Biden team eyes end of Covid emergency declaration and shift in Covid team The Biden administration wants to lift the yearslong emergency declaration for the pandemic. But first, it needs to manage the latest Covid threat. YahooNews

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'COVID Isn't Over': Here's What Experts Expect The COVID-19 Pandemic To Be Like This Year With the rise of highly transmissible variants including XBB, experts warn COVID is far from over. But there are new tools to help and more research is underway. YahooNews

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Confirmed COVID-19 cases are currently nowhere near where they were during the last two winters in the U.S., but they are expected to rise. The current numbers reported are also believed to be lower than they actually are since more people are testing at home.

WHO backs mask wearing on long flights as new Omicron variant spreads Countries should consider recommending passengers wear masks on long-haul flights to counter the latest Omicron subvariant of COVID-19 given its rapid spread in the United States, World Health Organization (WHO) officials said on Tuesday. Natalie Grover Reuters

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China Covid: More than 88 million people in Henan infected, official says Some 89% of people in Henan province have been infected but visits to clinics have peaked. BBC News

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Chinese rush to renew passports as COVID border curbs lifted People joined long queues outside immigration offices in Beijing on Monday, eager to renew their passports after China dropped COVID border controls that had largely prevented its 1.4 billion residents from travelling for three years. Yew Lun Tian,Eduardo Baptista Reuters

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Studies detail Omicron immune protection after infection, vaccination One study looked at BA.5 infection after vaccination, while another examined vaccine effectiveness in children and adolescents. CIDRAP

A pair of new studies describe infection- and vaccine-conferred immunity against the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, with one showing that vaccinated people have good protection against BA.5 subvariant reinfection for at least 8 months after infection, and the other finding that the vaccine is 46% and 70% effective against infection and hospitalization, respectively, in children.

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CureVac says COVID vaccine produced immune response in early-stage trial Germany's CureVac AG said on Friday its second-generation COVID-19 vaccine produced virus-neutralizing antibodies against the BA.1 subvariant of Omicron, based on preliminary data from an early-stage trial. Reuters Reuters

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