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COVID-19 News from Around the Web

Vaccines Adapted for Variants Will Not Need Lengthy Testing, F.D.A. Says
The New York Times - February 23, 2021
The FDA said on Monday that vaccine developers would not need to conduct lengthy randomized controlled trials for vaccines that have been adapted to protect against concerning coronavirus variants. The recommendations, which call for small trials more like those required for annual flu vaccines, would greatly accelerate the review process at a time when scientists are increasingly anxious about how the variants might slow or reverse progress made against the virus.
CDC: Teachers played an ‘important role’ in COVID-19 spread at Georgia elementary schools
Business Insider - February 23, 2021
A new investigation has found that teachers were central to COVID-19 transmission in elementary schools. … The CDC investigation took place in Cobb County, Georgia, where nine COVID-19 outbreaks occurred at six elementary schools between December 1, 2020, and January 22, 2021. … At least two of the infection clusters began with educator-to-educator spread and continued as teachers exposed students to the virus, the report found. Teachers tested positive in all but one of the clusters.
Schools may see a burst of the common cold when they reopen, research suggests
STAT - February 23, 2021
A curious thing happened when Hong Kong reopened schools after closing them because of the Covid-19 pandemic. … Within a few weeks of schools reopening in October, they started to see large numbers of kids getting sick, despite mandatory mask-wearing, additional spacing between desks, and other measures to lower the risk of spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. …They were infected with rhinoviruses — one of the most common causes of the common cold.
U.S. nears 500,000 COVID-19 deaths as Biden plans commemoration
Reuters - February 22, 2021
While the number of COVID-19 cases fell for the fifth straight week and officials scrambled to inoculate the population, the nation prepared to soon reach 500,000 deaths from the highly infectious respiratory disease. … The White House has said it will memorialize the moment but had no immediate comment on Sunday about its plans.
A Third of COVID Survivors Have Long-Haul Symptoms, Even After Mild Cases
HealthDay - February 22, 2021
About 33% of COVID-19 patients who were never sick enough to require hospitalization continue to complain months later of symptoms like fatigue, loss of smell or taste and "brain fog," University of Washington (UW) researchers found. … About 27% of patients between 18 and 39 years of age reported persistent symptoms, compared with 30% of those between 40 and 64, and 43% of those aged 65 and older, the findings showed.
People of color are underrepresented in clinical vaccine trials: study
TODAY - February 22, 2021
According to the report … 78% of all participants in clinical trials dating to 2011 were white. Latinos, who are 18% of the U.S. population, were 12% of participants and Black Americans, who are more than 12% of the total population, accounted for 11% of participants. Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander participants were equitably represented in vaccine trials compared to the total population, the authors found.
Beyond 100M: Biden team aiming for bigger vaccine numbers
AP - February 22, 2021
Limited supply of the two approved COVID-19 vaccines has hampered the pace of vaccinations — and that was before extreme winter weather delayed the delivery of about 6 million doses this past week. But the United States is on the verge of a supply breakthrough as manufacturing ramps up and with the expectation of a third vaccine becoming available in the coming weeks.