HHS Announces Actions to Counter Biological Threats, Enhance Pandemic Preparedness, and Achieve Health Security

U.S. committee recommends COVID shot for CDC's free vaccine program An expert committee on Wednesday recommended that COVID-19 shots become part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) vaccine program for children, which provides many types of free inoculations to millions of kids each year. Reuters Reuters

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WHO says COVID-19 is still a global health emergency The World Health Organization said on Wednesday that COVID-19 remains a global emergency, nearly three years after it was first declared as one. Reuters Reuters

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Black, Hispanic and American Indian/Alaska Native adults more likely to be hospitalized for flu and less likely to be vaccinated, CDC report finds | CNN Black, American Indian/Alaska Native and Hispanic adults are more likely than their White peers to be hospitalized for the flu, but less likely to be vaccinated against it, a new report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds. Carma Hassan CNN

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WHO advises using 1 dose of cholera vaccine due to shortage GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization and its partners are recommending that countries temporarily switch to using a single dose of the cholera vaccine instead of two due to a supply shortage as outbreaks of the water-borne disease surge globally. AP NEWS

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U.S. FDA authorizes Novavax's COVID vaccine as booster for adults The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday authorized Novavax Inc's COVID-19 vaccine as a booster for adults, helping the company's shares reverse course and rise more than 3%. Reuters Reuters

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Opinion: Paxlovid coverage wrongly suggests the experts blew it again on Covid-19 | CNN The tone of reports about Paxlovid's interactions with other drugs is alarming, says Kent Sepkowitz. It seems to imply experts have exposed the world to another of their mistakes -- a view describing much of the criticism to the pandemic response. Kent Sepkowitz CNN

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COVID-19 contributed to a quarter of maternal deaths from 2020 to 2021, report finds Maternal deaths saw a sharp rise in 2020 and 2021, according to the CDC. A new report examines how many were due to COVID-19. YahooNews

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The report released Wednesday morning by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan government auditing agency, details maternal mortality disparities during the pandemic and how the virus contributed to overall maternal deaths.

Whites now more likely to die from covid than Blacks: Why the pandemic shifted As the pandemic progressed, the damage done by the coronavirus broadened, and the toxicity of modern-day politics came to the fore. Washington Post

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Harvard announces new bivalent COVID booster requirement Are other Mass. schools soon to follow? Clara McCourt Boston.com

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Moderna says Omicron booster response stays high through 3 months Moderna Inc said on Wednesday its COVID-19 vaccine booster targeting the BA.1 subvariant of Omicron generated a strong immune response against that variant, with antibody levels staying high for at least three months. Reuters Reuters

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