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YOUR WEEKLY CHECKUP

This week: The monkeypox outbreak enters uncharted territory; experts weigh in whether you should wait for updated COVID boosters; an even newer Omicron subvariant is making waves; how "personalized" medicine could upend health care.

NIAID

How contagious is monkeypox—and should you get a vaccine? Here's the latest.

The disease, which is now global and spreading rapidly, is very different from the virus that causes COVID-19. It's much harder to transmit, but it can land patients in the hospital and even kill. Still, there are simple ways to lower your risk of infection. Here's what you need to know.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

ZOONOTIC DISEASES: 'Spillover' diseases are emerging faster than ever before—thanks to us +

A GRUESOME KILLER: Smallpox killed 3 in 10, until the first vaccines conquered it +

PHOTOGRAPH BY HANNAH BEIER, BLOOMBERG/GETTY IMAGES

Should you get a second COVID booster now, or wait for updated shots?

New Omicron variants are prompting vaccine-makers to tweak their formulas. Here's what the experts say about who needs additional boosters, and whether to hold off for the revised shots due in the fall.

ADVICE FROM THE EXPERTS

CRAFTY TWIN VARIANTS: What makes BA.4 and BA.5 different from previous variants? +

PHOTOGRAPH BY CRAIG CUTLER (HAND WITH CHIP); SAMUEL SANCES, CEDARS-SINAI (BACKGROUND)

‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ FROM THE ARCHIVES‌ ‌ ‌

Stunning advances in 'precision' medicine will transform your health care

The approach, built on gene research and data analytics, could upend the way medicine traditionally has been practiced: Rather than lump patients together under broad categories of diseases, precision, or personalized, medicine aims to tailor prevention, diagnosis, and treatment to a person's unique biochemical makeup. Here's how it works.

SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE

THE FUTURE OF MEDICINE: 12 innovations that will revolutionize medicine +

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE

NG STAFF

Scientists eyeing a new Omicron subvariant, BA.2.75

It's on the rise in India and has been reported in at least 10 other countries, including the U.S.

TRACKING COVID IN THE U.S.

PHOTOGRAPH BY STEPHANE MAHE, REUTERS

These Omicron variants are really good at what they do

More infectious than past strains, BA.4 and BA.5 can more easily escape antibodies in people who have been both vaccinated and boosted—and in people who had a previous COVID-19 infection.

SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE

COVID-19 reinfections may increase the likelihood of new health problems (CNN)

The secrets of COVID 'brain fog' are starting to lift (Wired)

Cancer drug greatly reduces deaths in hospitalized COVD patients (New York Times)

How long does COVID-19 linger in your body? New report offers clues.

MORE HEALTH NEWS

ILLUSTRATION BY CDC

What are flesh-eating bacteria, and how do you fight them?

Roughly a thousand people in the U.S. contract necrotizing fasciitis each year. Here’s what it does and how science is combating the bacterial threat.

Why sunscreen is not enough to prevent sunburns (BBC)

Acupuncture could reduce tension headaches by half (Washington Post)

Debunking myths about vasectomies as their popularity increases post-Roe (Washington Post)

Scientists look to people with Down syndrome to test Alzheimer's drugs (NPR)

Clinical trials for pig-to-human organ transplants inch closer (Nature)

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