Appeals court OKs Biden federal employee vaccine mandate NEW ORLEANS (AP) — President Joe Biden’s requirement that all federal employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 was upheld Thursday by a federal appeals court. In a 2-1 ruling, a panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court and ordered dismissal of a lawsuit challenging the mandate. AP NEWS

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COVID cases rise again in half the states While case numbers for the U.S. as a whole are still dropping, a growing number of states have seen their own numbers being to rise again. Tina Reed,Kavya Beheraj Axios

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Half of the states are seeing COVID case numbers rise again while nationwide totals continue to fall.

The big picture: The Omicron subvariant known as BA.2 is the dominant strain circulating around the U.S., accounting for almost three out of every four cases.

German lawmakers reject mandatory COVID shots for over 60s BERLIN (AP) — German lawmakers on Thursday rejected a bill requiring all people 60 and over in the country to be vaccinated against coronavirus — a compromise solution the government had hoped would get a parliamentary majority. AP NEWS

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Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his health minister originally called for a vaccine mandate to apply to all adults in Germany, but some government lawmakers and most of the opposition had balked at the idea. ...

Nursing home care, funding system need overhaul, report says NEW YORK (AP) — Nursing home residents are subjected to ineffective care and poor staffing, while facility finances are shrouded in secrecy and regulatory lapses go unenforced, according to a report Wednesday that called for wholesale changes in an industry whose failures have been spotlighted by the pandemic. AP NEWS

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