CNN -
September 24, 2021
Following days of lengthy debate among vaccine experts, booster shots of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine can now be officially administered to some adults in the U.S. Early Friday morning, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky diverged from the agency's independent vaccine advisers to recommend boosters for a broader group of people -- those ages 18 to 64 who are at increased risk of Covid-19 because of their workplaces or institutional settings -- in addition to older adults, long-term care facility residents and some people with underlying health conditions.
CNBC -
September 24, 2021
The CDC tracked 1,613 pregnant women who received a Covid-19 vaccine, 30% of whom were vaccinated in the second trimester. The remaining 70% received their inoculations in the third trimester. Participants gave birth to 1,634 infants, including 42 twins.
Fox News -
September 24, 2021
The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) has issued a warning about a concerning new social media trend in which people are breathing in hydrogen peroxide through nebulizers to treat or prevent COVID-19. In a Tuesday blog post, the AAFA said that the "dangerous trend" was circulating on Facebook, Twitter and TikTok. "DO NOT put hydrogen peroxide into your nebulizer and breathe it in. This is dangerous!" the association said.
NBC News -
September 24, 2021
The number of new Covid-19 cases in the United States seems to have peaked, with cases in states hit hard by the delta variant earlier edging downward over the last week, according to an analysis by NBC News. It’s the longest sustained decline in cases in nearly three months, giving hope to some leading pandemic forecasters. Some hospitals in areas of the country with low vaccination rates are still in crisis mode, but overall the hospitalization rate in the U.S. has dropped…
The Atlantic -
September 24, 2021
This misunderstanding, born out of confusing statements from public-health authorities and misleading media headlines, is a shame. It is resulting in unnecessary fear among vaccinated people, all the while undermining the public’s understanding of the importance—and effectiveness—of getting vaccinated. So let me make one thing clear: Vaccinated people are not as likely to spread the coronavirus as the unvaccinated.
CNN -
September 20, 2021
In a highly anticipated announcement, Pfizer said on Monday a Phase 2/3 trial showed its Covid-19 vaccine was safe and generated a "robust" antibody response in children ages 5 to 11. These are the first such results released for this age group for a US Covid-19 vaccine, and the data has not yet been peer-reviewed or published. Pfizer said it plans to submit to the FDA for emergency use authorization soon. The trial included 2,268 participants ages 5 to 11 and used a two-dose regimen of the vaccine administered 21 days apart. This trials used a 10-microgram dose -- smaller than the 30-microgram dose that has been used for those 12 and older.
AP -
September 20, 2021
Dealing the White House a stinging setback, a government advisory panel overwhelmingly rejected a plan Friday to give Pfizer COVID-19 booster shots across the board, and instead endorsed the extra vaccine dose only for those who are 65 or older or run a high risk of severe disease. … The nonbinding recommendation — from an influential committee of outside experts who advise the FDA — is not the last word. The FDA will consider the group’s advice and make its own decision, probably within days. And the CDC is set to weigh in next week.
NPR -
September 20, 2021
As new data shows 1 in 500 Americans has died from COVID-19 and the delta variant continues to surge across the country, the next challenge many health care leaders face is within their own staffs: the 27% of U.S. health care workers who have not been vaccinated against the disease as of July, according to a study by The COVID States Project.
Gallup -
September 20, 2021
Gallup Panel data collected Aug. 16-22 found 56% of Americans in favor of requiring workers to show proof of vaccination before reporting to an office or work site, and 44% opposed. A separate Gallup Panel survey found 52% of workers supporting the idea of their employer requiring all workers without a medical exemption to be vaccinated, with 38% opposed.
ABC News -
September 20, 2021
On the grassy expanse near the Washington Monument, the field of flags is being displayed as a part of a chilling exhibition called "In America: Remember." Each represents a life lost to the pandemic, and each sits amid a sea of symbolic grief. This is the second stunning exhibit based on a project trying to capture, the artist said, the "human dignity" behind the mind-numbing numbers.
Kaiser Health News -
September 20, 2021
Callagan’s surgery was canceled because the hospital was full. That’s the story at many hospitals in Oregon and in other states where they’ve been flooded with covid patients. OHSU spokesperson Erik Robinson said the hospital, which is the state’s only public academic medical center and serves patients from across the region, has had to postpone numerous surgeries and procedures in the wake of the delta surge of the pandemic.
USA Today -
September 17, 2021
A federal advisory committee will decide Friday whether third shots of COVID-19 vaccines are safe and protective against infections. At root is whether the extra shots are "luxuries" or an essential part of providing complete protection against the virus, presidential adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci said this week. He and other federal officials, including President Joe Biden, believe it is time to begin offering third shots to compensate for what appears to be fading protection. The government has agreements to purchase the doses and provide them at no cost to consumers.
The Atlantic -
September 17, 2021
No one, it seems, can agree on the immunological exchange rate—whether a past infection can sub in for one inoculation or two inoculations, or more, or none at all—or just how much immunity counts as “enough.” Even among the nation’s top health officials, a potential shift in the social status of the once-infected remains “under active discussion,” Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, told me. For now, though, he reiterated, “it still is the policy that if you’ve been infected and recovered, that you should get vaccinated.”
TODAY -
September 17, 2021
A survey of 1,000 Americans conducted in September found that 1 out of 7 respondents had ended a friendship over COVID-19 vaccination status. … When it came to disputes over vaccination, the survey found that 66% of those who lost a friend over the shot had been vaccinated, while 17% do not ever plan to get the shot. Of the vaccinated respondents, 14% said that they had ended a relationship with a friend who did not want to get the shot.
AP -
September 17, 2021
In another ominous sign about the spread of the delta variant, Idaho public health leaders on Thursday expanded health care rationing statewide and individual hospital systems in Alaska and Montana have enacted similar crisis standards amid a spike in the number of unvaccinated COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalization. The decisions marked an escalation of the pandemic in several Western states struggling to convince skeptical people to get vaccinated.
AP -
September 17, 2021
A new study ties the COVID-19 pandemic to an “alarming” increase in obesity in U.S. children and teenagers. Childhood obesity has been increasing for decades, but the new work suggests an acceleration last year — especially in those who already were obese when the pandemic started. The results signal a “profound increase in weight gain for kids” and are “substantial and alarming,” said one of the study’s authors … An estimated 22% of children and teens were obese last August, up from 19% a year earlier.