How Wildfires Kill People The deadly wildfire in Lahaina, Hawaii, has killed dozens of people so far. Here’s how fires threaten human health Tanya Lewis Scientific American

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Scientific American spoke with Vanessa Kerry, the World Health Organization’s special envoy for climate change and health and CEO of Seed Global Health, about the ways that wildfires kill and the need to take action to prevent and prepare for them.

[An edited transcript of the interview follows.]

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How Maui’s wildfires became so apocalyptic A large hurricane, drought, and perhaps even invasive grasses have fueled the devastating fires in Hawaii. Benji Jones Vox

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Older discharged COVID patients at twice the risk of death as older flu patients, study finds US Navy, Ryan M. Breeden / Flickr cc CIDRAP

Older adults who are hospitalized for COVID-19 have double the rate of death upon discharge as older adults hospitalized for influenza-related complications, according to a new study in The BMJ.

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Long COVID is devastating and far from rare. As infections rise again, why are we still ignoring it? As COVID cases rise once again, we are unprepared for the "mass disabling" event caused by long COVID Yahoo News

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COVID-19 took a toll on heart health and doctors are still grappling with how to help COVID-19 has taken a toll on the nation's heart health but how profound is only starting to emerge. Heart attack deaths spiked early in the pandemic, erasing years of progress in battling cardiovascular disease. AP News

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Hawaii wildfires: How did the Maui fire start and what we know about the Lahaina blaze? Wildfires on Hawaii's Maui island and Big Island have killed at least 55 people, forced thousands of residents and tourists to evacuate, and devastated the historic resort city of Lahaina. Here are some key questions and answers about the disaster. Jonathan Oatis Reuters

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Don’t Get Your Next COVID Booster Quite Yet An uptick in COVID-19 cases and the fast-approaching new school year have many people wondering when they should get their next booster. The short answer, according to experts: not quite yet — you will be a lot better off if you wait another month or two. In June, an advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration recommended that the next COVID vaccine formulation target the omicron XBB.1.5 variant. Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax are now working to update, test and mass-produce their vaccines, Yahoo News

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Global Covid cases up 80% as new subvariant rises The number of new Covid-19 cases reported worldwide rose by 80 percent in the last month, the World Health Organization said on Friday, days after designating a new "variant of interest". France 24

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Many of the new cases came in the Western Pacific region, which saw infections jump by 137 percent, the WHO said.

Several countries in the Northern Hemisphere, including the United States, United Kingdom, France and Japan have seen a summer uptick in cases in recent weeks.

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