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WHO Scientific Advisory Group Issues Report on Origins of COVID-19
The World Health Organization reported:
The World Health Organization (WHO) Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO), a panel of 27 independent, international, multidisciplinary experts, today published its report on the origins of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic.SAGO has advanced the understanding of the origins of COVID-19, but as they say in their report, much of the information needed to evaluate fully all hypotheses has not been provided.
“I thank each of the 27 members of SAGO for dedicating their time and expertise to this very important scientific undertaking over more than three years,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “As things stand, all hypotheses must remain on the table, including zoonotic spillover and lab leak. We continue to appeal to China and any other country that has information about the origins of COVID-19 to share that information openly, in the interests of protecting the world from future pandemics.”
In its report, SAGO considered available evidence for the main hypotheses for the origins of COVID-19 and concluded that “the weight of available evidence…suggests zoonotic spillover…either directly from bats or through an intermediate host.” WHO requested that China share hundreds of genetic sequences from individuals with COVID-19 early in the pandemic, more detailed information about the animals sold at markets in Wuhan, and information on work done and biosafety conditions at laboratories in Wuhan. To date, China has not shared this information either with SAGO or WHO.
FDA Updates CV Warnings Around COVID-19 mRNA Vaccines
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved new labeling for two mRNA COVID-19 vaccines (Comirnaty; Pfizer and Spikevax; Moderna) that emphasizes the risk of myocarditis and pericarditis.
The labels of both vaccines have long warned about the potential risks of this side effect, noting that the risk is highest in the first week following vaccination and more likely to affect males aged 12 to 24 years. The updated safety information will now include the estimated unadjusted incidence of myocarditis and/or pericarditis after administration of the 2023-2024 vaccines.
The new wording will state that the estimated incidence in the first week after vaccination is approximately eight cases of myocarditis and/or pericarditis per 1 million doses in those aged 6 months to 64 years. In males aged 12 to 24 years, the unadjusted incidence is approximately 27 cases per 1 million doses. The incidence is based on commercial health insurance claims data from inpatient and outpatient settings, according to the FDA.
Where Do Americans Stand on Childhood Vaccines as RFK Jr. Shakes up CDC Panel?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, and its eight new members, met for the first time Thursday after Health and Humans Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announced a “clean sweep” of the panel earlier this month. The change comes as infectious diseases like measles and whooping cough make major comebacks this year, and after the secretary said health agencies are facing “a crisis of public trust.”
The panel said previously it would evaluate recommendations for childhood vaccines, according to the outlet, and members of the committee have had varying views on the regimen over the years. But where do most Americans actually stand on the childhood vaccine requirements?
Majority of Americans support childhood vaccines The vast majority of U.S. adults support vaccines requirements as they currently stand, primarily as prerequisites to kids attending public school, a June 26 Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health poll found. The poll included 2,509 Americans over the age of 18, questioned between March 10 and March 31, and with margins of error between plus or minus 2.3 and 4.2 percentage points, according to the report.
Seven Federal Policy Changes That Will Hurt Polluted Communities
In the first five months of his second term, President Donald Trump changed federal environmental regulations — and the agencies that enforce them — in ways that will directly affect Texans who live near oil refineries and petrochemical facilities. The roughly 46,000 residents of Channelview, an unincorporated community outside Houston, will feel the effects firsthand.
Over the course of just three decades, the majority-Latino community — which Public Health Watch recently profiled on our investigative podcast, Fumed — has been transformed from a cluster of quiet, riverside neighborhoods to an environmental justice community plagued by toxic chemicals, including high levels of benzene, which causes leukemia.
Channelview neighborhoods are in the 99th percentile nationwide for cancer risk from petrochemical facilities, according to a map created by the Environmental Defense Fund based on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and census data.
