Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Pfizer's Covid Shots Prove Effective At Keeping Kids Out Of Hospital
CIDRAP: Pfizer Vaccine 83% Effective Against Hospital Omicron Illness In Kids 5 To 11
In 5- to 11-year-old children, two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine were 36.8% effective in preventing all SARS-CoV-2 infections, 63.5% against test-confirmed cases, and 82.7% against hospitalization amid the Omicron variant surge in Singapore, finds a real-world study published yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). (7/21)
Reuters: Oral Vaccine Shows Promise
An experimental COVID-19 vaccine in the form of an oral tablet has shown promising immune responses in a small preliminary trial designed mainly to evaluate its safety, according to drug manufacturer Vaxart Inc (VXRT.O). The South San Francisco, California-based company had earlier said the tablet was well tolerated, with no one dropping out of the study because of adverse effects. On Tuesday, they reported on immune responses in the 35 healthy volunteers who received the tablet. (Lapid, 7/21)
Fortune: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Partly Funded A Study About COVID-19 Booster Shots For The BA.5 Omicron Subvariant. Surprise: Boosters Still Work
Getting a booster can generate enough of an antibody response and protection from severe disease outcomes to hold up against any of the new Omicron subvariants, according to an early release paper published this week in Science. That extends to BA.5, now the most prevalent COVID strain in the U.S. and a driver of COVID-19 reinfections across the country. (Mui, 7/21)
CIDRAP: In COVID-19 Omicron Patients, High Blood Pressure Doubles Risk Of Hospitalization
People who have high blood pressure and Omicron-variant COVID-19 are at more than double the risk for hospitalization—even if they received three mRNA vaccine doses, according to a single-center study published yesterday in Hypertension. (Van Beusekom, 7/21)
CIDRAP: COVID-19 In Third Trimester—But Not Earlier—Linked To Preterm Birth
A new study of more than 5,000 women shows that contracting COVID-19 during the third trimester of pregnancy is linked to a more than double increased risk of preterm birth. The study was published yesterday in PLOS One. (7/21)
On non-covid research developments —
Stat: AI Shows Potential To Reduce Sepsis Deaths In Real-World Studies
Three studies published Thursday found that an AI platform developed by Bayesian Health and Johns Hopkins University reduced deaths from sepsis by 18.2% in real-world use when physicians responded promptly to its alerts, a finding that suggests AI has potential to become an important tool in battling a leading cause of deaths in hospitals. (Muthukumar, 7/21)
