RSV and COVID Killed At Least 44,000 People Last Year
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) led to 190,000-350,000 hospitalizations and 10,000-3,000 deaths between July 2024-June 2025, a new CDC report found. The CDC also estimated that COVID-19 hospitalized 290,000-450,000 Americans, 34,000-53,000 of whom died. People age 75 and older faced by far the highest risk of hospitalization from COVID-19 of any age group. The age groups most vulnerable to RSV hospitalization were babies younger than 2 years old and adults age 75 and up.
Full Story: CIDRAP
Many Gut Microbiome Kits Are Flawed, Study Finds
Your gut microbiome is important to your immune system and your overall health. Looking to improve their wellness, some Americans turned to at-home gut-microbiome test kits. A new study warns that these tests are not all made equal, and that the reports should be read with a critical eye. The researchers examined 21 at-home gut microbiome tests offered by 7 companies. The researchers used the same exact stool sample for each of the kits, yet the results varied widely across the different tests. Furthermore, when the investigators send three identical samples to the same company for testing, one sample came back as “unhealthy” while the others were deemed “healthy”.
The researchers concluded that flawed sampling, processing and analysis techniques probably the discrepancies. The bottom line is that consumers should be careful when choosing to use an at-home kit and interpreting the results.
Full Story: HealthDay
