As Covid-19 cases fall and masks come off, flu cases are rising After circulating at nearly nonexistent levels last year, influenza is increasing in most of the United States. Jacqueline Howard, CNN CNN

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While flu activity has been increasing in most places across the country, the highest levels have been recorded in the central and south-central regions of the United States, according to the CDC. ...

Shanghai starts China's biggest COVID-19 lockdown in 2 years BEIJING (AP) — China began its most extensive coronavirus lockdown in two years Monday to conduct mass testing and control a growing outbreak in Shanghai as questions are raised about the economic toll of the nation's “zero-COVID” strategy. AP NEWS

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Shanghai, China’s financial capital and largest city with 26 million people, had managed its smaller previous outbreaks with limited lockdowns of housing compounds and workplaces where the virus was spreading.

FDA expected to OK additional Covid-19 booster shots for adults over 50 next week The Biden administration is expected to give older adults the option of getting a second Covid-19 vaccine booster as early as next week. Brenda Goodman, CNN CNN

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The use of at-home coronavirus tests jumped during the Omicron wave, but disparities remain, a survey suggests

The use of at-home coronavirus tests surged during the winter Omicron wave in the United States, with white, high-income and highly educated people most likely to report using the tests, an online survey of U.S. adults suggests.

Between Dec. 19 and March 12, 20.1 percent of survey respondents who said they had symptoms consistent with Covid-19 reported using an at-home test, up from 5.7 percent between late August and early December, when Delta was the predominant coronavirus variant in the United States....

Lessons from the COVID data wizards Nature - Data dashboards have been an important part of pandemic response and planning. What have their developers learnt about communicating science in a crisis? Peeples, Lynne nature

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Almost 2 in 5 Covid-19 researchers have faced harassment, survey finds Harassment of researchers and public health officials during the pandemic has become a growing concern and a focus for professional organizations. NBC News

Nearly 2 in 5 Covid-19 researchers reported they had been harassed since the pandemic began, according to a new survey published Thursday in Science.