Fauci on Lab Leak; Murder Charge for Respiratory Therapist; Extra SNAP Benefits End

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FBI Director Christopher Wray said the bureau’s assessment was that the COVID-19 virus “most likely” originated from a potential lab incident in Wuhan, China. (Fox News)

But there remains a dichotomy of opinion among experts and “we may not ever know” the origins of SARS-CoV-2, said Anthony Fauci, MD, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, in an interview with the Boston Globe.

A former hospital respiratory therapist in Missouri suspected of being involved in the deaths of nine patients under her care was charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of a 37-year-old patient. (People)

Doctors were under pressure “not to make a fuss” when they raised concerns about Lucy Letby, a nurse in Great Britain accused of killing seven babies, a U.K. court was told. (The Guardian)

Residents of East Palestine, Ohio, are reporting unusual symptoms as cleanup continues after the early February train derailment, including a burning sensation when they breathe. (The Hill)

The 11-year-old girl in southern Cambodia who died after being infected with avian influenza A (H5N1) did not have the widely circulating variant, but rather a local strain that has been endemic there for years. (Nature)

Millions of Americans will lose about $90 a month in emergency Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits starting today as a pandemic hunger relief program ends. (CNN)

Will Novavax remain in business? The COVID-19 vaccine maker raised doubts this week. (Reuters)

Vaccination may lessen the severity and duration of long COVID, found a systematic review in BMJ Medicine.

Speaking of which, the CDC added long COVID to its death certificate guidance.

Georgia senators passed a bill to allow new hospitals to be built in counties with fewer than 50,000 residents without state permission. (AP)

Federal officials sued a Louisiana chemical maker, alleging its emissions pose an unacceptable cancer risk to the nearby Black community. (AP)

Abortion bans in Texas have left doctors “talking in code” to their pregnant patients. (NPR)

One in five patients at high cardiovascular risk did not accept their clinician’s initial recommendation of statin therapy. (JAMA Network Open)

Can computers run on organoid intelligence from human brain cells? (Frontiers in Science)

Here’s how investigators figured out what caused 58 Americans in 13 states to suddenly develop bacterial eye infections, including one person who died and five with permanent vision loss. (AP)

The virus family that includes influenza may have originated hundreds of millions of years ago in primordial aquatic animals. (Nature)

Physician-owned hospitals might make a comeback, thanks to a law reintroduced in Congress that’s backed by data from the American Medical Association and others. (Fierce Healthcare)

Former NFL cornerback Irv Cross had stage 4 chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), autopsy data showed. (AP)