AP -
July 13, 2021
U.S. regulators on Monday added a new warning to Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine about links to a rare and potentially dangerous neurological reaction, but said it’s not entirely clear the shot caused the problem. The FDA announced the new warning, flagging reports of Guillain-Barre syndrome … Health officials described the side effect as a “small possible risk” for those getting the shot. The action comes after the FDA and the CDC reviewed reports of about 100 people developing the syndrome after receiving the one-dose vaccine. Almost all of were hospitalized and one person died, the FDA said.
STAT -
July 13, 2021
The director-general of the WHO on Monday issued a stinging rebuke to Pfizer and other vaccine manufacturers focused on developing — and selling — Covid-19 vaccine booster shots to high-income countries, saying they should focus instead on providing vaccine to nations that have had little access to first doses. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’ statement came four days after Pfizer said it has data to support its repeated claim that a third dose of its vaccine will be needed to keep protection levels high. …“We’re making conscious choices right now not to protect those in most need,” Tedros said in Geneva.
CNBC -
July 13, 2021
People who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 are still getting infected with the delta variant, but global health officials said the shots have protected most people from getting severely sick or dying. “There are reports coming in that vaccinated populations have cases of infection, particularly with the delta variant,” Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the WHO’s chief scientist, said at a press briefing Monday. “The majority of these are mild or asymptomatic infections.”
CNN -
July 13, 2021
As the return to school approaches, some states are prohibiting public schools from requiring Covid-19 vaccinations or proof of vaccination for students ranging from pre-K to university. A CNN analysis has found that at least seven states -- Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Montana, Oklahoma and Utah -- have enacted legislation this year that would restrict public schools from requiring either coronavirus vaccinations or documentation of vaccination status.
CNN -
July 13, 2021
Trends from Israel and the United Kingdom -- where the variant became dominant a few weeks sooner than in the US -- present hope for a less deadly and severe surge than others that have come before. And experts say that vaccination progress will be the most critical factor in preventing the worst outcomes.
USA Today -
July 13, 2021
The U.S. averaged 19,455 new COVID-19 cases per day over the last seven days, a 47.5% increase from the previous week, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. And 43 states saw an increase in cases last week from the week before, a sign that the pandemic endures in the United States. Hospitalizations are rising again. Deaths, a lagging indicator, also appear ready to start climbing. More than 99% of deaths are now among people who have not been vaccinated, the CDC reports.
AP -
July 12, 2021
Pfizer says it plans to meet with top U.S. health officials Monday to discuss the drugmaker’s request for federal authorization of a third dose of its COVID-19 vaccine as President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser acknowledged that “it is entirely conceivable, maybe likely” that booster shots will be needed. The company said it was scheduled to have the meeting with the FDA and other officials Monday, days after Pfizer asserted that booster shots would be needed within 12 months.
Wall Street Journal -
July 12, 2021
Their reluctance is a significant part of why the U.S. missed the Biden administration’s goal of getting 70% of the adult population a first dose by July 4, and it is impeding efforts to develop the communitywide immunity sought to move past the pandemic and fend off Delta and other variants. Now government health authorities are dialing up efforts encouraging 18- to 29-year-olds to get vaccinated.
STAT -
July 12, 2021
The FDA issuing full approval for two Covid-19 vaccines might not be the game-changer it’s chalked up to be, according to a number of leading public health experts. Increasingly, some leading academics and physicians have pushed back on the popular narrative that the FDA is needlessly delaying full approvals for the Pfizer and Moderna coronavirus shots — and spurring vaccine hesitancy by doing so.
CNN -
July 12, 2021
The US is averaging about 19,455 new cases over the last seven days, a 47% increase from the week prior, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. And a third of those, CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner said, come from five hotspots: Florida, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri and Nevada.
Today -
July 12, 2021
Fully vaccinated students do not need to wear masks in classrooms this fall, the CDC said Friday. The guidance, which goes beyond mask-wearing, is aimed at kindergartners through high school seniors, and is meant "to help keep kids in classrooms, as well as participating in any sports or extracurricular activities,"… The recommendation for fully vaccinated students mirrors the CDC's previous guidance for fully vaccinated adults: no masks needed when indoors.
The Daily Beast -
July 12, 2021
The highly transmissible Delta coronavirus variant tore through an Oklahoma gym facility earlier this year, infecting dozens of teenagers, landing one unvaccinated person in the ICU and providing a stark reminder that the fight against COVID-19 is far from over. Low COVID vaccination rates, the highly transmissible variant, and disturbingly lax social distancing rules in the facility combined to fuel the outbreak, according to a CDC report.
Reuters -
July 9, 2021
Pfizer Inc plans to ask U.S. regulators to authorize a booster dose of its COVID-19 vaccine within the next month, the drugmaker's top scientist said on Thursday, based on evidence of greater risk of reinfection six months after inoculation and the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant. Pfizer Chief Scientific Officer Mikael Dolsten said the recently reported dip in the vaccine's effectiveness in Israel was mostly due to infections in people who had been vaccinated in January or February. The country's health ministry said vaccine effectiveness in preventing both infection and symptomatic disease fell to 64% in June.
NPR -
July 9, 2021
As new coronavirus variants test the protections of the available vaccines, federal health officials say there's no need for booster doses right now. "Americans who have been fully vaccinated do not need a booster shot at this time," read a joint statement sent Thursday from the CDC and the FDA. The agencies added that people who are fully vaccinated are protected from severe illness and death, including from emerging variants like the highly contagious delta variant that's now the dominant strain in the U.S. and in other countries.
CNN -
July 9, 2021
Covid-19 vaccines saved hundreds of thousands of lives and prevented more than a million hospitalizations in the U.S., according to new estimates from researchers at Yale University and the Commonwealth Fund. … By the end of June, the researchers estimate that there would have been about 279,000 additional deaths due to Covid-19 -- about 46% more than there were -- and as many as 1.25 million additional hospitalizations if there were no vaccinations.
AP -
July 9, 2021
Rep. Keith Kempenich … longtime Republican lawmaker and rancher from the state’s highly conservative southwest corner is now a believer after being infected with the virus, which he said nearly killed him in the waning days of the legislative session this spring. The ND Health Department is looking for testimonials from former virus skeptics like Kempenich as part of a planned public education campaign to boost the state’s dismal vaccination rate.