Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Your Booster Shot This Fall Will Target Omicron Variants
The Washington Post: Omicron-Based Covid Booster Shots Will Roll Out This Fall
This fall, vaccine makers will begin rolling out coronavirus booster vaccines better tailored to fight the current phase of the pandemic. Two days after outside experts voted in favor of a new vaccine adapted to protect against omicron, the Food and Drug Administration announced that the fall shots would include a component from BA.4 and BA.5, the omicron subvariants gaining ground in the United States. (Johnson, 6/30)
AP: Tweaked COVID Boosters In US Must Target Newer Omicron Types
U.S. regulators told COVID-19 vaccine makers Thursday that any booster shots tweaked for the fall will have to add protection against the newest omicron relatives. The Food and Drug Administration said the original vaccines would be used for anyone still getting their first series of shots. But with immunity waning and the super-contagious omicron family of variants getting better at dodging protection, the FDA decided boosters intended for fall needed an update. (Neergaard and Perrone, 6/30)
And Pfizer is testing universal vaccines —
Axios: Pfizer To Begin Testing Universal Coronavirus Vaccines
Pfizer and its partner BioNTech plan to start clinical trials of pan-coronavirus vaccines in the second half of the year, BioNTech officials said in an investor presentation on Wednesday. The company said it wants to provide "durable variant protection," according to Reuters, which first reported the news. (Reed, 6/30)
In other news about vaccines and covid treatments —
Axios: NYC To Provide Paxlovid At Covid-19 Testing Sites
New York City will begin offering free antiviral medications at mobile testing sites for vulnerable residents who test positive for COVID-19, Mayor Eric Adams said Thursday. Mobile testing units will now include a clinician who can prescribe the antiviral medication Paxlovid at no cost for those who are eligible. (Chen, 6/30)
Bloomberg: Covid Shots Worked Better For Obese Than Underweight In UK Study
People who are underweight or obese are most at risk of severe Covid, but a UK study found that two doses of vaccine still protect both groups well. The researchers, who focused on patients at the two extremes of the body mass index scale, found that the shots worked slightly better for those at the high end of the measure in a study published in medical journal The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology on Friday. (Fourcade, 6/30)
PBS NewsHour: Rural Parents Are Less Likely To Say Their Pediatrician Recommended COVID Shots. Here’s Why That Matters
According to a survey of parents released in March by the CDC, four out of 10 parents in rural communities said their pediatricians – who in general rank among the most trusted health care providers – did not recommend that their patients get COVID vaccines, far more than one out of 10 parents in urban communities who said the same. (Santhanam, 6/30)
And more on the spread of covid —
AP: WVa National Guard's Full-Time Pandemic Response To End
The West Virginia National Guard’s full-time response to the COVID-19 pandemic will end Friday, Gov. Jim Justice said. Justice first activated the National Guard to assist with the state’s pandemic response in March 2020. Among their duties, guard members have transported supplies, staffed COVID-19 testing and vaccine sites, disinfected vehicles and facilities, and assisted health departments with data entry. (6/30)
Los Angeles Times: Coronavirus Cases Jump At L.A. County Workplaces
An upswing in coronavirus infections has spawned a rise in worksite case clusters in Los Angeles County, prompting health officials to recommend additional measures aimed at tamping down transmission, including reducing crowding and, if there’s a suspected outbreak, expanding remote work. (Money and Lin II, 6/30)
CIDRAP: Study Shows Long-Distance Spread Of COVID-19 In Some Indoor Settings
A new systematic review of 18 studies finds evidence suggesting that long-distance airborne transmission (more than 2 meters away) of SARS-CoV-2 might occur in indoor settings such as restaurants, workplaces, and venues for choirs. The study is published in The BMJ today. ... The authors found long-distance airborne transmission was likely in 16 of the 18 studies. In 13 of the 18 studies, the index patient was asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic. The most convincing evidence of long-distance transmission came from eight events where singing occurred, the authors said. (6/30)
Bloomberg: North Korea Blames Covid Outbreak On ‘Alien Things’ From South
North Korea blamed its Covid-19 outbreak on “alien things” likely sent by balloon across its border with South Korea, saying a teenage soldier and a five-year-old girl in April were the first people in the country infected by coronavirus. (Herskovitz and Cha, 7/1)
