FDA advisory panel to discuss additional COVID booster shots in April A Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel will meet April 6 to discuss COVID-19 vaccine booster doses, the agency announced Monday. Nathaniel Weixel TheHill

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The meeting comes amid a renewed debate about who might need booster shots and the broader goals of the U.S. vaccination campaign. ...

Is There Any Way To Reduce Your Risk Of Long COVID If You Get Sick? Here's what experts know right now about preventing or treating long-haul symptoms following a coronavirus infection. YahooNews

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 ...given the nature of extremely contagious respiratory viruses such as SARS-CoV-2, infectious disease specialists say that most of us will, at some point, get infected. And as the reality of living with endemic COVID sets in, many of us have grown increasingly concerned about getting long COVID if and when that infection occurs.

Long COVID study indicates “something concerning is happening”

Two new studies are reporting on an ongoing long COVID research project investigating the persistent effects of COVID-19 on cognition in the months after acute disease. The University of Cambridge-led research found many long COVID patients are experiencing significant and measurable memory or concentration impairments even after mild illness.

“Long COVID has received very little attention politically or medically,” said Lucy Cheke, senior author on the new studies. “It urgently needs to be taken more seriously, and cognitive issues are an important part of this. When politicians talk about ‘Living with COVID’ – that is, unmitigated infection, this is something they ignore.”

The new findings come from an ongoing project called The COVID and Cognition Study (COVCOG). The study recruited nearly 200 COVID-19 patients across late 2020/early 2021 and around the same amount of demographically matched uninfected controls. The goal was to “map the terrain” of cognition in post-acute COVID-19.

How Is the U.S. Watching for the Next COVID Variant? While sequencing efforts are better than before, experts say there's a long way to go Sophie Putka medpagetoday

The only certain thing about the future of SARS-CoV-2 variants is that nothing is certain -- but researchers in the U.S. are doing their best to keep an eye out for the next troublesome variant, even in the face of numerous challenges.

As picture of Covid vaccine durability gets clearer, J&J makes a strong showing This week, Pfizer and Moderna asked the FDA to authorize fourth doses of their vaccines. Meanwhile, a new study shows protection from one J&J shot lasts at least six months. NBC News

When the early Covid vaccine trial results came out, an important indicator of success couldn’t yet be assessed: durability. 

10 JetBlue, American Airlines, and Southwest pilots are suing the CDC over the federal mask mandate, saying it encourages unruly behavior and 'impairs pilots' health' A small group of pilots working for major US airlines have launched legal action to try to end the requirement for masks to be worn on planes. YahooNews

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