FDA panel recommends move toward streamlined COVID vaccine approach CIDRAP

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) vaccine advisory group today (Thursday) recommended streamlining COVID-19 vaccine campaigns by offering just the newer bivalent (two-strain) versions of the vaccine for both primary and booster series.

The next worrisome coronavirus variant could come from China — will it get detected? Nature - Genomic surveillance is crucial for tracking the next ‘variant of concern’, but many countries are winding back their monitoring. Lewis, Dyani nature

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It remains crucial that variants be tracked, yet scientists question how quickly the next variant of concern will be detected as many countries wind down surveillance efforts.

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We are all playing Covid roulette. Without clean air, the next infection could permanently disable you | George Monbiot As rich people plough money into ventilation to protect themselves, those with long Covid are treated as an embarrassment, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot the Guardian

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Roche launches new test to detect fast spreading Omicron sub-variant Roche has launched a new PCR test to detect a fast-spreading sub-variant of the Omicron variant of Coronavirus, the Swiss drugmaker said on Thursday. Reuters Reuters

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UK to give COVID booster dose to higher-risk groups in autumn British health minister Steve Barclay said on Wednesday a COVID-19 booster vaccination would be offered in autumn this year for those at higher risk of severe disease. Reuters Reuters

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Updated boosters are cutting the risk of getting sick from Covid-19 by about half | CNN The updated Covid-19 boosters are cutting the risk that a person will get sick from the coronavirus by about half, even against infections caused by the rapidly spreading XBB.1.5 subvariant. Brenda Goodman CNN

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Setting the record straight: There is no 'Covid heart' In a world where success is measured by clicks, the idea that even mild cases of Covid-19 could pose a new and unprecedented threat to the heart took off, even though it was largely unsubstantiated. Patrick Skerrett STAT

After a year of frightening headlines, widespread concern, and countless retweets that the virus that causes Covid-19 may attack the heart more aggressively than any other viral illness, the verdict is in: It doesn’t.

The COVID vaccine success story as a springboard for future research CIDRAP

The harmonized approach and broad database created by the COVID-19 Prevention Network (CoVPN), or Operation Warp Speed (OWS), to rapidly develop life-saving SARS-CoV-2 vaccines can be harnessed for future research on other public health threats that require a speedy response, according to a special communication published yesterday in JAMA Network Open.

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China says COVID deaths, severe cases have fallen over 70% since peak Critically ill COVID-19 cases in China are down 72% from a peak early this month while daily deaths among COVID-19 patients in hospitals have dropped 79% from their peak, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday. Reuters Reuters

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