On Aug. 31, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization (EUA) for an updated version of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine that more closely targets currently circulating variants to provide better protection against serious consequences of COVID-19, including hospitalization and death.

Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved and granted emergency use authorization (EUA) for updated mRNA COVID-19 vaccines (2024-2025 formula) to include a monovalent (single) component that corresponds to the Omicron variant KP.2 strain of SARS-CoV-2.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) COVID-19 Vaccination Public Education Campaign, We Can Do This, resulted in an estimated $731.9 billion in societal benefits due to averted illness and related costs, resulting in a nearly $90 return in societal benefits for every $1 spent, according to research published recently in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Scientists debated the origins of COVID-19 on Tuesday, trading barbs over whether the bulk of evidence available points to a natural spillover event from a wild animal or a virus designed in a lab and then let loose through an inadvertent leak.

Dr. Anthony Fauci defended his decision-making during the COVID-19 pandemic on Monday, testifying before Congress about his work on the virus as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases during two presidencies.

A proposed Ohio House Bill would restrict the ability of an employer to punish employees for not taking vaccines, or other medical treatments. The sponsors of the bill laid out their case during the bill’s first hearing earlier this month.

A statewide database of dead Ohioans with the names and addresses associated with the causes of death is not available to the public via a public records request because it contains “protected health information,” the Supreme Court of Ohio ruled Wednesday.

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can damage the heart even without directly infecting the heart tissue, a National Institutes of Health-supported study has found. 

The Ohio Supreme Court has asked a lower court to review a second case in which an Ohio State University student asked for a refund of fees paid to the university during the COVID-19 pandemic, when closures affected the school year.

Women who receive an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccination or booster during pregnancy can provide their infants with strong protection against symptomatic COVID-19 infection for at least six months after birth, according to a study from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. 

CDC this month released updated recommendations for how people can protect themselves and their communities from respiratory viruses, including COVID-19. 

On Wednesday, CDC Director Mandy Cohen endorsed the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ (ACIP) recommendation for adults ages 65 years and older to receive an additional updated 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccine dose. The recommendation acknowledges the increased risk of severe disease from COVID-19 in older adults, along with the currently available data on vaccine effectiveness.

When the Minnesota legislature was debating a paid sick leave bill last year, business owners argued that such a law would not allow them to provide as many employee “perks” or be as “adaptive” to employee needs as they say they would be without such a requirement. But a half dozen witnesses made a case for the need, with many workers sharing examples of the numerous times they had to work while ill.

New research from Ohio State University shows the most recent variant of the COVID-19 virus “can be neutralized” by the latest vaccines, preventing a “widespread surge,” even as the state sees a winter rise set in.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced a steep decline in economic activity for cities. That decline significantly curtailed municipal revenue, leaving cities to figure out how to keep delivering on essential responsibilities, such as police, fire and social services.