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FDA Grants Full Approval for COVID Treatment Remdesivir in Young Kids

The Hill reported:

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday gave its first full approval for a COVID-19 treatment for children under 12. The agency granted approval to the treatment remdesivir, also known as Veklury, made by Gilead Sciences, which has already been approved as a treatment for adults.

The treatment was earlier under emergency use authorization for children. Full approval from the FDA provides a more formal and higher level of endorsement than emergency authorization.

Still, the FDA stressed that remdesivir is not a replacement for vaccination, and there is still no authorized vaccine for children under 5, a source of stress and disappointment for some parents.

CDC Estimates 3 in 4 Kids Have Had Coronavirus Infections

Associated Press reported:

Three out of every four U.S. children have been infected with the coronavirus, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers estimated in a report Tuesday.

The researchers examined blood samples from more than 200,000 Americans and looked for virus-fighting antibodies made from infections, not vaccines. They found that signs of past infection rose dramatically between December and February, when the more contagious Omicron variant surged through the U.S.

The most striking increase was in children. The percentage of those 17 and under with antibodies rose from about 45% in December to about 75% in February.

“I did expect it to increase. I did not expect it to increase quite this much,” said Dr. Kristie Clarke, co-leader of a CDC team that tracks the extent of coronavirus infections.

Experts Fear U.S. May Default to Annual COVID Boosters Without Sufficient Data

STAT News reported:

A number of vaccine experts are concerned the United States may be sleepwalking into a policy of recommending annual COVID-19 vaccine boosters — without having generated the evidence to show they are actually needed.

Already, the Food and Drug Administration has authorized second boosters — or fourth doses — for people aged 50 and older, even though neither that agency nor the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have explicitly urged people to get them. Based on recent meetings of panels that advise the FDA and the CDC, many vaccine experts assume another booster will be recommended in the fall in anticipation of a possible surge in COVID activity during the cold and flu season next winter.

Meanwhile, several vaccine manufacturers have said annual boosters will be needed and are working on combined flu and COVID vaccines that could be deployed every autumn.

The developments have some experts warning that the U.S. may be headed toward a policy of annual boosters as a sort of default position, not one arrived at by careful scrutiny of the evidence on how well vaccine protection is holding up.

Adolescents Accounted for Larger Share of Suicides in Many States in 2020

NBC News reported:

Adolescents accounted for a larger share of suicides across 14 states in 2020 than they did over the previous five years, according to research published Monday.

The findings were described in a research letter in JAMA Pediatrics, as medical groups and health experts increasingly sound the alarm about the soaring mental health challenges of young people.

For the new study, a team of Boston-based researchers compared the number of suicides among children and teenagers ages 10 to 19 in 2020 to the average from 2015 to 2019. They then analyzed the totals in relation to suicides across all age groups. The results showed that adolescents accounted for a larger share of all suicides in 2020 — 6.5% — than they did during the five previous years, 5.9%.

Global Fight Against COVID Hitting a Snag

Politico reported:

Global health advocates, including WHO officials, are concerned that the U.S. and European countries are beginning to ease pandemic guidance and funding — affecting the world’s response to COVID-19.

Many Western governments are relaxing public health guidelines such as mask mandates and dropping COVID-19 financing from budgets. But here in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa, officials are still trying to ramp up primary vaccinations. The differing strategies muddle the direction of the global health community’s fight and have led to tensions with leaders who emphasize the virus still poses a threat.

Who’s Least Likely to Get a ‘Breakthrough’ Case of COVID?

U.S. News & World Report reported:

Are you vaccinated and wonder what your chances are of a breakthrough COVID-19 infection? A new study answers that question: Breakthrough COVID infections in fully vaccinated people are least likely to occur in those who’ve received an mRNA vaccine and who were infected with the coronavirus before vaccination.

The study included more than 8 million adults in Belgium, aged 18 and older, who were fully vaccinated between Feb. 1 and Dec. 5, 2021. From 14 days after their second dose, they were followed for up to an average of 150 days.

People who received a viral vector vaccine (Oxford/AstraZeneca or Johnson & Johnson/Janssen) had a higher risk of a breakthrough infection than those who received an mRNA vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna).

The study also found that people who received the Moderna vaccine had a 32% lower risk of breakthrough infection than those who received the Pfizer vaccine.

New COVID Vaccine Is Developed by University of Washington. What Makes It Different?

The News Tribune reported:

The University of Washington developed a vaccine for COVID-19 and plans to ship millions of doses to South Korea once it’s authorized, UW Medicine announced in an April 25 news release. The vaccine, GPB510, was found to be “safe and effective during a multinational trial of more than 4,000 adults,” the news release said.

The scientists who developed the vaccine were hoping to create a “second-generation” version that could help aid vaccination efforts across the globe, according to the release. Unlike other COVID-19 vaccines, including Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, doses of GPB510 remain “stable without deep freezing,” the university said.

Genetic Sign of Aging Linked to Risk of Fatal COVID

U.S. News & World Report reported:

It’s known that certain chronic health conditions up the odds of death from COVID-19. Now, new research identifies another risk factor.

Shorter telomeres are associated with an increased likelihood of death from COVID-19, particularly in older women, researchers say.

Telomeres are protective caps on the end of chromosomes (DNA) that shorten with age. Previous research has linked shorter telomeres with a number of age-related diseases, including cancer and osteoarthritis, and a higher risk of infections.

EXCLUSIVE EU to Move Away From Emergency Phase of COVID Pandemic — Document

Reuters reported:

The European Commission is set to say the EU has entered a new post-emergency phase of the pandemic in which testing should be targeted and monitoring of COVID-19 cases should be similar to sample-based flu surveillance, according to a draft document seen by Reuters.

The shift comes amid a gradual drop in cases and a fall in the number of deaths linked to COVID-19, thanks to the spread of the less virulent Omicron variant and the immunization of over 70% of the EU population, with half of the population having received also a booster shot.

Poor Sleep Linked to More Mood Disorders During Pandemic

U.S. News & World Report reported:

Having trouble getting your shut-eye during the COVID-19 pandemic? You may be at increased risk for anxiety, depression and other mental health struggles.

That’s the key takeaway from an analysis of data collected from nearly 5,000 people who wore a digital sleep device before and during the pandemic.

The authors also examined responses to a June 2020 survey on mental health completed by about 15% of those users.