Coronavirus

USA Today reports: “COVID is over” might trend within social media circles, but weekly U.S. death tolls tell a different story. The pace of COVID-19 deaths has remained relatively steady since May, despite an uptick in July to about 400 a day, according to a USA TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins University data. In July, more than 12,500 Americans died …

The Hill reports: President Biden tested positive for COVID-19 again on Thursday but feels “very well,” his physician, Kevin O’Connor, said in a new update two weeks after the president first tested positive. Biden has tested positive for six days with a rebound COVID-19 infection that has been seen in some patients who take the antiviral treatment Paxlovid. He first …

The Hill reports: President Biden tested positive for COVID-19 again and is experiencing a loose cough, according to a memo Tuesday from his physician Kevin O’Connor, three days after the president experienced a rebound of his infection. “The president continues to feel well, though he is experiencing a bit of a return of a loose cough. “He remains fever-free and …

Axios reports: President Biden tested positive for a rebound case of COVID-19 on Saturday morning after being treated with Paxlovid, his physician said in a letter. Biden did not experience new COVID-19 symptoms and “continues to feel quite well,” Dr. Kevin O’Connor said. “This being the case, there is no reason to reinitiate treatment at this time, but we will …

The New York Times reports: The Biden administration now expects to begin a Covid-19 booster campaign with retooled vaccines in September because Pfizer and Moderna have promised that they can deliver doses by then, according to people familiar with the deliberations. With updated formulations apparently close at hand, federal officials have decided against expanding eligibility for second boosters of the …

CNN reports: The Chinese metropolis of Wuhan has shut down a district of almost a million people after detecting four asymptomatic Covid cases, as the original epicenter of the pandemic takes no chances in preventing another outbreak under China’s stringent zero-Covid policy. Authorities in Wuhan’s Jiangxia district, home to more than 970,000 people, announced Wednesday its main urban areas would …

The Associated Press reports: President Joe Biden is ending his COVID-19 isolation after testing negative for the virus on Tuesday night and again on Wednesday. That’s according to a letter the White House released Wednesday from Biden’s physician. Dr. Kevin O’Connor writes that Biden has completed his course of treatment with the drug Paxlovid and remains free of fever. O’Connor …

The Hill reports: The House passed a bill on Tuesday to allow a government agency to award grants into the cognitive effects of COVID-19. The legislation, titled the Brycen Gray and Ben Price COVID-19 Cognitive Research Act, passed in a 350-69 vote, with all opposition coming from Republicans. Research eligible under the bill includes studies on the effects COVID-19 infections …

Axios reports: President Biden completed his five-day course of Paxlovid, a coronavirus treatment medication, and his COVID-19 symptoms are “almost completely resolved,” his physician wrote in a letter on Tuesday. “His pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate and temperature remain absolutely normal. His oxygen saturation continues to be excellent on room air. His lungs remain clear,” wrote his physician Kevin O’Connor. …

The Hill reports: Meta, the parent company of Facebook, asked the board tasked with overseeing policy debates on the platform to weigh in on whether it should ease its COVID misinformation policy. The company asked the Oversight Board, a task force funded by Meta that operates independently, if the company’s policy, including to remove posts with false claims, is still …

STAT News reports: A horse dewormer and treatment for some human parasites, ivermectin was initially promoted, despite the lack of research, as a way to treat or prevent Covid infections. Now it is increasingly being marketed for long Covid, pushed by physicians with ties to political groups spreading anti-vaccine and anti-science messaging. There’s no credible evidence that supports ivermectin’s use …

The Daily Dot reports: An anti-vaccine dating website that allows users to procure “mRNA FREE” semen left its users’ personal data exposed online. The site, Unjected, launched in May 2021 and claims to be the “largest unvaccinated platform” on the internet. Unjected initially made headlines in August after its app was removed from the Apple App Store for violating the …

The Hill reports: Congressional Republicans are eagerly floating investigations into Anthony Fauci and the Biden administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic if they win back control of the House or Senate in the midterm elections. “One way or another, if we are in the majority, we will subpoena his records and he will testify in the Senate under oath,” said …

Axios reports: President Biden’s coronavirus stemmed from the Omicron subvariant BA.5, currently the most dominant strain of the virus in the U.S., according to a letter from the White House physician on Saturday. BA.5 is responsible for 75-80% of infections in the U.S., his physician Kevin O’Connor said in a letter on Saturday. Biden completed his second day of Paxlovid …

Bloomberg News reports: President Joe Biden’s symptoms from Covid-19 improved overnight after his first full day on the Pfizer Inc. drug Paxlovid, his doctor said. “The president is fully vaccinated and twice-boosted, so I anticipate that he will respond favorably, as most maximally protected patients do,” White House physician Kevin O’Connor wrote in a memo posted online. “There has been …

Courthouse News reports: A Southern California pharmacist was sentenced to more than 11 years in federal prison after a jury convicted him of trying to seek $27 million in pandemic relief loans for companies that had no employees. Robert Benlevi, 53, of Encino was given a 135-month sentence Tuesday. He had been found guilty this past March of multiple counts …

NBC News reports: The chair of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, Rep. Bennie Thompson, said Tuesday that has tested positive for the coronavirus and is experiencing “mild symptoms.” “I am continuing to follow CDC guidelines and will be isolating for the next several days,” the 74-year-old Mississippi Democrat said in a statement he …

USA Today reports:  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ended its COVID-19 Program for Cruise Ships on Monday. “CDC has worked closely with the cruise industry, state, territorial, and local health authorities, and federal and seaport partners to provide a safer and healthier environment for cruise passengers and crew,” the agency’s website reads. “Cruise ships have access to guidance …

The Washington Post reports: Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s preeminent infectious-diseases expert who has served as the face of the coronavirus pandemic response for more than two years, will retire by the end of President Biden’s term after more than 50 years in government, he confirmed Monday to The Washington Post. “By the time we get to the end of …

CNBC reports: The Food and Drug Administration has authorized Novavax’s two-dose vaccine for adults ages 18 and over, the fourth Covid shot to get emergency approval in the U.S. since the pandemic began. The FDA decision comes weeks after its committee of independent vaccine experts voted overwhelming in favor of Novavax’s shot in early June, after an all-day public meeting …