EU drops U.S. from list of COVID-safe countries for travel | Reuters

BRUSSELS, Aug 30 (Reuters) - European Union governments agreed on Monday to remove the United States from the EU's safe travel list, meaning U.S. visitors and those from five other countries are likely to face tighter controls, such as COVID-19 tests and quarantines.

Israel, Kosovo, Lebanon, Montenegro, and North Macedonia have also been taken off. The list seeks to unify travel rules across the bloc, although it does not bind individual EU nations, which are free to determine their own border policies.

Covid booster jabs ‘not a luxury’ and protect the vulnerable, says WHO | World Health Organization | The Guardian

A booster jab of Covid-19 vaccine for vulnerable people is not a luxury but a good way to protect them, the World Health Organization has said, as surging infection rates and a pan-European vaccination slowdown produced a “deeply worrying” situation.

“A third dose of vaccine is not a luxury booster taken away from someone who is still waiting for a first jab,” Dr Hans Kluge, the WHO’s regional director for Europe, said on Monday. “It’s basically a way to keep the most vulnerable safe.”

What you need to know about the coronavirus right now | Reuters

-- Some U.S. fast-food restaurants are closing indoor seating areas or limiting hours of operation because of the spread of the Delta variant, according to franchisees.

McDonald’s had temporarily closed indoor dining at nearly all U.S. locations in early 2020, but it reopened 70% by last month. The global burger chain said on July 28 that it was on track to open nearly 100% by Labor Day - barring any COVID-19 resurgence.

But last week, McDonald’s instructed its franchisees on steps they should take to re-close their dining rooms in areas where the Delta variant is rapidly spreading, according to internal company materials seen by Reuters.

 -- Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine contamination woes in Japan have widened with another million doses being temporarily suspended, after foreign substances were found in more batches and two people died following shots from affected lots.

India's COVID vaccine supply jumps, raising export hopes | Reuters

NEW DELHI, Aug 30 (Reuters) - India's rising output of COVID-19 vaccines and the inoculation of more than half its adult population with at least one dose are raising hopes the country will return as an exporter within months, ramping up from early next year.

US intel review inconclusive on COVID-19 origin An intelligence community report released Friday was inconclusive as to whether COVID-19 originated in a lab or jumped from animals to humans naturally, though U.S. officials stated that it was not Nathaniel Weixel and Rebecca Beitsch TheHill

An intelligence community report released Friday was inconclusive as to whether COVID-19 originated in a lab or jumped from animals to humans naturally, though U.S. officials stated that it was not developed as a biological weapon.

Why the U.S. needs to expand its domestic public health supply chain Expanding the domestic supply chain for public health materials will strengthen national security and improve the U.S. economy. Patrick Skerrett STAT

One of the many hard lessons learned from Covid-19 has been that a robust and resilient domestic public health industrial base is essential to the health and security of the United States.

Clamoring for ivermectin, some turn to a pro-Trump telemedicine website Ivermectin is the hot new false cure in some Facebook and Reddit groups, where shortages are pushing some people to a pro-Trump telemedicine site. NBC News

...Ivermectin has been called a “wonder drug” because of its use in treating parasitic diseases, but it has not shown the same results in studies against viruses. 

Holes in reporting of breakthrough Covid cases hamper CDC response The agency originally tried to track all infections in vaccinated people, from mild to severe. But in May it decided to focus on the most severe cases. Erin Banco POLITICO

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is using outdated and unreliable data on coronavirus breakthrough infections to help make major decisions, such as who gets booster shots, according to three officials with direct knowledge of the situation.

'Hell no': Some police officers and their unions oppose vaccination mandates New York City Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said that he is "100 percent" behind a vaccination requirement and that a mandate should come from the state or federal levels. NBC News

...

Police unions in Tulsa, Oklahoma; Seattle; and Syracuse, New York, have pushed back against vaccination requirements, as has the union representing state police in Massachusetts.

A new study found half of Covid patients had lingering symptoms one year later.

One year after becoming ill with the coronavirus, nearly half of patients in a large new study were still experiencing at least one lingering health symptom, adding to evidence that recovery from Covid-19 can be arduous and that the multifaceted condition known as “long Covid” can last for months.

The study, published Thursday in the journal The Lancet, is believed to be the largest to date in which patients were evaluated one year after being hospitalized for Covid. It involved 1,276 patients admitted to Jin Yin-tan Hospital in Wuhan, China, who were discharged between Jan. 7 and May 29, 2020.