The Great Grift: COVID-19 aid thieves bought fancy cars, a Pokemon card — even a private island Patrick Parker Walsh is one of thousands of thieves who perpetrated the greatest grift in U.S. history — potentially plundering more than $280 billion in federal COVID-19 aid. AP News

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WHO updates COVID treatment guidelines, risk estimates for hospitalization The WHO lowered its treatment-benefit threshold from a 6% to a 2% reduction in the risk of hospitalization. CIDRAP

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Pain, fatigue, fuzzy thinking: How long COVID disrupts the brain The neurological symptoms of COVID can persist for years after an infection. Scientists are just beginning to understand why. NPR

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The brain may be especially vulnerable to COVID because the disease appears to weaken the blood-brain barrier, which usually protects the organ from both germs and the immune cells that follow them.

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Study finds prenatal vaccination protects infants from COVID Marina Demidiuk/ IStock CIDRAP

Infants as old as 6 months were protected from COVID-19 infections only when mothers were vaccinated prenatally, and not before pregnancy, according to a new study in JAMA Network Open.

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A new COVID variant, HV.1, is now dominant. These are its most common symptoms A new highly contagious COVID-19 variant, HV.1, is now the dominant strain in the U.S. What to know about transmission, symptoms, vaccines and more. TODAY

As the United States enters respiratory virus season and health officials roll out updated COVID-19 vaccines, a new COVID variant HV.1 has emerged and is currently sweeping the country.

Kindergarten vaccination exemptions at highest level ever The percentage of kindergartners whose parents opted them out of school-required vaccinations rose to the highest level yet during the 2022-2023 school year, according to new federal data released … nweixel The Hill

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The drop in coverage for routine vaccinations against diseases like measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) increase the chances of an outbreak and underscore the continued fallout from barriers to vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Dr. Tom Frieden: Covid-19 is still around, and so are these misconceptions Covid-19 hasn’t gone away, and it won’t any time soon. It’s now part of the landscape of health threats. Although the coronavirus continues to kill and cause lasting damage, our immunity, vaccines and treatments have tamed the pandemic. Opinion by Dr. Tom Frieden AOL

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Three widely held misconceptions reflect and contribute to polarization. For each, there’s a kernel of truth that appears to support the misconception, but the reality is clear.

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Long Covid is hard — here are five tips to help | CNN More than three years after the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic, many long Covid patients are still experiencing brain fog, extreme fatigue and other health issues, leaving some unable to complete the most basic daily tasks. Here are five ways long Covid patients can try to take care of themselves. Manav Tanneeru CNN

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Long COVID linked to allergies in new study Wavebreakmedia/ iStock CIDRAP

In an analysis of 13 published prospective studies of people of all ages with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection who were followed up for at least 12 months, pre-existing allergic conditions were linked to higher risks of experiencing long COVID, according to a study today in Clinical & Experimental Allergy.

This is one of the first studies to assess the relationship between long COVID and allergies.

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