U.S. seeks to expand monkeypox testing as cases rise U.S. health officials are working to expand capabilities to test for monkeypox beyond a narrow group of public health labs, heeding calls from infectious disease experts who say testing for the virus needs to become part of routine care. Julie Steenhuysen Reuters

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US lifts COVID-19 test requirement for international travel WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is lifting its requirement that international travelers test negative for COVID-19 within a day before boarding a flight to the United States, ending one of the last remaining government mandates designed to contain the spread of the coronavirus. AP NEWS

A senior administration official said Friday that the mandate will expire early Sunday morning.

COVID in Pregnancy Linked to Infant Neurodevelopmental Problems Association was particularly strong for third trimester exposure James Lopilato medpagetoday

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Trials of new Covid vaccine raise hopes of once-a-year booster Moderna shot is said to produce eightfold increase in antibody levels against Omicron in first four weeks the Guardian

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Partly Cloudy With A 75 Percent Chance Of COVID Exposure It’s 6:30 a.m. and your third alarm is blaring. Another 10 minutes and you’ll have to miss breakfast before going to work. You get up, brush your teeth, shower … Betsy Ladyzhets FiveThirtyEight

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Will monkeypox spread as fast as COVID? As monkeypox spreads quickly throughout the U.S., might it start a new pandemic? amartichoux The Hill

Key differences between the viruses make that unlikely. In a media briefing Tuesday, Dr. Tom Inglesby, director of The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, outlined some of those differences.

While monkeypox can spread through respiratory droplets, Inglesby explained, evidence suggests spread is happening through close contact.

China COVID jitters flare up as parts of Shanghai resume lockdown Shanghai and Beijing went back on fresh COVID-19 alert on Thursday after parts of China's largest economic hub imposed new lockdown restriction and the city announced a round of mass testing for millions of residents. David Stanway,Ryan Woo Reuters

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Officials: Millions of COVID-19 shots ordered for youngest NEW YORK (AP) — Millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses have been ordered for small children in anticipation of possible federal authorization next week, White House officials say. The government allowed pharmacies and states to start placing orders last week, with 5 million doses initially available — half of them shots made by Pfizer and the other half the vaccine produced by Moderna , senior administration officials said. AP NEWS

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Homeless and incarcerated people in Minnesota struggled to access Covid vaccines Homeless and incarcerated people had significantly lower Covid vaccination rates than others in Minnesota, according to a new study. Kate Sheridan STAT

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POLITICO-Harvard poll: Majority of Americans support more Covid aid for the uninsured At the same time, more than six in 10 respondents believe that more congressional spending on Covid aid will contribute to inflation. POLITICO

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US has a "very serious" problem with Covid-19 vaccine uptake The United States has a "very serious" problem with Covid-19 vaccination uptake, a top health official has warned. Ivana Kottasová and Hafsa Khalil, CNN CNN

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White House shifts COVID-19 funds due to stalemate on new money The White House said Wednesday it is cutting funds from some areas of its COVID-19 response in order to shift money to vaccines and treatments, given that new funding remains stalled in Congress.  … lvella The Hill

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In the shift, $5 billion will go towards buying updated vaccines for the fall, $4.9 billion will go towards buying an additional 10 million courses of the Pfizer treatment Paxlovid and $300 million will go to buying more monoclonal antibody treatments...

WHO: COVID cases and deaths falling nearly everywhere GENEVA (AP) — The number of new coronavirus cases and deaths reported globally fell everywhere except the Middle East and Southeast Asia last week, according to a World Health Organization weekly report released Wednesday. AP NEWS

In its latest weekly update on the pandemic, the U.N. health agency said confirmed cases dropped 12% to more than 3 million and reported deaths declined 22% to about 7,600.