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Covid News Watch
West Virginia Parents Sue Over Alleged Improper COVID Vaccine Dose + More
Wood County Parents Sue Over Alleged Improper COVID Vaccine Dose
Two Davisville parents have filed a lawsuit alleging their teenage son suffered immediate and lasting side effects after receiving an improper dose of a COVID-19 vaccine at a local pharmacy.
The complaint was filed June 24 in Wood County Circuit Court, one year after the plaintiffs say a student-employee at the Kroger pharmacy in south Parkersburg administered an undiluted dose of the vaccine to their 15-year-old child.
According to the complaint, filed on the behalf of John and Maria Louden by South Carolina attorney Brian J. Headley, Maria Louden was contacted by a pharmacist from the store the same day the shot was received. He said the CDC-recommended dose of the Pfizer vaccine was 0.3 mL, but this dose had not been diluted, resulting in the teen receiving a dosage “more than five times the recommended amount.”
“Over the following two days, (their son) suffered from side effects of the overdose, including high fever, severe nausea, headaches, body aches and dizziness,” the complaint said. As time went on, it says, their son experienced “fatigue, frequent headaches and a general ‘brain fogginess.’” The complaint says he continues to struggle daily “with forgetfulness and difficulty focusing on tasks.”
COVID in Israel: Infants Aged 6 Months to 6 Years to Be Vaccinated
Babies from age six months through age five will soon be eligible for vaccination against COVID-19 following a decision by Health Ministry Director-General Nachman Ash to accept an enthusiastic recommendation of the team for the treatment of pandemics.
The ministry will check on vaccine availability in the health funds. Doses for this age group will be smaller than for older children, approved months ago.
The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, both approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for babies and small children, are recommended especially for children at risk of serious chronic diseases and those who are undergoing treatment that weakens the immune system. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also recommended giving the vaccines to this age group.
You Can Now Get COVID Again Within 4 Weeks Due to the New Omicron BA.5 Variant, Health Expert Says
Health experts in the U.S. and abroad have found that the coronavirus variant currently responsible for most infections in the U.S., Omicron BA.5, can quickly reinfect people who already have protection against the virus.
People who have been vaccinated, received antibody treatments or developed natural immunity from contracting the virus were previously thought to have a lower risk of getting COVID-19, at least in the months following exposure.
However, Chief Health Officer of Western Australia Andrew Robertson told news.com.au that he’s seeing people get reinfected with COVID-19 in a matter of weeks.
A recent study out of Columbia University that has not yet been peer-reviewed found that the recent BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants are at least four times more resistant to protection against the virus compared with previous variants in the Omicron lineage.
Yale Researchers Predict COVID Endemic Phase Will Happen in 2024
When the COVID-19 pandemic first started, there were so many unanswered questions. Now more than two years in, there are still a lot of mysteries surrounding the ever-evolving virus.
With the virus evolving so quickly, and no more get-out-of-jail cards, COVID-19 will be with us for quite some time. According to a new study out of the Yale School of Medicine, an endemic phase is on the way, but probably not until 2024.
The researchers studied how a mild virus similar to COVID-19 impacts rats, then used models to create a timeline. The findings were published Tuesday in the journal PNAS Nexus.
“We used this model to predict many, many different scenarios, and ended up with a median of about two years from now that it will become endemic,” Dr. Caroline Zeiss, professor of Comparative Medicine at Yale School of Medicine, said.
Feds Want a Policy That Advocates Say Would Let Hospitals off the Hook for COVID-Era Lapses
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is responding to the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic by proposing to hide from the public a rating that lets consumers compare hospitals’ safety records and to waive approximately $350 million in financial penalties for roughly 750 hospitals with the worst patient-safety track records.
CMS’ chief medical officer, Dr. Lee Fleisher, said those safety metrics were not designed to properly account for how a pandemic, with its patient surges and workforce shortages, might affect hospital systems.
But patient safety advocates argue CMS is letting hospitals off the hook for their pandemic performances, and many decried the loss of transparency that suppression of such data would cause.
CMS wants to keep “patients, payers and insurers in the dark on what happened during the pandemic,” said Patricia Kelmar, director of healthcare campaigns for the nonprofit U.S. Public Interest Research Group. She added that without penalties, hospitals won’t be forced to change ahead of the next crisis that strains health systems.
New York City’s COVID Positivity Rate Tops 14% as Summer Wave Arrives
It just won’t leave us alone. As New York enters its third pandemic summer, the city has been caught in another COVID wave, with an explosively contagious Omicron strain pushing test positivity rates to steep heights.
On Wednesday, the weeklong positivity rate across the five boroughs had reached 14% and eclipsed 20% in parts of Staten Island, southern Brooklyn, Queens, upper Manhattan and the eastern Bronx, according to city data.
The city scrapped its color-coded COVID alert system last week, a tacit acknowledgment that New York has entered a different pandemic phase after Mayor Adams declined to observe the system’s recommendations when the alert level rose in May.
Monkeypox Vaccine Rollout Slammed as People Unable to Get Shot
A monkeypox vaccine rollout in New York City has been slammed, as people were unable to make appointments due to a technical glitch.
Monkeypox cases have risen in New York City in recent weeks, particularly among gay and bisexual men. As of July 6, NYC Health had recorded 119 positive cases of monkeypox.
New York City recently announced that it had received additional doses of the highly sought-after vaccine from the federal government and that walk-in clinic chain, MedRite, would be administering the rare supply.
An online booking system for the rollout was supposed to launch on the afternoon of July 6, Politico reported. However, some New Yorkers were able to book an appointment days before. NYC Health tweeted that it had been an “unfortunate glitch,” and that more appointments would be made available on the afternoon of July 6.
Newly Published Study Shows Cancer Drug Cuts Risk of Death for Hospitalized High-Risk COVID Patients
A drug initially developed in hopes of treating cancer patients could significantly cut the risk of death among hospitalized COVID-19 patients who are at high risk of severe disease, results published on Wednesday suggest.
The findings on the drug, called sabizabulin, were first announced in early April by drugmaker Veru, which submitted an emergency use authorization request last month. If the Food and Drug Administration signs off, it could add another option to the stable of drugs doctors turn to for treating hospitalized cases.
First discovered a decade ago by researchers at the University of Tennessee, the drug had initially been studied as a potential way to treat prostate and breast cancer.
Similar to the way it aims to curb the growth of tumors, Veru says sabizabulin could work also to disrupt the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in the body as well as to help tame the sometimes-fatal immune response the virus can trigger.
FDA Allows Pharmacists to Prescribe COVID Drug Paxlovid
U.S. News & World Report reported:
Patients who test positive for COVID-19 can now get the antiviral pill Paxlovid directly from their pharmacists, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Wednesday. The action removes limits that had restricted prescribing authority to healthcare providers and Test-to-Treat sites.
The American Medical Association (AMA) expressed reservations about the broader prescribing authority.
AMA President Dr. Jack Resneck said in a statement issued Wednesday: “While the majority of COVID-19 positive patients will benefit from Paxlovid, it is not for everyone and prescribing it requires knowledge of a patient’s medical history, as well as clinical monitoring for side effects and follow-up care to determine whether a patient is improving — requirements far beyond a pharmacist’s scope and training.”
Europe Is at Center of New Wave of COVID Infections, WHO Says
Europe is at the center of a resurgence in COVID-19 infections as more people mix at large-scale events and travel, according to the World Health Organization.
“We are seeing a much more intense wave of the disease passing through Europe again,” Michael Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme, said at a media briefing Wednesday. “And we will see it happen elsewhere — we are already seeing it in South East Asia and in the eastern Mediterranean region as well.”
Overall, the number of COVID infections rose 30% globally in the past two weeks, with the Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 driving the increase in Europe and the U.S. The agency said it was also following a new sublineage of subvariant BA2.75 which had been detected in India.
The increase in cases in Europe during the summer — when transmission should be more difficult because people are outside — results from people swapping one kind of mixing for another, such as attending large concerts and traveling more, Ryan said.
Australia Expands Fourth COVID Dose Rollout Amid Fresh Omicron Threat
Australia said on Thursday it would expand the rollout of the fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccines from next week as it battles a steady rise in hospital admissions fuelled by the highly transmissible new Omicron subvariants, BA.4 and BA.5.
The new subvariants have now become the dominant coronavirus strains in several countries, with pandemic experts warning they could lead to more hospitalizations and deaths because they spread more quickly than other coronavirus variants.
From Monday, people aged above 30 will be eligible for the fourth dose, Health Minister Mark Butler said, after Australia’s immunization advisory group updated its recommendations.
The changes will make more than 7 million people eligible for their second booster shot. The vaccination has been restricted up to now to people above 65 or with serious illnesses.
Hong Kong Medical Expert Says COVID Vaccine May Cause Heart Disease + More
Hong Kong Medical Expert Says COVID Vaccine May Cause Heart Disease
Medical experts say they saw an increase of almost 50% in the number of requests for cardiovascular imaging tests in Hong Kong in 2021. A survey of cardiologists and radiologists found that a majority suspected that the increase was related to COVID-19 vaccinations.
The 15th Congress of Asian Society of Cardiovascular Imaging (ASCI 2022), co-organized by the Hong Kong College of Radiologists and Hong Kong College of Cardiology, held a press conference on June 23. The organizers conducted an online survey of 80 cardiologists and 46 radiologists in May this year to determine the clinical observations of three cardiac catheterization tests, including computerized tomography coronary angiogram (CTCA) and cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) in 2021.
The survey found that the majority of doctors agreed that the number of cardiac imaging examinations in 2021 had risen compared to 2020, with an increase of about 11 to 30% for CTCA and CMR.
Cardiologists said this phenomenon is related to COVID-19 vaccination as the main cause of CTCA referrals was chest pain related to vaccination, and the main cause of CMR referrals was heart failure related to vaccination. Forty-three percent of the doctors surveyed said that more than half of the CTCA test results were abnormal, with mild-to-moderate aortic stenosis being more common.
NYC Monkeypox Cases Double in a Week; More Vaccine Doses Coming
The number of likely monkeypox cases in New York City has doubled in a week. As of Tuesday, July 5, 111 people in the city have tested positive for orthopoxvirus and all likely have monkeypox, according to the city’s Health Department. That is up from 55 cases a week earlier.
“Most of these people have had a mild illness, have not been hospitalized and have recovered on their own,” the Health Department said on its website. “Even with mild illness, the rash and sores from monkeypox can be itchy and painful.”
Demand for the vaccine has been high, prompting New York City to request more shots. The federal government has approved the city for a new allotment of 6,000 doses, which is enough to vaccinate 3,000 people.
Vaccination involves getting two doses of the Jynneos vaccine, which the FDA has approved to prevent “smallpox and monkeypox disease in adults 18 years of age and older determined to be at high risk,” the agency states. The doses are administered four weeks apart.
Canada to Throw out 13.6M Doses of AstraZeneca Vaccine
Canada is going to throw out about 13.6 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine because it couldn’t find any takers for it either at home or abroad.
Canada signed a contract with AstraZeneca in 2020 to get 20 million doses of its vaccine, and 2.3 million Canadians received at least one dose of it, mostly between March and June 2021.
Following concerns in the spring of 2021 about rare but potentially fatal blood clots from AstraZeneca, Canada focused on using its ample supplies of the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.
In July 2021, Canada promised to donate the rest of its procured supply, about 17.7 million doses. But in a statement Tuesday, Health Canada said that despite efforts to meet that pledge, 13.6 million doses have expired and will have to be thrown out.
Behavioral Issues, Absenteeism at Schools Increase, Federal Data Shows
More than 80% of public schools reported that the pandemic has taken a toll on student behavior and social-emotional development, while nearly as many schools say they need more mental health support, according to federal data released Wednesday.
The data, collected as the 2021-2022 school year was winding down, also showed that more than 70% of schools saw increases in chronic student absenteeism since the onset of the pandemic, and about half of the schools reported increased acts of disrespect toward teachers and staff.
The findings by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), based on responses from leaders at 846 public schools, underline problems that have become increasingly well known during more than two years of pandemic-altered education.
New Omicron Subvariant BA.5 Now a Majority of U.S. COVID Cases
A new Omicron subvariant known as BA.5 now comprises a majority of U.S. COVID-19 cases, according to data released Tuesday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The data is a sign of the rise of the highly transmissible subvariant, which has prompted concern about a new increase in cases.
BA.5, along with a related subvariant known as BA.4, has mutations that have shown an increased ability to evade the protection from vaccines and previous infection.
COVID Reinfections May Increase the Likelihood of New Health Problems
Repeatedly catching COVID-19 appears to increase the chances that a person will face new and sometimes lasting health problems after their infection, according to the first study on the health risks of reinfection.
The findings come as a fresh wave of coronavirus variants, notably Omicron‘s BA.5, have become dominant in the United States and Europe, causing cases and hospitalizations to rise once again. BA.5 caused about 54% of cases nationwide last week, doubling its share of COVID-19 transmission over the past two weeks, according to data posted Tuesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
BA.5 carries key mutations that help it escape antibodies generated by both vaccines and prior infection, leaving many people vulnerable to reinfection.
Canada Could Approve First COVID Shot for Youngest Kids This Month: Feds
Federal officials say a COVID-19 vaccine for Canada’s youngest children could be approved as soon as this month.
Health Canada tweeted Tuesday that it expects to reach a decision by mid-July on whether to approve Moderna’s shot for children between six months and five years old. Moderna has applied for its vaccine to be given in two doses, each a quarter of its adult dose, given about four weeks apart.
The agency says it received a submission from Pfizer-BioNTech on June 23 for its vaccine for children between the ages of six months and four years old.
Multipronged Vaccine Protects Against COVID Virus Family Members — Even Some Still in Hiding
A new type of vaccine developed at Caltech aims to ward off novel coronaviruses even before health officials are aware that they exist. When tested in mice and monkeys, it trained the animals’ immune systems to recognize eight viruses at once — and induced immunity to viruses they had never encountered.
The findings, published Tuesday in the journal Science, could lead to a powerful tool against a virus that mutates too quickly to be contained with current vaccines. An international vaccine foundation has pledged $30 million to begin clinical trials of the experimental vaccine in humans.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Biden’s chief advisor on the COVID-19 pandemic, praised the research as “a major conceptual step toward a pan-coronavirus vaccine.”
The new vaccine doesn’t block all coronaviruses, an ambitious goal not yet within science’s grasp. Instead, it focuses on the group known as betacoronaviruses, which includes those that cause COVID-19, severe acute respiratory syndrome and Middle East respiratory syndrome, among other diseases.
World’s COVID Vaccine, Drugs Equity Program Set to Wind Down This Fall
The World Health Organization program for the fast-tracking and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics is likely to close in its current form in the fall, according to two individuals familiar with the matter.
The program, known as the ACT-Accelerator, is a collaboration among the WHO, governments and global health organizations that works to ensure equitable access to COVID tools. It faced significant obstacles to get vaccines to low- and middle-income countries, but it eventually succeeded in shipping over one billion shots.
As COVID cases have declined from the height of the pandemic, ACT-A has struggled to secure funding with only Germany, Norway, Sweden and Canada promising the requested financing this year.
Pfizer Vaccines That Target Omicron Variant Pass First Step to Approval in Australia
Two vaccines that specifically target the Omicron variant have been granted “provisional determination” by Australia’s drugs regulator, the first step in the process of getting the vaccines approved for use.
It comes as the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of Omicron drive a new wave of cases, prompting premiers to warn of increasing hospitalizations and deaths and renewed calls to the public to wear masks in crowded indoor spaces.
The surge in cases has put pressure on the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (Atagi), which was meeting on Wednesday to consider whether fourth doses of existing vaccines should be recommended for the wider population as cases surge.
The Monkeypox Vaccine Underscores the Value of U.S. Investments in Preparedness
After living through the COVID-19 epidemic, many people around the world reacted to the sudden spread of monkeypox with understandable dismay. But while researchers and public health experts are still learning more about this outbreak, there is one critical distinction between monkeypox and COVID-19: a safe and effective vaccine has been ready and on the shelf from the start, thanks to a long-standing U.S. public-private partnership aimed at preparing for the worst biological threats, whether naturally occurring or deliberate.
The U.S. government’s engagement in the development of medical countermeasures began in earnest after the September 11 attacks on the United States. In September and October 2001, at least five envelopes containing spores of Bacillus anthracis, a species of bacteria, were mailed to the offices of U.S. senators in Washington, DC, and to journalists in New York and Boca Raton, Florida. These spores cause anthrax, a deadly disease. The resulting infections killed five people, including two postal workers, a hospital employee, a journalist, and a 94-year-old woman who was exposed to cross-contaminated mail.
The events of 9/11 largely overshadowed the anthrax attacks. But the realization that a deliberate biological attack had struck the country prompted the U.S. government to begin investing in creating and stockpiling vaccines and treatments for dangerous pathogens that posed a national security risk.
How Pfizer Won the Pandemic, Reaping Outsize Profit and Influence + More
How Pfizer Won the Pandemic, Reaping Outsize Profit and Influence
The grinding two-plus years of the pandemic have yielded outsize benefits for one company — Pfizer — making it both highly influential and hugely profitable as COVID-19 continues to infect tens of thousands of people and kill hundreds each day.
Its success in developing COVID medicines has given the drugmaker unusual weight in determining U.S. health policy. Based on internal research, the company’s executives have frequently announced the next stage in the fight against the pandemic before government officials have had time to study the issue, annoying many experts in the medical field and leaving some patients unsure whom to trust.
Pfizer’s 2021 revenue was $81.3 billion, roughly double its revenue in 2020, when its top sellers were a pneumonia vaccine, the cancer drug Ibrance and the fibromyalgia treatment Lyrica, which had gone off-patent.
Now its mRNA vaccine holds 70% of the U.S. and European markets. And its antiviral Paxlovid is the pill of choice to treat early symptoms of COVID. This year, the company expects to rake in more than $50 billion in global revenue from the two medications alone.
‘Two Doses Are No Longer Enough’: Canadians Should Expect to Get COVID Shot Every Nine Months, Says Health Minister
As we continue to live with COVID-19, it turns out we will also have to get used to living with COVID-19 vaccinations. Canadians will be required to get a booster shot every nine months for the foreseeable future, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos told reporters.
Duclos said that the previous definitions of “fully vaccinated” make no sense, explaining that it’s more important that shots are “up to date” and whether or not a person has “received a vaccination in the last nine months.”
He added, “We will never be fully vaccinated against COVID-19,” according to Blacklock’s Reporter.
Duclos was asked if he was preparing Canadians for the return of vaccine mandates in the fall, and he reportedly replied, “We must continue to fight against COVID.” In other words, mandates won’t be ruled out just yet.
Dangerous Incidents at U.K. Laboratories ‘Potentially Exposed Staff to COVID’
Dangerous incidents at U.K. laboratories, hospitals and COVID test centers potentially exposed staff to coronavirus and other hazards over the course of the pandemic, according to official reports obtained by The Guardian.
Many involved leaks and spillages of virus-laden fluids, but investigations also took place into a flood at an animal facility housing COVID-infected monkeys, mix-ups that led scientists to work on live virus by mistake and a researcher being bitten by an infected ferret.
The Health and Safety Executive recorded at least 47 “dangerous occurrences” involving coronavirus at U.K. research facilities, hospitals and Lighthouse labs over the course of the pandemic. Reports from 37 cases were released to the Guardian under the Freedom of Information Act. The rest were withheld because of ongoing investigations.
CureVac Sues BioNTech Over Alleged COVID Vaccine Patent Violations
German pharmaceutical firm CureVac announced on Tuesday that it is suing fellow German competitor BioNTech over the latter’s vaccine against COVID-19.
It’s one of the first known cases of a pharmaceutical company taking another to court over the heated race to develop a coronavirus vaccine that could curb deaths and hospitalizations during the pandemic.
In a statement, Tübingen-based CureVac said the company “will assert its intellectual property rights from more than two decades of pioneering mRNA technology that contributed to the development of COVID-19 vaccines.”
It is suing Mainz-based firm BioNTech, as well as two subsidiaries, for alleged infringements involving four patents.
A Florida State Board Removed a Pediatrician Who Advocated That Children Under 5 Get the COVID Vaccine
A doctor who advocated for parents to get COVID-19 vaccines for children under 5 years said she was unceremoniously removed from a Florida board focusing on kids’ health.
Dr. Lisa Gwynn, a practicing pediatrician within the University of Miami Health System, received an email on Wednesday telling her she was being removed from her position on the Florida Healthy Kids Board of directors because of “some very political statements that do not reflect the CFO’s point of view,” Florida Politics reported.
The email claimed Gwynn has said “that the state is ‘obstruct[ing]’ access to vaccines” and pointed out that the state CFO, Jimmy Patronis, differs in opinion.
Florida is the only state that has not ordered COVID-19 vaccines for kids under 5, despite an endorsement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
For Now, Wary U.S. Treads Water With Transformed COVID
The fast-changing coronavirus has kicked off summer in the U.S. with lots of infections but relatively few deaths compared to its prior incarnations.
With more Americans shielded from severe illness through vaccination and infection, COVID-19 has transformed — for now at least — into an unpleasant, inconvenient nuisance for many.
Today, in the third year of the pandemic, it’s easy to feel confused by the mixed picture: Repeat infections are increasingly likely, and a sizeable share of those infected will face the lingering symptoms of long COVID-19.
Ultra-Contagious BA.4, BA.5 Subvariants Fuel Coronavirus Spread Across Much of California
In a sign of how the new coronavirus wave continues to spread across California, two-thirds of the state’s counties are now in the high COVID-19 community level, in which the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends universal masking in indoor public spaces.
This comes as health officials are warning of concerning weeks ahead as two new ultra-contagious Omicron subvariants — BA.4 and BA.5 — spread. Experts believe the subvariants, which are not only especially contagious but also capable of reinfecting those who have survived earlier Omicron infection, are a major factor behind the continued persistence of coronavirus transmission across California.
U.S. Seeks 250,000 Mentors, Tutors to Address Pandemic Learning Loss
The Biden administration on Tuesday will launch a new effort to recruit 250,000 mentors and tutors to help students who have fallen back in their learning during the coronavirus pandemic, the White House said.
The program, which will be led by AmeriCorps and the Department of Education along with other service organizations, will seek to get adults to fill the roles over the next three years.
Students on average are two to four months behind in reading and math as a result of the pandemic, a White House official said. The program is intended to help address that deficit.
Many Won’t Rely on Virtual Options After COVID: AP-NORC Poll
Many Americans don’t expect to rely on the digital services that became commonplace during the pandemic after COVID-19 subsides, according to a new poll, even though many think it’s a good thing if those options remain available in the future.
Close to half or more of U.S. adults say they are not likely to attend virtual activities, receive virtual healthcare, have groceries delivered or use curbside pickup after the coronavirus pandemic is over, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Less than 3 in 10 say they’re very likely to use any of those options at least some of the time.
Still, close to half also say it would be a good thing if virtual options for healthcare, community events and activities like fitness classes or religious services continue after the pandemic.
COVID Could Make You Sicker Every Time You Get It, New Study Finds
The first iteration of COVID was bad. But subsequent variants, including Omicron, while more contagious, brought less severe symptoms.
Now, as the virus keeps mutating — and even antibodies built up by having contracted the virus before can’t necessarily keep you from getting it again, a recent study found.
And as if we really needed more bad news, a new study has found that every time you get COVID, you could get sicker than the time before.
“Scientists stressed they need more data before they can say for sure whether, and why, COVID might get worse the second, third or fourth time around,” The Daily Beast reported, citing a study by the U.S. Veterans Administration. “But with more and more people getting reinfected as the pandemic lurches toward its fourth year, the study hints at some of the possible long-term risks.”
These Are the 10 States With the Most Monkeypox Cases
Monkeypox has now been found in 31 U.S. states, as well as Washington, DC, as part of an outbreak that has seen over 5,700 confirmed cases worldwide across 52 countries. That’s according to data from the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Monkeypox is a virus originally passed to humans from animals and is usually seen in Central and West Africa. However, it is currently spreading in populations within non-endemic countries across the world, including rapidly in Europe and North America. Symptoms may include fever, headaches, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes and exhaustion, followed by a pustulous skin rash that may scar. These symptoms are similar, but less clinically severe, to those of smallpox, which was eradicated in the 1980s.
The ten states with the highest numbers of cases are California, New York, Illinois, Florida, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Georgia and Maryland.
FDA Will Not Require Clinical Trial Data to Authorize Redesigned COVID Boosters + More
FDA Will Not Require Clinical Trial Data to Authorize Redesigned COVID Boosters — Official
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will not require companies to submit clinical trial data on COVID-19 vaccines modified to protect against the BA.4 and BA.5 versions of Omicron in order to authorize those shots, a top FDA official said on Thursday.
Dr. Peter Marks, head of the agency’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, told Reuters the agency will rely on data from clinical trials vaccine makers have run on shots designed to combat the BA.1 lineage, as well as manufacturing data, for emergency use authorization submissions before the fall.
The FDA on Thursday recommended COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers change the design of their booster shots beginning this fall to include components tailored to combat the currently dominant Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 sublineages.
U.S. Orders 2.5 Million More Doses of Bavarian Nordic’s Vaccine for Monkeypox
The U.S. government has ordered 2.5 million more doses of Bavarian Nordic’s (BAVA.CO) vaccine for use against monkeypox outbreaks, the Department of Health and Human Services said on Friday.
The shot has already been cleared for both smallpox and monkeypox in the United States, where it is called Jynneos.
The U.S. government is ramping up its efforts to fight monkeypox by sending hundreds of thousands of vaccine doses to states in the coming months, expanding access for those most at risk and increasing supply to areas with high case numbers.
Globally, there have been more than 3,400 cases of monkeypox and one death since the outbreak began in May, according to a World Health Organization tally.
A Viral Reprise: When COVID Strikes Again and Again
For New York musician Erica Mancini, COVID-19 made repeat performances. March 2020. Last December. And again this May. “I’m bummed to know that I might forever just get infected,” said the 31-year-old singer, who is vaccinated and boosted. “I don’t want to be getting sick every month or every two months.”
But medical experts warn that repeat infections are getting more likely as the pandemic drags on and the virus evolves — and some people are bound to get hit more than twice. Emerging research suggests that could put them at higher risk for health problems.
Several public figures have recently been reinfected. The U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said they got COVID-19 for the second time, and U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi said he tested positive a third time. All reported being fully vaccinated, and Trudeau and Becerra said they’d gotten booster shots.
NYC to Offer Pfizer’s COVID Drug at Mobile Test-to-Treat Sites
New York City will start offering Pfizer Inc.’s COVID antiviral Paxlovid at “first of its kind” mobile test-to-treat sites across the city, providing immediate treatment for those who test positive for the virus.
People who test positive for COVID and qualify for Paxlovid will be able to get a prescription on the spot, which they can take to a nearby pharmacy to pick up the drug. By the end of the summer, officials plan to bypass pharmacies entirely, offering Paxlovid directly through the mobile sites.
Earlier on Thursday, Pfizer asked U.S. regulators for full approval of Paxlovid for people at high risk of developing severe disease, bringing the drugmaker one step closer to securing a formal clearance that would allow it to sell and market the antiviral outside of the public health emergency.
The Secrets of COVID ‘Brain Fog’ Are Starting to Lift
New research in the journal Cell is shedding some light on the biological mechanisms of how COVID-19 affects the brain. Led by researchers Michelle Monje and Akiko Iwasaki, of Stanford and Yale Universities respectively, scientists determined that in mice with mild COVID-19 infections, the virus disrupted the normal activity of several brain cell populations and left behind signs of inflammation.
They believe that these findings may help explain some of the cognitive disruption experienced by COVID-19 survivors and provide potential pathways for therapies.
For the past 20 years, Monje, a neuro-oncologist, had been trying to understand the neurobiology behind chemotherapy-induced cognitive symptoms — similarly known as “chemo fog.” When COVID-19 emerged as a major immune-activating virus, she worried about the potential for similar disruption.
Clue Found in Search for Cause of Long COVID, Canadian Researchers Say
For some people who get COVID, their symptoms are mild. Others have had it but never even knew. But a small batch of people who’ve contracted the virus end up with something called long COVID.
Researchers have been trying to figure out why some people get long COVID.
Now, new research in a Canadian trial “has identified a potential key culprit causing some people to continue experiencing breathing issues months after contracting COVID-19,” according to a new report.
WHO Says Monkeypox Cases Triple in Europe in Two Weeks, Urgent Action Needed to Contain Spread
The World Health Organization on Friday warned that urgent action is needed to contain the spread of monkeypox in Europe, as cases have tripled over the past two weeks.
Europe is the center of a global outbreak of the virus with 90% of confirmed monkeypox cases reported there, according to the WHO. New infections have tripled since June 15 with 4,500 confirmed cases across 31 European nations.
Henri Kluge, the head of WHO Europe, called on governments to ramp up efforts to prevent monkeypox from establishing itself on the continent, warning that time is of the essence.
COVID Cases up by More Than 30% in Britain Last Week
The number of new coronavirus cases across Britain has surged by more than 30% in the last week, new data showed Friday, with cases largely driven by the super infectious Omicron variants.
Data released by Britain’s Office for National Statistics showed that more than 3 million people in the U.K. had COVID-19 last week, although there has not been an equivalent spike in hospitalizations. The number of COVID-19 deaths also fell slightly in the last week.
British officials said the latest wave of COVID-19 infections was likely caused by Omicron subvariants BA.4. and BA.5.
Moderna Seeks Health Canada Nod for New Double-Protection COVID Booster
Moderna has submitted an application to Health Canada for approval of its new COVID-19 vaccine, designed to protect against both the original strain and Omicron variant of the virus.
Patricia Gauthier, president and general manager for Moderna Canada, says the application for its combination shot, known as a bivalent vaccine, was submitted to the Canadian regulator Thursday.
If approved quickly, doses could be ready for Canadians as early as September, she said.
Denmark’s COVID Mass Mink Cull Had No Legal Justification, Says Report
The Danish government lacked legal justification and made “grossly misleading” statements when it ordered a mass mink extermination two years ago, according to an official inquiry into Europe’s first compulsory farm sector shutdown, which has cost taxpayers billions in compensation to farmers.
In November 2020, Denmark, the world’s largest mink producer, announced it would kill its entire farmed mink population of 15 million animals, because of fears that a COVID-19 mutation moving from mink to humans could jeopardize future vaccines.
The extermination plan was fraught with problems, including reports of mink rising from mass graves, pollution risks from buried carcasses and fears that escaped mink might infect those in the wild and create a permanent virus reservoir from which new variants might infect humans.