The CDC could shrink under a second Trump administration A CDC reorganization as some conservatives are calling for could impact the agency's ability to help prevent or mitigate the spread of disease, according to a former agency director. POLITICO

Fueled by a distrust of the CDC’s handling of Covid-19 and the recommendations it made on measures like masking and vaccines, many conservatives want the agency dismantled — and hope a second Trump administration could make it happen.

Blood Test Could Predict Long-Term COVID-19 Lung Problems New research alleviates concerns that severe COVID-19 could trigger relentless, ongoing lung scarring that could lead to death. Joshua Barney UVA Health Newsroom

UVA Health researchers have discovered a potential way to predict which patients with severe COVID-19 are likely to recover well and which are likely to suffer “long-haul” lung problems. That finding could help doctors better personalize treatments for individual patients.

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Analysis: 4 years, 1.2 million lives and trillions of dollars later, a rematch | CNN Politics Americans may feel like they’re reliving 2020, with a general election rematch set for 2024. But while the politicians’ faces are the same, life is much different. Zachary B. Wolf CNN

..it’s equally remarkable, precisely four years later, how Covid-19 has both changed American life and also faded to the background.

Covid vaccines cut risk of virus-related heart failure and blood clots, study finds Researchers say jabs substantially reduce for up to a year the chances of serious cardiovascular complications The Guardian

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No parent who has seen the children I’ve treated for measles would refuse a vaccine Pediatrician Paul Law fights measles in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He’s never seen a parent there turn down a vaccine. Torie Bosch STAT

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Masks work, telehealth is here to stay — and other health lessons we've learned since the pandemic started 4 years ago It’s been four years since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. Here are six important lessons we’ve learned. Yahoo Life

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SARS-CoV-2 RNA can persist in blood, tissue, may play role in long COVID, research suggests The probability of having persistent viral fragments was about double in hospitalized participants and in those who reported being very ill but weren't hospitalized. CIDRAP

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Study of 1 million US kids shows vaccines tied to lower risk of long COVID A study of 1,037,936 US children seen in 17 healthcare systems across the country shows that COVID-19 vaccines are moderately protective against long COVID: 35% to 45%, with higher rates in adolescents. The study was published today in Pediatrics. CIDRAP

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The researchers estimated vaccine effectiveness (VE) against long COVID in children aged 5 to 17 years. Though severe COVID-19 cases are less common in children than in adults, persistent symptoms in children do occur.

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China to increase number of response teams for new infectious diseases