Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Biden Administration Invests $500 Million Into Future Anti-Covid Vaccines, Tech
Stat: Next-Generation Covid Vaccines Get $500 Million In Federal Funding
The Biden administration announced Friday that it is investing in three potential vaccines and a range of new technologies aimed at staying ahead of Covid-19. The $500 million investment across 13 projects is the latest installment in the federal government’s Project NextGen, a $5 billion plan to develop new Covid-19 treatments, vaccines, and ways of delivering them. The Health and Human Services Department this summer channeled $1.4 billion to similar goals. (Owermohle, 10/13)
CIDRAP: HHS Unveils $500 Million More In ProjectNext Gen COVID Funding, Including For 3 Vaccines
HHS said the three vaccine candidates are distinct from each other and target stronger, broader, or longer-lasting immune responses. One of the candidate vaccines is a live-attenuated intranasal vaccine from Codagenix, which announced initial phase 1 clinical trial findings earlier this week. Another is a vector-based intranasal vaccine from CastleVax, a research and development arm of Mount Sinai Health Systems, which announced promising initial phase 1 findings for its vaccine in July. The third candidate vaccine is a samRNA vaccine from Gritstone Bio, which is slated to detail promising results from three ongoing phase 1 clinical trials this week at the ID Week meeting in Boston. (Schnirring, 10/13)
More on the spread of covid —
CIDRAP: US COVID Markers Trend Downward
After a small rise from very low levels over the summer months, US COVID markers last week registered declines, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in its latest data update. Of the main severity indicators, hospitalizations declined 8.2% from the previous week, and deaths were down 3.8%. Early indicators also fell, with emergency department visits for COVID-19 down 17.7% from the past week and test positivity down 0.8%. The national test positivity rate is at 10.1%, but is a bit lower in the South and Southeast than in the rest of the country. (Schnirring, 10/13)
USA Today: Why Don't Kids Usually Get Really Sick From COVID? The Nose Knows
It has been clear since early in the coronavirus pandemic that children ‒ typically magnets for colds and the flu ‒ weren't getting very sick from COVID-19. Now, a study suggests the answer lies in their noses. The study from researchers at Stanford University and Cincinnati Children's Hospital found the immune systems of younger children typically wipe out the SARS-CoV-2 virus when it arrives in the nose. (Weintraub, 10/14)
The Texas Tribune: Texas Senate Passes Ban On COVID Vaccine Mandates By Private Businesses
A sweeping ban on COVID-19 vaccine mandates for employees of private Texas businesses passed the Texas Senate early Friday, although medical facilities would be allowed to enact other policies to help lower the risks to vulnerable patients. Senate Bill 7, by Galveston Republican Sen. Mayes Middleton, would subject private employers to state fines and other actions if they fire or punish employees or contractors who refuse the shot. (Harper, 10/13)
CIDRAP: Review Estimates 69% 3-Dose Vaccine Efficacy Against Long COVID
A meta-analysis today in Antimicrobial Stewardship & Healthcare Epidemiology estimates a vaccine effectiveness (VE) of 69% for three doses of COVID-19 vaccine against long COVID, while two doses offer 37% efficacy. Led by researchers at the University of Iowa, the meta-analysis involved 24 studies on COVID-19 VE against long COVID among recipients of at least two doses of a vaccine before or after infection from December 2019 to June 2023. (Van Beusekom, 10/13)
The New York Times: Lab Leak Fight Casts Chill Over Virology Research
Questions about whether Covid leaked from a Chinese laboratory have cast a chill over American virus research, drying up funding for scientists who collect or alter dangerous pathogens and intensifying a debate over those practices. The pullback has transformed one of the most highly charged fields of medical science. While some believe such experiments could fend off the next pandemic, others worry that they are more likely to start one. (Mueller and Stolberg, 10/16)
