Vaccine may limit long-COVID impact, studies show, but controlled trials needed CIDRAP

Two new observational studies suggest that COVID-19 vaccination lowers long-COVID incidence and severity, although the authors of a related commentary say trials comparing vaccination with a placebo are needed. The research was published yesterday in BMJ Medicine.

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WHO urges assistance to African nations facing cholera KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — A World Health Organization official in Africa is urging more support to countries facing cholera outbreaks, saying the disease has the potential to "quickly explode" as rainfall persists in some areas. AP NEWS

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Cholera has been reported in 12 of Africa’s 54 countries. South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe are the latest to detect cases. Malawi, with hundreds of cholera deaths, faces its worst outbreak ever.

Biden pushes for $1.6B funding for pandemic fraud measures President Joe Biden's administration is asking Congress to approve more than $1.6 billion to help clean up the mess of fraud against the massive government coronavirus pandemic relief programs . AP NEWS

...In a strategy announced Thursday, the administration called for money and more time to prosecute cases, to put into place new ways to prevent identity theft and to help people whose identities were stolen. ..

81% of toilet samples from US-bound planes had Omicron RNA CIDRAP

Two new studies from Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report highlight new findings about air travel amid COVID-19, with one showing that 81% of wastewater samples from airplane restrooms had SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant genetic material in fall 2022, and the other suggesting that predeparture testing of international travelers was tied to a 52% lower positivity rate at arrival in the United States.

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Los Angeles ringleader of $18M COVID fraud scheme extradited LOS ANGELES (AP) — A leader of a Los Angeles-based fraud ring that stole $18 million in COVID-19 aid money was extradited Monday from Europe to the United States, where she could face more than a decade in prison, authorities said. AP NEWS

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Dadyan, her sister, brother-in-law and five others fraudulently applied for about 150 relief loans intended to help businesses and employees struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown, federal prosecutors said.

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NY COVID vaccine mandate for health workers remains in effect after court issues stay An Appeals Court issued a stay temporarily halting enforcement of a lower court's ruling that NY's COVID vaccine mandate was null, void. What to know YahooNews

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Covid-19 surveillance added new burdens on essential workers — and gave them little data to protect their health Surveillance technologies deployed during the Covid-19 pandemic added new burdens on essential workers — and gave them little data to protect their health. Ambar Castillo STAT

At the peak of the pandemic, essential workers faced rampant tech-based surveillance, from overhead infrared thermometers to wearables that tracked their proximity to one another.

CDC warns about a rise in almost untreatable stomach bug infections The CDC is warning about a rise in an almost untreatable stomach bug, the bacterial infection Shigella, which is a major cause of inflammatory diarrhea. YahooNews

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The agency calls the new form of the stomach bug, which causes the diarrheal condition known as shigellosis, a “serious public health threat.” Evidence suggests the illness is spreading among gay and bisexual men in particular, apparently through sexual contact, both in the U.S. and abroad.

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FDA panel narrowly backs Pfizer RSV vaccine for older adults WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal health advisers on Tuesday narrowly backed an experimental vaccine from Pfizer that could soon become the first shot to protect older adults against the respiratory illness known as RSV. AP NEWS

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The Food and Drug Administration panel voted 7-4 on two separate questions of whether Pfizer’s data showed the vaccine was safe and effective against the respiratory virus for people 60 and older. One panelist abstained from voting. The recommendation is non-binding and the FDA will make its own decision on the vaccine in the coming months.

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Pandemic food assistance that held back hunger comes to an end Millions of people who depend on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program known as SNAP will see a cut of $90 a month or more. Some recipients say it will make it harder to buy healthy food. NPR

Millions of Americans will have less to spend on groceries as emergency food assistance that Congress enacted early in the pandemic has ended.