Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
FDA Speeds Up Review Of Pfizer's RSV Vaccine For Older Adults
The Hill: FDA Gives Priority Review To Pfizer RSV Vaccine For Older Adults
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted Pfizer’s application for an RSV vaccine for older adults, and is expected to make an approval decision by the spring. Pfizer in a statement on Wednesday said the FDA is going to review its application under the priority review program, which reduces the approval timeline by four months. The end of the review period is expected to be May 2023, Pfizer said. (Weixel, 12/7)
More on the spread of RSV, flu, and covid —
Roll Call: CDC Head Asks For COVID-19 Funding, Data As Hill Interest Fades
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is running out of ways to be creative with its limited pandemic funds and needs more flexibility from Congress, Director Rochelle Walensky told CQ Roll Call in an exclusive interview Wednesday. (Cohen and Clason, 12/7)
The Washington Post: Face Masks May Return Amid Holiday 'Tripledemic' Of Covid, Flu And RSV
While mask mandates are unlikely in most parts of the country, health experts are renewing recommendations to wear a high-quality medical mask on public transportation, in airports and on planes, while shopping and in other crowded public spaces. What’s notable is that the mask recommendations this time aren’t just about avoiding the coronavirus. Masks are advised to protect against what is being called the “tripledemic” — a confluence of influenza, coronavirus and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) that already is straining hospitals and forcing parents to miss work in record numbers. (Nirappil and Parker-Pope, 12/7)
CIDRAP: New Data Link Disease Severity To Long COVID
An analysis in the Journal of Internal Medicine identifies several characteristics associated with a higher likelihood of developing long COVID, with the condition most common in patients who required treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU). (Soucheray, 12/7)
The Washington Post: The Pandemic Made Work Holiday Parties Weird. How To Navigate Yours.
Many workers are wondering if work culture shifts caused by the pandemic have impacted what’s expected at holiday work parties. Are you required to attend? Exactly how long is long enough? Is it okay to arrive late? Does any of this change if the party is virtual? Does being a fully remote, hybrid or full-time office worker create different dynamics? What about masking? (Abril, 12/7)
On covid vaccines and treatments —
San Francisco Chronicle: Bivalent Booster No Match For BQ.1 And XBB Subvariants
In a study published Tuesday in Nature Medicine, scientists at the University of Texas Medical Branch found the neutralizing antibodies of the bivalent booster shots, which prevent the virus from entering human cells, elicited a high neutralizing titer against BA.4 and BA.5 after 14 to 32 days but “did not produce robust neutralization against the newly emerged BA.2.75.2, BQ.1.1, or XBB.1.” (Vaziri, 12/7)
Los Angeles Times: Experimental Decoy Drug Tricks Coronavirus, Then Destroys It
The coronavirus has been a shifty foe, with new variants and subvariants rapidly evolving to evade vaccines and treatments. Researchers at Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute are working on an experimental drug that takes one of the virus’ most dangerous traits — its talent for mutation — and turns it back on itself. (Purtill and Healy, 12/7)
ABC News: Walgreens Launches Free Paxlovid Delivery Service With DoorDash And Uber
Walgreens has launched a new delivery service for the COVID-19 oral antiviral therapy Paxlovid in partnership with DoorDash and Uber to get the treatment "directly to the doorsteps of those who need it." (Pezenik, 12/8)
