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The U.S. Has Wasted Over 82 Million COVID Vaccine Doses

NBC News reported:

Pharmacies, states, U.S. territories and federal agencies discarded 82.1 million COVID vaccine doses from December 2020 through mid-May — just over 11% of the doses the federal government distributed, according to data the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shared with NBC News. That’s an increase from the 65 million doses the CDC told the Associated Press had been wasted as of late February.

Two retail pharmacy chains, CVS and Walmart, were responsible for over a quarter of the doses thrown away in the United States in that time period, in part due to the sheer volume of vaccine they handled.

Studies Link Incurable Prion Disease With COVID Vaccine

The Epoch Times reported:

Studies on COVID-19 vaccines have suggested links between Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) — an incurable and fatal prion disease — and getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

A recent French pre-print on CJD and COVID-19 vaccination has suggested that the COVID-19 vaccine may have contributed to the emergence of a new type of sporadic CJD disease that is a lot more aggressive and rapid in disease progression as compared to the traditional CJD.

CJD is a rare disease caused by an abnormal protein in the brain called a prion.

Prions naturally occur in the brain and are usually harmless, but when they become diseased or misfolded, they will affect nearby prions to also become misshapen, leading to deterioration of brain tissue and death.

The disease is incurable as once one prion becomes infected, it will continue to propagate to other prions with no treatment capable of stopping its progress.

Contract Manufacturer Emergent Says J&J Breached Vaccine Contract

Reuters reported:

Contract manufacturer Emergent BioSolutions Inc (EBS.N) said on Monday U.S. drugmaker Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) had breached an agreement by failing to buy the minimum quantity of COVID-19 vaccines made by the company.

Emergent said J&J had failed to provide required forecasts for the amount of vaccines it needed and had wound down the agreement instead of fulfilling minimum requirements. If the agreement is terminated, Emergent said J&J would owe it roughly $125 million to $420 million.

The use of J&J’s COVID-19 vaccine has been stalled in the United States as the Food and Drug Administration in May had significantly restricted its use due to safety concerns.

People With Diabetes 4 Times More Prone to Long COVID

U.S. News & World Report reported:

Diabetes increases the odds that a COVID-19 infection will be severe, and folks with diabetes may be up to four times more likely to develop long-lasting symptoms, new research suggests.

“Though more data is needed, some early studies suggest that diabetes may be a risk factor for long COVID, and thus careful monitoring of people with diabetes for development of long COVID may be advised,” said study author Jessica Harding, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta.

Long COVID symptoms run the gamut from fatigue, shortness of breath and cough to brain fog, dizziness and changes in taste or smell. These symptoms may come and go or persist and can last for months after the initial COVID infection, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Exactly how diabetes can add to the risk for long COVID is not fully understood, but many theories exist.

COVID Cases Are Rising in Many States. What Experts Say Makes This Summer Different.

USA TODAY via MSN reported:

Shortly before the start of the third summer of the pandemic, the USA is undergoing a sixth wave of COVID-19 cases. Compared with previous surges, this one looks more like a swell, health experts said.

The rise in cases reported in the Northeast in recent weeks appears to have peaked, but upward trends continue in at least 21 states, according to a USA TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins University data. Health experts said cases are likely higher because of underreported home tests.

Although cases are rising, health experts said hospitalizations remain in check. There are about 350 deaths reported per day based on a seven-day average, which is more than a hundred deaths less than this time last year, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

Many Children Aren’t Getting the Vision Screening They Need

The Washington Post reported:

Eye exams for children are required under federal law to be covered by most private health plans and Medicaid. Vision screenings are mandated for school-age children in 40 states and the District, and 26 states require them for preschoolers, according to the National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health at Prevent Blindness, a nonprofit advocacy organization.

Still, many children who are struggling to see clearly are being overlooked. The pandemic has only exacerbated the issue since in many places classes moved online, and for many students in-school vision screenings are the only time they get their eyes checked.

Even when campuses reopened, school nurses were so swamped with coronavirus testing that general screenings had to be put to the side, said Kate King, president-elect of the National Association of School Nurses.

“The only kids who were getting their vision checked were the ones who were complaining about not being able to see,” King said.

The Missing Part of America’s Pandemic Response

The Atlantic reported:

Many parts of the U.S. government, including its leading scientific agencies, are being blamed for the country’s chaotic and disorganized response to COVID-19. The CDC’s muddled and mistaken messaging about masks, testing and the mechanism of viral spread sowed public confusion. The FDA’s extreme caution about approving boosters may have slowed the deployment of those vital measures.

But a nation’s ability to weather a pandemic also depends upon its underlying ability to make major scientific discoveries, even — or especially — during moments of crisis. Success is not just a matter of luck; historically, the United States has made a series of strategic decisions that put researchers in a position to make timely breakthroughs.

Yet amid the biggest health crisis in 100 years, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the $42-billion-a-year engine of our nation’s biomedical-research infrastructure, has been strangely quiet.

Severe COVID Cases ‘More Likely in Highly Polluted Areas’

The Guardian reported:

People who contract COVID-19 are more likely to suffer severe symptoms if they have been exposed to air pollution for long periods.

A study found that people who live in places where there are high levels of the atmospheric pollutant nitrogen dioxide had higher chances of ending up in intensive care units (ICUs) or of needing mechanical ventilation after they had caught COVID.

Nitrogen dioxide is released into the atmosphere when fossil fuels are burned, and the gas is known to have harmful effects on people’s lungs. In particular, endothelial cells — which form a thin membrane lining the inside of the heart and blood vessels — become damaged, and this inhibits the transfer of oxygen from inhaled breath to a person’s blood.

Push for Normalcy Wins out in COVID Wars

The Hill reported:

As Americans start a third summer living amid the specter of the coronavirus, their attitude on the pandemic has shifted. Even as infections rise to levels that are four to five times higher than the same point last year, the push for normalcy is winning out.

Now, almost all masks or vaccine requirements have been deliberately abandoned or overturned in court. The U.S. is averaging about 100,000 new cases every day, but movie studios are releasing summer blockbusters to packed theaters, families are celebrating weddings, and bars and restaurants are full.

Living with the threat of a COVID-19 infection has become the new normal for Americans who are ready to move on.

India Approves Biological E. COVID Shot as a Booster

Reuters reported:

India has approved Hyderabad-based drugmaker Biological E’s COVID-19 vaccine as the first mix-and-match booster dose in the country, the company said on Saturday.

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) gave the nod for the Corbevax vaccine to be administerd as a booster shot to people age 18 years and over who have already received two doses of either AstraZeneca Plc’s (AZN.L) Covishield or Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin.