Social behavior

EU lifts mask requirement for air travel as pandemic ebbs BERLIN (AP) — The European Union will no longer require masks to be worn at airports and on planes starting next week amid the easing of coronavirus restrictions across the bloc, authorities said Wednesday. AP NEWS

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While the new recommendations take effect on May 16, rules for masks may still vary by airline beyond that date if they fly to or from destinations where the rules are different. ...

What will COVID look like this summer? Health experts say the virus won't be endemic, yet. The past two summers saw increased cases, hospitalizations and death, but health experts say this summer may be different. YahooNews

The past two pandemic summers saw a spike in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and death, but this season may be different.

Covid's toll in the U.S. reaches a once unfathomable number: 1 million deaths "It's an exponential number of other people that are walking around with a small hole in their heart," one widow said. NBC News

The U.S. on Wednesday surpassed 1 million Covid-19 deaths, according to data compiled by NBC News — a once unthinkable scale of loss even for the country with the world's highest recorded toll from the virus.

Another pandemic is inevitable, scientists say. Mass vaccination is not. Scientists can make safe and effective vaccines against novel pathogens. The bigger challenge is persuading everyone to use them. NBC News

In April, more than 1,000 vaccine experts gathered in Washington, D.C. for the first time since the pandemic began. Over four days, scientists, doctors and drugmakers pored over cutting-edge research and tackled some of the most pressing questions in the world of vaccines.