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An analysis that was the basis of a highly criticized recommendation from Florida’s surgeon general cautioning young men against getting the COVID-19 vaccine omitted information that showed catching the virus could increase the risk of a cardiac-related death much more than getting the mRNA shot, according to drafts of the analysis obtained by the Tampa Bay Times. The nonbinding recommendation made by Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo last fall ran counter to the advice provided by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Ladapo, a Harvard-trained medical doctor who was appointed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2021 to head the Florida Department of Health, has drawn intense scrutiny over his shared resistance with the Republican governor to COVID-19 mandates for vaccines and masks and other health policies endorsed by the federal government. (4/8)

The U.S. maternal mortality rate increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, disproportionately impacting Black women, with far higher odds of severe complications among pregnant patients with COVID infection at delivery, a new analysis published in JAMA Network Open found. (Dreher and Gonzalez, 4/10)

Chinese health officials defended their search for the source of the COVID-19 virus and lashed out Saturday at the World Health Organization after its leader said Beijing should have shared genetic information earlier. The WHO comments were “offensive and disrespectful,” said the director of the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shen Hongbing. He accused the WHO of “attempting to smear China” and said it should avoid helping others “politicize COVID-19.” (McDonald, 4/8)

Three years after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Americans’ views of the disease’s impact have stagnated into a complex set of mixed feelings, recent polling suggests, with few believing that the pandemic has ended but most also saying that their lives had returned mostly – if not entirely – to normal. (Edwards-Levy, 4/9)

Rock singer David Crosby died in January after contracting COVID-19, his longtime musical collaborator and friend Graham Nash said in a new interview. Speaking on an episode of the “Kyle Meredith With...” podcast released Friday, Nash said his former Crosby, Stills and Nash bandmate, who died Jan. 19 at age 81, had fallen ill while on his latest tour. (Rottenberg, 4/8)

Jennifer Henderson lifted a cup of coffee to her nose and sniffed. After struggling to smell and taste for two years, she burst into tears. "I can smell it," she said, her voice cracking and tears welling up in her eyes. The moment was captured on video after doctors injected medicine into nerves in her neck. (Martin, 4/7)