Omicron sub-variant makes up 23.1% of COVID variants in U.S. - CDC According to the CDC's data, the sub-variant now makes up 39% of total cases in regions including New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands. In states such as Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Rhode Island, the sub-variant now makes up about 38.6% of total cases. U.S. daily cases have started to decline in recent weeks after touching record levels in January, with the CDC dramatically easing its COVID-19 guidelines for masks, including in schools. YahooNews

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Lasting depression and anxiety can follow severe case of Covid, study finds A large new study finds that mental health problems can be long-lasting, especially among patients who were bedridden for seven days or more. NBC News

Feelings of depression and anxiety can last nearly a year and a half after a serious bout of Covid-19, according to a study released Monday.

Medics and volunteers try to prop up Ukraine's health system When Russian bombs started falling on Kyiv, oncologist Nataliia Verovkina fled with her 10-year-old son. But once he was safe in Munich with his grandparents, she turned around and went back. Jennifer Rigby Reuters

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Covid cases rise in Europe as omicron subvariant spreads. Will the U.S. be next? Nearly half of European countries have recorded increases in new Covid cases over the last week. The U.S. could follow suit, but cases are still declining for now. NBC News

Nearly half of all European countries have recorded increases in new Covid-19 cases in the past week, according to an NBC News analysis of data from the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.

One-third of US child COVID deaths happened during Omicron surge Since the beginning of the year, 550 children in the US have died from COVID-19, compared with 1,017 kids over the preceding 22 months. New York Post

As many as a third of all child deaths from Covid in the US have occurred during the Omicron surge of the pandemic.

Children seem to be facing increasing risks from Covid-19 even as mask mandates drop across the country, and vaccination rates among children stall out at alarmingly low rates.

Long Covid patients, in search of relief, turn to private company

NBC News

A full two years into the coronavirus pandemic, long-haul Covid patients remain sick and in desperate search of answers. They've lost jobs. They've lost their sense of self. Many say they have lost faith in the medical community.

Despite multiple studies, the launch of dozens of specialized long Covid clinics and $1.15 billion in federal funding for the National Institutes of Health to study the condition, there remains a dearth of proven treatments for people who are suffering from lingering illness after their infection. 

"There is no one right answer for many of our patients," said Dr. Ben Abramoff, director of the Post-COVID Assessment and Recovery Clinic at Penn Medicine, which has seen more than 1,100 long Covid patients.

France lifts COVID-19 rules on unvaccinated, mask wearing PARIS (AP) — France lifted most COVID-19 restrictions on Monday, abolishing the need to wear face masks in most settings and allowing people who aren’t vaccinated back into restaurants, sports arenas and other venues. AP NEWS

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