Global

Explainer: Do I need to worry about COVID again? New data from scientists and vaccine makers Moderna and Pfizer /BioNTech suggests that a newer, highly mutated variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 is not as alarming as some experts had feared when it was first detected several weeks ago. Deena Beasley,Julie Steenhuysen Reuters

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Three lessons from Covid that could help global leaders prevent the next pandemic "If we wanted to, this could be the last pandemic. It's a political choice,” said Joanne Liu, a professor at McGill University’s School of Population and Global Health. Theresa Gaffney STAT

Everyone has things that, looking back, they would have done differently in the early days of 2020, had they known how the Covid-19 pandemic would tear across the globe. But those regrets may be particularly poignant for global leaders whose actions (or lack thereof) had direct impacts on how Covid-19 spread.

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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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