Category Archives: Corona Virus

THURSDAY 6/2/2022 2:01 p.m.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services has reported 1,477,724 total positive coronavirus test results in the state and 13,026 total COVID-19 deaths.

The number of known cases per variant is no longer tracked as The Wisconsin Department of Health Services has updated its website, deleting that section.

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The DHS announced an attempt to verify and ensure statistics are accurate, some numbers may be subject to change. The DHS is combing through current and past data to ensure accuracy.

Wisconsins hospitals are reporting, that the 7-day moving average of COVID-19 patients hospitalized was 427 patients. Of those,45 are in an ICU. ICU patients made up 10.6%of hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services reports that 9,529,383 vaccine doses and 2,040,554 booster doses have been administered in Wisconsin as of June 2.

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The Wisconsin Department of Health Services is using a new module to measure COVID-19 activity levels. They are now using the Center for Disease Control and Preventions (CDC) COVID-19 Community Levels. The map is measured by the impact of COVID-19 illness on health and health care systems in the communities.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 10 counties in Wisconsin are experiencing high COVID-19 community levels. None of them are located in northeast Wisconsin.

24 counties in Wisconsin are experiencing medium COVID-19 community levels, including Brown, Door, Marinette, Menominee, and Winnebago County in northeast Wisconsin.

Every other county in Wisconsin is experiencing low COVID-19 community levels.

For more information on how the data is collected, visit the CDCs COVID-19 Community Levels data page.

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Wisconsin adds over 2.6k new cases of COVID-19 - WeAreGreenBay.com

Laborers and service industry workers with lower levels of education were about five times more likely to die from COVID-19 than people in higher socioeconomic positions, according to a study co-authored by a University of South Florida professor.

Researchers analyzed nearly 70,000 COVID deaths in 2020 for adults ages 25 to 64 and also looked at whether individuals had any college education and what job sectors they worked in.

The team found 68% of COVID-19 deaths among working age adults during the first year of the pandemic were people in low socioeconomic positions with jobs in labor, retail and the service industry.

These jobs typically required on-site attendance and prolonged close contact with others.

Jason Salemi, an epidemiologist with USFs College of Public Health, is calling for improvements to workplace safety in those industries. Too often, he says, employers and safety officials focus on personal protective equipment like masks to curb infections. That is important, but Salemi argues a lot more needs to be done to protect frontline workers who have a higher chance of being exposed to the coronavirus.

We need to think about ventilation and filtration of the air for those who work in public indoor settings, he suggested, adding, Stressing the importance of testing and not coming into work sick, maybe offering paid sick leave if they [staff] do test positive.

The study was published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. It found white women made up the largest population group considered high SEP, or socioeconomic position, which involved having at least a bachelors degree. More than half of Hispanic men analyzed in the data were in a low SEP. According to the study, the mortality rate of low SEP Hispanic men is 27 times higher than high SEP white women.

Salemi said he hopes the study raises awareness that getting back to normal does not mean the same thing for everyone. Workers in high-risk industries continue to face threats as coronavirus cases surge now.

And even if they don't get hospitalized, if they get sick, they might have to go home, they might not be able to make money during that time, he said. So just recognize that the simple steps we're able to take to bring down community transmission does an exceptional job at protecting these individuals.

Salemi authored the study with a team of researchers from the COVKID Project, which monitors data about the pandemics affect on children and teens. In this case, he said, they were studying the toll the virus has taken on the parents and grandparents of many young people.

The team plans to look at 2021 and 2022 data in the future to see how the availability of COVID-19 vaccines affects disparities in mortality.

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A USF study shows retail and service workers have higher COVID-19 death rates - WUSF News

This is solid evidence that its not all in the head, and that the sense of disgust can be related to the compounds in the distorted foods. The central nervous system is certainly involved as well in interpreting the signals that it receives from the nose. The parosmic experience is a combination of the two mechanisms which produces the distorted perception of everyday foods, and the associated sense of disgust," says Doctor Jane Parker, Associate Professor of Flavour Chemistry and Director of the Flavour Centre at the University of Reading.

We can now see that certain aroma compounds found in foods are having this particular effect. It will, we hope, be reassuring for those with parosmia to know that their experience is real, that we can identify other foods which may also be triggers and, moreover, suggest safe foods that are less likely to cause a problem. This research provides useful tools and strategies for preventing or reducing the effect of the triggers," she adds.

Another researcher Mr Simon Gane from the Royal National Ear, Nose and Throat and Eastman Dental Hospital said, "We still have a long way to go in understanding this condition, but this research is the first to zoom in on the mechanism in the nose. We now know this has to be something to do with the nerves and their receptors because thats how these molecules are detected."

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Coronavirus smell test: If you have COVID-19, here's how your coffee may smell - Times of India

Some coronavirus-positive patients who have completed treatment of the anti-COVID drug Paxlovid are rebounding into illness, and experts are urging people to be cautious if they develop COVID-like symptoms again and become infectious.

Its unclear how often post-Paxlovid rebound occurs, but University of California, San Francisco Department of Medicine chair Dr. Robert Wachter said he knows of at least one person who completed Paxlovid treatment and then became infectious again, spreading the virus to other family members.

It can happen, Wachter tweeted. If you develop recurrent symptoms and have a (positive) rapid test, you are infectious. Please act accordingly.

Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said post-Paxlovid COVID-19 relapses are real.

Theyve happened in a significant enough number that theyve been noticed by lots of folks in lots of different places, she said.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the use of Mercks molnupiravir pill for treating COVID-19. The molnupiravir pill is cleared for use by adults 18 and older who have tested positive for COVID-19 and are at high risk of being hospitalized or dying.

In a statement on its website, the U.S Food and Drug Administration said it is aware of reports of COVID-19 symptoms returning following the completion of Paxlovid treatment. In some of these cases, patients tested negative on a direct SARS-CoV-2 viral test and then tested positive again, the FDA said.

The agency said that in the Paxlovid clinical trial, there have been some patients about 1% to 2% who tested negative and then became positive. The finding wasnt only in people who took Paxlovid; it also occurred in those who took the placebo.

Yet, judging by all the anecdotes, rebound sure seems more common than that were waiting for good data, Wachter tweeted. Wachter suggested that a person who has completed a course of Paxlovid and then tests positive again should be considered infectious.

Paxlovids clinical trial data were collected when the Delta variant of the coronavirus dominated nationwide, before the rise of the far-more-transmissible Omicron family thats circulating now.

The question is, Is this more common with omicron? Were actually doing a lot of work right now to try to sort that out. Were talking to health systems, getting real world experience data, said Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House COVID-19 response coordinator.

But even if the rebound rate has remained unchanged, the number of people affected could seem far larger now based on wider use of the drug.

If you have 20,000 people getting Paxlovid every day even if it was only still 2%, that would mean 400 people are having rebound every day. So it is hard to know exactly how often it happens, Jha said during a briefing Wednesday.

However, he also noted that the people who have that rebound are not getting particularly sick, are not ending up in the hospital.

If the goal of this treatment, which it was, was to prevent hospitalizations and deaths, it is doing that incredibly well, he said.

Those who wish to be especially careful about the risk of infecting others may should consider wearing a mask in all indoor settings, even around family members of the same household, for a few more days or perhaps a week once the Paxlovid treatment is complete, Wachter said.

And Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said her agency would recommend putting your mask back on should symptoms recur.

Even a rapid negative test after completing the five-day course of Paxlovid might provide false assurance that a person is not contagious. A negative rapid test result suggests a person is probably not infectious, but theres still a slight chance perhaps 1% that a person can test negative and still be contagious, Wachter wrote.

Wearing masks for a few more days seems reasonable if youre being careful, he said.

Post-Paxlovid COVID-19 rebound still seems to be unusual, Wachter said, and is not harmful to the recovering patient. Wachter said news about the rebound should not discourage people from taking Paxlovid, given its high rate of efficacy against severe illness and death.

Data has shown that Paxlovid, manufactured by Pfizer, reduces the risk of hospitalization or death from COVID-19 by 89% among higher-risk adults who have not been hospitalized.

In addition, its plausible, but not proven, that lowering viral load quickly (which Paxlovid does) might lower the risk of long COVID, and make people less infectious, Wachter wrote.

The FDA agreed that the reports of post-Paxlovid COVID-19 rebound dont change scientists overall view of the drug being highly effective.

Most importantly, there was no increased occurrence of hospitalization or death or development of drug resistance, the FDA said. These reports, then, do not change the conclusions from the Paxlovid clinical trial which demonstrated a marked reduction in hospitalization and death.

The FDA said patients should wear a mask and stay home and isolate if they have any symptoms of COVID-19, regardless of whether they have been given an antiviral drug such as Paxlovid.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nations top infectious disease expert, said Wednesday that the National Institutes of Health also are looking to study whether a longer course of Paxlovid is needed.

A positive result of rapid antigen test and a negative result of the test in the background

A report by scientists at the University of California, San Diego posted online Wednesday analyzed the case history of a traveler who returned to the U.S. following a trip to South Africa and had recurrent COVID-19 after completing a Paxlovid course. The scientists said the most likely possibility for the recurrent symptoms was insufficient drug exposure.

Among those observing the rebound was Dr. Paul Sax, an infectious disease expert at Harvard Medical School, who recounted in a recent blog post how a patient with COVID-19 rapidly recovered after taking Paxlovid but a week later called him back saying shed relapsed. Although the symptoms werent as bad as her initial illness, rapid test results showed she was clearly positive again.

Her biggest concern was getting back out in the world without infecting someone. She really wasnt that sick; she just wanted advice about when she could return to work and start socializing again, Sax wrote. Avoid close contact with others until that test clears, I said.

The patient completely recovered, and she began testing negative a few days later, Sax wrote.

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New COVID-19 mystery: Some are getting coronavirus again even after taking Paxlovid - Press Herald

Oregons chief disease specialist threaded a fine line Wednesday between cautioning Oregonians to protect themselves amid a surge in coronavirus infections while not ordering or even recommending statewide measures to prevent infection.

The current bump in identified COVID-19 infections, with a daily average of more than 1,400 reported cases per day, may be reaching its peak, Dr. Dean Sidelinger said at a now-monthly COVID-19 media update Wednesday. But the sustained growth in cases and hospitalizations means the pandemic is not yet over.

If youre in a gathering of people outside your home, sooner or later you will be exposed to the virus, Sidelinger said. The risk of exposure and infection exists in every Oregon community.

Deals on N95, KN95 face masks with free shipping

In the more than two years since the pandemic began, Oregon has reported an average daily case load higher than 1,400 for only about four months. And underscoring how widespread the disease is likely to be, the epidemiologist said most cases now are not reported to the state, because some people get their results through an at-home test, which doesnt have to be reported, or simply dont get tested at all.

Everyone in a county where the federally-determined risk level is medium should consider wearing a mask, Sidelinger said. Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties are at that risk level, as are Deschutes, Columbia and Benton counties. He also encouraged people who are unvaccinated, older, immunocompromised, at risk of severe disease or who live with anyone in those categories, to wear a mask.

The key marker of the severity of the current pandemic bump, hospitalizations, remains far below the peaks reached in either the omicron or delta waves. Thats expected to remain true through the peak, projected to hit 321 occupied beds by June 10. Hospitalizations approached 1,200 at the height of the delta wave. As of Tuesday, 255 people were hospitalized with COVID-19, according to Oregon Health Authority data.

OHA is optimistic that the overall number of Oregons hospitalized patients with COVID-19 will not exceed our hospital systems ability to care for them, Sidelinger said.

As for what happens after this wave is over, Sidelinger said he expects Oregon wont see sustained case growth through the summer thanks to immunity from recent infections and vaccinations and because people will be spending time outdoors.

But if new variants develop in Oregon, in other states or countries that come to Oregon, that could change as we move inside in the fall, Sidelinger said.

Fedor Zarkhin

Heres where you can restock your N95 and KN95 face masks: Deals with free shipping

You can now get more free COVID-19 tests from the government with the click of a button

Need to stock up on COVID tests for the summer? Where to buy a COVID-19 test online and how to find BinaxNow, iHealth, more at-home kits for sale with fast shipping

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You will be exposed to the coronavirus, Oregon health officials say, though COVID-19 wave relatively mild - OregonLive

With the latest round of COVID test kits from the government set to arrive in the mail as early as this week, how can you get yours?

The first shipments are already being sent to homes across the U.S.

Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic across Illinois today:

The first shipment in the latest round of at-home COVID test kits being sent to homes across the U.S. from the government are starting to arrive in mailboxes Thursday.

Test kits will be shipped for free to residences, according to the United States Postal Service. Those tests will come in two separate packages, with four test kits in each package, the USPS says.

You can now sign up to receive 8 free, at-home rapid antigen COVID tests in the mail, the federal government recently announced.

In previous rounds of test distributions residents could only claim up to four at-home COVID test kits per household.

Test kits will be shipped for free to residences, according to the United States Postal Service. Those tests will come in two separate packages, with four test kits in each package, the USPS says.

Here's how to sign upand get yours mailed to your home.

Chicago could soon reach a high alert level for COVID, but that doesn't necessarily mean mask mandates will return right away, the city's top doctor said Tuesday.

While masks are "strongly recommended" across the city with cases spiking, Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said she's watching a different metric to determine if mandates will return.

Read more here.

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise around the United States, Chicago's top doctor says she expects the city could soon reach a "high" community level.

"Unfortunately that is the direction that we're heading," Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said in a Facebook Live Tuesday, calling it a "point of concern."

Read more here.

COVID cases and hospitalizations are continuing to climb in Illinois, with the state now averaging more than 6,000 new probable and confirmed COVID-19 cases per day.

It's the first time in more than three months Illinois has seen the daily rate that high.

The good news is, COVID testing across Chicago and at Illinois remains free at many sites. And, the federal government is now offering residents double the number of free COVID rapid antigen tests during its newest round of kit availability, according to anupdate by the United States Postal Service.

If you're experiencing symptoms, or you believe you've been exposed, here's where you can find free COVID testing near you in Chicago and Illinois, for adults and kids.

The federal government is now offering residents double the number of free COVID rapid antigen tests during its newest round of kit availability, according to an update by the United States Postal Service.

Whereas in previous rounds of test distributions residents could only claim up to four per household, residents can now request up to eight of the tests, which will be shipped for free to their residences.

According to the government, each order may contain eight rapid antigen COVID-19 tests. Those tests will come in two separate packages, with four test kits in each package, according to the USPS website.

Here's how to get yours.

If you test positive for COVID, how long could that last?

According to theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention, some people who contract COVID-19 can have detectable virus for up to three months, but that doesn't mean they are contagious.

When it comes to testing, however, the PCR tests are more likely to continue picking up the virus following infection.

Read more here.

For the first time in more than three months, Illinois is averaging more than 6,000 new probable and confirmed COVID-19 cases per day, with hospitalizations also beginning to climb across the state.

According to the latest data from the Illinois Department of Public Health, the state is averaging 6,065 new cases of COVID per day over the last week. That marks the first time the state has eclipsed the 6,000-case barrier since Feb. 9, when Illinois was still descending from the heights of its omicron-driven surge over the winter.

In the last seven days, the states daily average of new COVID cases has gone up by 17.7%, according to IDPH officials. In the last month, cases have increased by 174%.

On Monday, Illinois officials reported 5,447 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19, with zero new fatalities reported.

You can find more data here.

The Food and Drug Administration has authorized a first-of-its-kind at-home testing kit that will allow individuals to collect samples and have them tested for a variety of respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19 and influenza.

According to a press release issued Monday, the FDA gave authorization to Labcorps Seasonal Respiratory Virus RT-PCR DTC test.

Those tests, available without a prescription, can be used by individuals with symptoms of respiratory viral infection, according to the FDA.

The tests allow an individual to self-collect a nasal swab at home, similar to that of an at-home COVID-19 test. Instead of getting the results in the home, those samples can be sent to Labcorp for testing.

The tests can identify and differentiate between a variety of illnesses, including influenza A and B, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and COVID-19, according to the FDA.

COVID-19 cases have been on the rise across Chicago and the city's top doctor said the trend will likely continue in coming weeks, sparking questions from concerned residents.

Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, says thatthe city's positivity rate has soared to nearly 5% in recent weeks, and she expects metrics to continue to rise in the coming days.

Read more here.

With nearly every Chicago-area county having reached the "medium community level" for COVID-19 and one Chicago suburb reaching "high" transmission levels, per guidance set by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, what does that mean for you?

So what does that mean and what does it take to reach each level?

Here's a look at the guidelines.

As more test positive for the coronavirus across the Chicago area, many are turning to questions over treating the virus with the new antiviral COVID-19 pill.

Pfizer's Paxlovid pill has been used in several recent high-profile cases, including Vice President Kamala Harris.

But as more doctors prescribe Pfizer's powerful COVID pill, new questions are emerging about its performance, including why a small number of patients appear to relapse after taking the drug.

Here's what we know so far.

COVID-19 cases have been on the rise across Chicago and the city's top doctor said the trend will likely continue in coming weeks, sparking questions from concerned residents.

Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, says thatthe city's positivity rate has soared to nearly 5% in recent weeks, and she expects metrics to continue to rise in the coming days.

"In this wave...it's likely that we'll have even more cases before we see it turn around," she said. "And the last thing we want to do is to have people really see the hospitalization numbers going up significantly."

For those who contract COVID, there may be lingering questions. Here's the latest information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

With new, more contagious variants of COVID-19 spreading across the U.S. and nearly all of the Chicago area rising to a higher alert level, many are wondering what to do if they experience symptoms or test positive for the virus.

If you were exposed, when could symptoms start, how long are you contagious, how long should you quarantine for and when is the best time test?

Read more here.

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Illinois Coronavirus Updates: Free COVID Test Kits From the Government, Cases Still Rising - NBC Chicago

The waste water levels have now rebounded to where they were in late January.

Andrew Lover, an assistant professor of epidemiology in the School of Public Health and Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, said in an e-mail that statewide were seeing quite a lot of virus in wastewater, noting results of testing not just by the MWRA in Suffolk County but in five other counties around the state.

The increases come as the states COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have been gradually rising for weeks, and the CDC has warned that most of the state is seeing high levels of the virus. The CDC recommends that when virus levels are high, people should mask in indoor public spaces.

With both waste water and case numbers rising, I think its pretty clear at this point that we are in a wave, Matthew Fox, a professor of epidemiology and global health at the Boston University School of Public Health, said in an e-mail.

The surge were seeing is real and ongoing, said Lover.

Fox said people should not panic because we know what to do. For anyone not vaccinated or boosted, go out and get your vaccine. For the rest of us, its time to consider masking again indoors, keeping in mind that this is a time-limited measure just until the wave subsides.

Federal health officials warned Wednesday that cases are increasing nationally and could get worse over the coming months, as the wave spreads out from the Northeast and Midwest.

Worried about the rising COVID-19 metrics, a coalition of Massachusetts public health leaders, infectious disease doctors, and community organizers on Wednesday called on the Baker administration to reinstitute mask mandates in public schools and on transportation. The group also urged the states Department of Public Health to issue an immediate advisory recommending use of masks inside public spaces and for people to avoid large gatherings until the current COVID surge subsides.

Governor Charlie Baker indicated he was not planning to reinstate a broad-based mask mandate. We believe that the best thing to do at this point is to make clear to people that vaccines work, he said Wednesday. There are treatments that now work as well. He pointed out that Massachusetts still requires masks in long-term care and in other health facilities.

Experts have raised concerns that the arrival of the Omicron subvariants BA.2 and now BA.2.12.1, are breathing new life into the pandemic at a time that the public is trying to return to normal after more than two years of pandemic disruption.

Some models have offered hope that the current Massachusetts wave could crest in the coming weeks. Experts think that would happen for a variety of reasons, including the immune protection people have gotten from vaccinations and previous infections.

How much protection people have gotten from being infected during the original Omicron wave earlier this year is a key question that has yet to be answered. Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House COVID-19 response coordinator, said at a briefing Wednesday, If it generated a lot of population immunity, then were going to see fewer infections into the summer, fall, and winter. If it generated only a modest amount of immunity, were going to see more infections.

Early this year, the Eastern Massachusetts waste water levels dropped precipitously from their Omicron peak. They bottomed out in early March, then began rising again. The rise was interrupted by a dip last month, but the levels have now more than bounced back.

The numbers remain at much lower levels than they were when the Omicron surge hit the region during the winter. The number of confirmed reported daily COVID-19 deaths has been in the single digits for weeks, only edging back over 10 in recent days.

Waste water from 43 communities, including Boston, converges at the MWRAs Deer Island plant on Boston Harbor for treatment before being piped miles into the ocean. The water is tested for traces of the deadly virus. The MWRA reports numbers for both the southern and northern regions of its system. The testing determines the number of SARS-CoV-2 RNA copies per milliliter of waste water.

In the northern MWRA region, the seven-day average was 1,273 RNA copies/mL as of Wednesday. Thats up from a low of 101 on March 9. The levels peaked at 8,644 on Jan. 5.

In the southern region, the seven-day average was 1,332 RNA copies/mL on Wednesday, up from a low of 92 copies/mL on March 1. But its a far cry from the high of 11,446 RNA copies/mL reached on Jan. 3.

Kay Lazar of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Material from prior Globe stories was used in this report.

Martin Finucane can be reached at martin.finucane@globe.com. Christina Prignano can be reached at christina.prignano@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @cprignano.

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The coronavirus levels in Eastern Mass. waste water keep increasing, suggesting cases will continue rising - The Boston Globe

Xavier Becerra, the U.S. secretary of health and human services, tested positive for the coronavirus on Wednesday, his department said, hours after the White House announced that Ashley Biden, the daughter of President Biden and the first lady, Jill Biden, had tested positive.

Neither is considered a close contact to Mr. Biden, according to the administration. A close contact is someone who has been less than six feet away from an infected person for at least 15 minutes over a 24-hour period, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions guidelines.

Ms. Biden, 40, was scheduled to travel with Dr. Biden to Ecuador on Wednesday afternoon but will no longer make the trip with her mother. Earlier this month, Ms. Biden was to accompany Dr. Biden on her trip to Eastern Europe to visit Ukrainian refugees, but on the night of the trip, the White House said that Ms. Biden had been in close contact with someone who tested positive for the coronavirus and would stay behind.

Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, said Wednesday that Mr. Biden had not seen his daughter in several days.

Mr. Becerra tested positive for the virus Wednesday morning in Berlin, where he was to participate in meetings for Group of 7 health ministers, Sarah Lovenheim, assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement.

Mr. Becerra is fully vaccinated and boosted and is experiencing mild symptoms, the statement said. He will continue to work in isolation.

Mr. Becerra was last at the White House on Thursday and is not considered a close contact to Mr. Biden, according to Ms. Lovenheim. The White House requires masks and social distancing when officials meet with the president.

Ms. Biden and Mr. Becerra are among a handful of prominent people in the presidents orbit who have recently tested positive for the coronavirus, renewing concern about Mr. Bidens potential exposure, though none have been considered close contacts. Susan Rice, the White House domestic policy adviser, tested positive last week.

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Ashley Biden and Xavier Becerra Test Positive for the Coronavirus - The New York Times

A worker in a protective suit walks on a closed bridge during lockdown, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Shanghai, China, May 18, 2022. REUTERS/Aly Song

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May 19 (Reuters) - More Shanghai residents were given the freedom to go out to shop for groceries for the first time in nearly two months. Moreover, a deputy mayor said the financial hub will start to allow more businesses in zero-COVID areas to resume normal operations from the beginning of June. read more

* Eikon users, see COVID-19: MacroVitals https://apac1.apps.cp.thomsonreuters.com/cms/?navid=1592404098 for a case tracker and summary of news.

* Britain's vaccine advisers said that an anticipated autumn COVID booster campaign would be aimed at people over age 65, care home residents, frontline health and social care workers and all adults in a clinical risk group. read more

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* The European health regulator endorsed the use of AstraZeneca's (AZN.L) vaccine, Vaxzevria, as a booster. read more

* China has removed some COVID-19 test requirements for people flying in from countries such as Britain and the United States and shortened the pre-departure quarantine for some inbound travellers, as it fine-tunes measures to cope with the Omicron variant. read more

* North Korea's first confirmed outbreak spread after a massive military parade in Pyongyang in April, the South's Newsis news agency said on Wednesday, citing lawmakers briefed by the South's spy agency. read more

* North Korea is ramping up production of drugs and medical supplies including sterilisers and thermometers, state media KCNA said. read more

* India has supplied COVID-19 vaccines to Cambodia and Thailand under an initiative of the Quad group of countries, New Delhi said, though not the Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) shot as originally planned. read more

* Several outbreaks of monkeypox in Africa have been contained during the COVID pandemic while the world's attention was elsewhere, and outbreaks in Europe and the United States are a concern, Africa's top public health agency said. read more

* The U.S. Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) said reports of heart inflammation linked to the Pfizer (PFE.N)/BioNTech (22UAy.DE) vaccine have been much lower in 5- to 11-year-old boys than in adolescents and young men. read more

* The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will act as soon as possible on Moderna Inc's (MRNA.O) application seeking approval of its COVID-19 vaccine for children under age 5, the agency's chief told lawmakers. read more

* The World Health Organization issued an emergency use listing for the single-dose COVID-19 vaccine from China-based CanSino Biologics (6185.HK). read more

* The question of COVID-19 vaccine patents was not discussed at a meeting of the health ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) countries in Berlin, German Health Ministers Karl Lauterbach said. read more

* Dalian and Singapore iron ore futures fell on Thursday, hit by worries about COVID-19 curbs in China, but Beijing's assurance that there is still policy space to cope with challenges facing the world's top steel producer calmed traders.

* A sharp slowdown in China's economy caused by its strict zero-COVID rules and Beijing's shift away from a traditional reliance on external demand have cast doubts over how much the country will contribute to future global trade and investment. read more

* Roughly half of Taiwanese companies that had previously suspended work in China due to COVID-19 control measures have resumed production as curbs ease, the island's economy minister said. read more

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Compiled by Dina Kartit; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Lisa Shumaker

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Factbox: Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus - Reuters.com

Mr. de Blasio, who oversaw the citys response during the worst waves of the virus, held near-daily virtual virus briefings, sometimes inviting outside health experts like Dr. Wafaa El-Sadr, a professor of epidemiology and medicine at the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, and Dr. Celine Gounder, an infectious disease expert at New York University. He rolled out some of the most aggressive health measures in the country, including a vaccine mandate for city workers and private employers that is still in effect.

Mr. Adams has relied on a handful of key advisers to form his virus response: Dr. Vasan, an epidemiologist who formerly led a mental health nonprofit; Dr. Mitchell Katz, the head of the citys hospital system; Ms. Williams-Isom, deputy mayor for health and human services; Dan Weisberg, first deputy schools chancellor; and Dr. Ted Long, executive director of the citys test and trace corps. The group meets nearly every morning on a virtual call to discuss the latest data.

Mr. Adams said that the message from hospital and school leaders was clear: Theyre all saying the same thing. They say, Listen, we got this. Were not overwhelmed.

But Dr. Chokshi, the former health commissioner, said in a recent interview that during each new wave of cases in the city, elected officials and New Yorkers often had collective amnesia about how to respond.

People would say, Well, its only cases increasing, lets see what happens to hospitalizations, he said. To me, as someone whos steeped in this, and particularly to understand the epidemiology, its hard not to have your head explode when you feel the public, and in many cases, the political conversation, go in those circles. And youre like, Wow, when are we going to learn.

Some health experts agreed that it would be difficult at this point in the pandemic to reinstate broad mandates unless the health system became seriously overtaxed. At the same time, having an alert system but not following through on its recommendations can confuse the public and weaken trust, particularly if the change is not carefully explained.

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Why Adams Is Rejecting Mask Mandates as Covid Cases Rise in New York - The New York Times