Hospitals in the US are the fullest they've been throughout the pandemic -- but it's not just Covid | CNN Hospitals are more full than they've been throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a CNN analysis of data from the US Department of Health and Human Services. But as respiratory virus season surges across the US, it's much more than Covid that's filling beds this year. Deidre McPhillips CNN

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Face masks come back to forefront amid triple threat of Covid-19, flu, RSV | CNN Months after most mask requirements have come to an end and many people have stopped wearing them, some of the nation's leading health experts are encouraging people to put their face masks back on -- but this time, it's not just because of Covid-19. Jacqueline Howard CNN

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WHO: COVID disruption resulted in 63,000 more malaria deaths The coronavirus pandemic interrupted efforts to control malaria, resulting in 63,000 additional deaths and 13 million more infections globally over two years, according to a report from the World Health Organization published Thursday. AP NEWS

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Cases of the parasitic disease went up in 2020 and continued to climb in 2021, though at a slower pace, the U.N. health agency said Thursday. About 95% of the world’s 247 million malaria infections and 619,000 deaths last year were in Africa.

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Vaccines are key to China’s zero-Covid exit but scepticism poses challenge Backing down from existing policies remains a political problem of the first order the Guardian

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COVID spread fears grow as China unwinds zero-tolerance curbs As many Chinese embraced new freedoms after Beijing dropped parts of its tough COVID regime, concerns mounted that the virus, which had largely been kept in check, could soon run wild. Brenda Goh,Ella Cao Reuters

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Senate report spotlights systemic problems behind early COVID response missteps The 242-page document is the latest to retrace early U.S. shortcomings to address the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak. CBS News

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While some of the details are new, the report's authors acknowledge several of their ultimate findings stem from systemic problems known long before President Donald Trump took office.

U.S. FDA authorizes Moderna, Pfizer updated COVID boosters for 6 months old The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday authorized updated COVID-19 booster shots from Moderna and Pfizer and its partner BioNTech for children as young as 6 months of age. Reuters Reuters

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Governor Hochul Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress Combating COVID-19 Governor Hochul updated New Yorkers on the state's progress combating COVID-19. Governor Kathy Hochul

From NY State government press satement:

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Omicron boosters are weaker against BQ.1.1 subvariant that is rising in U.S., study finds

Covid shots designed to protect against the omicron variant trigger a weaker immune response against the rapidly emerging BQ.1.1 subvariant than the previously dominant strain, according to a new lab study.

Scientists at the University of Texas Medical Branch, in a study published online Tuesday in Nature Medicine, found that the booster shots performed well against the BA.5 subvariant they were designed to target.

Study spotlights disparities in COVID-19 clinical trials | CIDRAP

A study yesterday in JAMA Internal Medicine shows women and racial minorities were underrepresented in both COVID-19 clinical treatment trials and in disease prevention trials.

The research was conducted by a team from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, as well researchers from Beijing and London.