SARS-Cov-2

A small study found no evidence that mothers infected with SARS-CoV-2 transmitted the virus to their babies through breast milk, affirming previous studies.

A new study shows that N95 masks, when decontaminated with vaporized hydrogen peroxide, can be reused. Researchers said the process does not compromise the masks’ effectiveness. It was the top story in infectious disease last week.

COVID-19 vaccination in the United States saved nearly a quarter-million lives in the first 6 months that shots were available compared with a scenario in which there were no vaccines, researchers estimated.

The Supreme Court on Thursday blocked President Joe Biden’s federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate for large private companies by a 6-3 vote. The mandate would have required employees to be vaccinated or get tested weekly.

As of July, federally qualified health centers had administered 61.4% of their COVID-19 vaccines to people of races and ethnicities other than white, researchers reported in JAMA Network Open.

The Biden administration on Wednesday announced it will send 10 million COVID-19 tests — five million rapid tests and five million lab-based PCR tests — to K-12 schools each month to help keep them open during the omicron surge.

A recently published study found that SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes, including induced abortion, cesarean sections, preterm birth and fetal growth restriction.

Beginning Jan. 15, private health insurers and group health care plans in the United States will be required to reimburse people for the cost of up to eight over-the-counter COVID-19 tests per month, federal health officials announced.

SARS-CoV-2 infection, even in asymptomatic cases, can lead to a broad autoantibody response that lasts beyond recovery from infection, according to findings published in the Journal of Translational Medicine.

The FDA on Friday amended an emergency use authorization for Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine to shorten the suggested time between a primary two-dose series and a booster shot from 6 to 5 months.