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Since the COVID variant Omicron emerged in late 2021, it has rapidly evolved into multiple subvariants. One subvariant, BF.7, has recently been identified as the main variant spreading in Beijing, and is contributing to a wider surge of COVID infections in China. (Mohammed, 12/20)

The estimated effectiveness of two COVID-19 vaccine doses was 61% among children and 67% among adolescents in Argentina during Delta variant predominance and 16% and 26%, respectively, during the Omicron period, finds a test-negative, case-control study published in BMJ. (Van Beusekom, 12/20)

Mike Yada remembers the day in August 2020 when it became clear that his unusual symptoms — which emerged after a mild case of Covid-19 earlier in the year — were worsening. “I went for an easy hike, but by the end I was so winded that I couldn’t walk back to my car,” said Yada, who, pre-Covid, would have easily traversed the flat terrain near the beach. He had to call an Uber for the one-mile ride back to his parked car. (O'Brien, 12/20)

Gabe Pastores is walking on a treadmill and cracking jokes. Given what he’s been through the past two years, he’d count those as giant steps. “Next, I’m gonna sing…‘Cover of the Rolling Stone,’” he half-seriously tells his pulmonary rehab specialist. Pastores, 58, loves classic rock, and the intro to that ‘70s song by Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show could not be more appropriate. (Richert, 12/21)

For optimal protection against respiratory pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2, procedure masks shouldn't be worn over N95 filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs), according to a study published today in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology. (Van Beusekom, 12/20)

Oakland will require all employees and visitors to wear a face mask when entering city facilities beginning immediately — an attempt to get a handle on the “tripledemic” hitting the Bay Area of COVID, flu and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. (Ravani, 12/20)

Mayor Eric Adams put his face mask on again on Tuesday and encouraged New Yorkers to do the same. Mr. Adams held a news conference at City Hall to urge residents to take precautions in the face of a winter surge of Covid-19 cases and other illnesses. “With the holiday season in full swing and cases of Covid-19, flu and R.S.V. rising, we are asking New Yorkers to protect themselves and their loved ones once again,” Mr. Adams said. It was the mayor’s first Covid briefing in months, and he does not typically wear a mask in public. (Fitzsimmons, 12/20)

A Texas Senate committee wants the state to ban mask and COVID-19 vaccine mandates, a sign pandemic policy may become a flashpoint in the upcoming legislative session. The Republican-led Senate Health and Human Services Committee included the coronavirus recommendations in a newly released 37-page report. (Morris, 12/20)

The Biden administration said it could no longer wind down the so-called Title 42 policy by Wednesday, even if the Supreme Court allowed it to follow through on a lower court’s ruling to effectively terminate the border directive that has prevented the entry of millions of migrants. The response on Tuesday from the Department of Justice comes a day after Chief Justice John Roberts issued a temporary stay of a federal district court judge’s order that required the Biden administration to lift the implementation of Title 42 by Wednesday morning. (Ward and Gerstein, 12/20)

The $1.7 trillion omnibus Congress is poised to pass this week has provisions addressing the ability to respond to future pandemics, but some experts say its lack of new spending, including on COVID-19, will leave Americans vulnerable. (Sullivan and Owens, 12/21)

Public health officials in Michigan have spent much of this year trying to return to normalcy after the peaks of the COVID-19 pandemic, and are looking forward to mending relationships with schools and businesses that were stressed by the pandemic. They also face other statewide challenges in 2023. (Hall, 12/20)