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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Wednesday the new BA.2.86 lineage of coronavirus may be more capable than older variants in causing infection in people who have previously had COVID-19 or who have received vaccines. CDC said it was too soon to know whether this might cause more severe illness compared with previous variants. But due to the high number of mutations detected in this lineage, there were concerns about its impact on immunity from vaccines and previous infections, the agency said. (8/23)

The mutation profile suggests that treatments such as Paxlovid will be effective against the variant and that there will be little impact on the accuracy of molecular and antigen-based tests. (Schnirring, 8/23)

Preliminary testing of wastewater in the United States has detected the new highly mutated coronavirus variant BA.2.86, according to a risk assessment posted Wednesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC did not give details on where the positive wastewater sample had been collected but said it was part of routine monitoring through its National Wastewater Surveillance System. (Goodman, 8/23)

Of the 103 million confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the U.S., an estimated one-third have led to long Covid — a condition that ranges in severity, but can be debilitating. A new study suggests that even more people may be suffering from the post-viral syndrome without having ever received an official diagnosis of Covid-19. (Merelli, 8/23)

As the Bay Area experiences a resurgence of COVID-19 cases, one of its most prominent health care providers is requiring patients, staff and visitors to mask up again. Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa Medical Center has reinstated a temporary mask mandate for people within its facilities. The measure is a direct response to the increasing number of individuals testing positive for the coronavirus, according to an official statement made on Wednesday. (Vaziri, 8/23)

Less than two weeks into the school year, a Kentucky school district has canceled in-person classes for the rest of week after nearly a fifth of its students came down with Covid, strep throat, the flu and other illnesses. The Lee County School District, which has just under 900 students, began classes Aug. 9 but noticed attendance drop to about 82% on Friday, Superintendent Earl Ray Schuler said. By Monday, the rate dipped to 81%, and 14 staff members called in sick, Schuler said. (Pandey, 8/24)

Speedy implementation of a combination of measures such as face masks, lockdowns and international border controls, “unequivocally” reduced COVID-19 infections, a major review has shown. The report published Thursday by the Royal Society looked at findings from six evidence reviews that analyzed thousands of studies to assess the effect of masks, social distancing and lockdowns, test trace and isolate systems, border controls, environmental controls and communications. It found evidence that each of these measures — which are called "non-pharmaceutical interventions" — were effective, albeit to varying degrees, when looked at individually. However, the evidence in favor of using these tools was stronger when countries combined several measures. (Furlong, 8/24)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Timing And Cost Of New Vaccines Vary By Virus And Health Insurance Status 

As summer edges toward fall, thoughts turn to, well, vaccines. Yes, inevitably, it’s time to think about the usual suspects — influenza and covid-19 shots — but also the new kid in town: recently approved vaccines for RSV, short for respiratory syncytial virus. But who should get the various vaccines, and when? “For the eligible populations, all three shots are highly recommended,” said Georges Benjamin, a physician and the executive director of the American Public Health Association. (Appleby, 8/24)

Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ.N) Janssen division, which helped to develop its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine, will close much of its vaccine research and development operations in the Netherlands, newspaper De Telegraaf reported. In an emailed response on Wednesday, Johnson & Johnson confirmed plans to exit some of its vaccine research and development programmes, which it said it had initially disclosed in its 2023 second-quarter results. (8/23)

The nationwide median rate of kindergartners with vaccine exemptions nearly doubled between the school years ending in 2012 and 2022, per CDC estimates. While COVID-19 vaccination is not required for young children attending public school anywhere in the U.S., it appears that concerns over that shot may be fueling broader vaccine skepticism among a relatively small but growing number of parents — though that trend certainly existed before the pandemic. (Fitzpatrick and Beheraj, 8/24)