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Covid News Watch

Aug 30, 2021

1 in 8 Nurses Haven’t Gotten COVID Vaccine or Don’t Plan to Get One + More

1 in 8 Nurses Haven’t Gotten a COVID-19 Vaccine or Don’t Plan to Get One, a New Survey Finds, Setting Up the Potential for More Staffing Shortages at Hospitals

Business Insider reported:

As coronavirus hospitalizations surge again because of the Delta variant, America’s hospitals are dealing with another obstacle: One in eight nurses hasn’t gotten a COVID-19 vaccine or doesn’t plan to get one, a new survey found, potentially squeezing the already low supply of health workers.

The American Nurses Association surveyed nearly 5,000 nurses across the US in order to learn more about the questions and concerns they had about the vaccine. Twenty-five% of the nurses surveyed said they didn’t trust or were unsure that the coronavirus vaccines available were safe and effective. Out of those who didn’t intend to get vaccinated, 84% said there was not enough information about the long-term effects of the vaccine.

Is Vaccine Immunity Waning?

The New York Times reported:

Late last month, researchers in Israel released some alarming new COVID-19 data. The data showed that many Israelis who had been among the first to receive the vaccine were nonetheless catching the COVID virus. Israelis who had been vaccinated later were not getting infected as often.

The study led to headlines around the world about waning immunity — the idea that vaccines lose their effectiveness over time. In the U.S., the Israeli study accelerated a debate about vaccine booster shots and played a role in the Biden administration’s recent recommendation that all Americans receive a booster shot eight months after their second dose.

But the real story about waning immunity is more complex than the initial headlines suggested. Some scientists believe that the Israeli data was misleading and that U.S. policy on booster shots has gotten ahead of the facts. The evidence for waning immunity is murky, these scientists say, and booster shots may not have a big effect.

Gottlieb Says COVID-19 Vaccine Could Be Authorized for Kids by Early Winter

CBS News reported:

Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and a member of Pfizer‘s board of directors, predicted Sunday that the drug company‘s COVID-19 vaccine could be available to children younger than 12 by early winter, a crucial development in the nation’s vaccination efforts as kids return to the classrooms.

In an interview with “Face the Nation,” Gottlieb said Pfizer will be in a position to file data with the FDA at some point next month, and then submit its application to expand its emergency use authorization for its vaccine in children 5 years and older as early as October.

“The agency will be in a position to make an authorization, I believe, at some point, late fall, probably early winter,” Gottlieb told “Face the Nation. “And probably they’re going to base their decision on what the circumstances around the country, what the urgency is to get to a vaccine for kids.”

New Zealand Confirms First Death Linked to Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Linked to Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine

UPI reported:

New Zealand on Monday reported the country’s first death linked to the COVID-19 vaccine produced by Pfizer.

The ministry of health said the woman died from myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle and a known side effect of the Pfizer shot.

The nation’s independent COVID-19 vaccine monitor told the ministry that it considers the cause of the heart inflation to “probably” be due to the vaccine, but added that “there were other medical issues occurring at the same time, which may have influenced the outcome following vaccination.”

The case has been referred to the coroner’s office, which has yet to determine the cause of death, it said, adding that it will not further comment on the case until then.

Two Die in Japan Days After Receiving Moderna Shots Suspended Over Contamination Risk

CNN reported:

Two people have died in Japan days after receiving doses from a batch of Moderna COVID-19 vaccines whose use was suspended Thursday following concerns over a contamination risk, the country’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said Saturday.

A causal link between the vaccine and the deaths has not yet been established, according to the ministry and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, which distributes the Moderna vaccine in Japan.

Japan suspended the use of about 1.63 million doses of the Moderna vaccine on August 26 as a precaution after foreign substances were found in some vials.

Breakthrough COVID-19 Cases Are Rising, and Experts Are Trying to Figure Out Exactly What That Means

Pittsburgh Post Gazette reported:

U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle awoke at 4 a.m. Wednesday at his Washington, D.C., apartment with fever and chills, fearing the worst.

Later, he tested positive for COVID-19 despite having been fully vaccinated against the disease in January. Now he’s quarantined until Sept. 1, thankful he got the two-shot Pfizer vaccine, even though he got sick.

“My lungs are clear, and I’m able to breathe easily, so I feel protected since I’ve been vaccinated,” the 68-year-old lawmaker said Thursday. “The vaccine only protects you so you don’t end up on a ventilator or dead.”

Anxiety Running High as COVID-19 Threatens to Disrupt Schools — Again

The Hill reported:

Students across the U.S. are starting another school year under a cloud of uncertainty as the delta strain of the coronavirus rips through the country, threatening to disrupt plans for a second consecutive academic year.

The pandemic’s unpredictability has sparked high anxiety among children and teachers alike as they attempt to return to in-person school for the first time since March 2020, with lingering fears that COVID-19 could jeopardize educational routines again.

The back-to-school season has left children and families with mixed feelings. Many are excited to return to in-person class after months of virtual learning, while some adults are keeping a wary eye on rising pediatric cases and hospitalizations.

Israel Doubles Down on Booster Shots as Daily COVID Cases Set New Record

CNBC reported:

Israeli lawmakers are keen to avoid another lockdown after overseeing one of the world’s fastest vaccination drives. New daily coronavirus infections, however, have just climbed to record levels.

While many nations were grappling with the rapid spread of the highly transmissible delta variant, COVID-19 transmission in Israel declined sharply as the country vaccinated more than half of its population in around two months.

The country had one of the fastest vaccination rollout programs in the world, and by early June many of its coronavirus restrictions were lifted as new cases fell dramatically. But just days later, masks were reimposed as new infection numbers began to creep upward.

‘Don’t Do It’: Dr. Fauci Warns Against Using Ivermectin to Treat or Prevent COVID-19

Boston.com reported:

Federal health agencies and officials across the country are warning people not to take ivermectin — a drug used to treat parasites in livestock — to treat and prevent COVID-19.

According to The Boston Globe, poison control centers in at least a dozen states have reported an increase in calls related to ivermectin ingestion. In an interview with CNN, Dr. Anthony Fauci said there’s no evidence it works, and that it’s more likely to cause harm.

“Don’t do it; there’s no evidence whatsoever that it works and it could potentially have toxicity… with people who have gone to poison control centers because they’ve taken the drug at a ridiculous dose and wind up getting sick,” he said. “There’s no clinical evidence that indicates that this works.”

Vaccine Refusers Don’t Get to Dictate Terms Anymore

The Atlantic reported:

For months, institutions and companies have been drafting plans to aggressively promote vaccination or require it outright, and last week the FDA gave them license to click the “send” button. The same day the agency granted full approval to the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, New York City’s public school system announced that its teachers and other employees will be required to get shots.

The next day, Louisiana State University made a similar demand of its students and faculty. Within about 24 hours of the FDA move, other major employers, such as Chevron and Goldman Sachs, rolled out new vaccine mandates. In a novel twist, Delta Air Lines announced that it would impose a $200-a-month health-insurance surcharge on unvaccinated employees. Regardless of the reasons for their hesitancy, unvaccinated employees will literally have to pay for it.

Aug 27, 2021

About 3 in 4 Pregnant Women in U.S. Unvaccinated Against COVID + More

About 3 in 4 Pregnant Women in US Unvaccinated Against COVID-19

Fox News reported:

Most pregnant women in the U.S. have yet to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, according to the latest data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

As of Aug. 21, about 3 in 4 pregnant women aged 18-49 were unvaccinated, or in other words, 23.9% overall received at least one dose, per data from the agency’s Vaccine Safety Datalink. Vaccination coverage was reported lowest among Hispanic/Latina (19.2%) and Black pregnant women (11.7%), with higher coverage reported among Asian (35.2%) and White pregnant women (26.6%).

“Vaccination among pregnant people remains low,” the health agency wrote in part in the COVID Data Tracker weekly update on Aug. 20. “This low uptake persists despite recent increases in COVID-19 cases in pregnant people.”

Not Vaccinated Against COVID? It’s About to Get Very Expensive

Local10.com reported:

“People can get enormous bills for this and it is going to wreak havoc on the health systems trying to collect that money,” said Ray Berry, founder and CEO of Health Business Solutions, a consulting group that works with hospitals and insurance companies.

“Anyone who has gotten COVID up until this point will not have paid, anything but that will sure change in the next month or two. I believe it will change quicker than some people might think.”

Having SARS-CoV-2 Once Confers Much Greater Immunity Than a Vaccine — but no Infection Parties, Please

ScienceMag reported:

The natural immune protection that develops after a SARS-CoV-2 infection offers considerably more of a shield against the Delta variant of the pandemic coronavirus than two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, according to a large Israeli study that some scientists wish came with a “Don’t try this at home” label. The newly released data show people who once had a SARS-CoV-2 infection were much less likely than vaccinated people to get Delta, develop symptoms from it, or become hospitalized with serious COVID-19.

The study demonstrates the power of the human immune system, but infectious disease experts emphasized that this vaccine and others for COVID-19 nonetheless remain highly protective against severe disease and death. And they caution that intentional infection among unvaccinated people would be extremely risky. “What we don’t want people to say is: ‘All right, I should go out and get infected, I should have an infection party.’” says Michel Nussenzweig, an immunologist at Rockefeller University who researches the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 and was not involved in the study. “Because somebody could die.”

Virus Symptoms Can Last a Year, Study Finds

New York Times reported:

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.

Going Against FDA Warnings, Arkansas Physician Gives Anti-Parasite Drug to Jail Inmates With COVID-19

CBS News reported:

A detention center in Washington County, Arkansas, has been using the anti-parasite drug ivermectin to treat inmates who have COVID-19, local officials say, even though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has specifically warned against it. The FDA says the drug, which is frequently used as a dewormer in animals, is not an approved or recommended treatment for COVID-19, and “can cause serious harm.”

Eva Madison, a county elected official, raised the issue during a finance and budget committee meeting Tuesday night. Jail officials were presenting their 2022 budget, which included the jail’s physician, Dr. Rob Karas, asking for a 10% increase in the medical services contract.

Madison informed committee members and the jail officials that a county employee, who has opted to stay anonymous to the public, told her that he had been sent to the jail’s clinic to get tested for COVID-19. When the person tested negative, they were given a $76 prescription for ivermectin. He was concerned about the prescription and asked his primary care physician about it, and the physician told him to “throw that in the trash,” Madison said.

Nitric Oxide Nasal Spray Reduces COVID-19 Viral Load by 95% Within 24 Hours: Study

ZeroHedge reported:

A well known antimicrobial, Nitric Oxide, has been found to rapidly reduce SARS-CoV-2 viral load, knocking it down by 95% within 24 hours, and 99% within 72 hours, according to a recent study by researchers funded by England’s NHS foundation trust and SaNOtize Research & Development Corporation – a Canadian biotech company currently conducting Phase II trials of a nitric oxide nasal spray.

A group of 80 adults (18-70 years) with confirmed (Alpha strain) COVID-19 infections were divided into two groups, with half receiving nitric oxide nasal spray (NONS) that were self-administered 5-6 times daily for 9 days.

The goal of the nasal spray is to kill the virus present in the upper airways — preventing it from incubating and making its way to the lungs.

Washington Jail Offers Inmates Ramen Noodles for Vaccines

AP News reported:

Staff at a jail in south-central Washington state have come up with an inexpensive, but effective, way to encourage inmates to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

Since the first of the month the Benton County Jail has been giving away one of its most popular commissary items to inmates who sign up for their first COVID shot — ramen noodles, the Olympian reported.

By Monday, the jail will have given out 900 packets of noodle soup to 90 inmates, said Scott Souza, chief of corrections for the Benton County Corrections Department.

It’s advertised to inmates around the jail with fliers featuring a larger-than-life photo of the seasoned, wavy noodles and a headline that says SOUPS FOR SHOTS.

White House Says ‘Nothing Has Changed’ About 8-month Timeline For COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shots

CNN reported:

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Friday that “nothing has changed” about the federal government’s decision to recommend COVID-19 booster shots to eligible Americans eight months after they are fully vaccinated, after President Biden relayed that his administration was looking into whether to get booster shots in arms of Americans sooner than that.

“Well let me be very clear. The President would rely on any guidance by the CDC and the FDA and his health and medical experts. That guidance continues to be eight months. That has not changed. So I want to be very clear on that. If they were to change their guidance based on data for any particular group, he would, of course, abide by that. But for people watching from home, for you all who are reporting this, nothing has changed about the eight-month timeline as it relates to boosters,” Psaki said during the White House press briefing.

Aug 26, 2021

Biden Will Promote Boosters at 6 Months — Not 8, Report Says + More

Biden Will Promote  Boosters at 6 Months — Not 8, Report Says

Forbes reported:

President Joe Biden’s administration is planning to issue updated guidance recommending a third dose of Pfizer or Moderna’s vaccine be given to Americans six months after their second dose instead of eight months, according to The Wall Street Journal, as most vaccinated Americans say they’re ready for the next shot …

Approval for a plan, which is also expected to include information on a Johnson & Johnson booster shot, is expected by mid-September, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Unraveling the Mystery of Why Children Are Better Protected from COVID Than Adults

Scientific American reported:

The immune system uses a special mechanism to protect children from novel viruses — and it typically saves them from a severe course of COVID-19 in two different ways.

The immune system in the mucous membranes of their airways is much more active than that of adults. And in children, this system reacts much faster to viruses that it has never encountered, such as pandemic pathogens. At least, that is what a recent study by Irina Lehmann of the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité and her colleagues suggests.

Pfizer/BioNTech Request Full FDA Approval of COVID-19 Booster Vaccine

Fox News reported:

Pfizer/BioNTech have initiated an application for full FDA approval of its COVID-19 vaccine booster shot for individuals aged 16 and up, the companies announced Wednesday, noting plans to complete the application later this week.

The request for the so-called supplemental biologics license application draws on Phase 3 clinical trial data among 306 participants aged 18 to 55 who received a third dose between 4.8-8 months following the initial two-dose series, with some 2.6 months of follow-up. The companies said levels of neutralizing antibodies were 3.3 times higher following the third dose, versus the second dose.

Kids 12 and up Can Get Free Limited Edition Copy of the Avengers at Three SOMOS Community Care Vaccination Sites

Amny.com reported:

New York City kids ages 12 and up can get a free limited edition issue of Marvel’s The Avengers comic book if they get a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at three Somos Community Care vaccination sites, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday.

“Captain America started out as a skinny kid from Brooklyn…you too can become a superhero if you get vaccinated,” Mayor Bill de Blasio joked during a press conference at Staten Island’s Borough Hall. “It makes you strong…it makes you able to fight back against evil, it makes you able to take on COVID.”

“COVID is like Thanos out to hurt millions of people around the globe,” de Blasio continued. In the Marvel comic book universe, Thanos is a warlord from the fictional planet Titan whose sole goal in life is to decimate the populations of different planets to save the universe from becoming overcrowded and succumbing to the sad fate of his own.

‘I’m Still Not Planning To Get It’: FDA Approval Not Swaying Some Vaccine Holdouts

The Washington Post reported:

For five months, Chris Brummett has ignored his wife’s pleas that he get a coronavirus vaccine. He cares even less that federal regulators finally issued a long-awaited approval for one of them.

“My wife is on me all the time to do it,” said Brummett, 43, from Jackson County, Ind., who followed news this week of the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of Pfizer-BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine. But Brummett, a libertarian critical of both the Biden and Trump administrations, said he’s struggling to trust any government messages about the virus. “I guess for now it’s a no for me.”

Tyler McCann, 24, of Augusta, Ga., also remains a skeptic, citing the low risk of complications for people his age. “If I get it,” McCann says of COVID-19, “I will blame myself entirely. It’ll be my fault. But until then … I don’t see the necessity, and with how politicized it’s been, I’m just annoyed with it.”

UK’s NHS Planning COVID Vaccines for Children From Age 12, Reports Say

The Guardian reported:

NHS England has been told to prepare to administer COVID vaccinations to all children aged 12 and above, as vaccine advisers continue to consider whether to extend the programme, according to reports.

The planned extension to the vaccination programme would coincide with the start of the new school year. NHS trusts have been told to have plans prepared by 4pm on Friday, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Children aged 12-15 in the UK are currently offered coronavirus vaccines only if they have certain health conditions or live with vulnerable people, but distribution of the vaccines has already been extended to that age group by countries such as the U.S., Germany and Israel.

New WHO Group Aims to Improve Efforts to Find Pathogen Origins

Science reported:

This week, U.S. intelligence agencies delivered their highly anticipated assessment of the competing origin theories for SARS-CoV-2 to President Joe Biden, and media reports say it is inconclusive. Some unclassified details from the analysis may emerge this week, but the question of how exactly SARS-CoV-2 first infected humans remains a topic with a lot of speculation and few data …

Now, WHO is forming a Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO). Its broad remit is to examine the emergence of any pathogens, but one of its jobs will be to take the reins of WHO’s effort to pinpoint the origins of COVID-19. ScienceInsider spoke about SAGO with Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead for COVID-19 at WHO, which is now seeking nominations for the group. We have edited the interview for brevity and clarity.

Japan halts 1.6 million doses of the Moderna vaccine over contamination worries.

New York Times reported:

The Japanese health authorities on Thursday announced that they would halt the use of over 1.6 million doses of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine after some vaccination sites reported finding tainted vials.

The problem comes as Japan, which initially struggled to get its vaccination program into full gear, confronts its worst wave of COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began, raising concerns that medical systems in some parts of the country could be overwhelmed.

Aug 25, 2021

U.S. Intelligence Report on COVID Origins ‘Inconclusive’ + More

U.S. Intelligence Study Inconclusive on COVID Origins, According to Reports

The Guardian reported:

A classified U.S. intelligence report delivered to the White House was inconclusive on the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, in part due to a lack of information from China, according to U.S. media reports.

The assessment received on Tuesday, which was ordered by President Joe Biden 90 days ago, was unable to definitively conclude whether the virus that first emerged in central China had jumped to humans via animals or escaped a highly secure research facility in Wuhan, two U.S. officials familiar with the matter told the Washington Post.

They said parts of the report could be declassified in the coming days.

Biden Receives Inconclusive Intelligence Report on COVID Origins

The Washington Post reported:

President Biden on Tuesday received a classified report from the intelligence community that was inconclusive about the origins of the novel coronavirus, including whether the pathogen jumped from an animal to a human as part of a natural process, or escaped from a lab in central China, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

The intelligence community will seek within days to declassify elements of the report for potential public release, officials said.

… despite analyzing a raft of existing intelligence and searching for new clues, intelligence officials fell short of a consensus, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the report is not yet public.

As Delta Spread, COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness Against Infection Fell From 90% To 66% in One Key Study

STAT reported:

The effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines at preventing infection fell in one study of U.S. frontline workers from roughly 90% to 66% as the Delta variant emerged and became dominant in the country, an updated report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Tuesday indicated.

The study, known as HEROES-RECOVER, includes more than 4,000 health care workers, first responders, and other frontline workers in eight locations across six states, all of whom have been tested weekly for infection with SARS-CoV-2. More than 4 in 5 were vaccinated, and the vast majority of them received the mRNA vaccines from either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna.

Researchers had previously reported that from Dec. 14, 2020, when the vaccines started rolling out, to April 10, 2021, the vaccines were approximately 91% effective at preventing both symptomatic and asymptomatic infection from SARS-2. The finding underlined the ability of the vaccines to halt infection entirely and slash transmission; the clinical trials that led to the authorization of the vaccines had generally focused on their effectiveness at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 cases.

Even Mainstream Media Is Now Asking Big Questions About COVID Vaccines

ZeroHedge reported:

Former Congressman Ron Paul has highlighted this week that a handful of mainstream media articles have actually begun to break ranks in terms of questioning key aspects of vaccine effectiveness and mandates, particularly when it comes to the controversial boosters now being widely proposed.

“Even mainstream media is now asking big questions about the vaccines” Wednesday’s Liberty Report featured. A couple of recent headlines in Bloomberg and BBC were unexpected in terms the criticism reflected and somewhat skeptical pushback against the ‘consensus narrative.’

Johnson & Johnson Touts Antibody Response for COVID-19 Booster 8 Months After Original Vaccination

FiercePharma reported:

Shortly after the U.S. telegraphed its booster plan for Pfizer and Moderna’s mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines, Johnson & Johnson has rolled out trial results showing a follow-up dose of its vaccine boosts recipients’ antibody responses.

Armed with interim results from two phase 1/2a studies, Johnson & Johnson on Wednesday said a follow-up dose of its vaccine prompted a “rapid and robust” increase in spike-binding antibodies. The increase was more than nine times higher than results observed 28 days after primary vaccination, the company said in a release.

Investigators observed “significant” antibody boosts in patients between the ages of 18 to 55, as well as in patients ages 65 and up, the company said. For the study, investigators gave recipients boosters eight months after their original vaccination.

Global COVID-19 Cases Plateau After Nearly Two Months of Increase, WHO Reports

CNN reported:

The number of new COVID-19 cases reported globally “seems to be plateauing” after increasing for nearly two months, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday.

WHO reported more than 4.5 million new cases and 68,000 new deaths worldwide last week — only a slight increase from the more than 4.4 million cases and 66,000 deaths reported the prior week.

The cumulative global caseload now stands at more than 211 million, with the total death toll surpassing 4.4 million, according to WHO’s weekly epidemiological update.

The number of new global cases now appears to be stable, after increasing since mid-June, WHO noted in the report.

What Is the ‘COVID-22 Variant’ and Should Americans Be Worried?

Newsweek via MSN reported

On seeing the trending term, users responded with tweets and memes about what some perceived to be a whole new type of coronavirus.

Experts told Newsweek that the term is inaccurate and that “COVID-22” does not exist.

The term appears to have been coined by Sai Reddy, a professor of synthetic immunology at ETH Zurich, a public research university in Switzerland.

I Drove 8 Hours to (Maybe) Get My Baby the COVID Vaccine

New York Magazine reported:

The day my phone rang last week was unusual in that I had not yet Googled “when can kids get the COVID vaxx,” “pediatric vaccine timeline,” or some combination thereof, despite having been awake for hours. It hadn’t been necessary: Fellow despairing parents of those too young to be vaccinated had already filled my social-media feeds with the latest, grimmest headlines.

The nearly sevenfold increase in new COVID infections among children between the first week of July and the first week of August, and then the 48% rise in the week that followed; the pediatric ICUs at or near capacity in states with low vaccination rates; the desperate hope that the FDA providing full approval to Pfizer’s vaccine would allow pediatricians to prescribe it off-label to the under-12 set — 48 million people — for whom trials are still underway.