Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Study: Moderna's Bivalent Shot Offers Strong Protection Against Variants
NBC News: Moderna Says New Booster Raises Antibodies Against Omicron Subvariant B.Q.1.1
In people who got the updated booster, neutralizing antibodies against BA.4 and BA.5 were about fivefold higher in those with a previous Covid infection and sixfold higher in those without a documented infection, the company said. (Lovelace Jr., 11/14)
The Washington Post: Moderna Says New Booster Increases Protection From Omicron Subvariants
The data is encouraging because it shows that the bivalent booster shots, which were updated to match the BA.4 and BA.5 versions of the omicron variant and began to roll out in September, are providing protection against newer coronavirus variants ahead of a possible winter surge of cases. ... The findings, which are not yet peer-reviewed, are similar to results that Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech, presented this month about their bivalent coronavirus vaccine booster. (Johnson, 11/14)
In news from the Biden administration —
San Francisco Chronicle: Biden Touts ‘Once A Year’ Promise On Vaccines
President Biden on Monday repeated the promise that most Americans will only need to receive an annual booster shot against COVID-19 despite widespread skepticism from infectious disease experts who think waning vaccine efficacy will necessitate more than one dose every 12 months. (Vaziri, Buchmann and Kawahara, 11/14)
ABC News: Biden Administration To Renew Fight For More COVID Funding With $10 Billion Request
After multiple failed attempts this past winter and spring to secure more money to address the pandemic, the White House plans on requesting $10 billion during the lame-duck session of Congress before newly elected lawmakers begin in January, sources familiar with the discussions confirmed to ABC News. (Haslett, 11/15)
In other news about covid vaccines and treatments —
The Hill: COVID Boosters Could Prevent Up To 51,000 Hospitalizations Among Kids: Report
A robust COVID-19 booster campaign among children could potentially avert nearly 51,000 pediatric hospitalizations over the coming months according to new projections released by the Commonwealth Fund. In its analysis, the Commonwealth Fund projected two scenarios: booster vaccination rates match that of flu shot uptake by the end of 2022 or 80 percent of eligible individuals receive a booster in the same time frame. (Choi, 11/15)
CNN: Covid-19 Boosters Could Keep Thousands Of Kids Out Of Hospitals, But Uptake Remains Low
Higher Covid-19 vaccination rates among US children could prevent thousands of pediatric hospitalizations and millions of missed school days, according to an analysis published Tuesday by the Commonwealth Fund and the Yale School of Public Health. (McPhillips, 11/15)
CIDRAP: Study: Few Veterans Used COVID-19 Antivirals, Antibodies
The frequency of use of these therapies has not been well-described, so the authors of the study used the Veterans Affairs health care system (VA) to examine if and when the therapies were used among COVID-19 positive patients ages 18 and older seen in VA hospitals between Jan 1 and Feb 8, 2022. Among, 111,717 VA enrollees included in the study, ... only 4,233 (3.8%) received any pharmacotherapy within the VA or through VA Community Care. (Soucheray, 11/14)
Reuters: NBA Is Sued By Fired Referees Who Refused COVID Vaccines
The National Basketball Association has been sued by three longtime referees who say the league fired them this year after they refused to be vaccinated against COVID-19 over religious objections. (Stempel, 11/14)
