Medical Testing

Novavax says Omicron shot shows strong immune response as second booster Vaccine maker Novavax Inc said on Tuesday its COVID-19 shot retooled against the Omicron BA.1 variant showed a strong immune response as the fourth dose and met the main goal of strain change in a late-stage study. Reuters Reuters

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Paxlovid reduces risk of long Covid, Veterans Affairs study finds | CNN Paxlovid, the antiviral pill that reduces the risk of hospitalization and death from Covid-19, also reduces the risk of long Covid, according to a new study by researchers at the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Jamie Gumbrecht CNN

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Two early US programs successfully traced COVID case contacts One report details a massive NYC effort to probe 941,035 COVID-19 cases and follow up with their contacts. CIDRAP

A pair of new studies describe how two US jurisdictions quickly mobilized teams of contact tracers to identify and isolate people exposed to SARS-CoV-2, with a massive New York City effort finding 1.4 contacts per case and a college student-led Central Pennsylvania initiative that may have led to fewer symptomatic household infections.

The Pandemic Uncovered Ways to Speed Up Science There doesn't have to be a trade-off between good research and fast research. Saloni Dattani WIRED

The pandemic highlighted broad problems in research: that many studies were hyped, error-ridden, or even fraudulent, and that misinformation could spread rapidly. But it also demonstrated what was possible.