�������ýҕ�l

Vaccines that offer protection against both COVID-19 and influenza with a single shot will likely not be ready in time for this year, a top federal official said Wednesday. However, tweaks to update the current COVID vaccines and drugs are expected soon. The Food and Drug Administration's top vaccines official, Dr. Peter Marks, had previously said in September that vaccines to cover both viruses could be deployed this year. (Tin, 3/2)

In an update to the potential timeline for commercialization of COVID-19 medical countermeasures, including vaccines, the federal Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) said it expects that to happen once the doses are reformulated for the next coronavirus lineage. (Vaziri, 3/2)

In the three decades leading up to the pandemic, the US government invested $31.9 billion in research that supported the development of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in 2020, $337 million of which was invested before the pandemic, finds a Brigham and Women's–led study published yesterday in The BMJ. The researchers searched public databases for government-funded grants on four foundational innovations that directly led to the development of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, including lipid nanoparticle, mRNA synthesis or modification, spike protein structure, and mRNA vaccine biotechnology from January 1985 to March 2022. (Van Beusekom, 3/2)

Long COVID is associated with reduced brain oxygen levels, worse performance on cognitive tests and increased psychiatric symptoms, according to a new study. In an analysis of two parallel studies — a laboratory study involving cognitive testing and imaging and a population survey — researchers from the University of Waterloo found that individuals who experienced symptomatic COVID-19 illness showed impaired brain function compared to those who had not been infected. (Vaziri, 3/2)

Sen. Ted Cruz demanded prosecution for Dr. Anthony Fauci, telling conservative activists Thursday that the nation’s most prominent public health expert lied about COVID-19′s origin and “destroyed” lives by encouraging closure of schools and businesses and prodding Americans to wear masks and get vaccinated. (Gillman, 3/2)

You may have thought the question of masking was settled, or at least that we had all agreed to disagree, but no such luck. The debate over whether masks limit COVID-19 transmission recently reignited after a new review of the research came out, drawing out skeptics and defenders, and — as so often happens — leaving the ordinary citizen befuddled. (Freyer, 3/2)