Next Covid Shots Should Target XBB Subvariants, Says FDA
FDA staff said new covid shots this fall should be a monovalent vaccine targeting either XBB.1.5, XBB.1.16, or XBB.2.3 which currently dominate U.S. infections by varying percentages. Rochelle Walensky, Greg Abbott, and New Jersey's health worker covid shot mandate are also in the news.
CNBC:
New Covid Vaccines In Fall Need To Target XBB Variants, FDA Staff Says
U.S. Food and Drug Administration staff on Monday said updated Covid boosters should target XBB omicron subvariants for the upcoming fall and winter vaccination campaign. The U.S. should use a monovalent vaccine targeting either XBB.1.5, XBB.1.16, or XBB.2.3, collectively the dominant strains nationwide, the staff said in a briefing document. (Constantino, 6/12)
CIDRAP:
US COVID Markers Decline Amid XBB Subvariant Shifts
The CDC also posted its latest variant proportion estimates, which show that the level of XBB.1.5 has declined from 54.4% to 39.9%. A group of other Omicron XBB subvariants continue to gain ground, including XBB.1.16, XBB.1.9.1, XBB.1.16.1, XBB.1.9.2, and XBB.2.3. (Schnirring, 6/9)
Also —
The Hill:
Walensky To Face House COVID Panel Before Stepping Down As CDC Head
Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), will testify before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic on Tuesday to discuss the decisions her agency made during the pandemic. This will be the final appearance she will make in front of the GOP-led panel before she steps down as head of the CDC at the end of this month. She is the sole witness scheduled to speak before the committee on Tuesday. (Choi, 6/12)
NJ.Com:
N.J. Drops COVID Vaccine Mandate For Health Care Workers
On Monday, Gov. Phil Murphy signed an executive order lifting the COVID-19 vaccination requirements for health care workers in New Jersey, effective immediately. ... The health care settings include hospitals, long-term care facilities, psychiatric and specialty hospitals, long-term residential substance abuse disorder treatment facilities, family planning sites, and community-based pediatric and adult medical day care programs. (Kent, 6/12)
The Texas Tribune:
Greg Abbott Says He Won’t Renew His COVID-19 Disaster Declaration
Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday he will not renew Texas’ long-running COVID-19 disaster declaration later this week after he signed a law that bans local mandates related to the pandemic. Abbott has kept the disaster declaration in place since the early days of the pandemic in 2020, despite some pushback in his own party. He has maintained that he needed the declaration to support his executive orders prohibiting local COVID restrictions, and he had promised to lift the declaration once lawmakers codified those orders. (Svitek, 6/12)
