Cases Tick Upward; Opioid Retailers Held Accountable; Do Vaccines Reduce Long COVID?

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As COVID cases continue to surge in Massachusetts, health officials ordered hospitals with limited capacity to reduce non-essential, non-urgent scheduled procedures. (CBS Boston)

With daily case rates reaching record numbers and hospitals more than 90% full, the Buffalo, New York region reinstituted a mask mandate for all indoor public spaces. (New York Times)

COVID-19 hospitalizations have set a new 2021 record in Minnesota, the Star Tribune reported.

As of Wednesday at 8 a.m. EST, the unofficial U.S. COVID-19 toll reached 47,984,647 cases and 773,864 deaths, increases of 94,897 cases and 1,452 deaths versus a day ago.

Nearly 2 years into the pandemic, 74% of Americans feel their lives have returned to some degree of normalcy, according to a Yahoo News/YouGov poll. (Newsweek)

How can you tell when the pandemic is ending? Popular Science asked experts.

The Biden administration asked a federal appeals court to lift a court-ordered stay on the OSHA workplace rule that mandates COVID-19 vaccines or masking and weekly tests. (AP)

CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart helped flood Ohio counties with opioids, a federal jury found in a first-of-its-kind verdict. (Washington Post)

Will Flanary, MD, known as Dr. Glaucomflecken on social media, had testicular cancer twice in his 20s and urged men to “check yourself.” (Today)

The U.S. will require all essential foreign travelers to be fully vaccinated by January 22. (The Hill)

Shifting in response to the growing crisis, the head of the European Union’s public health agency said “booster doses should be considered for all adult individuals,” with priority for those over 40. (Reuters)

Total COVID deaths in Europe could exceed 2.2 million by March, the WHO said. (Reuters)

The international health group also urged countries with high vaccine coverage to share COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX initiative before vaccinating children and adolescents.

The FDA placed an early stage study of KO-539 in people with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia on a partial clinical hold after a patient died, Kura Oncology said.

Certain aerosol antiperspirants from Old Spice and Secret are being recalled due to the detection of benzene, a known human carcinogen, the FDA announced.

If the current public health emergency expires in January, telehealth visits by phone may end, too. (NPR)

Paul Marik, MD, who is suing Virginia’s Sentara Healthcare over its ban of certain treatments for COVID including ivermectin, had his hospital privileges suspended while a judge is considering his case. (Newsweek)

Seven anti-vaccine doctors contracted COVID after gathering at a Florida meeting where alternative treatments for COVID-19 were discussed. (The Guardian)

For $150 to $200 a pop, a physician in Washington state issued mask and vaccine exemptions to undercover journalists without asking their medical history. (KING 5 Seattle)

Adults who used Snapchat, Facebook, or TikTok were more likely to report increased levels of depressive symptoms on a later survey. (JAMA Network Open)

Nurses don’t want to be heroes: they want transparency, adequate resources, and for people to be vaccinated. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Do vaccines protect against long COVID? The jury is still out. (Nature)

The FDA approved a multidose vial presentation of the Audenz vaccine against influenza A (H5N1) in the event of a pandemic, manufacturer Seqirus announced.

Sun Pharma is recalling more than 100,000 bottles of generic tadalafil, an erectile dysfunction drug, in the U.S. due to problems with an inactive ingredient. (Fierce Pharma)

Two doses of India’s Covaxin vaccine showed 50% effectiveness against symptomatic COVID-19, a case-control study showed. (Lancet Infectious Diseases)

NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers is reportedly dealing with COVID toe following his bout with the virus. (Wall Street Journal)