Adios COVID Funds; Death After Xenotransplant; What’s ‘Deltacron’?

Note that some links may require registration or subscription.

Democrats took $15.6 billion in COVID relief funding off the table in order to get the $1.5 trillion federal spending bill passed by the House of Representatives. (New York Times)

Observers decried Russia’s bombing of a maternity and children’s hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine. (BBC News)

The recipient of that groundbreaking pig-to-human heart xenotransplant died 2 months later, with the cause of death to be determined. (New York Times)

As of Thursday at 8 a.m. EST, the unofficial U.S. COVID toll is 79,406,602 cases and 963,819 deaths, up 37,143 cases and 1,884 deaths from this time yesterday.

Is China relaxing its stance on “zero COVID”? (ABC News)

Coronavirus cases and deaths continue to fall around the world — with the exception of the Western Pacific, the World Health Organization said. (AP)

Is England’s slight uptick in infections among older people a sign that the country lifted pandemic restrictions too early? (The Guardian)

NIH researchers are undertaking a small study on whether people who experienced mild or moderate systemic allergic reactions to a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine can safely receive a second dose.

Scientists say they’ve found coronavirus mutations in infected deer. (NPR)

Researchers sound the alarm on fentanyl laced with the animal tranquilizer xylazine. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

The “Deltacron” variant is in the U.S., but seems unlikely to be a big problem. (USA Today)

United Airlines, one of the first major companies with a COVID-19 vaccine mandate, will welcome back unvaccinated workers who had left their regular roles. (Wall Street Journal)

Minneapolis teachers on strike discuss the mental health struggles of their students during the pandemic. (AP News)

Davis, California, boasts a successful campus-city initiative providing testing, vaccination, housing to the local community. Other university towns haven’t followed the example. (KHN)

Some tips on how to recover from a sports injury. (NPR)

As in the case of the HawkOne, Medtronic’s TurboHawk Plus direction atherectomy system is under class I recall, due to the same problem of catheter tips breaking off, the FDA warned.

The FDA cleared Cionic’s Neural Sleeve for functional electrical stimulation in people with foot drop and leg muscle weakness due to multiple sclerosis, stroke, cerebral palsy, and other neurological conditions, the manufacturer announced.

A bill that would criminalize gender-affirming healthcare for minors passed Idaho’s House of Representatives. (CBS News)

Nurses take advantage of a unique time to advocate for better work conditions. (STAT)

In a D.C. psychiatric hospital, a fight between patients turns deadly. (NBC Washington)