In drawn-out recovery, NYC inches out from COVID's shadow NEW YORK (AP) — As kids returned to school last month, people watching New York City pull itself out of COVID-19's shadow wondered whether workers who fled Manhattan's office towers during the pandemic would finally return in a rush, too. AP NEWS

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Pfizer, BioNTech's updated booster protects against Omicron in human trial Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech said their COVID-19 vaccine booster, adapted for the BA.4 and the BA.5 subvariants, generated a strong immune response and was well tolerated in testing on humans. Ludwig Burger,Manas Mishra Reuters

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What Covid-19 precautions should people take for international travel? Last week, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced it would no longer be maintaining a country-by-country travel advisory of Covid-19 risk. Instead of assessing the level of Covid-19 infection in each country, the CDC will post notices only when there are new variants or other situations that would change its travel recommendations. By Katia Hetter, CNN CNN

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Haiti risks new diseases amid cholera outbreak that has killed 18, says PAHO Civil unrest is making it harder to contain a new outbreak of cholera in Haiti just as other diseases threaten to ignite new health crises, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said Wednesday. Reuters Reuters

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Covid-19 treatment Paxlovid can interact with common heart medications, doctors warn | CNN Covid-19 patients with a history of cardiovascular disease are at an increased risk of developing severe illness and could benefit most from the Covid-19 treatment Paxlovid -- but there's a catch. Jacqueline Howard CNN

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Paxlovid can have dangerous interactions with some of the most common medications for cardiovascular disease, including certain statins and heart failure therapies, a new paper warns.

Novavax says COVID booster dose shows benefit against Omicron variants Novavax Inc said on Wednesday data from studies in adults and adolescents showed that the booster dose of its COVID vaccine produced robust antibodies against several Omicron variants, including BA.1, BA.2 and BA.5. Reuters Reuters

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FDA clears updated COVID boosters for kids as young as 5 The U.S. on Wednesday authorized updated COVID-19 boosters for children as young as 5, seeking to expand protection ahead of an expected winter wave. Tweaked boosters rolled out for Americans 12 and older last month, doses modified to target today’s most common and contagious omicron relative . AP NEWS

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There’s one more step before parents can bring their kids in for the new shot: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommends how vaccines are used, must sign off.

Myocarditis, pericarditis remains rare after COVID-19 booster Myocarditis and pericarditis after COVID-19 vaccination is rare across demographic groups and most likely to occur in teen boys in the week after their second shot of a two-dose vaccine, according to a study.

Myocarditis and pericarditis after COVID-19 vaccination is rare across demographic groups and most likely to occur in teen boys in the week after their second shot of a two-dose vaccine, according to a study.

'Africa on its own': Little help in epidemics, says official KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Africa must plan to respond effectively to disease outbreaks without international help, a top public health official said Wednesday, warning that the continent of 1.3 billion people is “on its own” during pandemics. AP NEWS

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Opinion | Covid is making us ungovernable Pandemics fuel pre-existing prejudices, deepen social divisions and increase political tensions. NBC News

By Brian Michael Jenkins, senior adviser to the president of RAND

AstraZeneca's COVID vaccine suffers a setback in nasal spray trial Attempts by Oxford University researchers and AstraZeneca Plc to create a nasal-spray version of their jointly developed COVID-19 shot suffered a setback on Tuesday as initial testing on humans did not yield the desired protection. Reuters Reuters

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