Several federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates are set to end next week, researchers find only weak associations between COVID-19 vaccination and menstrual issues, and more in this week's roundup of COVID-19 news.

• CDC is currently investigating a COVID-19 outbreak linked to its annual Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) conference that took place in Georgia last week. According to CDC spokesperson Kristen Nordlund, around 35 people associated with the conference, including CDC staffers, had tested positive for COVID-19 as of May 2. "CDC is working with the Georgia Department of Health to conduct a rapid epidemiological assessment of confirmed COVID-19 cases that appear to be connected to the 2023 EIS Conference to determine transmission patterns in this phase of the COVID-19 pandemic," Nordlund said. She added that, "[w]henever there are large gatherings, especially indoors, such as at a conference, there is the possibility of COVID-19 spread, even in periods of low community spread." CDC has also emailed attendees to encourage them to participate in the health department's survey. "If you attended the conference in person, you may have been exposed to someone with COVID-19," the email read. "If you are experiencing symptoms, we recommend you follow CDC guidance for isolation and testing." (Choi, The Hill, 5/2; Sun/Diamond, Washington Post, 5/2)
• As the COVID-19 public health emergency ends on May 11, so will several federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates, including for federal workers and contractors, healthcare workers, Head Start educators, and most international travelers. "Our Administration's vaccination requirements helped ensure the safety of workers in critical workforces, including those in the health care and education sectors, protecting themselves and the populations they serve," the White House said in a statement. "… We also put in place vaccination requirements for certain international travelers to slow the spread of new variants entering the country." According to Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO of  Leading Age, "[a] continuation of the vaccine mandate is no longer needed" since the United States "is in a very different place now." She also noted that, regardless of a mandate, "there is no question that COVID-19 vaccines are safe, effective, and the best defense we have against the virus." Currently, CDC data shows that over 81% of Americans have been vaccinated against the coronavirus. However, interest in boosters has waned significantly, with fewer than 17% of Americans receiving the latest bivalent vaccine. (Diamond, Washington Post, 5/1)
• According to a new  study  published in  JAMA Otolaryngology, people who were vaccinated against COVID-19 had a greater risk of developing Bell's palsy, a form of temporary weakness or paralysis on one side of the face, than people who were not vaccinated. However, the risk of Bell's palsy was even higher among people who had been infected by the coronavirus. For the study, researchers analyzed studies about Bell's palsy and either COVID-19 vaccines or infection from December 2019 to Aug. 15, 2022. In total, 17 studies were included in their analysis, including four phase 3 randomized vaccine clinical trials. Overall, the researchers found that the risk of developing Bell's palsy was higher among 77,525 participants who received the COVID-19 vaccine in clinical trials compared to those who received a placebo. However, the risk of Bell's palsy tripled among individuals who had a COVID-19 infection compared to those who were vaccinated. "This is the first meta-analysis that addressed whether SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and infection are associated with Bell's palsy," said Ali Rafati, one of the study's authors from the  Iran University of Medical Sciences. "These findings show that the benefits of vaccinating against SARS-CoV-2 enormously outweigh the potential risk of developing Bell's palsy." (George, MedPage Today, 4/27)
• The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that  Aurora Health Care cannot be forced to treat a COVID-19 patient with ivermectin. Although some people have claimed ivermectin is an effective COVID-19 treatment, an  NIH panel found that clinical trials of the drug failed to show benefit. In the 6-1 ruling, the state Supreme Court overturned a previous lower court order that required the hospital to treat a patient, John Zingsheim, who had been placed on a ventilator due to COVID-19 complications with ivermectin. Although Zingsheim's nephew, who was authorized to make medical decisions for him, requested the hospital treat his uncle with ivermectin, Aurora refused. According to the hospital, "the use of ivermectin in the treatment of John Zingsheim's COVID-19 symptoms does not meet the standard of care for treatment." In the ruling, the state Supreme Court said the lower circuit order "does not cite any statute, case, or other source of law as a foundation allowing for its issuance." (Shapero, The Hill, 5/2)
• In a large, register-based cohort  study, researchers only observed weak associations between COVID-19 vaccination and healthcare contacts for menstrual disturbance or bleeding disorders in women. For the study, which was published in The BMJ, researchers analyzed data from almost 3 million Swedish women ages 12 to 74 between December 2020 and February 2022. Most participants (87.6%) had received at least one dose of a COVID-19, and 64% had received three doses by the end of the study period. "Weak and inconsistent associations were observed between SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and healthcare contacts for bleeding in women who are postmenopausal, and even less evidence was recorded of an association for menstrual disturbance or bleeding in women who were premenopausal," the researchers wrote. However, Rickard Llung, one of the authors from the  Swedish Medical Products Agency and the  Karolinska Institutet, noted that "it's important to remember that we do not say that women don't experience these conditions. What we do say is that even if they experience them, they do not seem to be so severe that a woman will seek medical attention for these problems." (Robertson, MedPage Today, 5/3)