Omicron Less Likely to Cause Long COVID, Data Suggest Odd of long COVID as high as 50% less during Omicron era Judy George medpagetoday

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About 4.5% of people who became infected with SARS-CoV-2 when Omicron was the dominant strain experienced long COVID symptoms, compared with 10.8% who became infected during the Delta period, reported Claire Steves, PhD, of King's College London in England, and co-authors...

Paxlovid Misses in Standard-Risk COVID-19 Trend toward advantage in secondary endpoint of hospitalization or death, but not significant Kristina Fiore medpagetoday

Updated findings from a nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (Paxlovid) trial in standard-risk COVID-19 suggest the antiviral's benefits are less clear for those not at high risk of severe outcomes.

WHO: COVID-19 deaths rise, reversing a 5-week decline GENEVA (AP) — After five weeks of declining coronavirus deaths, the number of fatalities reported globally increased by 4% last week, according to the World Health Organization. In its weekly assessment of the pandemic issued on Thursday, the U.N. AP NEWS

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WTO talks down to the wire with no major deals yet in sight GENEVA (AP) — Talks went down to the wire Thursday as the World Trade Organization was set to wrap up its first ministerial-level meeting in more than four years, with no firm deal so far on issues like food security , the fight against overfishing in the seas, and efforts to broaden access to COVID-19 vaccines. AP NEWS

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Florida is the only state to skip pre-ordering Covid-19 vaccines for kids Florida’s Department of Health is led by state Surgeon General Joe Ladapo, an outspoken skeptic of the Covid-19 vaccine. POLITICO

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The Florida Department of Health, through a statement, said Wednesday that it did not place an order with the federal government for vaccine doses for kids five and under in part because it doesn’t advise all children get vaccinated. The deadline for placing a pre-order was Tuesday and 49 other states met the cutoff date...

WHO to share vaccines to stop monkeypox amid inequity fears LONDON (AP) — The World Health Organization said it’s creating a new vaccine-sharing mechanism to stop the outbreak of monkeypox in more than 30 countries beyond Africa. AP NEWS

The move could result in the U.N. health agency distributing scarce vaccine doses to rich countries that can otherwise afford them.

COVID-19 hits a US plateau: Why aren’t cases going up or down? Coronavirus cases in the U.S. have hit a plateau of around 100,000 new cases per day with little indication on whether they will rise or fall in the coming weeks and months of summer.  The cur… iswanson The Hill

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Report dives into Latinos’ trust in science, representation in STEM A Pew Research survey reveals what many Hispanics think about health care and Covid, and how Latinos in science and math think they're perceived by non-Latinos. NBC News

Although Hispanics hold “largely trusting” views about scientists, about 6 in 10 feel Latino scientists aren’t visible enough in successful STEM jobs, according to survey results released Tuesday by the Pew Research Center...

FDA advisers vote in favor of authorizing Moderna Covid-19 vaccine for ages 6-17 Vaccine advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration decided unanimously Tuesday in favor of expanding the emergency use authorization of Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine to include older children and teens, ages 6 to 17, saying it would offer more benefits than risks. Jacqueline Howard, CNN CNN

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Opinion | We're Not Out of the Pandemic Woods Yet The end of the COVID emergency phase may be nearing, but we must remain vigilant Monica Gandhi, MD, MPH, and Michael Daignault, MD medpagetoday

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