Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
CDC Reduces Booster Shot Gap To Five Months For Pfizer Vaccine
NPR: CDC Now Recommends Pfizer Boosters After 5 Months, Down From 6
People who were initially immunized with two shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine should receive a booster shot after five months, rather than six, according to a new recommendation from the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The move comes after the Food and Drug Administration on Monday authorized the change in the Pfizer booster interval, saying that a third shot after five months may "provide better protection sooner for individuals against the highly transmissible omicron variant." In a statement, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky ... urged eligible Americans to receive a booster as soon as possible. (Sullivan, 1/4)
And more about booster shots —
The Washington Post: Israeli Study Says Second Booster Causes Fivefold Antibody Jump
A fourth shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine generated a fivefold boost in antibodies a week after the jab, according to preliminary results of a study made public by the Israeli government Tuesday. The findings offer one of the first looks at how effective a second booster shot might be at reducing the health impact of the omicron variant spreading rapidly around the globe. (Hendrix, 1/4)
AP: High Court Confirms Justices Have Received COVID-19 Booster
The Supreme Court says all nine justices have received COVID-19 booster shots. The court's confirmation came Tuesday amid the omicron variant surging and in-person arguments over vaccines scheduled at the court on Friday. The court confirmed that the justices have received boosters only after The Associated Press published a story saying the high court would not say whether the justices had received a third dose of the vaccine. That story followed repeated attempts to get an answer about the shots. (Gresko and Sherman, 1/4)
The Washington Post: Some Republican Leaders Scornful Or Silent About Coronavirus Vaccine Booster Shots
The push for widespread booster shots to protect against omicron has highlighted the United States’ persistent partisan divides over vaccination, with some Republican leaders silent on the issue and some disparaging shots anew as the meaning of “fully vaccinated” evolves along with the coronavirus. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) said last week that he has no plans to get boosted, telling a reporter, “I’m perfectly healthy.” A few days later, Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee used their official Twitter account to spread false information, asking: “If the booster shots work, why don’t they work?” The tweet was later deleted. (Knowles and Beachum, 1/4)
In other news about the vaccine rollout —
The New York Times: Covid Vaccinations Do Not Lead To Pre-Term Births, Study Says
Women who received Covid vaccinations while pregnant were at no greater risk of delivering their babies prematurely or of giving birth to unusually small babies than pregnant women who did not get vaccinated, a new study reports. The study, one of the first to examine the health of babies born to women vaccinated during pregnancy, was a reassuring signal. Low-birth-weight babies and infants born early are more likely to experience developmental delays and other health problems. (Rabin, 1/4)
Los Angeles Times: Man Attacks O.C. Vaccine Clinic Workers, Calling Them 'Murderers'
One of Parsia Jahanbani’s biggest fears was realized when a man calling healthcare workers “murderers” attacked him and other staff members outside a mobile vaccine clinic in Tustin last week, he said. After a security guard asked the man to wear a mask, he became increasingly angry — claiming medical workers were complicit in a COVID-19 hoax and that “he was ‘not a sheep’” — said Jahanbani, the mobile operations manager for Families Together of Orange County, where the clinic was operating in the parking lot Dec. 30. (Seidman, 1/4)
AP: Tech Founder Out After Antisemitic, Anti-Vaccine Screed
A Utah tech company founder and onetime prominent figure in state Republican politics resigned from the board of the company he started Tuesday after sending an email outlining an antisemitic vaccination conspiracy theory. David Bateman, founder and board chair of the company Entrata, claimed the COVID-19 vaccine is part of a plot by “the Jews” to exterminate people, Fox13 reported. (1/5)
