U.S. seeks 250,000 mentors, tutors to address pandemic learning loss The Biden administration on Tuesday will launch a new effort to recruit 250,000 mentors and tutors to help students who have fallen back in their learning during the coronavirus pandemic, the White House said. Jeff Mason Reuters

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Novavax expects COVID vaccine targeting Omicron in fourth quarter Novavax Inc said on Friday it expects to provide a COVID-19 vaccine targeting Omicron in the fourth quarter as it accelerates development of shots to protect against the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants. Reuters Reuters

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Monkeypox cases triple in Europe, WHO says, Africa concerned LONDON (AP) — The World Health Organization's Europe chief warned Friday that monkeypox cases in the region have tripled in the last two weeks and urged countries to do more to ensure the previously rare disease does not become entrenched on the continent. AP NEWS

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And African health authorities said they are treating the expanding monkeypox outbreak as an emergency, calling on rich countries to share limited supplies of vaccines to avoid equity problems seen during the COVID-19 pandemic. ...

Army Reserve, Guard members who refused COVID vaccine banned from drills, About 40,000 members of the Army National Guard are not fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. YahooNews

The 40,000 members of the Army National Guard who are not fully vaccinated against the coronavirus after the deadline will not be allowed to participate in federal training, forfeiting future paychecks.

Improve CDC's quarantine stations to prevent the next pandemic Quarantine stations in U.S. ports of entry are a first line of defense against infectious diseases that threaten the country's national and global wellbeing. It's past time to upgrade and expand them. Patrick Skerrett STAT

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COVID Vax Protects People of All Body Weights From Severe Outcomes Underweight, overweight, and those with obesity still reaped the benefits Kristen Monaco medpagetoday

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COVID-19 vaccines protected against severe disease and death in people with overweight or obesity, a large English study found.

New York City's COVID test positivity rate surpasses 10% for the first time since January Data from the New York City health department shows the COVID test positivity rate has surpassed 10% for the first time since late January. ABC News ABC News

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COVID cases up by more than 30% in Britain last week LONDON (AP) — The number of new coronavirus cases across Britain has surged by more than 30% in the last week, new data showed Friday, with cases largely driven by the super infectious omicron variants. AP NEWS

Data released by Britain’s Office for National Statistics showed that more than 3 million people in the U.K. had COVID-19 last week, although there has not been an equivalent spike in hospitalizations. The number of COVID-19 deaths also fell slightly in the last week.

Russia scraps remaining COVID restrictions Russia said on Friday it was ending all restrictions to combat the spread of COVID-19, including the requirement to wear masks, citing a steady decline in deaths from the virus. Reuters Reuters

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A Florida man is accused of $2.5 million COVID-19 relief fraud A 34-year-old man was charged with one count of wire fraud after being accused of filing a fraudulent loan application in 2020. NPR.org

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Vinicius Santana, 34, a former Massachusetts resident, submitted four Paycheck Protection Program loan applications for the paint company he owned through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in 2020, according to the U.S. Justice Department.

2 accused of fraud in applying for $5M in CARES Act loans CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Two men have been indicted by a federal grand jury in New Hampshire on multiple fraud charges alleging that they falsely applied for $5 million in federal CARES Act loans for companies and misused some of the proceeds, including one man's purchase of a Rolls Royce. AP NEWS

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One man was based in Northwood, New Hampshire, and the other initially was in the state and later moved to Irvine, California, according to court documents....

Omicron-specific COVID shots could increase protection as boosters - EMA Coronavirus vaccines tweaked to include the Omicron variant strain can improve protection when used as a booster, the European Medicines Agency and other global health regulators said on Friday. Reuters Reuters

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Canada official warns of possible COVID resurgence ahead OTTAWA (AP) — Canada’s chief public health officer is warning of a possible COVID-19 resurgence in the fall and winter. Theresa Tam said Thursday the circulating omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 are even more transmissible and able to evade immunity than previous versions, making a rise in cases likely in coming weeks. AP NEWS

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U.S. Supreme Court nixes religious challenge to New York vaccine mandate The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday declined to hear a challenge to New York's mandate that healthcare sector workers be vaccinated against COVID-19 brought by a group of doctors, nurses and others who objected on religious grounds. Andrew Chung Reuters

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