Studies: COVID vaccines effective, with limited waning In 1 of the 3 studies, vaccination was 98% protective against ICU stay and life support in teens. CIDRAP

A trio of new studies yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine report encouraging results on the effectiveness and durability of protection of COVID-19 vaccines against hospitalization and death, including teens.

Early in the pandemic, nurses were celebrated as heroes, with nightly symphonies of clapping or banging pots and pans. Now, many are being asked to go into work despite positive Covid tests — or they say they are being told they must use their vacation and sick days to stay home when they contract the coronavirus.

“You’re talking about a group of people who sat at bedsides — not one a night, multiple, because we were consistently losing people. We were holding the iPads as people said their last goodbyes,” said Ana Bergeron, a registered nurse who is the president of a local union affiliate. “I can’t tell you how sick it makes me now being called a hero, because that’s not how we’re being treated by our employers.”​​

Mask rules get tighter in Europe in winter's COVID-19 wave | AP News ROME (AP) — To mask or not to mask is a question Italy settled early in the COVID-19 outbreak with a vigorous “yes." Now the onetime epicenter of the pandemic in Europe hopes even stricter mask rules will help it beat the latest infection surge. AP NEWS

... Other countries are taking similar action as the more transmissible — yet, apparently, less virulent — omicron variant spreads through the continent.

When will this COVID surge end? Scientists search your sewage for clues As COVID-19 and the omicron variant spread across the country, scientists are increasingly testing raw sewage to track trends. YahooNews

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How often can you safely reuse your KN95 or N95 mask? President Biden said Thursday his administration will soon announce plans to get free high-quality masks in the hands of millions of Americans. Washington Post

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Teachers confront half-empty classrooms as virus surges | AP News Teachers around the U.S. are confronting classrooms where as many as half of students are absent because they have been exposed to COVID-19 or their families kept them at home out of concern about the surging coronavirus. AP NEWS

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