Losing Smell and Taste to COVID-19 Linked to Lower Reinfection Risk After a mild COVID-19 infection, people who lost smell or taste were twice as likely to have antibodies that may protect against reinfection. EverydayHealth.com

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US deaths fell this year, but not to pre-COVID levels NEW YORK (AP) — The number of U.S. deaths dropped this year, but there are still more than there were before the coronavirus hit. Preliminary data — through the first 11 months of the year — indicates 2022 will see fewer deaths than the previous two COVID-19 pandemic years. AP NEWS

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If the decline does hold, it will still be a far cry from where the nation was before the coronavirus appeared. This year’s count is likely to end up at least 13% higher than what it was in 2019.

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Lagging booster rates raise fears over deadly winter in nursing homes COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations are on the rise, posing a major threat to nursing home residents and staff who are not up to date on their COVID-19 vaccinations. Less than half of all nurs… iswanson The Hill

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Omicron BQ, XBB subvariants are a serious threat to boosters and knock out antibody treatments, study finds