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The Omicron variant may be more efficient at infecting children through the nose than previous versions of the coronavirus, a small study suggests. ... And severity of smell dysfunction after infection with the coronavirus may be a better predictor of long-term cognitive impairment than overall severity of COVID-19, according to an Argentinian study. (Lapid, 8/2)

The proportion of the more transmissible BA.5 Omicron subvariant continued to increase in the United States last week, rising to 85.5% of sequenced samples, up from 81.6% the week before, according to the latest update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Meanwhile, the proportion of the BA.4 subvariant made up 7.7% of samples, down from 9.6% the previous week. (8/2)

"COVID is over" might trend within social media circles, but weekly U.S. death tolls tell a different story. Despite a slight uptick in July, the pace of COVID-19 deaths has remained steady since May at about 400 a day, according to a USA TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins University data. (Rodriguez, 8/3)

Boston public health officials sounded a hopeful note Friday, saying COVID-19 metrics in the city had shown some improvement. But COVID-19 data from other sources last week continued to paint a picture of a pandemic that was refusing to fade in Massachusetts, thanks to the arrival of the highly transmissible BA.5 Omicron subvariant. (Finucane and Huddle, 8/2)

About 36.8% of the coronavirus tests conducted at Walgreens stores nationally are coming back positive, according to data published by the retail chain on Tuesday. That's up from about 30% recorded at the beginning of July. (Vaziri, Ho, Echeverria and Beamish, 8/2)

The North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that Gov. Roy Cooper’s secretary of health and human services should not be immune from a lawsuit over the administration’s restrictions on large gatherings in the early months of the coronavirus pandemic. (Schoenbaum, 8/2)

President Joe Biden’s “loose cough” has returned as he faces a rebound case of COVID-19, his doctor said Tuesday, though he “continues to feel well.” White House physician Kevin O’Connor provided the update on the president’s condition as he continues to test positive for the virus. He said Biden “remains fever-free,” and that his temperature, pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate and oxygen saturation “remain entirely normal.” (8/2)

Around a third of people with Covid will experience a rebound of their symptoms, regardless of whether they’ve been treated with the antiviral Paxlovid, according to a study posted online Tuesday. The preprint study — meaning it hasn’t been published in a peer-reviewed journal  — found that 27% of people with Covid saw a rebound in their symptoms after they had initially improved. (Lewis, 8/2)