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Covid News Watch
Biden Accuses Governors of Risking Lives as 24 States Threaten Legal Action + More
Biden Accuses Republican Governors of Risking Lives as 24 States Threaten Legal Action
President Biden accused some Republican governors on Thursday of “the worst kind of politics” by using their powers to push back against vaccination and testing requirements. “The governors of Florida and Texas are doing everything they can to undermine the lifesaving requirements that I proposed,” he said in remarks from the White House about his economic plans.
Meanwhile, Republican attorneys general from 24 states including South Carolina, Missouri and Florida threatened to “seek every available legal option” against the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate plans. In an open letter published Thursday, they called the vaccine requirements for millions of federal employees, contractors and nearly two-thirds of the private sector workforce, “disastrous and counterproductive,” adding that such a move would be a “threat to individual liberty” and could overburden companies.
Health Canada Grants Full Approval to Moderna and Pfizer COVID Shots
Pharmaceutical Technology reported:
Health Canada has granted full approval to Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines, Spikevax (elasomeran mRNA vaccine) and Comirnaty respectively for use in people aged 12 years and above.
This marks the first full approval for Moderna’s Spikevax, which is indicated for active immunisation to prevent COVID-19.
The vaccine secured Canadian authorisation under an Interim Order for individuals aged 18 years and above in December last year. The authorisation was expanded last month to include adolescents aged 12 years and above.
Children’s Health-Related Behaviors Negatively Impacted by COVID Pandemic
Researchers from the Department of Exercise Science have illuminated additional ways that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted children’s health.
A recent study by members of the Arnold Childhood Obesity Initiative research group has already revealed accelerated increases in children’s BMI and weight gain since the pandemic began. Now the team has published findings from a study on the impacts of the pandemic on children’s health-related behaviors (e.g., physical activity, diet, screen time, sedentary behavior, sleep).
“Compared to pre-pandemic measures, children’s physical activity, sleep timing, screen time, and diet have significantly worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Bridget Armstrong, assistant professor of exercise science and lead researcher on the study published in Pediatric Obesity. “While any one of these behavioral changes might be concerning, their confluence for such an extended period of time may have significant health impacts, including dramatic increases in childhood obesity.”
CDC Data: Moderna Vaccine Has Edge in Preventing COVID Hospitalizations
The Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is slightly more effective at preventing serious illness from the virus than its counterpart from Pfizer-BioNTech, according to data released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
However, both two-dose vaccines, which have similar formulations, are better at reducing the risk for hospitalization due to coronavirus infection than the one-dose Johnson & Johnson shot, the data showed.
What Happened to Variant-Specific COVID Vaccines? — Are Vaccines Tailored to Beta or Delta Still Even Necessary?
With the FDA poised to weigh in on the data supporting boosters for COVID-19 vaccines — for the Pfizer-BioNTech shot (Comirnaty), at least — questions have been raised as to whether there’s still a need for variant-specific vaccines.
Earlier this year, some vaccine makers announced that they were developing variant-specific or multivalent vaccines. But as current versions of vaccines seem to provide lasting protection against severe illness, it’s not clear whether the other versions still have a role to play.
“Unless there is clear evidence of loss of protection, updating the vaccines every time a new variant takes over the population might not be the best strategy,” Ramon Lorenzo Redondo, PhD, a molecular virologist at Northwestern University in Chicago, told Bloomberg.
Pediatrician Discusses Timeline for COVID-19 Vaccine Approval for Children Under 12
The Food and Drug Administration said studies for the Pfizer vaccine in children ages 5 to 12 are ready for review.
Dr. Pia Fenimore, a Lancaster County pediatrician, said the fact that studies are ready for review means the vaccine could be ready sooner than expected – possibly in mid- to late October.
“A lot of people were willing to volunteer their child for these studies, so we were able to get the numbers of children in these studies faster than we thought we would,” she said.
FDA Panel Is First Key Test for Biden COVID Booster Plan
Associated Press via MSN.com reported:
The Biden administration’s embattled plan to dispense COVID-19 booster shots to most Americans faced its first major hurdle Friday as a government advisory panel met to decide whether to endorse extra doses of the Pfizer vaccine.
Scientists inside and outside the government have been divided in recent days over the need for boosters and who should get them, and the World Health Organization has strongly objected to rich nations giving a third round of shots when poor countries don’t have enough vaccine for their first.
U.S. Booster Policy Is in Flux as Studies Add to Dissent
Almost a month ago, President Biden announced a plan to make coronavirus booster shots available to most adults in the United States eight months after they received their second dose. But a week before the plan is to roll out, its contours are up in the air amid a chorus of dissent inside and outside the government.
The White House has already been forced to delay offering boosters to recipients of the Moderna vaccine, and for now it is planning third shots only for those who received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Depending on what two public health agencies decide in the coming days, the administration may have to change course again, perhaps restricting extra shots to older Americans and others who are particularly vulnerable to serious illness.
Pandemic Caused Many Women to Abandon Plans for More Children
Nearly half of mothers report they halted plans to have additional children because of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study published online Sept. 15 in JAMA Network Open.
Linda G. Kahn, Ph.D., from the NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City, and colleagues assessed changes in pregnancy intention following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis included 1,179 participants in the New York University Children’s Health and Environment Study who were currently pregnant or recently postpartum.
Moderna President: ‘We Don’t Really Know’ if Additional COVID Shots Will Be Necessary
Amid the growing controversy over whether the U.S. is in need of booster or additional vaccine doses to protect against COVID-19, Moderna (MRNA) president Stephen Hoge admits much remains unknown.
“We don’t really know” if a third shot will be the final or if more are needed, Hoge told Yahoo Finance.
In addition, who would benefit most from an additional shot is still a question.
After Resident Dies, Caregivers Allege Vax Coverup at Assisted Living Facility
Two whistleblowers who previously worked for a senior assisted living facility are leveling some damning accusations about the treatment of residents, including the claim that they are being told the COVID-19 vaccine is just a flu shot.
Cassandra Renner, who worked as a Medical Technician at Aegis Living in Issaquah, Washington, spoke to Project Veritas and said she came forward because she could no longer bear the corruption taking place at the facility.
Pfizer to Seek FDA EUA for COVID Vaccine for 5- to 11-Year-Olds in Coming Weeks + More
Pfizer to Seek FDA EUA for COVID-19 Vaccine for 5- to 11-Year-Olds in Coming Weeks
Children as young as five years old may soon get the COVID-19 vaccine. Friday, Pfizer announced that it would submit its clinical trials for their 5 to 11-year-olds to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the coming weeks.
This March, Pfizer began testing 4,500 children in a three-age group trial for their COVID-19 vaccine. The groups include school-age children from five to eleven, preschool age children from two to five, and infants from six months to two years old.
Parents Seek COVID-19 Vaccine Trials for Their Children Ahead of Official Authorization
Many parents across the U.S. are racing to put their children in COVID-19 vaccine trials to try to protect them from the virus sooner rather than later.
The shots haven’t been proven to work safely for youngsters, and child volunteers in later-stage trials may get a placebo, rather than the vaccine. Yet parents said they were willing to take the chance and submit their children to the trials’ blood draws, COVID-19 tests and appointments to safeguard them, as well as their family and classmates.
Babies Could Be Given Pfizer’s COVID Vaccine in the U.S. This Winter
Pfizer’s COVID vaccine could be rolled out to babies as young as six months in the U.S. this winter, under plans being drawn up by the pharmaceutical giant.
In a move likely to cause international controversy, the company intends to apply for authorisation to immunise American infants within the next two months.
America Has Its Own Virus Secrets
The Boston Globe via MSN reported:
Questions about the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic are being asked more insistently in Washington. President Biden has directed US intelligence agencies to tell him by the end of August whether the cause was an infected animal or a laboratory leak. He said he had “specific questions for China” and urged Chinese leaders “to participate in a full, transparent, evidence-based international investigation.” Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused China of “failure to meet its basic responsibilities in terms of sharing information and providing access.”
For more than a year, China resolutely ignored the pressure to allow neutral inspectors into its biological laboratory in the provincial capital of Wuhan, where the virus was first detected. Now it is adopting a different public posture. The new Chinese gambit might be called “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.”
Myocarditis VAERS Analysis Sparks Social Media Uproar
Researchers are getting pushback over a medRxiv preprint that relied heavily on Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) data to characterize myocarditis risk with the COVID-19 vaccine in adolescents, particularly young boys.
The report by Tracy Høeg, MD, PhD, of the University of California Davis, and colleagues found that rates of “cardiac adverse events” after the second dose were higher than previous CDC estimates, at 162 per million among boys ages 12 to 15 and 94 per million among boys ages 16 to 17. (Rates were much lower for girls, at about 13 per million for each age group.)
Mu Variant, Which May Be Vaccine-Resistant, in All 50 States After Nebraska Case
The COVID-19 Mu variant was confirmed to be in all 50 U.S. states after the mutation was detected in Nebraska.
According to Outbreak.Info, which uses data from the GISAID virus reporting network, 5,659 Mu variant sequences have been detected worldwide, as of September 4. Of those, 2,436 were detected in the U.S.
Louisiana Nurses Refusing to Get the COVID Vaccine
Louisiana’s largest hospital systems are requiring their employees to be fully vaccinated, but a minority of nursing staff say they are still considering leaving their jobs instead of getting the jab, citing concerns over personal liberty, lack of long-term studies, and discredited conspiracy theories …
“I will not take it and if I get fired, so be it,” said Pam, an LPN employed at an Oschner family medicine clinic in Hammond, Louisiana. “I’m completely against it. If they can take this freedom away from us, what else can they take away from us?
Doctor Argues for More Research Into Effects of COVID-19 Vaccines on Menstruation
Clinical trials for coronavirus vaccines should include examination of any possible effects on women’s menstrual cycles — if only because so many women are worried about possible problems, a British expert argued Wednesday.
But there’s also evidence the immune response prompted by both vaccines and viral infections can temporarily affect menstrual cycles, so studying these effects is important, Dr. Victoria Male, a reproductive specialist at Imperial College London, wrote in the BMJ.
FDA Authorizes Additional Batch of Johnson & Johnson Vaccine From Troubled Baltimore Plant
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized an additional batch of COVID-19 vaccine produced by Johnson & Johnson at an East Baltimore plant where regulators previously determined several million doses of vaccine were unusable.
It is not clear how many doses the new batch contains, but regulators said in a Wednesday letter that they meet the agency’s standards for safety and effectiveness.
FDA Strikes Cautious, Neutral Tone Ahead of Friday Vaccine Booster Meeting
Influential government advisers will debate Friday if there’s enough proof that a booster dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective — the first step toward deciding which Americans need one and when.
The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday posted much of the evidence its advisory panel will consider. The agency struck a decidedly neutral tone on the rationale for boosters — an unusual and careful approach that’s all the more striking after President Joe Biden and his top health advisers trumpeted a booster campaign they hoped to begin next week.
Champion Show Jumper, 22, Who Suffered Reaction to Moderna Vaccine May Never Ride Again + More
Champion Show Jumper, 22, Who Suffered ‘Extremely Rare’ Reaction to Moderna Vaccine May Never Ride Again
A champion show jumper may never ride a horse again after two massive clots formed on her lungs in an incredibly rare reaction to the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.
Imogen Allen, 22, was told by doctors that the clots, which formed two weeks after she was jabbed, could have been triggered by the vaccine alongside five years on the combined contraceptive pill.
Ms. Allen, from Woodcote, Berkshire, may never be able to ride a horse again and has had her dreams of becoming a police detective dashed after she was left bedbound.
FDA Staff Declines to Take Stance on Pfizer’s COVID Vaccine Booster Shots, Citing Lack of Verified Data
The staff of the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday declined to take a stance on whether to back booster shots of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, saying U.S. regulators haven’t verified all the available data.
“There are many potentially relevant studies, but FDA has not independently reviewed or verified the underlying data or their conclusions,” they wrote in a 23-page document published on the agency’s website. “Some of these studies, including data from the vaccination program in Israel, will be summarized during the September 17, 2021 VRBPAC meeting.”
COVID Teams Can Vaccinate Pupils Against Parents’ Wishes, Schools Told
Healthcare staff can decide whether children get a COVID vaccine against the wishes of their parents, according to government guidelines published on Wednesday that left some headteachers fearing protests at the school gates.
The guidelines say vaccinations for children aged 12 to 15 will be administered by School Age Immunisation Service (SAIS) teams that already carry out flu and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations in England. The role of schools will be limited to providing a site and distributing information and consent forms to pupils and parents.
When It Comes to the Delta Variant, the Kids Are All Right
Here’s the cost-benefit calculus parents need to consider — and it’s not a close call.
There’s little evidence that the Delta variant is more dangerous for kids than earlier versions of the virus. It spreads more easily, yes, but the minuscule death rate among infected children continues to drop compared with versions of the virus circulating last year.
By the end of July 2021, more than 80 percent of COVID-19 cases (adults and children) were caused by the Delta variant, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That sounds like an alarming statistic, and in some ways, it is. But when it comes to children, the facts don’t merit panic. In July, eight children under age 15 died, compared with 17 in July 2020. Some of the decrease may be due to improved treatment and vaccination of children 12 years and older, but the case fatality rate for children too young for the vaccine is lower than last year.
Teens Turn to COVID-19 Vaccine Advocacy as Most State Laws Prohibit Minors From Being Vaccinated Without Consent
There is a high school sophomore from Texas who wakes up at 6 a.m. on the weekends when she knows her parents are asleep, so she can secretly and quietly make calls as an ambassador for a teen pro-vaccine group, fighting off vaccine misinformation.
The reason for all the cloak and dagger secrecy? The 15-year-old, who asked to be called Rain (not her real name), is the daughter of QAnon followers who hold strident views against mask wearing, social distancing and the coronavirus vaccine.
A Pfizer Analysis Makes the Case for a COVID Vaccine Booster
The Food and Drug Administration released an analysis by Pfizer on the need for a booster shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
Pfizer’s analysis says data from Israel and the United States in the context of the Delta variant suggests “that vaccine protection against COVID-19 infection wanes approximately 6 to 8 months following the second dose.”
The company said the available data supports its request for FDA approval of a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to be given about six months after the second dose in people 16 years and older.
GOP Lawmakers Call for Pelosi to Subpoena Fauci on COVID-19 Origin
A group of House Republicans led by Rep. Chip Roy of Texas are calling on Speaker Nancy Pelosi to direct the committees of jurisdiction to subpoena multiple public health officials — including Dr. Anthony Fauci — to gain answers on the origin of the coronavirus.
In a letter sent to Pelosi on Tuesday, the lawmakers said that they have unsuccessfully attempted to seek information from multiple officials about the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases’ (NIAID) funding they believe may have been used for gain-of-function research, which can make viruses more infectious.
COVID-19 Hospitalizations Dropping in Florida
The number of people ending up in Florida’s hospitals with COVID-19 continues to drop this week, and that’s good news not just for strained staff but also patients who had elective procedures put on hold.
Florida looks to be in better shape now than a month ago when it comes to people hospitalized with the coronavirus.
“We’re looking at about a 40% improvement in the overall census over three weeks and about a 30% improvement in the ICU census,” said Justin Senior, the chief executive officer of Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida.
Cuba Will Begin Giving Shots to Children as Young as 2 + More
Cuba Will Begin Giving Shots to Children as Young as 2
Cuba will begin vaccinating children as young as 2 against the coronavirus this week, making it the only country so far to immunize children that young.
The United States and many European countries currently allow COVID-19 vaccinations for children 12 and older. U.S. regulators could authorize a vaccine for children 5 to 12 later this year.
Chile has begun vaccinating children 6 and older. China and the United Arab Emirates are now vaccinating children as young as 3.
Over 14K Vaccinated People With Breakthrough COVID Cases Have Been Hospitalized or Died
More than 14,000 vaccinated people in the U.S. have suffered severe illness from a breakthrough coronavirus infection.
As of September 7, at least 11,440 people who had a breakthrough case have been hospitalized and another 2,674 people who had a breakthrough infection have died, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Of these figures, 25% of breakthrough hospitalizations and 21% of breakthrough deaths were among asymptomatic individuals, or their hospital admission or death was not related to COVID-19, although they tested positive for the coronavirus.
Moderna COVID-19 Immunity Lasts 6 Months, No Need for Booster
Immunity from the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine lasts at least six months, and there is no indication that fully vaccinated people will need a booster shot, a small study published Tuesday by Science found.
The vaccine also appears to produce long-lasting protection against the coronavirus in people of all ages, including those 70 and older who are at higher risk for serious illness, the data showed.
What Happens if You Get Your Flu Shot and COVID Booster at the Same Time?
Last year, public health experts were deeply concerned about the prospect of a flu and a COVID-19 “twindemic.” But as it turned out, seasonal flu activity was unusually low. This was likely due to the combination of masking, stay-at-home orders, reduced travel and people paying close attention to things like indoor ventilation.
No one yet knows what the upcoming flu season will hold, especially with states’ differing approaches to masking and social distancing.
But one thing is clear: Health guidelines continue to state that anyone ages 6 months and older should get their annual flu vaccine. And that means millions of people will get their flu shot at or around the same time they get a COVID booster dose (or, for some, their very first shot of the coronavirus vaccine).
Is that safe?
57% of Vaccinated COVID-19 Patients Hospitalized in First Half of 2021 Had Mild or Asymptomatic Infections, Study Finds
A recent nationwide study may lead health officials to rethink how to analyze COVID-19 hospitalizations as a pandemic metric, The Atlantic reports.
After examining the electronic records for nearly 50,000 patients who had tested positive for COVID-19 at 100 Veterans Affairs hospitals across the United States between March 2020 and June 2021, researchers found that a significant number of the patients actually had mild or asymptomatic infections. Patients who required supplemental oxygen or registered a blood oxygen level below 94 were considered moderate to severe.
Biden’s Clashes With Own Experts Over COVID Booster Shots Undermine Promise to ‘Follow the Science’
Clashes between President Biden’s White House and the administration’s own experts over COVID-19 booster shots are threatening to undermine a key Biden campaign promise: that he would always “follow the science.”
The president promised in July 2020 that he would “[l]isten to the experts and follow the science.”
“Let’s set the partisanship aside. Let’s end the politics. Let’s follow the science,” he wrote in a November 2020 tweet.
But internal administration battles call into question whether the president is following the science or leading it.
Experimental Vaccine Lasts 1 Month at Room Temperature
While nearly 42% of the global population have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, only 1.9% of individuals in low income countries have received at least one vaccine dose.
This inequitable distribution is, at least partly, due to the limited supply of vaccines and the stockpiling of vaccines by rich nations.
With the successful vaccination of a substantial proportion of the population in wealthier countries, the supply and distribution of vaccines to middle and low income nations are improving.
UK Plans COVID Boosters for Over-50s to Cope With ‘Bumpy’ Winter
Britain will begin a COVID-19 vaccine booster program for older and more vulnerable people soon as Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government relies on vaccines rather than further lockdowns to navigate a “bumpy” winter.
Officials said COVID-19 vaccines had saved more than 112,000 lives and averted 24 million infections as they proposed a third shot for frontline health workers and those aged over 50 or clinically vulnerable, starting with people most at risk.
Johnson hopes the booster program, which is being undertaken without firm evidence about its likely impact, will mean that hospitals can bear the burden of all winter infections without the need for another lockdown.