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Covid News Watch
COVID Can ‘Rebound’ After Treatment With Paxlovid, CDC Says + More
COVID Can ‘Rebound’ After Treatment With Paxlovid, CDC Says
COVID-19 can make a comeback after an infected person has gone through a round of Paxlovid, the antiviral used to minimize a bout with the coronavirus, according to an advisory issued Tuesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Recent case reports document that some patients with normal immune response who have completed a five-day course of Paxlovid for laboratory-confirmed infection and have recovered can experience recurrent illness two to eight days later, including patients who have been vaccinated and/or boosted,” the CDC advisory said.
In these cases of “COVID-19 rebound,” the illness improved or resolved within an average three days, without additional anti-COVID treatment, the CDC said.
U.S. CDC Recommends Re-isolation if COVID Recurs After Taking Pfizer’s Pill
Patients who experience recurrence of COVID-19 symptoms after completing treatment with Pfizer’s (PFE.N) drug Paxlovid should isolate again for five days, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in an advisory issued on Tuesday.
Dozens of individuals have reported rebounding COVID symptoms on social media or to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration after taking Paxlovid, but Pfizer suggests the experience is rare. A recent rise in COVID cases has driven up use of therapeutics in the country.
The CDC said in its advisory that case reports suggest that recurrence results in mild symptoms, and there have been no reports of severe disease so far. The agency still continues to recommend the oral antiviral drug as a treatment, despite the possibility of recurrences.
Pandemic Has U.S. Hospitals Overwhelmed With Teens in Mental Crisis
The COVID-19 pandemic and the isolation it imposed took a dramatic toll on kids’ mental health, increasing the demand for services in an already overburdened system.
As a result, many kids found themselves being “boarded” in emergency departments as they awaited care, according to a new study conducted at Boston Children’s Hospital. The average wait was nearly five days without specialized treatment.
“This is a huge problem nationwide,” said Dr. Jennifer Havens. She is a professor and chair of child and adolescent psychiatry at NYU School of Medicine in New York City.
Germany’s Vaccine Panel Says One COVID Shot Enough for Children
Germany’s vaccine advisory panel on Tuesday said one COVID-19 shot was enough for healthy five- to 11-year-olds because most of them had already undergone an infection, maintaining its cautious approach.
The view by the panel of 18 appointees, known as STIKO, contrasts with European Union regulators’ approval for a two-shot regimen in that age group. U.S. regulators last week even authorized a third, booster shot for the group.
“For children we have to assume that the rate of spreading of the infection is the highest. That’s why it’s reasonable to administer only one vaccination,” STIKO panel member Martin Terhardt told a media briefing.
COVID-19: Vaccine Effectiveness Wanes More Rapidly for Cancer Patients, Study Finds
COVID-19 vaccination is effective for cancer patients but protection wanes much more rapidly than in the general population, a large study has found.
Vaccine effectiveness is much lower in people with leukemia or lymphoma, those with a recent cancer diagnosis, and those who have had radiotherapy or systemic anti-cancer treatments within the past year, according to the research published in Lancet Oncology.
The authors of the world’s largest real world health system evaluation of COVID-19 in cancer patients highlighted the importance of booster programs, non-pharmacological strategies, and access to antiviral treatment programs in order to reduce the risk that covid-19 poses to cancer patients.
Long COVID Symptoms Can Last More Than a Year, Researchers Say
A new study published on Tuesday found that long COVID-19 symptoms can last 14.8 months after initial infection.
The study comes as researchers try to better understand the effects of long COVID-19.
A study published in the Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology looked at 52 people who were a part of an initial subset of 100 long COVID-19 patients surveyed last year. Patients participated in the study between 11 and 18 months since they initially tested positive for COVID-19.
Sweden: 5th COVID-19 Shot to People Over 65, Pregnant Women
Sweden is recommending a fifth COVID-19 vaccine dose for people with an increased risk of becoming seriously ill, including pregnant women and anyone aged 65 and over, authorities said Tuesday, adding that the country must “be prepared for an increased spread during the upcoming autumn and winter season.”
“The vaccine is our strongest tool for preventing serious illness and death,” Swedish Social Affairs Minister Lena Hallengren said, adding the pandemic is not over.
As of Sept. 1, Sweden recommends that another booster shot is given to people aged 65 and older and people over 18 in the risk groups. The Swedish Public Health Agency said the latter includes pregnant women, people with weakened immune systems and people with heart and lung disease.
FDA Panel Sets June 15 Meeting on Pfizer, Moderna COVID Vaccines for Infants and Toddlers + More
FDA Panel Sets June 15 Meeting on Pfizer, Moderna COVID Vaccines for Infants and Toddlers
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s expert committee will meet on June 15 to review new data on Pfizer and Moderna’s COVID vaccines for infants and toddlers, setting the stage for the shots to receive authorization early this summer.
“We know parents are anxious for us to determine if these vaccines are safe & effective,” the FDA said in a post on Twitter on Monday. “We are working as quickly as possible to carefully review all the data.”
The FDA’s committee of independent experts will review the safety and efficacy data of the vaccines in an open public meeting and make a recommendation on whether the agency should authorize the shots. The FDA is not obligated to follow the committee’s recommendation, though it usually does.
Three Pfizer COVID Shots Protect Children Under 5, Company Says
Three doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine offer strong protection for children younger than 5, the company announced Monday. Pfizer plans to give the data to U.S. regulators later this week in a step toward letting the littlest kids get the shots.
The news comes after months of anxious waiting by parents desperate to vaccinate their babies, toddlers and preschoolers, especially as COVID-19 cases once again are rising. The 18 million tots under 5 are the only group in the U.S. not yet eligible for COVID-19 vaccination.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has begun evaluating data from rival Moderna, which hopes to begin offering two kid-sized shots by summer.
Jabs for Kids under 5 Coming Soon, Says White House Disease Doc
Americans can expect a decision on whether to vaccinate kids younger than 5 in the coming weeks, says the White House’s COVID response coordinator.
Experts at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are studying an application by vaccine maker Moderna for jabbing tykes.
“My expectation is that as soon as that analysis is done, probably within the next few weeks, we’re going to get that expert outside committee, the [Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee], and then, after that, FDA’s going to make a decision,” Dr. Ashish Jha told ABC’s “This Week.”
“So my hope is that it’s going to be kind of coming in the next few weeks.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week recommended booster shots for children ages 5 to 11.
Washington State Children Five or Older Are Now Eligible for a COVID-19 Booster Shot
Children between the ages of five and 11 are now eligible to grab their COVID-19 booster shot.
The Washington State Department of Health expanded the booster eligibility Friday to include everyone older than five.
“The CDC’s announcement is welcome news as we continue to do everything we can to keep Washingtonians of all ages safe,” said Umair A. Shah, MD, MPH, Secretary of Health. “This pandemic is not over and we must continue to use the tools at our disposal. This includes masking, therapeutics, vaccinations and — of course — boosters. Keeping yourselves and those around you safe is of utmost importance, and this recommendation is another step in that direction.”
Officials say those who are looking to get their child a booster should do so five months after their first two shots.
AstraZeneca Says EU Regulator Approves COVID Shot As Booster
Drugmaker AstraZeneca (AZN.L) said on Monday its COVID-19 vaccine, Vaxzevria, has been approved in the European Union by the bloc’s drugs regulator as a third-dose booster in adults following a committee endorsement last week.
The vaccine can now be used as a booster following the two-dose Vaxzevria schedule or by those who have been previously vaccinated by an mRNA vaccine, such as the ones made by Pfizer (PFE.N) and BioNTech (22UAy.DE) or Moderna (MRNA.O).
“Ensuring a longer duration of immune protection is essential to the long-term management of COVID-19 globally, and boosters can address the waning of protection over time that has been seen with all primary vaccine schedules to date,” Mene Pangalos, executive vice president of biopharmaceuticals R&D at AstraZeneca, said in a statement.
One Third of Americans in New Poll Say Pandemic Is Over
One third of Americans said they believe the COVID-19 pandemic is over, according to a new Gallup poll published on Monday.
The poll found that 34 percent of respondents said that the pandemic is over, while 66 percent of respondents disagreed with that sentiment.
There was a stark partisan divide in responses. Sixty-six percent of respondents who are registered Republicans said that the pandemic is over, compared with 10 percent of Democrats. Thirty-nine percent of independents shared the view that the pandemic is finished.
Poll Finds COVID Low on Parents’ Summer Camp Checklist
U.S. News & World Report reported:
When choosing a summer camp for their children, many U.S. parents prioritize location, cost and activities. Only one in 10 said COVID-19 precautions are important, a new survey reveals.
Among parents who said COVID-19 precautions would play an important role in their summer camp decision, three-quarters support mask and vaccine requirements. Meanwhile, one-quarter prefer a camp with no such mandates, according to the University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health.
“Mandatory vaccination and masking may minimize disruptions to camp activities from a COVID outbreak and also limit the risk that campers pass on COVID to other family members,” poll co-director Sarah Clark said in a university news release.
Merkley Tests COVID-19 Positive, a Complication in 50-50 Senate
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) said Monday that he had tested positive for COVID-19, an announcement that could throw a wrench in Democrats’ agenda this week in an evenly divided Senate.
Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) was expected to schedule a preliminary vote this week on a hotly contested domestic terrorism bill. The legislation passed the House last week in a mainly party-line vote, and Senate Republicans have vowed to block it.
The bill needs 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, and it’s not clear if there will be 10 Republicans who will break ranks. Democratic leaders have typically delayed party-line votes if they know some of their members will be absent.
CDC Says COVID Vaccine-Related Myocarditis Much Lower for Children Than Teens + More
U.S. CDC Says COVID Vaccine-Related Myocarditis Much Lower for Children Than Teens
The U.S. Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday said reports of heart inflammation linked to the Pfizer (PFE.N)/BioNTech (22UAy.DE) COVID-19 vaccine have been much lower in 5- to 11-year-old boys than in adolescents and young men, representing only a slightly elevated rate than normal.
The agency, in a presentation to an advisory committee discussing the need for booster vaccine doses for children, cited data from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).
CDC Recommends COVID Booster Shot for Children Ages 5 to 11
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Thursday that children ages 5 to 11 get a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine to boost their immunity as cases and hospitalizations tick upward in many pockets of the United States.
CDC director Rochelle Walensky greenlit the recommendation Thursday evening, and she also encouraged parents of children in that age group who have not yet been vaccinated to get their first shot soon.
Walensky also announced that the CDC was strengthening its recommendation that people 50 and older should get a second booster dose — a fourth shot in most cases — to be considered up to date on their coronavirus vaccinations.
Previously, the agency said that older adults may get a booster. Immunocompromised people 12 and older should also get a second booster, she added.
Bay Area Clinics Start Delivering COVID Booster Shots for Kids 5-11
Children ages 5-11 on Friday became eligible to receive a COVID-19 booster shot, and several clinics across the Bay Area were ready to deliver them. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday recommended the booster for young children four months after they receive their initial vaccine.
In Santa Clara County, the fairgrounds expo center was just one of the locations preparing for and accepting the 5-11 age group for smaller doses of the vaccine booster. Pediatric practices also were taking appointments.
But parents of elementary school-aged children aren’t exactly clamoring for the protection. Only a third of California children in the age group are fully vaccinated.
Biden Seeks New Unilateral Powers for WHO Chief to Declare Public Health Emergencies
President Joe Biden’s administration is pushing amendments to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) governing regulations to give Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus unilateral authority to declare a public health emergency in any nation based on whatever evidence he chooses.
The proposed U.S. amendments were forwarded to the WHO in January for consideration next week by the UN’s 75th World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland.
In a Jan. 26 letter to a virtual meeting of WHO’s executive board, Loyce Pace, Assistant Secretary for Global Affairs of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) described “the importance of equity and equitable access to medical countermeasures and the negative impacts of misinformation and disinformation related to the pandemic. We agree that we must all do better.”
Nowhere do the amendments or accompanying documents explain how or why U.S. public health officials believe the equity issue in healthcare would be addressed by giving Tedros the authority to declare a public health emergency on the basis of information provided by a source other than the affected nation.
Alcohol-Related Deaths Have Soared During the COVID Pandemic
The pandemic and its attendant anxiety, boredom and loneliness have not been good for people who struggle with alcohol use. According to a new study published in JAMA Network Open, alcohol-related deaths among U.S adults ages 25 and up increased by 25% in 2020, and 22% in 2021, compared to average annual deaths from 2012 to 2019.
Led by Dr. Yee Hui Yeo, an internal medicine physician at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, the study relied on a massive database maintained by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that registers nearly all deaths in the U.S. and their causes.
Not all groups were affected equally. Men and women were similar in alcohol-related mortality, with both showing a 25% increase in 2020. Age was a much more significant factor. Far and away, the hardest-hit age group was the youngest measured — 25 to 44-year-olds — among whom deaths rose by 40% in 2020 and 33% in 2021.
Family’s Legal Bid as Blood Clots Killed Man After COVID Jab
A man’s life was tragically cut short after he died from blood clots following an AstraZeneca COVID-19 jab. His devastated family is now wanting to take legal action after he died two weeks after receiving his vaccine.
Jack Hurn, from Redditch, received his first dose of the vaccine at a Dudley center on May 29 last year, reports our neighboring county site Coventry Live. He died from blood clots on his brain.
They had allegedly asked staff about alternative vaccines as they were “aware of concerns around the use of AstraZeneca” for younger people. Lawyers say medical advice at the time recommended that under-30s should get an alternative to the AstraZeneca vaccine after it was revealed that younger people were at greater risk of blood clots.
However, the staff reassured the family that it was safe and they went ahead with the vaccination. Jack started suffering headaches within days and died 11 days later at Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital where doctors allegedly described him as having “catastrophic” blood clots on his brain.
America’s COVID Apathy Stress Test
A third of Americans say the pandemic is over, and the spike in cases hasn’t prompted much noticeable policy or behavioral change. But vaccines and therapeutics are now widely available, making the virus much less dangerous — at least for people who have access to and choose to use them.
Biden administration officials yesterday said that a third of Americans live in areas where the risk of COVID infection is high enough that they should consider wearing a mask indoors, the NYT reports.
But there’s no sign that mask mandates are coming back, even in the bluest parts of the country. New York City Mayor Eric Adams said yesterday that, although the city is considered to be in the high alert level, he’s not bringing back mask mandates now.
Hopelessness Around Youth Mental Health Is Creating a ‘Nihilistic Contagion’
I have been a child psychiatrist for more than 20 years. I’ve worked in the city, in the suburbs and in rural settings. I’ve seen patients in teaching hospitals and I’ve run a busy private practice.
In all that time, I have never seen psychiatric suffering as pervasive and intractable as I have over the last 18 months. The lack of real change in our nation’s child and adolescent mental health infrastructure has fostered pernicious and pervasive defeatism among patients and clinicians alike.
This hopelessness is a major feature of the current emergency. It might even be the major feature. Things will not get better unless the approach to it can effectively remedy this deeply ingrained pessimism. Mental health stigma has been impressively diminished. Now it’s time to overcome the ugly defeatism that fosters the ongoing inertia in mental healthcare.
The Quest for Longer-Lasting COVID Vaccines
To maintain durable protection against the virus that causes COVID-19, scientists are working around the clock to develop next-generation vaccines. But some of the nuances around why and how immunity against COVID-19 fades remains a mystery.
The steepest drops in immunity — which come about four to five months after vaccination and up to eight months after infection, but can vary — are against COVID-19 symptoms, getting infected and getting sick.
But there’s another piece of the immunity puzzle that scientists are urgently trying to solve, and that is whether some of this drop off in our protection may be a result of the mRNA technology used to build some COVID-19 vaccines, such as those developed by Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech, which were the first in the world to use this platform.
New Clue About Why COVID Is Deadlier for Men: Estrogen May Play a Protective Role
It’s one of the pandemic’s prolonged mysteries: Why have men died of COVID at higher rates than women?
COVID’s fatality rate for men was 1.7 times higher, on average than the rate for women across 38 countries, a 2020 study found. More recent research from Harvard University scientists found that although men represented 49% of COVID cases in the U.S., they accounted for 55% of COVID deaths from April 2020 through May 2021.
This week, a study lent further support to a leading theory about the discrepancy: Estrogen may offer some protection against severe COVID.
COVID: Sexually Transmitted Diseases Surged in U.S. During Pandemic
U.S. cases of gonorrhea, syphilis and congenital syphilis declined at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, but then rose markedly for the rest of the year, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported. Chlamydia declined slightly. The CDC cautioned that the data may be an undercount because of the pandemic.
The CDC’s report said the decline in chlamydia, the most common STD, was most likely because of changes in screening rather than a drop in new infections. Cases were highest among young adults aged 15-24. Since chlamydia is usually asymptomatic, diagnosis depends on screening or routine preventive care.
During the pandemic many health departments redirected employees to help control COVID-19, thus reducing screening and emphasizing of the diagnosis and treatment of syphilis and gonorrhea.
Suicidal Thoughts Among Canadians Significantly Higher During COVID: StatCan
When COVID-19 hit in 2020, 16-year-old Lexi Daken’s routine changed. Her father, Chris Daken, told Global News Wednesday, “Once COVID-19 hit, she was home, isolated and didn’t really get that social interaction as much.”
Lexi, who was a Grade 10 student, spent eight hours at Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital in Fredericton, N.B., in February 2021 being assessed by a mental health professional after a guidance counselor noticed mental health issues.
She eventually left the hospital without receiving any immediate help, according to her family. Less than a week later, she died by suicide. Daken said the mental impact of lockdown due to COVID-19 was “definitely a part of the outcome.”
Researchers with the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) found that the prevalence of suicidal thoughts among adults was significantly higher in 2021 than in 2019 before COVID-19 hit.
More of the Vaccinated and Boosted Landing in Hospital With COVID + More
More of the Vaccinated and Boosted Landing in Hospital With COVID
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported:
As summer once again brings signs of a coming COVID-19 wave, an unusual trend has emerged: The Georgians who are fully vaccinated and boosted are increasingly winding up in the hospital with serious COVID-19 symptoms.
The phenomenon points to two changes in the unpredictable pandemic battleground more than two years in. The circulating Omicron variant has become better at evading the vaccine, which was designed on the first version of coronavirus to appear in China. And the people most likely to get boosted are those who were most vulnerable, to begin with: the elderly, or patients with pre-existing conditions. Despite the extra vaccine protection, those people remain the most vulnerable.
Even in light of the unexpected hospitalizations of those vaccinated and boosted, doctors say it’s still true that boosted groups are the least likely to die.
The rate of hospitalizations for boosted Georgians fell again this week but still remains higher than the rate of hospitalizations for those with only the primary vaccine series (2 shots).
CDC’s Independent Vaccine Advisers Will Meet to Discuss COVID Boosters for Kids
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Independent Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) will meet Thursday to discuss updates on COVID-19 vaccine safety and effectiveness for children ages 5-11 years, CDC guidance on boosters for that age group and the framework for that booster dose.
The committee will vote in the afternoon on whether or not this age group should be eligible for a booster.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration expanded the eligibility for the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to children 5 to 11 years of age. The children would be able to get the booster at least five months after they have completed their primary series of shots.
AstraZeneca’s Ambitious Vaccine Dreams Are Finally, Officially Dead
AstraZeneca was once the world’s best bet to develop a speedy COVID-19 vaccine, and the company got a bigger initial contract from Operation Warp Speed than any other drugmaker. But AstraZeneca’s unfortunate vaccine saga came to an end in December, when the White House quietly canceled its contract, documents published by STAT show.
AstraZeneca told us that its contract for 300 million doses was structured so payments would be sent upon delivery. The government only ended up paying for 70 million doses, the documents show, which means the cancellation did save some money.
Depending on when it’s released, that extra cash could be helpful to the White House while it scrounges for more COVID-19 relief funds. (Actually canceling the contract wasn’t a huge surprise, since AstraZeneca decided not to file for emergency use authorization in the United States.)
According to a recent report released by the House Oversight Committee, at least 105 million AstraZeneca doses were destroyed following manufacturing issues at an Emergent Biosolutions plant. The White House still hasn’t publicly announced the cancellation and didn’t respond to a request for comment.
WHO: COVID Deaths Dropped by 21% Last Week but Cases Rising
The number of coronavirus deaths globally dropped by about 21% in the past week while cases rose in most parts of the world, according to the World Health Organization.
In its weekly report on the pandemic released Thursday, the U.N. health agency said the number of new COVID-19 cases appears to have stabilized after weeks of decline since late March, with about 3.5 million new cases last week, or a 1% rise. WHO said cases increased in the Americas, Middle East, Africa and the Western Pacific, while falling in Europe and Southeast Asia. Some 9,000 deaths were recorded.
Pfizer’s Grip on Paxlovid Thwarts Research on COVID Treatment
Pfizer Inc. is resisting requests for study supplies of its COVID-19 pill, Paxlovid, disappointing researchers who say combining the $22 billion therapy with other drugs might stave off resistance.
Pfizer hasn’t started any combination trials in people, and a review of the clinicaltrials.gov database shows no outpatient studies combining Paxlovid, the mainstay U.S. COVID therapy, with other antiviral drugs or antibodies. Some academic researchers and advocacy groups say they can’t get Paxlovid for human studies that could maintain or improve its effectiveness and expand use.
Pfizer’s apparent reluctance to share its antiviral with collaborators has been “disturbing,” said Reshma Ramachandran, a postdoctoral fellow in Yale University’s National Clinician Scholars Program who studies transparency in drug company trials. “It’s all very puzzling,” she said. “It really makes me wonder what’s going on.”
COVID: Second Boosters May Benefit at-Risk Groups but Have ‘Minimal’ Impact for Others, Says WHO
Short-term benefits are seen after a second COVID-19 vaccine booster — normally a fourth vaccine dose — in health workers, over 60s and people with immunocompromising conditions, the World Health Organization has said.
But early data show that the benefit may be “minimal” in healthy younger populations, it added. WHO said that evidence on the usefulness of these doses in all groups was sparse, with studies available only for mRNA vaccines such as the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.
WHO’s evidence review included seven studies, six of which were conducted in Israel and one in Canada. Six of the studies evaluated the relative effectiveness of a fourth dose four months after a third dose of mRNA vaccine, compared with people who received three doses.
The other study provided data on absolute vaccine effectiveness, comparing the fourth dose schedule with unvaccinated people. The maximum follow-up in the available studies was short, ranging from two to 10 weeks after the fourth dose.
Woman Pleads Guilty in $1.2M COVID Fraud Scheme
A woman pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Virginia to a $1.2 million scheme that defrauded COVID-19 pandemic relief programs using victims’ personal information that she obtained through her state government employment, a prosecutor said.
U.S. Attorney Jessica Aber said court documents show that in one scheme, from May 2020 to August 2021, Sadie Mitchell, 30, of Midlothian, with help from a co-conspirator, defrauded the Virginia Employment Commission by filing at least 20 fraudulent unemployment applications using inmates’ personal information.
As an employee of the Virginia Motor Vehicle Dealer Board, Mitchell had access to a government database, officials said. The conspirators filed at least 30 fake applications in the names of other people whose personal information was obtained, in part, through Mitchell’s database queries, officials said.
Through this scheme, the conspirators collected approximately $1 million in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and unemployment insurance benefits.
White House Warns the U.S. Can’t Buy Updated COVID Vaccines ‘for Every American Who Wants One’ Without More Funding
White House COVID-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha warned Wednesday that without more funding from Congress the U.S. will not be able to buy enough COVID-19 vaccines for every American who wants an updated shot later this year.
Scientists are working to develop new vaccines that would offer additional protection from infection and severe illness from new variants, including the possibility of a bivalent vaccine, a vaccine that would combine a currently approved vaccine with an Omicron-specific vaccine, for example.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration could make a decision as soon as next month based on data from manufacturers Moderna and Pfizer for distribution in the fall.
1 in 3 Americans Now Live in Areas Where Indoor Masks Advised, CDC Says
U.S. News & World Report reported:
Masks may not be required, but Americans should consider wearing one anyway if they live in an area where COVID-19 case numbers are high, federal health officials said Wednesday.
That advice currently applies to about one-third of Americans, all of whom now live in areas with high levels of community transmission, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most of those areas are in the Northeast.
In those regions, “we urge local leaders to encourage the use of prevention strategies like masking in public indoor settings, and increasing access to testing and treatment for individuals,” said CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, The New York Times reported. She spoke at the first pandemic-focused White House COVID briefing in six weeks.
U.S. Pedestrians Dying at Highest Rate in 40 Years
U.S. News & World Report reported:
U.S. pedestrian deaths in 2021 were the highest in four decades, with an average of 20 deaths every day, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association.
An estimated 7,485 pedestrians were killed in 2021, which was 12% more than in 2020, preliminary data show. The findings are “heartbreaking and unacceptable,” said Jonathan Adkins, executive director of the highway safety association.
“The pandemic has caused so much death and damage, it’s frustrating to see even more lives needlessly taken due to dangerous driving,” he said in an association news release.
The reasons are clear: There has been an increase in speeding, impaired, distracted driving and other dangerous driving behaviors in recent years, according to the association’s report.
WHO Clears China’s CanSino COVID Vaccine for Emergency Use
The World Health Organization said Thursday that it has granted an emergency use authorization for the coronavirus vaccine made by China’s CanSino Biologics, the 11th such shot to receive the green light.
The U.N. health agency said the single-dose CanSino vaccine was found to be about 92% effective against severe COVID-19 and 64% effective in preventing people from getting symptoms of the disease. WHO’s expert vaccine group recommended the vaccine for everyone age 18 and over.
The CanSino vaccine uses a harmless virus called an adenovirus to deliver the spike protein of the coronavirus into the body, which then prompts an immune response. The technology is similar to vaccines made by Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca, which use different adenoviruses.