Login
Covid News Watch
Dr. Oz Says COVID ‘Steeled’ Him to Run for Office, Calls on Fauci to Resign + More
Dr. Oz Says COVID ‘Steeled’ Him to Run for Office, Calls on Fauci to Resign
Dr. Mehmet Oz, who is running in Pennsylvania’s competitive U.S. Senate Republican primary, called on Dr. Anthony Fauci to resign, warning that when you “mix politics and medicine, you get politics,” and telling Fox News the COVID-19 pandemic encouraged him to run for office.
Oz, during a sit-down interview with Fox News Digital on the sidelines of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), said the COVID-19 pandemic and the flawed public health messaging “steeled” him to run for office.
Oz took a swipe at the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, saying he took “control” during the pandemic. “When things didn’t work out the way he wanted, he began to work with the media to silence people who are raising their hands and saying we can do a better job,” Oz said. “That is really dangerous, because now, all of a sudden, everyone’s got to kowtow to one opinion.”
Tic Severity in Teens Rises With Social Media Use During Pandemic — Study Adds to Findings Linking Tics and Tic-Like Behaviors With Possible Pandemic Stress
Increased social media use during the COVID-19 pandemic was linked with tic severity and reduced quality of life, a preliminary study of young people showed.
Of 20 adolescents and young adults with tics, 85% had tic frequencies that worsened during the pandemic and 50% said social media negatively affected their tics, reported Jessica Frey, MD, of the University of Florida in Gainesville, in an abstract released in advance of the American Academy of Neurology annual meeting.
Pfizer’s COVID Vaccine Goes Into Liver Cells and Is Converted to DNA: Study
The messenger RNA (mRNA) from Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is able to enter human liver cells and is converted into DNA, according to Swedish researchers at Lund University.
The researchers found that when the mRNA vaccine enters the human liver cells, it triggers the cell’s DNA, which is inside the nucleus, to increase the production of the LINE-1 gene expression to make mRNA.
“In this study we present evidence that COVID-19 mRNA vaccine BNT162b2 is able to enter the human liver cell line Huh7 in vitro,” the researchers wrote in the study, published in Current Issues of Molecular Biology. “BNT162b2 mRNA is reverse transcribed intracellularly into DNA as fast as 6 [hours] after BNT162b2 exposure.”
The whole process occurred rapidly within 6 hours. The vaccine’s mRNA converting into DNA and being found inside the cell’s nucleus is something that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said would not happen.
Vaccine Protection Against COVID Fell Substantially for Children During Omicron Surge
Many vaccinated kids experienced breakthrough infections during the Omicron surge, though protection against hospitalization remained stronger, a large new government-funded study found.
The study compared the vaccination status of children ages 5 to 17 who were treated for COVID-19 symptoms in emergency departments, urgent care centers and hospitals across 10 states between April 2021 and February 2022. Researchers reviewed records on nearly 40,000 clinic visits and 1,700 hospitalizations. The study was funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and published Tuesday in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
The new study comes just a day after new data from the New York State Department of Health also found vaccine protection against COVID-19 dropped substantially for kids during the Omicron wave.
Jim Jordan Says Investigating Fauci a Priority if GOP Triumphs in Midterms
Ohio congressman Jim Jordan has listed the investigations that House Republicans should lead if they regain a majority in November’s midterms.
Speaking to Just The News during a pre-State of the Union media day on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, Jordan outlined three inquiries that a potential GOP-controlled House of Representatives should prioritize.
The first investigation suggested by Jordan, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, was into “all the lies [and] the misinformation, the disinformation” from Dr. Anthony Fauci and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with regards to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Half of U.S. Thinks Coronavirus Is ‘Somewhat’ Under Control: Poll
A new poll shows that around half of all U.S. citizens think that the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided to some degree.
Forty-nine percent of participants in the poll said that they believed the COVID-19 pandemic is “somewhat under control.” Another 27% said that it was “mostly under control,” while 15% said that it was “not at all under control.” Just 6% answered that the pandemic was “completely under control.”
The poll, conducted by The Washington Post and ABC News, also gave insights into the mindset of Americans as the pandemic reaches its second year.
For Extra Protection From COVID’s Worst Effects, Look to Lifestyle Medicine
One encouraging result of the devastating COVID-19 pandemic is that it has elevated public awareness of the crisis of chronic disease — those underlying conditions so often associated with worse outcomes — and the urgent need to address it.
Six in 10 U.S. adults have a chronic disease and 4 in 10 have two or more, many of them lifestyle-related, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Fortunately, for those looking to make positive lifestyle behavior changes, the growing field of lifestyle medicine can help them achieve their goals and improve their health.
Research has established a relationship between lifestyle-related health conditions and severe illness from COVID-19. One study concluded that lifestyle risk factors in combination such as smoking, physical inactivity and obesity accounted for up to 51% of severe COVID-19 cases. An underlying chronic disease can put people at 12 times greater risk of dying from COVID-19.
140 Million Americans Have Had Coronavirus, According to Blood Tests Analyzed by CDC
More than 140 million Americans have had the coronavirus, according to estimates from blood tests that reveal antibodies from infection — about double the rate regularly cited by national case counts.
The estimates, compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, show that about 43% of the country has been infected by the virus. The study shows that the majority of children have also been infected.
The data goes through late January, when the Omicron variant of the coronavirus was causing more than 500,000 cases a day, meaning the number of Americans now infected is considerably higher. The data comes from 72,000 blood samples taken in January.
The blood tests count only antibodies from natural infection, including asymptomatic cases, not from vaccination. The study measures the presence of antibodies. It does not indicate whether there is strong protection against subsequent infection.
Axios-Ipsos Poll: Biden Gets Little Credit for COVID Recovery
Americans are abandoning COVID-19 fears and precautions, a sea change in the past few weeks as severe illnesses fell, states dropped mandates and the CDC relaxed guidelines, according to the latest installment of the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index.
As President Biden gives his State of the Union address tonight, more people feel the worst is behind them — but they aren’t giving him credit. That’s a devastating miss for a leader who won the election on his promises to move the nation beyond the pandemic.
Births Decreased in First Half of 2021, Likely Linked to Pandemic: CDC
The number of births declined in the U.S. in 2021 and the COVID-19 pandemic played a role, according to a new report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Tuesday.
Researchers from the National Center for Health Statistics — a branch of the CDC — compared provisional data from the first half of 2021 to final data from the first half of 2020.
They found there were 1.74 million births between January and June of last year, a 2% decline from the 1.78 million births that occurred over the same period in 2020.
EU Drug Regulator Extends Shelf Life of J&J Vaccine to 11 Months
The European drug regulator extended the shelf life of Johnson & Johnson‘s (JNJ.N) COVID-19 vaccine to 11 months from 4.5 months, updated product information showed on Monday.
Unopened vials of the one-shot vaccine can be stored and transported at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius (36–46 degrees Fahrenheit) for 11 months, not exceeding the printed expiry date, the European Medicines Agency’s product information said.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in July extended the shelf life of refrigerated J&J vaccine to 6 months from 4.5 months.
Pfizer COVID Vaccine Less Effective in Kids 5 to 11, Study Finds
Pfizer COVID Vaccine Is Less Effective in Kids 5 to 11, Study Finds
Newly emerging data suggest the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine works substantially less well at preventing infection and hospitalizations in children aged 5 to 11 than it does in those aged 12 to 17 — a finding that is raising questions about whether the companies chose the wrong dose for the younger children.
The data, from New York state, show a rapid and substantial decline in protection after vaccination in children in the younger age group, with efficacy against infections dropping off more quickly and dramatically than the declines seen in children aged 12 to 17. The study also found a significant, but less steep, decline in protection against hospitalizations.
The findings, compiled by researchers working for the New York State Department of Health, were posted Monday on a preprint server; the study has not yet undergone peer review.
Moderna Faces New Lawsuit Over Lucrative Coronavirus Vaccine
Moderna faces yet another patent challenge over its coronavirus vaccine after Arbutus Biopharma and Genevant Sciences, both small biotechnology companies, filed a lawsuit on Monday alleging Moderna hijacked its technology to develop the multibillion-dollar vaccine.
Arbutus and Genevant said in their lawsuit that Moderna infringed on their patent for so-called lipid nanoparticle technology, which they say was key in the development of Moderna’s mRNA vaccine and took scientists from Arbutus and Genevant “years of painstaking work to develop and refine.” The suit had been expected after Moderna lost a U.S. Court of Appeals ruling last year in the protracted patent battle.
The suit is one of two high-profile legal fights Moderna faces over its blockbuster vaccine, which was developed in less than a year and has been key to fighting the pandemic.
Hazlet Couple Die of COVID on Same Day, While Family Battles ‘Nightmare’ Visitation Rules
There is no easy way to lose your parents, especially at the same time. But Suzanne O’Dwyer and her siblings say their sadness was compounded by overly restrictive hospital visitation and communication policies. While acknowledging the strain hospitals have been under, and compassionate gestures from individual staffers, the children of Tom and Sue Tanski have a message for officials who set these policies.
“(COVID patients) need visitors while they are still coherent and able to appreciate the love and support they are given by their families and friends,” O’Dwyer said. “I am hoping no other family has to endure this pain.” Visitation rules prevented them from seeing their parents in person until they were on ventilators.
There are going to be visitation rules, no matter what: vaccination requirements, negative-test requirements, full protective-wear requirements. O’Dwyer and her siblings understand that.
Nevertheless, “Let the family be able to choose to go in there and sign a waiver that (the hospital) is not responsible if they get COVID,” daughter Lori DiGioia said.
Pandemic Fears Are Fading Along With Omicron: AP-NORC Poll
Omicron is fading away, and so are Americans’ worries about COVID-19.
As coronavirus pandemic case numbers, hospitalizations and deaths continue to plummet, fewer people now than in January say they are concerned that they will be infected after the rise and fall of the wildly contagious virus variant, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Just 24% say they are “extremely” or “very” worried about themselves or a family member contracting COVID-19, down from 36% in both December and January, when Omicron caused a massive spike in infections and taxed public health systems. Another 34% say they are somewhat worried.
Unlike COVID, Traffic Deaths Show No Sign of Slowing Down
The start of a new year has not shown an improvement to the rash of traffic deaths in Wisconsin since the start of the COVID pandemic.
Preliminary state data shows that as of Feb. 20, 65 people had died in crashes, compared to 54 deaths at the same time in 2021. Last year’s total of 601 traffic deaths was tied for the state’s highest yearly death toll in 14 years.
The issue of reckless driving has gotten the most attention in Milwaukee, which saw a dramatic increase in deaths in 2020 and a high total in 2021. It has been a central issue in elections for mayor and city council, Wisconsin Public Radio reported.
Advocates Criticize ‘Tepid’ Biden Request for Global COVID Funding
Democratic lawmakers and advocacy groups say the Biden administration’s request for $5 billion from Congress for efforts to fight COVID-19 globally, including vaccinations, falls far short of what is needed.
They had been pushing for months for $17 billion to step up global vaccination and treatment efforts, but the White House asked for less than a third of that amount in informal talks with Congress last week, without offering an explanation.
Nearly Half of Biden’s 500 Million Free COVID Tests Still Unclaimed
Nearly half of the 500 million free COVID-19 tests the Biden administration recently made available to the public still have not been claimed as virus cases plummet and people feel less urgency to test.
Wild demand swings have been a subplot in the pandemic, from vaccines to hand sanitizer, along with tests. On the first day of the White House test giveaway in January, COVIDtests.gov received over 45 million orders. Now officials say fewer than 100,000 orders a day are coming in for the packages of four free rapid tests per household, delivered by the U.S. Postal Service.
New COVID Vaccinations Drop in U.S. As Cases and Hospitalizations Decline
The number of new people getting vaccinated in America has steadily declined in recent months, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data. The seven-day average of new vaccinations now mirrors the rates from December 2020, when there was a limited supply of the vaccines.
Dr Farrin Manian, an infectious disease specialist and chair of the department of medicine at Mercy Hospital St Louis, conceded that there are people who aren’t going to change their minds about vaccination. But in talking with patients, he still encounters some who are open to it.
Thousands of Girls as Young as 11 in England Hiding Signs of ‘Deep Distress’
Thousands of girls as young as 11 are hiding signs of “deep distress” from their parents and teachers, according to an “alarming” report that reveals a “growing gulf” between the mental health of girls and boys.
Record numbers of children are seeking access to NHS mental health services amid the pandemic as detailed in multiple studies over the last year.
Now an analysis of data from 15,000 secondary pupils by Steer Education points to a worrying new trend of an increasingly stark divide between the mental health of girls and boys. Experts fear this could be a long-lasting result of the COVID crisis.
Eating Disorders Among Teen Girls Doubled During Pandemic, CDC Study Shows + More
Eating Disorders Among Teen Girls Doubled During Pandemic, CDC Study Shows
Emergency room visits for eating disorders among 12- to 17-year-old girls doubled during the coronavirus pandemic, according to new research from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — a troubling existing trend that was likely worsened by the stress of living through the prolonged crisis.
Among teen girls, aged 12 to 17, ER visits for eating disorders and tic disorders increased in both 2020 and 2021. There were also more visits for depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder among teen girls in 2021.
There were also increases in ER visits related to behavioral health conditions among children 5 to 17, including self-harm, drug poisonings, socioeconomic and psychosocial concerns, and — among adolescents only — symptoms of mental health conditions and substance use.
Sudden Hearing Loss After COVID Shot: Slight Risk or Just Noise?
U.S. data continued to show no association between sudden sensorineural hearing loss and COVID-19 vaccines, but a population-based study in Israel hinted at something different.
Data from Israel, also published in JAMA Otolaryngology, suggested a slight increased risk of sudden sensorineural hearing loss after a Pfizer-BioNTech (Comirnaty) shot.
“Together, these two studies involving almost 200 million COVID-19 vaccine doses suggest that further investigation of the potential association between COVID-19 vaccination and sudden sensorineural hearing loss may be warranted,” wrote Angela Ulrich, PhD, MPH, of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, and co-authors in an accompanying editorial.
Anxiety, Depression Rampant Among Children Even Before the Pandemic
An extensive new look at anxiety and depression among children and teenagers finds the mental health concerns were a major public health problem even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday that 1 in 5 teenagers in the United States had at some point experienced an episode of major depression: unshakeable and worrisome feelings of sadness and hopelessness lasting for at least two weeks.
The report didn’t include, however, data from 2020 onward, a time that saw startling increases in stress and anxiety among children due to the pandemic. A previous CDC report found that emergency room visits related to children’s mental health rose dramatically in 2020, compared with 2019.
The mental health problems detailed in the new CDC report go far beyond typical teenage moodiness that comes and goes. Nearly 1 in 5 teens had seriously considered dying by suicide. About 7 in 100,000 children and teens, 10 to 19 years old, died by suicide in 2018 and 2019.
FDA Ups Dose of Preventive COVID Therapy Due to Omicron Subvariants
A higher initial dose of the monoclonal antibody combination tixagevimab-cilgavimab (Evusheld) may be needed to prevent cases of Omicron subvariants, BA.1 and BA.1.1, the FDA announced on Thursday.
The agency revised the emergency use authorization (EUA) to increase the initial dosing regimen from a 150 mg injection of each drug separately to a 300 mg injection of each drug.
This treatment is indicated as COVID pre-exposure prophylaxis for individuals ages 12 and up who are either moderately or severely immunocompromised and may not mount an adequate response to COVID vaccination, or individuals who are allergic to components of the vaccines.
CDC Relaxes Mask Guidelines for 70% of U.S. as COVID Cases Fall
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Friday it would change its recommendations to remove or ease mask mandates in communities it deems at lower risk of COVID-19 spread.
Under the new guidelines, more than half of counties in the United States will be reclassified as low or medium risk. About 70% of the U.S. population lives in these counties, CDC officials told reporters.
The guidelines will remove indoor mask requirements in the lower-risk counties, including in schools.
Canada Authorizes First Plant-Based COVID Vaccine
Canada has become the first country to authorize use of a plant-based COVID-19 vaccine. Canadian regulators said Thursday Medicago’s two-dose vaccine can be given to adults ages 18 to 64, but said there’s too little data on the shots in people 65 and older.
The decision was based on a study of 24,000 adults that found the vaccine was 71% effective at preventing COVID-19 — although that was before the Omicron variant emerged. Side effects were mild, including fever and fatigue.
Medicago uses plants as living factories to grow virus-like particles, which mimic the spike protein that coats the coronavirus. The particles are removed from the plants’ leaves and purified. Another ingredient, an immune-boosting chemical called an adjuvant that is made by British partner GlaxoSmithKline, is added to the shots.
France’s Valneva Expects Recommendation on COVID Vaccine by End-March
Valneva (VLS.PA) expects to start delivering its vaccine in Europe soon after it is recommended for conditional approval by the end of March, the French vaccine maker said on Friday as it received an initial regulatory assessment.
The group now expects a recommendation for conditional approval for adults aged 18 to 55 by the end of March, and if this is granted, to start shipments to Europe early in the second quarter of the year.
Hong Kong Domestic Workers Left Homeless After Being Fired for Contracting COVID
Live-in domestic workers in Hong Kong have been left homeless after they were diagnosed with COVID-19 and their employers fired them or refused their return to the residence, support groups have said.
Many of the workers, who are mostly women from Indonesia and the Philippines, were also left without insurance to cover their medical bills.
The problem is exacerbated by strict policies of mandatory isolation for patients and close contacts, with tens of thousands of people unable to find accommodation. They have instead been told to isolate at home, but in the cases of dozens of domestic workers, their employers have refused to let them.
Texas Family Waits for Recourse After 21-Year-Old’s Rare, Severe Reaction to COVID Vaccine + More
Texas Family Waits for Recourse After 21-Year-Old’s Rare, Severe Reaction to COVID Vaccine
Corpus Christi Caller Times reported:
A Texas family has been in limbo for six months since seeking help from a government program to cover medical bills for a 21-year-old man who suffered a rare, severe reaction to a COVID-19 vaccine. Kartik Bhakta’s reaction to the vaccine, the ensuing medical bills and the family’s long wait for some recourse have been “like a hell,” his father Mukesh Bhakta said.
Nausea and vomiting set in two hours after Kartik received his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on April 19, 2021. He’d been in good health the day before; he had no other medical conditions and had not been diagnosed with COVID-19.
Next came back pain and a severe rash. A couple of days after taking the shot, Kartik had blood in his urine. He was admitted to the hospital — and would stay there for 3 months. He developed cataracts and tinnitus in both ears that progressed to deafness; his kidney failure grew worse. He then developed neuropathy, which his doctors said might have been induced by steroids.
Moderna Expects at Least $19 Billion in COVID Vaccine Sales in 2022, Reports Big Fourth-Quarter Earnings Beat
Moderna on Thursday said it expects to sell at least $19 billion of its COVID-19 vaccine this year, after reporting fourth-quarter earnings that blew out analysts’ earnings and revenue estimates.
Moderna stock rose 11.4% in morning trading. The company’s 2022 forecast for vaccine sales was $2 billion higher than its previous expectation. Moderna previously said it expected $17 billion in vaccine sales this year.
Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel told analysts on an earnings call Thursday morning that the $19 billion only reflects signed purchase agreements and doesn’t count its potential U.S. sales yet since the federal government hasn’t signed advanced purchase agreements for 2022.
The Time to Address the Student Mental Health Crisis Is Now
One of the most damaging impacts of the pandemic is the toll it has taken on our nation’s students — many of whom are struggling with feelings of grief, anxiety, isolation and depression brought on by the enormous difficulties of this pandemic.
COVID-19 has only exacerbated the numerous challenges that our students have faced over the past few years.
Nationally, nearly two out of every three young people have expressed feeling down or depressed during the pandemic. In 2020, in Nevada’s Clark County School District alone students died by suicide at a rate twice that of the year prior. These are not just statistics; these are 20 children — from fourth grade up through high school — who will never get to live out their futures, and families and communities devastated with unimaginable pain and grief.
CDC Right to Withhold COVID Data to Prevent Misinformation, Scientists Say
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has made headlines this week after a report highlighted that it does not always publish all the COVID data it collects from states.
One particular dataset that had not been made public related to the effectiveness of booster vaccines in 18- to 49-year-olds, which is the group least likely to benefit from them, according to the paper. That data was later published after multiple inquiries.
Multiple outside experts have told Newsweek that it is important for the CDC to ensure that the data it collects is complete, interpreted and properly representative of reality before it’s published — otherwise it risks breeding misinformation.
EMA Backs Pfizer COVID Booster for Teens, Moderna Shot for Ages 6 to 11
The European Union’s health regulator on Thursday backed giving a booster shot of Pfizer (PFE.N) and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine to adolescents aged 12 and over, as well as the expanded use of Moderna‘s (MRNA.O) shot in children ages 6 to 11.
The recommendations by the European Medicine Agency’s (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use will be followed by final decisions by the European Commission.
The moves come after several EU countries already started to offer booster doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to teens.
17,000 Physicians and Medical Scientists Declare ‘COVID National Emergency Over’ and Call on Congress to Restore Constitutional Democracy by Ending Emergency Powers
After two years of scientific research, clinical data and evidence from frontline medical professionals treating hundreds of thousands of patients, the international alliance of more than 17,000 physicians and medical scientists have concluded that the highly treatable COVID-19 illness, which is better addressed with natural immunity and proven medication, no longer requires national emergency status.
Vaccines have failed to reduce spread of COVID-19 and pose several health risks, while natural immunity for children and healthy adults has proven more effective. Moreover, treatment protocols that use well-studied, FDA approved medications are now proven to be effective in preventing severe illness and death from COVID-19.
With the success of treatments and broad natural immunity amidst waning strength of COVID-19 variants, there is no longer a credible need for a national emergency in the U.S.
Moderna Says COVID Is Entering an Endemic Phase, but Annual Vaccines Will Be Needed
Senior executives at Moderna on Thursday said COVID-19 is shifting from a pandemic to an endemic phase in some parts of the world, with regions in the Northern Hemisphere hopefully entering a period of relative stability.
North America, Europe, most of Asia and much of Africa are in the Northern Hemisphere. However, Burton said Moderna is closely monitoring the trajectory of the virus in the Southern Hemisphere, which includes large nations such as Brazil and South Africa, as winter approaches there.
Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel told CNBC on Thursday that although COVID is entering an endemic phase in some parts of the world, people will need another booster shot in the fall. This is particularly true for individuals over 50 and those who are at high risk due to underlying health conditions, he said.
German Health Insurer Reveals ‘Alarming’ Underreporting of Vaccine Side Effects
A large German health insurance provider revealed on Wednesday that COVID-19 vaccine side effects are vastly underreported, according to Welt.
BKK ProVita board member Andreas Schöfbeck called the data an “alarm signal,” adding that “the numbers determined are significant and urgently need to be checked for plausibility.”
“The data available to our company gives us reason to believe that there is a very considerable under-recording of suspected cases of vaccination side effects after they received the [COVID-19] vaccine.”
“If these figures are applied to the year as a whole and to” the entire population of Germany, Schöfbeck estimated, then “probably 2.5 to 3 million people in Germany have been under medical treatment because of vaccination side effects after [COVID-19] vaccination.”
COVID Shots, Drugs Position U.S. to Ease Limits, Fauci Says
COVID-19 vaccines, drugs and tests are putting the U.S. in an improved position to pull back on restrictions such as masking that were enacted to limit the spread of the virus, White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci said.
COVID drugs like Pfizer Inc.’s Paxlovid that keep high-risk patients from hospitalization and death are becoming plentiful as production ramps up, Fauci said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “The Close.”
Many states have already dropped rules for mask-wearing, and officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are poised to update federal masking guidelines as cases driven by the omicron variant plummet across the country.
122 Countries on Track to Miss COVID Vaccine Goal
According to latest estimates by Our World in Data, large parts of the world are likely to fall short of the WHO’s vaccination target.
Looking at current coverage and the rate of new vaccinations over the past 14 days, the researchers find that 122 countries are currently on a trajectory to miss the 70% vaccination goal by the end of June 2022, while 34 countries are on track to meet the target.
U.S. FDA Limits Use of GlaxoSmithKline-Vir COVID Drug
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Wednesday GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L) and Vir Biotech’s (VIR.O) COVID-19 antibody treatment should not be used in places with circulation of variants that are not susceptible to the drug.
Vir has said the drug, sotrovimab, retains neutralizing activity against the emerging BA.2 form of the Omicron coronavirus variant.
However, other recent research suggests that the variant showed resistance to nearly all of the monoclonal antibodies they tested, including sotrovimab.
J&J Says It Nears Vaccine Licensing Deal With S. Africa’s Aspen
U.S. drugmaker Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) is close to a vaccine licensing deal with South African group Aspen Pharmacare (APNJ.J), a senior J&J executive told a conference in Nigeria on Wednesday.
In November, Aspen signed non-binding terms with subsidiaries of J&J, saying this was a step towards a licensing deal for Aspen to package and sell J&J’s COVID-19 vaccine in Africa.