Rights Groups Press U.S. For Waiver To Get Vaccine To Third World Nations
President Joe Biden reversed the previous U.S. position to endorse a waiver in May, but there has been little progress since then. European allies, however, remain opposed. Meanwhile, public health officials here continue to see a need for more access to at-home covid tests.
Reuters:
Activists Urge Biden To Push For Intellectual Property Waiver For COVID-19 Vaccines
Fifteen human rights groups are urging U.S. President Joe Biden to get personally engaged in a long-running fight to enact an intellectual property waiver for COVID-19 vaccines at the World Trade Organization, calling his leadership "a moral necessity. " Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Oxfam, Public Citizen and 11 other groups told Biden in a letter that an emergency waiver was urgently needed to combat the pandemic, noting that fewer than 7% of people in low-income countries had received a first COVID-19 vaccine and vaccines remained scarce. (Shalal, 11/22)
AP:
GOP Embraces Natural Immunity As Substitute For Vaccines
Republicans fighting President Joe Biden’s coronavirus vaccine mandates are wielding a new weapon against the White House rules: natural immunity. They contend that people who have recovered from the virus have enough immunity and antibodies to not need COVID-19 vaccines, and the concept has been invoked by Republicans as a sort of stand-in for vaccines. Florida wrote natural immunity into state law this week as GOP lawmakers elsewhere are pushing similar measures to sidestep vaccine mandates. Lawsuits over the mandates have also begun leaning on the idea. Conservative federal lawmakers have implored regulators to consider it when formulating mandates. (Izaguirre, 11/21)
On at-home covid tests —
KHN:
Success Of Covid Antiviral Pills Hinges On Access To Speedy And Accurate Tests
Within a few weeks, perhaps before many Americans finish decorating for the holidays, the U.S. could have access to a new antiviral pill from Merck expected to alter the deadly trajectory of the covid-19 pandemic — with a second option from Pfizer to follow shortly after. Now under federal review, both pills are being hailed by infectious-disease doctors not prone to superlatives. “This is truly a game changer,” said Dr. Daniel Griffin, an expert on infectious diseases and immunology at Columbia University. “This is up there with vaccines. It’s not a substitute for vaccines; we still want to get people vaccinated. But, boy, this is just another great tool to have.” (Aleccia, 11/22)
Axios:
COVID Rapid Tests Face Holiday Demand Spike
As many Americans prepare to travel and see loved ones ahead of Thanksgiving, developers and sellers of rapid at-home COVID-19 tests say they are prepared to meet an expected spike in demand for their products. The U.S. has been slower to embrace rapid at-home COVID-19 testing than Europe as regulatory hurdles helped make the tests scarce and overpriced. But the Biden administration has recently allocated billions of dollars to buy millions of rapid at-home COVID-19 tests to increase supply. (Saric, 11/21)
KHN:
Why You Can’t Find Cheap At-Home Covid Tests
While developing a rapid test that detects the coronavirus in someone’s saliva, Blink Science, a Florida-based startup, heard something startling: The Food and Drug Administration had more than 3,000 emergency use authorization applications and didn’t have the resources to get through them. “We want to try to avoid the EUA quagmire,” said Peb Hendrix, the startup’s vice president of operations. Its test is still in early development. On the advice of consultants, the company is weighing an alternative route through the FDA to the U.S. market. (Pradhan and Norman, 11/22)
And on other vaccine news —
Bloomberg:
Biden Vaccine Coordinator Choucair Leaving White House
White House Vaccinations Coordinator Bechara Choucair is leaving the administration to return to the private sector, he said in a message Sunday to Bloomberg News. Choucair’s last day will be Monday. He joined President Joe Biden’s team during the transition last year and was charged with accelerating the nascent Covid-19 vaccination effort Biden inherited upon taking office in January. A White House spokesman didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment Sunday night. Choucair, a former Chicago health commissioner and senior executive at Kaiser Permanente, is departing after the U.S. expanded access to vaccines for all people over age 5 and widely approved booster doses for adults. (Tozzi, 11/22)
KHN:
Journalists Cover Issues From Pollution To Vaccines And The Spread Of Covid In Hospitals
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
