis, the authors said, and is likely to continue to grow.

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