Pfizer more than doubles price of lifesaving Covid-19 medication Paxlovid as US transitions out of pandemic phase | CNN The price of the lifesaving Covid-19 antiviral medication Paxlovid will more than double as the United States transitions out of the emergency phase of the pandemic, drugmaker Pfizer said Wednesday. Meg Tirrell CNN

The list price, before insurance, will be $1,390 for a five-day course, Pfizer said in a statement. That’s 2.6 times higher than the $530-per-course price paid by the US government, which provided Paxlovid free to patients during the pandemic. The Wall Street Journal first reported the new price.

Covid Relief Payments Triggered Feds to Demand Money Back From Social Security Recipients - KFF Health News Some Social Security beneficiaries say the government is clawing back benefits after they received covid stimulus payments that were supposed to be exempt from asset limits. khngabeb KFF Health News

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“The government gave this money to them with one hand. They should not be trying to take it back with the other,” said Jen Burdick, an attorney at Community Legal Services of Philadelphia who has helped many people contest repayment demands.

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Changing nature of Covid: Is it just a regular winter bug now? There were more flu deaths than Covid ones last winter - but for some, the fear remains. Why? BBC News

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there is a much more seasonal pattern to the virus, with a long lull during spring and summer.

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Kaiser workers tentatively end historic strike Presented by Otsuka — The largest health care labor dispute in US history has come to an end{beacon} Health Care Health Care  The Big Story  Kaiser workers tentatively end historic strik… emartin The Hill

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The new deal would raise wages by 21 percent over four years and establish a minimum wage of $25 an hour in California and $23 an hour in other states where Kaiser Permanente operates, the unions said.