Available Covid Drugs In Spotlight As Biden Takes Paxlovid
A critical development for the direction of the covid pandemic has been the development of antiviral treatments and a drug that can help vulnerable people avoid infection.
NPR:
What To Know About Paxlovid, The COVID Drug President Biden Is Using To Speed Recovery
President Biden has begun taking a course of Paxlovid, after testing positive for COVID-19. The antiviral medicine is recommended for early treatment by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Chappell, 7/21)
Stat:
Evusheld Protects The Vulnerable From Covid. Why Are So Few Using It?
Jennifer Padgett was shocked last month when, during a Google search on new variants, she learned there was a drug available to protect patients like her daughter, a 23-year-old childhood cancer survivor whose immune system can’t make enough antibodies. (Mast, 7/22)
Meanwhile, Biden's covid is an example of the risks to Americans of his age —
The New York Times:
Covid’s Risks Are Concentrated Among Americans Of Biden’s Age
As of early June, four times as many Americans ages 75 to 84 were dying each week from the virus compared with people two decades younger, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Those death counts are provisional, the C.D.C. cautioned, because they were based on death certificates and did not account for all deaths in those age groups.) (Mueller, 7/21)
Meanwhile in other news on covid, including the long-term illness —
Stat:
Experts Struggle To Make Sense Of The Continuing Mystery Of Long Covid
Robert Gallo apologized for still coughing. The day before President Biden tested positive for Covid-19, the famed HIV researcher said he was still recovering from a Covid infection that had left him unable to walk, put him in the hospital, and made him delusional, he said Wednesday during a roundtable discussion about long Covid. (Cooney, 7/22)
Side Effects Public Media:
Patients Seeking Help For Long COVID Are Getting More Options For Treatment
Dr. Vidya Sundareshan has seen a lot of patients who are frustrated because they’ve struggled to find help managing the lingering effects of the illness. (Whiteside, 7/21)
The 19th:
COVID Cases And Deaths Are Spiking In Nursing Homes, AARP Data Shows
More than two years into the COVID-19 pandemic — and amid another nationwide surge — nursing home residents are still disproportionately at risk for severe illness and death, according to new numbers from AARP. (Luterman, 7/21)
The Hill:
Nation’s Largest Nurses Union Calls On Biden Administration To Tighten COVID-19 Restrictions
The country’s largest union of registered nurses called on the Biden administration to take action against rising COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations amid the surge of immune-evasive Omicron subvariant BA.5 in a letter on Wednesday, the day before President Biden tested positive for the coronavirus. (Mueller, 7/21)
Newsweek:
Scientists Warn Against Repeated Re-Use Of Masks For At-Risk Group
Researchers have suggested that people with compromised immune systems should avoid re-using face masks due to germ growth. The finding was made as part of a Japanese study into face mask hygiene. In the study, the researchers surveyed 109 people on their face mask usage and collected bacteria and fungi samples from both the inner and outer sides of their masks. (Browne, 7/20)
Biden's not the only senior figure with covid right now —
The Hill:
Sens. Carper, Smith, Democratic Congressman Test Positive For COVID-19
Three Democratic lawmakers tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday and Thursday as President Biden announced his own positive test results. Sens. Tina Smith (Minn.) and Tom Carper (Del.) and Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) announced their diagnoses over Twitter. (Folmar, 7/21)
