Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
CDC Says Covid Vaccine Not Connected To Cardiac Deaths Of Young Adults
USA Today: No Link Between COVID Vaccine, Cardiac Arrest In Young People, New CDC Study Finds
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released new data addressing the link, or lack thereof, between the COVID-19 vaccine and sudden cardiac death in otherwise healthy young adults. The assessment, conducted between June 2021 and December 2022, investigated the death certificates and vaccination records of 1,292 Oregon decedents aged between 16 and 30 who had died of "cardiac or undetermined" causes. (Walrath-Holdridge, 4/12)
CIDRAP: Study Finds No Evidence COVID-19 Causes Childhood Asthma
A study today in Pediatrics says there is no evidence that COVID-19 infections lead to asthma in children. The study, conducted by researchers at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), included 27,423 patients ages 1 to 16 years who received polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for SARS-COV-2 from March 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021. Patients were followed up for 18 months. (Soucheray, 4/12)
CIDRAP: Younger People In Wealthy New York City Areas Snatched Up COVID Vaccine Reserved For Seniors
Many younger people in high-income New York City neighborhoods accessed COVID-19 vaccinations before they were eligible, risking the lives of older people in low-income areas by pushing them down the queue, according to research in the Journal of Urban Health. (Van Beusekom, 4/12)
Reuters: Pfizer Wins Pause On Moderna's COVID-19 Patent Lawsuit
Moderna's patent lawsuit claiming Pfizer (and BioNTech copied its COVID-19 vaccine technology will be put on hold while the U.S. Patent Office determines whether two of the three Moderna patents at issue are valid, a Massachusetts federal court said on Friday. (Britttain, 4/12)
More on the spread of covid —
CIDRAP: US Respiratory Virus Activity Declines, With Few Hot Spots Reported
Only one jurisdiction—North Dakota— reported high respiratory virus activity last week, down from six the previous week, the CDC said in its respiratory virus snapshot. No locations reported "very high" activity. (Schnirring, 4/12)
CIDRAP: Feds Launch Indoor Air Quality Research Program
The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) this week announced the launch of the Building Resilient Environments for Air and Total Health (BREATHE) program, which is a platform with a goal of improving indoor air quality across the country. The agency said the BREATHE program focuses on enabling the next generation of "smart buildings" that have integrated systems that continually assess, measure, and report indoor air quality and make real-time interventions such as extra ventilation or disinfection to reduce airborne threats to human health. (Schnirring, 4/12)
Stat: Can Investing In Infectious Disease Pay Off? Vir Shows Its A Struggle
Nearly a decade ago, venture capitalist Bob Nelsen called industry veteran Vicki Sato to pitch her on launching a large company dedicated to tackling the world’s worst pathogens. “This is a crazy idea,” Sato said. Nelsen, managing director of ARCH Venture, had made a name and fortune off crazy ideas, but generally it was the science that sounded crazy: engineering cells to cure cancer, finding drugs to slow aging. This new idea was financially crazy. For years, biotech companies had been pulling out of infectious disease. (Mast, 4/15)
