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Fall COVID Shot Uptake Is an ‘Abysmal’ 7%; Wastewater Testing Impaired
More than a month since U.S. health officials recommended updated COVID-19 vaccines for all Americans, only 7.1% of U.S. adults have rolled up their sleeves for the shot and just 2.1% of children have been immunized.
The uptake is sluggish at best, and the current rates were dubbed “abysmal” Thursday by one immunization adviser for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC’s advisory panel got an update yesterday on the fall campaign to boost protection against COVID-19 ahead of the winter respiratory illness season.
The current uptake is far short of survey data from last month that indicated more than half of American adults planned to get the shots. And survey data presented yesterday to the CDC advisory committee didn’t differ dramatically from that.
In a National Immunization Survey-Adult COVID Module that ran from October 8 to 14 that polled 14,715 adults, 24.6% said they “definitely will” get vaccinated, and an additional 30.6% said they “probably will.” That’s on top of the 7.1% who reported they were already vaccinated. The remaining 37% said they would definitely or probably not get vaccinated.
Exclusive: White House Urges Schools to Carry Overdose Reversal Drug
The Biden administration on Monday will send a letter urging all schools to keep an opioid overdose reversal drug on hand and train staff and students on how to use it.
Why it matters: The request is a response to the grim reality that opioid overdoses — particularly those involving illicit fentanyl — have risen rapidly among children and teenagers in recent years. The reversal drug, naloxone, is highly effective when administered quickly, but it isn’t provided in most fatal youth overdoses and may be given incorrectly when it is.
Driving the news: The letter from the Department of Education and the White House drug policy office, which was provided exclusively to Axios, will be sent to every state education agency, intergovernmental groups, and local, state, and national education associations, an Education Department spokesperson said.
The big picture: The opioid epidemic is becoming deadlier among children and teenagers. Median monthly overdose deaths among adolescents ages 10-19 increased by 109% between the second half of 2019 and the second half of 2021, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. Deaths involving illicitly manufactured fentanyl increased by 182%.
New Vaccine for Cocaine Addiction Under Development — Would Stop Users From Getting High
Scientists in Brazil are developing the first vaccine against cocaine addiction. The potentially miraculous jab, named Calixcoca, is designed to trigger an immune response that blocks the drug from reaching the brain — which then stops addicts from getting high, reportedly helping users break the cycle of addiction.
A research team from the Federal University of Minas Gerais has announced promising results on their work — earning them the top prize of $530,000 at last week’s Euro Health Innovation awards for Latin American medicine. The vaccine prompts the body to produce antibodies that bind to cocaine’s molecules in the bloodstream.
The cocaine molecules then become too large to continue into the brain’s “reward center,” where the drug typically produces high levels of dopamine. Users would then be deprived of the expected thrill associated with the highly addictive drug. The vaccine is intended to assist addicts at their most critical stages of recovery, such as when they leave rehab, he added.
The trials have only been run on animals, but testing on humans is set to begin next. More than 3,000 people have volunteered to take part in the clinical trials.
Little-Known Ozempic Side Effect Is Worse for Women Over 50: MDs Explain & Advise
By now, we’ve all heard about the wildly popular prescription injectable drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy that are helping people lose loads of pounds quickly. Perhaps you’ve seen friends successfully slim down. Or you’ve noticed Hollywood celebs, like Sharon Osbourne, looking a bit scary-thin. But amid all the buzz and success stories is a growing list of side effects for these prescriptions.
One that keeps popping up is muscle pain. So we decided to ask top doctors — experts on the front lines of the obesity battle prescribing these medications — can Ozempic cause muscle pain? Their answers may surprise you.
The FDA doesn’t identify muscle pain as a side effect of taking semaglutide. “Ozempic, at this time, has no mechanism of action directly on skeletal muscle,” says Gabrielle Lyon, DO, an osteopathic doctor and author of Forever Strong. She adds, “Muscle pain is subjective. We would need to have a better understanding if this is due to a lack of exercise or something else.”
While there is no research currently linking Ozempic to muscle pain, there is real concern about the drug’s connection to lost muscle mass. A 2021 clinical trial on semaglutide found that about 40% of the weight people lost came from lean mass, including muscle tissue. That’s worse than the results compared with other rapid weight-loss approaches like fad diets and gastric bypass.
Women are at an increased risk of muscle loss with weight-loss medications. “Right after menopause, there’s a rapid decline drop off in muscle mass,” says Jeremy Walston, MD, co-director of the Biology of Healthy Aging program at Johns Hopkins. Men don’t see this rapid dropoff because testosterone tends to protect skeletal muscle.
Pfizer RSV Vaccine Lags GSK’s as Head-to-Head Competition Underway
Pfizer (PFE.N), which dominated COVID vaccine sales, now finds itself looking up at GSK (GSK.L), whose rival new respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine has surged to an early lead since the shots launched this summer.
GSK accounts for close to two-thirds of RSV shots given in the United States since early September, according to IQVIA data seen by Reuters. The British drugmaker’s early advantage may be tied to its positioning as the lone RSV shot offered by CVS Health (CVS.N), the biggest pharmacy chain in the U.S. and a dominant player in the retail vaccine market, analysts and industry experts say.
Price may also be playing a role, according to independent pharmacists. GSK’s lists at a slight discount.
Pfizer and GSK will provide more clarity on demand for the shots when they report third-quarter financial results on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. While early analyst sales estimates are in the low hundred million range for 2023, both companies have said their shots could become multibillion-dollar sellers.
U.S. Shifting COVID Antivirals to Commercial Market on Nov. 1
Most people will retain access to Pfizer‘s (PFE.N) Paxlovid and Merck‘s (MRK.N) Lagevrio COVID-19 oral antiviral treatments for little or no cost even after the U.S. government starts handing over their distribution to the commercial market next month, health officials said on Friday.
The government has been overseeing the distribution of the treatments, alongside vaccines and tests, but has transferred that work to traditional commercial channels. Commercial ordering for the treatments is set to start on Nov. 1.
The U.S. government paid around $530 per course for Paxlovid, the most commonly prescribed at-home COVID-19 treatment in the country, and made it available at no cost. Pfizer said last week it had set the price for Paxlovid at nearly $1,400 per course before rebates and other discounts to insurers and pharmacy benefit managers are taken into account.
Under an agreement with Pfizer allowing the return of 7.9 million courses, the credits for the returned doses will underwrite a program keeping Paxlovid free of charge for patients insured under the Medicare and Medicaid programs through the end of 2024, and to uninsured and underinsured patients through 2028, the official said.
A New COVID Variant Has Become Dominant Amid Slow Uptake of the Updated Shots
A new COVID variant has become dominant in the U.S., but relatively few people have thus far gotten the new shots that could offer some protection against it.
The variant, called HV.1, replaced EG.5 as the country’s most prevalent this week, according to data released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The two variants are genetically similar versions of Omicron.
HV.1 makes up around 25% of COVID cases now, up from around 1% at the beginning of August. EG.5, meanwhile, represents nearly 22% of cases, down from 24% at the start of the month.
Both are descendants of the XBB variant. The updated COVID vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, which became available last month, target a different XBB descendant, called XBB.1.5.
FDA Advises Not to Purchase Certain Eye Drops Due to Infection Risk
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday warned consumers to not purchase or use certain eye drops from several brands, including CVS Health Corp and Cardinal Health, as they may cause eye infection and in some cases possible vision loss.
The agency recommended against the usage of 26 over-the-counter eye drop products mainly used to treat symptoms of dry eyes and provide relief against eye irritation.
The eye drops are marketed by CVS Health (CVS.N), Rite Aid (RADCQ.PK), Cardinal Health (CAH.N), along with Target’s (TGT.N) up & up brand and Velocity Pharma, the FDA said in a statement. It has also asked the manufacturer to recall all lots of the product after its investigators found unsanitary conditions in the manufacturing facility.
FDA said using certain eye care products from the brands it flagged could result in partial vision loss or blindness. However, as of now, it has not received any “adverse event reports” of eye infection associated with these products, the agency said.
Facing 50,000-Plus Lawsuits Linking Baby Powder to Cancer, Johnson & Johnson Mulls a Third Bankruptcy Filing
Johnson & Johnson faces at least 18 jury trials over the next year tied to claims of tainted talc in its iconic baby powder, prompting the company to consider a third bankruptcy filing in hopes of fostering a global settlement.
J&J has talc cases set for trial everywhere from Pennsylvania to California between November and December 2024, some of which involve consolidated claims by more than a half-dozen plaintiffs, according to their lawyers. Those trials were scheduled after a judge in July threw out a J&J unit’s latest Chapter 11 case aimed at resolving all current and future talc claims.
Since 2016, J&J has been hit with at least $570 million in damage awards over talc-related cancer claims and paid out at least $2.5 billion in settlements, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Another bankruptcy filing by J&J’s LTL Management subsidiary would give the company the opportunity to ask a judge to put a hold on all trials while the company once again negotiates with lawyers representing talc victims. Judges did that in the first two Chapter 11 filings by the LTL unit, but those cases were thrown out.
