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Getting a Covid booster and a flu shot together is better than getting them separately, a new study has found. The study, presented at an annual Vaccines Summit in Boston, involved two groups of Massachusetts healthcare workers. (Salam, 11/15)

Great news for those who lost some or all of their sense of smell or taste due to COVID-19: The effect, while persistent, does not appear to be permanent. A study led by the University of Trieste, Italy, has found that despite the loss of taste and smell associated with COVID-19, progressive recovery and restoration of the senses occurs slowly over time. (Jackson, 11/16)

At 3, 6, and 12 months, rates of wet and dry cough were similar, but the proportion of patients producing sputum without coughing rose over time compared with those with both sputum production and coughing. At all follow-up visits, analyses of cough and sputum production identified the risk factors for persistent symptoms as the use of intermittent mandatory ventilation (IMV), smoking, and older age. (Van Beusekom, 11/15)

Congress appears destined to end the year without renewing expired federal pandemic preparedness programs after questions about emergency stockpiles, drug shortages and cracks in the nation's health security system got subsumed in COVID-19 politics. Reauthorizing the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act was billed as a must-do early this year, after the pandemic exposed gaps in countermeasures and disease surveillance. (Knight, 11/16)

Los Angeles County has confirmed its first flu death of the season, and with the bulk of the season still ahead, health officials are reminding residents to get vaccinated. The person who died was elderly and had multiple underlying health conditions, according to the county Department of Public Health. There was no record of the person being vaccinated for flu this season, officials added. (De Leon, 11/15)

It's not too late to get that annual flu shot before Thanksgiving. Experts say it's safe to get the vaccine one week ahead of time, and it's wise to consider it if you're traveling to visit friends and family. Interactions across the generations, for example, between school-age children with their grandparents, are ripe moments for the influenza virus to spread. Different strains of the virus can combine under one roof when groups get together during the chilly months, said Dr. Jonathan Temte. (Cuevas, 11/16)

The seasonal surge in the respiratory illness RSV has begun in Massachusetts, as prospects dim for adequate supplies of a drug that experts had touted as a lifesaver for babies. “The surge is on its way,” said Dr. Laura J Cardello, director of inpatient pediatrics at South Shore Hospital. “We’re not at the peak, but we’re definitely on the upswing.” In the last two weeks, RSV was diagnosed in half of children seen at the hospital for respiratory illness, and it is expected to soon become the dominant virus, Cardello said. (Freyer, 11/15)