Could old coronavirus variants ever come back? The virus is evolving through a "continual game of cat and mouse between the virus and our immune systems," an epidemiologist explained. YahooNews

What happened to the variants that once wreaked havoc? “For all intents and purposes, we can consider them gone,” said David Dowdy, an epidemiology professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

The pandemic has irreversibly changed America’s health care system. Here’s why we will all be feeling the consequences of delayed care for years to come Elective surgery delays can be detrimental in both preventive and curative care, allowing disease progression or leading to premature death. YahooFinance

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COVID is still killing people every day. But its main victims have changed. - The Boston Globe Since the end of the first Omicron wave last March, white people in Massachusetts are more likely to die from COVID than Black or Hispanic people. BostonGlobe.com

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Mpox still circulating more than you'd think, from hot spot in Mexico to cluster of cases in Canada | CBC News The World Health Organization made the call this week to maintain mpox as a public health emergency — and later noted the number of new cases reported globally increased by 70 per cent from the week before. A cluster of cases in Toronto, too, offers a reminder that transmission is still simmering. CBC

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XBB.1.5 Omicron subvariant now dominant in all US regions CIDRAP

In its new variant estimates today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the XBB.1.5 Omicron subvariant is now dominant the northwestern region, making it the most

Also, the more transmissible variant expanded its footprint in areas where it already dominates, and in the United States as a whole, it accounts for an estimated 80.2% of samples, up steadily from 74.7% the previous week.

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OIG Finds Failings with Project Airbridge, FEMA’s COVID-19 Response - HS Today OIG said the project’s $238 million may have been better spent on other COVID-19 initiatives. OIG said the project’s $238 million may have been better spent on other COVID-19 initiatives. Kylie Bielby Hstoday

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Ukrainian grain shipments drop as ship backups grow LONDON (AP) — The amount of grain leaving Ukraine has dropped even as a U.N.-brokered deal works to keep food flowing to developing nations, with inspections of ships falling to half what they were four months ago and a backlog of vessels growing as Russia's invasion nears the one-year mark. AP NEWS

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Health care vaccine mandate remains as some push for an end LOWRY CITY, Mo. (AP) — At Truman Lake Manor in rural Missouri, every day begins the same way for every employee entering the nursing home's doors — with a swab up the nose, a swirl of testing solution and a brief wait to see whether a thin red line appears indicating a positive COVID-19 case. AP NEWS

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COVID increases your risk for cardiac complications—immediately and into the future, experts say. Here’s how you can protect your heart Long COVID isn’t the only opportunity for the virus to wreak havoc later on. YahooFinance

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With COVID here to stay, what can the average person do to protect their heart?

Keeping heart-healthy pre-COVID looks largely the same during COVID, Dr. Michelle Albert, president of the American Heart Association, tells Fortune.

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For poor schools, building repairs zap COVID relief money JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The air-conditioning gave out as students returned from summer break last year to Jim Hill High School in Jackson, Mississippi, forcing them to learn in sweltering heat. By Thanksgiving, students were huddling under blankets because the heat wasn’t working. Along the way students dealt with broken showers in locker rooms, plumbing issues and a litany of other problems in the nearly 60-year-old school building. “There’s been... MSN

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U.S. to select 10 costliest drugs for Medicare pricing negotiation The U.S. government will select the 10 costliest prescription medicines to Medicare for negotiating prices with drugmakers starting early next year, the program's top official said on Friday. Ahmed Aboulenein Reuters

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... While some people avoided seeking medical care during the worst of the pandemic, worried about the risk of infection or unable to get an appointment because hospitals and doctors were overwhelmed, now many are finding that inflation and the uncertain economy have thrown up another barrier.