Factbox: Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has tested positive for COVID-19, forcing him to cancel a planned trip to Tunisia to attend a key conference on African development, a person close to him said on Sunday. Reuters Reuters

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Which COVID boosters to take and when: a guide for the perplexed Nature - A diverse menu of vaccine options leaves people searching for the best route to protection. Ledford, Heidi nature

... the range of options, which will be available at different times, has left people wondering which vaccines to take, and when. “These are hard questions, and there are no real right answers,” says Kathryn Edwards, a paediatrician and director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Research Program at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

Nature asked specialists what evidence is on hand to help make the decision.  ...

FDA asks Pfizer to test second Paxlovid course in patients with COVID rebound The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has ordered Pfizer Inc to test the effects of an additional course of its antiviral Paxlovid among people who experience a rebound in COVID-19 after treatment, the regulator said on Friday. Reuters Reuters

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Serious adverse events rare after COVID-19 boosters in young kids A related study in South Korea shows waning vaccine effectiveness in teens. CIDRAP

Data collected from two vaccine safety surveillance programs in the first 10 weeks of administration of third doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 to US children aged 5 to 11 years show that serious adverse events were rare.

Over half of people infected with the omicron variant didn't know it, a study finds These undiagnosed infections could be a major factor in the rapid transmission of the omicron variant, the researchers said. NPR.org

The majority of people likely infected with the omicron variant that causes COVID-19 were not aware they contracted the virus, which likely played a role in the rapid spread of omicron, according to a study published this week.

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What the Inflation Reduction Act means for health care coverage About two-thirds of Americans now support such a guarantee, and the time has come to make it happen. cayala The Hill

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Anti-vax group in Europe thrives online, thwarts tech effort Troubled by the number of unvaccinated COVID-19 patients showing up at his hospital, the French doctor logged on to Facebook and uploaded a video urging people to get vaccinated. AP NEWS

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He was soon swarmed by dozens, then hundreds, then more than 1,000 hateful messages from an anti-vaccine extremist group known as V_V. The group, active in France and Italy, has harassed doctors and public health officials, vandalized government offices and tried to disrupt vaccine clinics. ...

WHO recommends use of two antibody drugs against Ebola The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday recommended two monoclonal antibody treatments against Ebola, saying the use of such drugs combined with better care had "revolutionised" the treatment of a disease once seen as a near-certain killer. Reuters Reuters

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US offers extra monkeypox vaccine doses for gay pride events NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. is setting aside an extra 50,000 doses of monkeypox vaccine for places with upcoming gay pride events, health officials said Thursday. The number of doses sent to each place will be based on factors like the size of the event, how many health workers will be available to give shots, and how many of the attendees are considered at highest risk for catching the virus. AP NEWS

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WHO: World coronavirus cases fall 24%; deaths rise in Asia LONDON (AP) — New coronavirus cases reported globally dropped nearly a quarter in the last week while deaths fell 6% but were still higher in parts of Asia, according to a report Thursday on the pandemic by the World Health Organization. AP NEWS

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At a press briefing Wednesday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said reported coronavirus deaths over the past month have surged 35%, and noted there had been 15,000 deaths in the past week.