FDA Panel Will Meet In January To Discuss Modifying Covid Vaccines
The committee will consider “whether and how the composition of currently available primary vaccines should be modified” and whether booster shot composition and schedules should be adjusted to attack virus strains, the FDA said in a news release.
Axios:
FDA Expert Panel To Discuss The Future Of COVID Vaccines
Food and Drug Administration advisers will hold a key meeting next month to discuss the state of the pandemic and whether COVID vaccines need to be modified again to better limit the fast-changing virus. Health experts say the Jan. 26 meeting, announced on Friday, will sketch out a long-term strategy that responds to new strains and shifting threats. (Gonzalez, 12/19)
San Francisco Chronicle:
FDA Eyes Updating Vaccines To Better Attack Virus
Federal regulators are considering whether today's COVID-19 vaccines are sufficiently protective or may need updating to fight emerging generations of the coronavirus. (Beamish, 12/19)
In other vaccine news —
Reuters:
Appeals Court Says U.S. Cannot Mandate Federal Contractor COVID Vaccines
A U.S. appeals court on Monday said the White House could not require federal contractors to ensure that their workers are vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of government contracts. The U.S. government has contracts with thousands of companies, and courts have said the issue could affect up to 20% of U.S. workers. (Shepardson, 12/19)
AP:
Probation For Ex-Teacher In NY Who Gave Teen Vaccine Dose
A former Long Island high school teacher accused of injecting a teen with a COVID-19 vaccine at her home without his parents’ knowledge pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and was sentenced to community service and probation, avoiding a felony charge that could have sent her to prison. Laura Parker Russo, 55, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of attempting the unauthorized practice of medicine when she appeared in a courtroom in Mineola, New York, on Friday. She also pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct. (12/17)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Dr. Wachter Cites “Confusion & Misinformation” On Myriad COVID Topics
UCSF’s Dr. Bob Wachter, one of the Bay Area’s most prominent voices on COVID-19, says COVID confusion and misinformation abound, and he is seeing a lot of it around the basic topics of masks, vaccines, and home tests. In a lengthy thread, he told his many Twitter followersover the past couple of days that these “correct” statements are the starting point: “Wearing the wrong mask, or wearing a mask incorrectly, doesn’t work. (Beamish, 12/19)
