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Could Paxlovid solve one of the pandemic’s biggest puzzles? A new study at Stanford University aims to find out. In the nation’s first medical trial of an antiviral strategy to treat long COVID, scientists are testing the drug to see if it helps ease the misery of fatigue, brain fog, shortness of breath, body aches, digestive symptoms and heart problems. (Krieger, 11/21)

A study using a special type of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has revealed brain changes in COVID-19 patients up to 6 months after recovery from their infections, according to findings to be presented at next week's Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) annual meeting in Chicago. ... The MRI results showed significant changes in the brain linked with fatigue, insomnia, anxiety, depression, headaches, and cognitive problems in the COVID-19 patients compared with controls. (11/21)

KHN: Treating Long Covid Is Rife With Guesswork 

Medical equipment is still strewn around the house of Rick Lucas, 62, nearly two years after he came home from the hospital. He picks up a spirometer, a device that measures lung capacity, and takes a deep breath — though not as deep as he’d like. Still, Lucas has come a long way for someone who spent more than three months on a ventilator because of covid-19. “I’m almost normal now,” he said. “I was thrilled when I could walk to the mailbox. Now we’re walking all over town.” (Farmer, 11/22)

Although COVID-19 positivity rates are up, there have been fewer coinfections with other respiratory viruses than expected, according to recent findings from Helix, a lab that assists the CDC with variant tracking. Helix shared some of the latest observations from its COVID-19 and viral surveillance efforts in a Nov. 21 email, noting COVID-19 positivity rates are rising for the first time since July, with the highest growth in adults between 18 and 24. (Carbajal, 11/21)

A new subvariant has taken over as the predominant version of coronavirus circulating in Massachusetts, causing experts to worry about a potential rise of infections this winter, especially as people gather indoors for the holidays. But for most people who have been fully vaccinated, they say, it will likely pose more of a nuisance than serious health threat. (Cross, 11/21)

COVID-19 exacted a higher infection-related and excess all-cause death toll from the United States than from 20 peer countries throughout the pandemic but had less of an impact in the most-vaccinated states in the Delta and Omicron surges, suggests a study published late last week in JAMA. (Van Beusekom, 11/21)

The World Health Organization (WHO) today announced the launch of a global scientific effort to update the list of priority pathogens, a list used to guide investments and research, especially for vaccines and treatments. It said the process began on Nov 18 with a meeting of more than 300 scientists, who are examining evidence on 25 virus families and bacteria, as well as "Disease X," an unknown pathogen that could cause a serious international epidemic. The group will consider scientific criteria, as well as the potential socioeconomic, access, and equity impact. (11/21)

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear California nursing home operator Glenhaven Healthcare's bid to avoid a lawsuit filed in state court over the COVID-19 death of a resident, turning away the company's effort to move the case into federal court to gain immunity from such litigation. The justices rebuffed Glenhaven Healthcare's appeal of a lower court's ruling allowing the family of deceased resident Ricardo Saldana to proceed with the lawsuit in a California state court. (Pierson, 11/21)