Window to control monkeypox may be closing in US | CIDRAP

In other testing news, Sonic Healthcare of Austin, Texas, is the fifth commercial lab to offer the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) non-variola orthopoxvirus, high-complexity NAAT polymerase chain reaction assay, or monkeypox test.

The Biden administration announced earlier this month that public partnerships with labs would increase testing capacity quickly across the country.

The federal government also announced another big purchase of Jynneos, the monkeypox vaccine, late last week. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said an additional 2.5 million doses would be entered into the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) in early 2023.

The purchase brings the federal government’s available supply of vaccine to treat monkeypox to nearly 7 million doses by mid-2023.

Since late May, HHS has made more than 300,000 doses available to states and territories.

The European Union has secured 54,000 more doses of Jynneos. The union has so far delivered around 25,000 doses to six member states, according to Reuters.

Europe continues to be the epicenter of the monkeypox outbreak. Globally, there are 13,094 confirmed cases of the disease, with Spain (2,835), Germany (1,924), and the United Kingdom (1,856) reporting the highest case counts.

Source: Window to control monkeypox may be closing in US | CIDRAP

35 years of Fender Mexico: a timeline | Guitar World

If you are reading this and you play an electric guitar, the chances are you will have at one point played an instrument that was made in Fender’s Mexican factory at Ensenada. (Baja California, Mexico)

The guitar world as we know it is being shaped by guitars to emerge from Fender Mexico; Ensenada is the production behemoth behind top-selling lines such as the Player, Player Plus, and the retro-inspired Vintera series.

But as this timeline shows, it wasn’t always thus. Located just over the border from the Corona factory in California, the Ensenada facility had humble origins, operating out of a converted church, before the intervention of Fender’s Japanese partner, Fujigen, help realize the potential of Fender Mexico.

Source: 35 years of Fender Mexico: a timeline | Guitar World

Cruise Ship Travel During COVID-19 | CDC

Do not travel or board a cruise ship if…

  • You are sick with COVID-19.
  • You tested positive for COVID-19 less than 5 days ago (day 0 is the day your symptoms started or the day your positive test sample was taken if you had no symptoms).
  • You had close contact with a person with COVID-19 in the past 5 days and are recommended to quarantine.
    • Get tested at least 5 days after your last close contact. Make sure your test result is negative and you remain without symptoms before traveling.
    • Properly wear a well-fitting mask when you are around others through day 10. If you are unable to wear a mask, you should not travel during this time.

Check with your cruise line regarding their policies.

 

Source: Cruise Ship Travel During COVID-19 | CDC

From What is Past

From Behind the Pen

Image Credit: sureight

“That which is has already been, and what is to be, has already been; And God requires an account of what is past.” -Ecclesiastes 3:15

        History. We read about it, hear about it, and have lived it, but have we truly paid attention and learned the critical lessons from it? Have we simply said that was in the past, from such an antiquated time? Or, do we become proactive, learning the lessons of times gone by, never to repeat those mistakes or any atrocities that can easily flare up again, which could destroy a culture, people, or the spirit?

        The past cannot be rewritten unless you are writing a novel or a fictional period-piece film. Nor can you sanitize atrocities of the past that came to seek, kill and destroy. We rise from the ashes to never again succumb…

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Rewilding progress in the Galápagos and around the world

Darcy Hitchcock

The Galápagos Islands are famous for unique species like the marine iguana. But Floreana Island lost many of their special species due to rats that likely came over on boats. So the community, nonprofits and the government are collaborating to remove nonnative species and reintroduce 13 native species from neighboring islands.

Efforts include protecting the Floreana giant tortoise which until recently had been thought to be extinct. That single creature can remake the land, eating this and not that, returning the island to a savanna, welcoming back other animals that belong there.

Similar efforts are happening around the world, people and nature collaborating for people and nature.

In Australia, reintroducing Tasmanian devils to the mainland will help engineer the entire ecosystem back to health and reduce the intensity of wildfires by helping native small mammals recover and forests to regenerate. In the Iberá wetlands of north-eastern Argentina, local communities have…

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