Moderna says updated COVID vaccine is effective against newer variant Moderna on Wednesday said clinical trial data showed its updated COVID-19 vaccine will likely be effective against the highly-mutated BA.2.86 subvariant of the coronavirus that has raised fears of a resurgence of infections. Patrick Wingrove Reuters

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CDC says there are no plans to bring back mask mandates, even as Covid cases rise The CDC could sign off on the new Covid boosters as soon as Sept. 12. Will that be soon enough to ward off a winter surge? NBC News

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Our goal is to release and recommend the vaccine so that it can coincide as much as possible with the peak of the season," Dr. Nirav Shah, CDC's principal deputy director, said in an interview.

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More COVID-19 studies suggest BA.2.86 may be less immune-evasive than feared iLexx / iStock CIDRAP

Two more lab groups—one from Sweden's Karolinska Institute and the other from Harvard University—have reported results of antibody neutralization lab experiments, which suggest vaccination or previous infection offer some protection against the highly mutated BA.2.86 SARS-CoV-2 variant.

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UK regulator approves updated Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine The UK drug regulator said on Tuesday it has approved an updated COVID-19 vaccine by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech that targets only the Omicron XBB.1.5 subvariant. Reuters Reuters

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Biden tests negative for COVID-19 on Tuesday, will mask around others President Biden tested negative for COVID-19 on Tuesday and will wear a mask while around others indoors after first lady Jill Biden tested positive for the virus a day earlier, the White House sai… kwadington The Hill

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Fauci presented with study challenging effectiveness of masks

In a recent interview on CNN, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, responded to a study that raised doubts about the effectiveness of face masks in curbing the spread of COVID-19. The study in question was released by The Cochrane Institute and received attention earlier this year when it suggested that face masks made little to no difference in preventing the spread of the virus. This led to headlines claiming that masks don't work.

However, Fauci emphasized that there are other studies that show the advantages of wearing masks, particularly at the individual level. ...

ALSO SEE: Fauci ‘concerned’ people won’t mask up again as COVID cases, hospitalizations, and deaths continue to rise in the U.S.

AND:  Link to CNN interview 

US lab tests suggest new Covid-19 variant BA.2.86 may be less contagious and less immune-evasive than feared | CNN Scientists around the world are fast-tracking lab experiments to try to understand the highly mutated BA.2.86 variant of the new coronavirus. Brenda Goodman CNN

Two teams of US scientists have completed lab experiments testing the antibodies from vaccinated and infected Americans to see how well they might be able to fend off currently circulating variants of the virus that causes Covid-19, including the highly mutated BA.2.86.

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COVID EG.5 Variant Symptoms Experts Say You Need to Watch For Reports suggest that the new EG.5 COVID variant may be more transmissible than previous ones. Learn about the "Eris" symptoms and its transmission. Yahoo Life

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Jill Biden, 72, has tested positive for Covid and is experiencing mild symptoms, the White House said in a statement.

Case counts are rising across the US, and public health experts are monitoring a worrisome new variant.

Doctors warned that the BA.2.86 variant – unofficially called “Pirola” – may be cause for concern as it is a newly-designated, highly-mutated variant of Omicron which triggered a surge in cases in a number of countries including the US.

It seems like everyone has Covid-19. Here’s why this wave is probably worse than official data suggests | CNN Covid-19 certainly didn’t take a vacation this summer. Virus levels in the US have been on the rise for weeks, but it’s hard to know exactly how widely it’s spreading. CNN

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EU authorises use of adapted Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine for COVID-19 variant The European Commission has authorised an updated COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and its German partner BioNtech to be used in EU countries' vaccination campaigns this autumn to target the dominant Omicron XBB.1.5 variant, it said on Friday. Reuters Reuters

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