Will We Ever Reach Biden’s Moving Vax Target?
As of this writing, over 320 million COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the U.S., with 56% of adults fully and 66% at least partially vaccinated. Based on these numbers, it’s unsurprising that the White House conceded it wouldn’t hit President Biden’s goal of vaccinating 70% of adults, at least partially, by July 4. The […]
Dangerous Delta COVID-19 Variant Infecting Vaccinated Adults In Israel
In an alarming new development, the particularly transmissible delta variant of COVID-19 has infected some fully vaccinated adults in Israel, officials there have reported. Of more than 100 daily cases amid an outbreak of the delta variant, half were children younger than 16., The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. Most of them hadn’t yet been […]
A New Report Shows Just How Hard 2020 Was On Moms
Now that the COVID-19 pandemic has loosened its grip a bit on the United States, it is easy to forget just how devastating the past year was for millions of mothers in this country — and elsewhere. But a new report from the Center for Global Development, a nonprofit think tank, estimates that around the […]
FDA Authorizes IL-6 Inhibitor for Severe COVID-19 Patients
Tocilizumab (Actemra), an interleukin-6 (IL-6) inhibitor, was authorized to treat certain hospitalized COVID-19 patients, the FDA announced late on Thursday. The drug received emergency use authorization (EUA) for hospitalized patients ages 2 and up who are receiving systemic corticosteroids and require supplemental oxygen, non-invasive or invasive mechanical ventilation, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). It is […]
HHS Secretary Supports Telehealth Expansion, Emphasizes Need for Equity
Should telehealth expansions be made permanent after the COVID-19 pandemic? And if they do become law, how can equity be ensured? HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra and Jack Resneck Jr., MD, president-elect of the American Medical Association (AMA), weighed in on these and other questions during an interview with the Washington Post on Thursday. Over 43 […]
Virus that causes COVID-19 can find alternate route to infect cells: COVID-19 drugs, vaccines still effective against mutating virus
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists identified how SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, gets inside cells to cause infection. All current COVID-19 vaccines and antibody-based therapeutics were designed to disrupt this route into cells, which requires a receptor called ACE2. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that […]
FDA to Add Warning on Rare Myocarditis Risk After COVID Vaccination
Given the reported cases of myocarditis in young people who received mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, FDA will include a warning statement about the risks and characteristics of this rare condition, an agency representative said at CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meeting on Wednesday. Data presented by CDC staff estimated a rate of 12.6 cases […]