European Union starts drive to vaccinate children against COVID Six-year-old Johanna squeezed her eyes shut as she received her first coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday at the Bethesda children's hospital in the Hungarian capital Budapest. Clara-Laeila Laudette,Nathan Allen,Krisztina Freyo Reuters

...

Integrating Primary Care and Public Health to Save Lives | Report Integrating Primary Care and Public Health to Save Lives and Improve Practice During Public Health Crises: Lessons from COVID-19 Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security

The Center released a new report finding that the failure to bring primary care providers into a frontline role as responders to the COVID-19 pandemic, alongside the public health system, resulted in many missed opportunities. 

NIH study: Third dose of Moderna vaccine offers "substantial" improvement in protection against Omicron A third dose of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine offers protection against the Omicron variant that’s 20 times better than the antibody response of two doses, according to a study from the National Institutes of Health. By <a href="/profiles/aditi-sandal">Aditi Sangal</a>, <a href="/profiles/adrienne-vogt">Adrienne Vogt</a>, Melissa Macaya and Mike Hayes, CNN CNN

...

  Health and Human Services (HHS) Press release anouncing $9 Billion in Provider Relief Fund Payments to Support Health Care Providers Affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic

Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), announced the distribution of approximately $9 billion in Provider Relief Fund (PRF) Phase 4 payments to health care providers who have experienced revenue losses and expenses related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The average payment being announced today for small providers is $58,000, for medium providers is $289,000, and for large providers is $1.7 million. More than 69,000 providers in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and eight territories will receive Phase 4 payments. Payments will start to be made later this week.

Pennsylvania asks FEMA for help with COVID surge | AP News Pennsylvania asked the federal government on Wednesday to send health care workers to hospitals and nursing homes that are increasingly under stress from persistent staffing shortages and the latest COVID-19 surge. AP NEWS

...

Only about 1 in 6 people in the US are fully vaccinated and boosted Only about one in six people in the United States are fully vaccinated and boosted against Covid-19, leaving hundreds of millions at risk as the threat of the Omicron variant looms. By <a href="/profiles/aditi-sandal">Aditi Sangal</a>, <a href="/profiles/adrienne-vogt">Adrienne Vogt</a>, Melissa Macaya and Mike Hayes, CNN CNN

...

Appeals court reinstates some of Biden's health care worker mandate The 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals issued an order Wednesday reviving in some parts of the US the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for health care workers – effectively allowing the mandate to be enforced in about half of states. By <a href="/profiles/aditi-sandal">Aditi Sangal</a>, <a href="/profiles/adrienne-vogt">Adrienne Vogt</a>, Melissa Macaya and Mike Hayes, CNN CNN

...

Omicron to be dominant variant in EU by mid-January | AP News BRUSSELS (AP) — Omicron is expected to be the dominant coronavirus variant in the European Union's 27 nations by mid-January, the bloc's top official said Wednesday amid concerns that a dramatic rise in infections will leave Europe shrouded in gloom during the holiday season. AP NEWS

...