Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Proportion Of Covid Deaths Among Vaccinated On The Rise
ABC News: Breakthrough Deaths Comprise Increasing Proportion Of Those Who Died From COVID-19
A growing proportion of COVID-19 deaths are occurring among the vaccinated, a new ABC News analysis of federal data shows. In August of 2021, about 18.9% of COVID-19 deaths occurred among the vaccinated. Six months later, in February 2022, that proportional percent of deaths had increased to more than 40%. ... "These data should not be interpreted as vaccines not working. In fact, these real-world analyses continue to reaffirm the incredible protection these vaccines afford especially when up to date with boosters," said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist at Boston Children's Hospital and an ABC News contributor.(Mitropoulos, 5/10)
CIDRAP: Mix-And-Match MRNA COVID Vaccines May Offer More Omicron Protection
Researchers in Singapore discovered that a Moderna COVID booster following a two-dose Pfizer vaccine series induced a stronger neutralizing antibody response against the Omicron variant in adults compared with an all-Pfizer series, according to a study today in Clinical Infectious Diseases. (5/11)
The New York Times: Moderna Vaccine Provokes Strong Immune Response In Children 6 To 11
Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine elicits a strong immune response in children aged 6 to 11, researchers reported on Wednesday — another signpost in what has become a long and tortuous road to protecting young children against the virus, even as cases again inch upward. On Monday, Moderna requested authorization from the Food and Drug Administration for the vaccine’s use in this age group. But authorization, if granted, is unlikely to bump up the low immunization rates among young children by much. (Mandavilli, 5/11)
KHN: Why Won’t More Older Americans Get Their Covid Booster?
Even as top U.S. health officials say it’s time America learns to live with the coronavirus, a chorus of leading researchers say faulty messaging on booster shots has left millions of older people at serious risk. Approximately 1 in 3 Americans 65 and older who completed their initial vaccination round still have not received a first booster shot, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The numbers have dismayed researchers, who note this age group continues to be at the highest risk for serious illness and death from covid-19. (Szabo, 5/12)
In other news from Moderna —
Bloomberg: Moderna CFO Lasts One Day On Job After Probe At Former Company
Moderna Inc.’s chief financial officer stepped down just one day after starting his new job, becoming the latest high-ranking executive to leave the Covid-19 vaccine maker as it faces questions about its long-term growth. Jorge Gomez departed after his former employer, the dental-supply company Dentsply Sirona Inc., said Tuesday it was investigating the use of incentives to sell products to distributors, as well as other actions to achieve executive-compensation targets. Gomez, 54, had been Dentsply Sirona’s CFO for almost three years. (Langreth, 5/11)
On Paxlovid —
KHN: Is Paxlovid, The Covid Pill, Reaching Those Who Most Need It? The Government Won’t Say
As the nation largely abandons mask mandates, physical distancing, and other covid-19 prevention strategies, elected officials and health departments alike are now championing antiviral pills. But the federal government isn’t saying how many people have received these potentially lifesaving drugs or whether they’re being distributed equitably. Pfizer’s Paxlovid pill, along with Merck’s molnupiravir, are aimed at preventing vulnerable patients with mild or moderate covid from becoming sicker or dying. More than 300 Americans still die from covid every day. (Recht, 5/12)
The Atlantic: Could Paxlovid Treat Long COVID?
Even in the rosiest scenario, Paxlovid won’t be a panacea. But if it has a chance of doing something, even for just a fraction of long-haulers, “we have to at least try,” says Jeanne Marrazzo, the director of the division of infectious diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, “because we have nothing else.” Millions of people in the United States alone are estimated to have developed long COVID’s harrowing symptoms since the pandemic’s start; their numbers grow with each additional wave. “This is an intervention that should [have been] under clinical trial yesterday,” says David Putrino, a neuroscientist and rehabilitation specialist at Mount Sinai. And yet there are, to date, no well-designed studies investigating Paxlovid’s potential as a long-COVID drug, and none publicly poised to begin. (Wu, 5/10)
