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☆ Trump’s latest controversial Cabinet pick could have a huge impact on Americans’ health and lives
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-15 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

The president-elect’s previous selections for director of national intelligence, attorney general and defense secretary could change the country and the world in the long term. The US Department of Health and Human Services secretary has a massive platform and huge power to influence the information that Americans have and the choices they make. “I guess if you like health and you like people who live a long time, it is the most important position,” Trump said. Christina House/Los Angeles Times/Getty ImagesAnother health expert and former US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acting director condemned the pick. The highly contagious disease is preventable with two doses of the measles vaccine that most Americans get as kids.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Robert F, Kennedy Jr, “, Kennedy, Trump’s MAGA, Kennedy’s ascendency, Bobby ’ Kennedy, ” Trump, Bobby, ”, Matt Gaetz, Trump, Pete Hegseth, Tulsi Gabbard, Bashar al, Assad, Carlos Barria, Jake Tapper, Indiana Sen, Jim Banks, Jake, Donald Trump, ” Banks, —, ’ Kennedy, he’d “, Dr, Ashish Jha, Covid, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Jha, Christina House, Richard Besser . Besser, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, kindergartners, Mandy Cohen, CNN’s Meg Tirrell, who’s, ” Cohen, Lex Fridman’s, CNN’s Kasie Hunt, don’t, –, ’, won’t, Mitch McConnell — Organizations: CNN, National Institutes of Health, RFK Jr, Trump, US Department of Health, Human Services, Trump’s, Fox News, America, Reuters, Biden, Brown University’s School of Public Health, Republican, Democratic, “ RFK, Los Angeles Times, US Centers for Disease Control, World Health Organization, CDC, Milken, Health Summit, Trump Cabinet, Senate, FBI, GOP Locations: Lago, Florida, Palm Beach , Florida, Washington, Huntington Park , California

☆ RFK Jr.’s to-do list to make America ‘healthy’ — vaccines, fluoride and food — has health experts worried
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-15 | by ( Meg Tirrell | Katherine Dillinger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

“Donald Trump’s bungling of public health policy during the Covid pandemic cost hundreds of thousands of lives. “FDA’s war on public health is about to end,” he said in a social media post. Pack your bags.”That warning followed comments Kennedy has made about ending National Institutes of Health research into infectious diseases, putting doctors in the field on edge. water systems to remove fluoride from public water. Kennedy’s messaging on food policy has resonated with some health experts in that field.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Robert F, Kennedy Jr, Dr, Ashish Jha, “, Carlos del Rio, Trump, ” Trump, “ Robert F, Kennedy, Jr, ” Robert Weissman, “ Donald Trump’s bungling, Michael Osterholm, ”, Osterholm, he’d, Ronald Reagan’s, he’s, ” Kennedy, Paul Offit, Jesse Watters, I’ve, Jason Schwartz, Edward Chen, it’s, I’m, Ashley Malin, ” Malin, Food Kennedy, Sanjay Gupta, Marion Nestle, Sen, Ron Johnson, Nestle, ” Nestle, CNN’s Carma Hassan, Nadia Kounang, Daniel Dale, Aaron Pellish Organizations: CNN, US Department of Health, Human, Brown University School of Public Health, Emory School of Medicine & Grady Health, Public Health, Health, HHS, Department of Health, Human Services, Public Citizen, Infectious Disease, University of Minnesota, US Centers for Disease Control, US Food and Drug, FDA, Pharma, of Health, Vaccine Education Center, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, CDC, Vaccines, Health Defense, Fox News, Yale School of Public Health, Trump White, U.S, American Dental Association, Environmental Protection Agency, MSNBC, Epidemiology, University of Florida’s College of Public Health, CNN Health Locations: Wisconsin

In October, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that high-risk adults get a second updated Covid vaccine to bolster their protection against the virus. No other vaccines are given at such a high frequency, but experts say there’s no reason to believe that the vaccines — and in particular, the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna — aren’t effective. Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccines were the first to use mRNA technology to induce immunity to a virus, an approach that proved critical in the early days of the pandemic because mRNA vaccines can be developed much faster than traditional vaccines. Despite the CDC recommending an additional shot, there’s no evidence that the mRNA vaccines aren’t working as expected, said Akiko Iwasaki, a professor of immunology at the Yale School of Medicine. In a perfect world, the Covid vaccines would be able to be updated much faster to match the strains in circulation.

Persons: Akiko Iwasaki, Iwasaki, —, ”, Ashish Jha, ” Jha, “, Jha, I’ve, “ Topping, John Wherry, ” Wherry, Anna Durbin, ” Durkin, we’ll Organizations: Centers for Disease Control, Pfizer, Moderna, CDC, Yale School of Medicine, Emory University, Brown University School of Public Health, White, University of Pennsylvania, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

The U.S. is in what may end up being its biggest summer wave of Covid, with no end yet in sight. This year’s summer wave also began earlier than last year’s, Jha said. “Besides that, there’s not much that we can sort of put our finger on to say this is what’s driving this summer surge," Pekosz said. Jha said that what happens this winter is impossible to predict but that there could be a silver lining to a large summer wave. “A big summer wave tends to lead to a little bit of a smaller winter wave and vice versa, just because there’s a little bit more immunity in the population,” he said.

Persons: ”, Ashish Jha, “ It’s, ” It's, There's, Maria Van Kerkhove, Van Kerkhove, Rosem Morton, Jha, Andrew Pekosz, “, there’s, Pekosz, Michael Phillips, epidemiologist, ” Phillips Organizations: Brown University School of Public Health, White, Covid, World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control, The Washington, Getty, Food and Drug Administration, CDC, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, didn't, NYU Langone Health Locations: U.S, Europe, Washington, Western U.S, Texas, California, Florida, North Carolina, Covid, New York City

The summer increase of COVID-19 appears to have passed its peak. The mindset change is likely how health officials will examine COVID-19 during the fall and winter months for years to come. Last winter saw a peak of new weekly COVID-19 hospital admissions at nearly 44,500. That would mean that the U.S. enters peak respiratory disease season with an elevated level of COVID-19 circulating already, so a further increase could be possible on top of that. But to get the most protection against this form of the COVID virus that's circulating right now, get the updated COVID vaccine."

Persons: Ashish Jha, ”, – COVID, don’t, Andrew Pekosz, It’s, Mandy Cohen, ” Pekosz, “ pirola, it's, Biden, ” Cohen, Cohen, – Organizations: White, for Disease Control, CDC, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Locations: U.S, hospitalizations, Boston

Data is trickling in on a new COVID-19 strain nicknamed “pirola,” giving researchers a wider picture of what the variant could mean for the U.S. and the world. Van Kerkhove said that the global COVID-19 variant picture is complex, and that while BA.2.86 is spreading, it is not currently outcompeting other strains. “It is quite a complex picture globally in terms of how these variants behave because different variants circulate in different countries at different times.”Will Vaccines Work on Pirola? Moderna and Pfizer have announced that early data indicates that their updated vaccines do produce an immune response against BA.2.86. "These results demonstrate that our updated COVID-19 vaccine generates a strong human immune response against the highly mutated BA.2.86 variant.

Persons: “ pirola, ” Mandy Cohen, Maria Van Kerkhove, ” Benjamin Murrell, Ashish Jha, pirola, Van Kerkhove, it’s, ”, “, Stephen Hoge Organizations: U.S, CDC, Centers for Disease Control, World Health Organization, WHO, White, Moderna, Pfizer, EG Locations: United States, Denmark, Sweden, Portugal, Israel, Canada, South Africa

"These results demonstrate that our updated COVID-19 vaccine generates a strong human immune response against the highly mutated BA.2.86 variant. "Moderna will continue to rapidly assess global public health threats and is committed to leveraging our mRNA platform against COVID-19." The company’s announcement comes as the Biden administration prepares to authorize the updated shots from Moderna, Pfizer and Novavax as soon as next week. While the shots target XBB.1.5, which was responsible for about 3% of new infections in recent weeks, researchers are optimistic that it will hold up against other circulating variants. “With governments accelerating the timing of COVID-19 vaccination campaigns due to the potential risk of BA.2.86, Moderna has shared this data with regulators and is ready to supply its updated COVID-19 vaccine pending regulatory approval,” the company wrote in a press release.

Persons: “ pirola, Stephen Hoge, Ashish Jha, ” Pirola, Biden Organizations: Moderna, Wednesday, EG, COVID, White, Centers for Disease Control, Pfizer, Novavax Locations: U.S, Moderna

REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON/CHICAGO, Aug 24 (Reuters) - A highly mutated COVID variant called BA.2.86 has now been detected in Switzerland and South Africa in addition to Israel, Denmark, the U.S. and the U.K., according to a leading World Health Organization official. It has since been detected in other symptomatic patients, in routine airport screening, and in wastewater samples in a handful of countries. That the known cases are not linked suggests it is already circulating more widely, particularly given reduced surveillance worldwide, she said. There have been nine such cases detected as of Aug. 23 and the variant was also found in wastewater in Switzerland. Jha and others, including the European public health agency and COVAX, the global program for getting vaccines to the world's poorest, said COVID surveillance and defenses could be reactivated in the event of a major infection wave.

Persons: Shannon Stapleton, Maria Van Kerkhove, Kerkhove, ”, Marion Koopmans, Nirav Shah, Van Kerkhove, Tyra Grove Krause, Ashish Jha, Jha, Jennifer Rigby, Julie Steenhuysen, Pratik Jain, Caroline Humer, Bill Berkrot Organizations: REUTERS, Health Organization, Omicron, WHO, U.S . Centers for Disease Control, Pharmacy, Walgreens, Rite, Reuters, Statens Serum, White, Thomson Locations: Harlem, New York City, U.S, CHICAGO, Switzerland, South Africa, Israel, Denmark, COVID, Dutch, Danish, Bengaluru

WASHINGTON, July 21 (Reuters) - The White House on Friday launched an office to prepare for and respond to potential pandemics, to be led by Paul Friedrichs, a military combat surgeon and retired Air Force major general who helped lead the Pentagon's COVID response. The new Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy will also take over the duties of President Joe Biden's current COVID-19 and mpox response teams, the White House said. Friedrichs is currently special assistant to the president and senior director for Global Health Security and Biodefense at the White House National Security Council. The White House had been expected to cut down its COVID response team after the U.S. government in May ended its COVID Public Health Emergency. In June, the White House announced the departure of Ashish Jha, the last of the Biden administration's rotating COVID response coordinators.

Persons: Paul Friedrichs, Joe Biden's, Biden, Friedrichs, Ashish Jha, Kanishka Singh, Alison Williams Organizations: Air Force, of Pandemic, Global Health Security, White House National Security Council, White, U.S, White House, Biden, Thomson Locations: United States, Washington

☆ Biden to appoint Mandy Cohen to lead the CDC
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Dr. Mandy Cohen speaks at a news conference at the Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, Nov. 10, 2021. "Dr. Cohen is one of the nation's top physicians and health leaders with experience leading large and complex organizations, and a proven track-record protecting Americans' health and safety," Biden said in a statement Friday. President Joe Biden on Friday said he will appoint Dr. Mandy Cohen to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She led the CDC through the Covid vaccine rollout, as well as the delta and omicron waves of Covid. Walensky cited the end of the Covid emergency in her resignation letter to Biden.

Persons: Mandy Cohen, Dr, Cohen, Biden, Joe Biden, Rochelle Walensky, Walensky, Ashish Jha, Monica Bertagnolli, Sen, Bernie Sanders Organizations: Emergency, Center, Congress, North, North Carolina's Department of Health, Human Services, Medicare, Services, for Disease Control, CDC, White, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, NIH, Washington Post Locations: Raleigh , North Carolina, North Carolina's, U.S

☆ Dr. Fauci Looks Back: ‘Something Clearly Went Wrong’
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( David Wallace-Wells | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +55 min

Dr. Fauci Looks Back: ‘Something Clearly Went Wrong’ In his most extensive interview yet, Anthony Fauci wrestles with the hard lessons of the pandemic — and the decisions that will define his legacy. But when people say, “Fauci shut down the economy” — it wasn’t Fauci. But somehow or other, the general public didn’t get that feeling that the vulnerable are really, really heavily weighted toward the elderly. We also had a public-health system that we thought was really, really good. But it was really, really antiquated.

☆ U.S. plans to stop buying Covid shots for the public this fall. Here's what that means
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

There is a federal program to provide free vaccines to children whose families or caretakers can't afford the shots. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., slammed the vaccine price hike in a letter to Moderna's CEO last month. Under the ACA, private health insurance is required to cover all immunizations recommended by the CDC at no cost to the consumer. There may be a small number of legacy private health insurance plans from before the ACA that are not required to cover Covid vaccines, Cox said. Consumers could also see their health insurance premiums increase if Pfizer and Moderna hike the price of the shots, Cox said.

☆ FDA withdraws Covid antibody treatment Evusheld because it's not effective against 93% of subvariants
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The FDA pulled Evusheld from the market because it is not effective against more than 90% of the Covid subvariants that are currently circulating in the U.S. People with compromised immune systems, such as cancer chemotherapy and organ-transplant patients, are some of the groups most vulnerable to severe disease from Covid. More than 7 million adults in the U.S. have a compromised immune system. He said lawmakers' failure to pass additional Covid funding means there isn't money to invest in new antibodies. President Joe Biden told people with compromised immune systems to consult with a doctor.

☆ Biden administration extends Covid public health emergency as highly infectious omicron XBB.1.5 spreads
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Eduardo Munoz | ReutersThe Biden administration has extended the Covid-19 public health emergency until April as a highly transmissible omicron subvariant stokes concern that the U.S. may face another wave of hospitalizations from the disease this winter. The U.S. has renewed the Covid public health emergency every 90 days since the Trump administration first issued the declaration in January 2020.watch nowThe emergency declaration has had a vast impact on the U.S. health-care system over the past three years. It has protected public health insurance coverage for millions, provided hospitals with greater flexibility to respond to patient surges and expanded telehealth. Once U.S. officials decide to end the public health emergency, hospitals will lose flexibility in how they deploy staff, add beds and care for patients when there's a surge in admissions. Congress banned states from kicking people off the program for the duration of the public health emergency.

☆ Sen. Bernie Sanders urges Moderna not to hike price of Covid-19 vaccines
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Sen. Bernie Sanders on Tuesday urged Moderna not to quadruple the price of its Covid-19 vaccine once distribution of the shots moves to the commercial market. In a letter to Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel, Sanders called the price increase "outrageous." Private health insurance premiums would also rise as a consequence of a vaccine price hike , Sanders wrote. Pfizer is also considering raising the price of its Covid vaccine to $110 to $130 per dose. Moderna's Covid vaccine is the company's only commercially available product.

☆ Omicron XBB.1.5 is rising in U.S. though revised CDC data shows slower increase than previously reported
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

XBB.1.5 made up 27.6% of sequenced Covid cases nationally for the week ending Jan. 7 compared with 18.3% for the week end Dec. 31. The CDC previously reported that XBB.1.5 made up about 41% of sequenced cases for the week ending Dec. 31, more than any other variant. Although the agency has revised its estimate downward, XBB.1.5 remains the only omicron subvariant showing significant growth in the U.S. right now. U.S. health officials should have more data soon on how much protection the omicron boosters provide against XBB.1.5., Jha said. Weekly Covid cases have increased by about 16% to 470,699 over the past week, according to CDC data.

☆ U.S. records 100 million Covid cases, but more than 200 million Americans have probably had it
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

The U.S. officially recorded more than 100 million cases as of Tuesday, just under one-third of the total population, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Covid-19 has easily infected more than 200 million in the U.S. alone since the beginning of the pandemic — some people more than once. "There are have been at least 200 million infections in the U.S., so this is a small portion of them," Frieden said. The estimate was based on a survey of commercial lab data that found about 58% of Americans had antibodies as a result of a Covid infection. The more than 21 million additional confirmed cases on top of the CDC's February estimate of about 187 million total infections gives a low-end estimate of more than 208 million infections since the pandemic began.

[1/2] People line up at a makeshift fever clinic set up inside a stadium, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Beijing, China December 19, 2022. "We stand ready to help any country in the world with vaccines, treatments, anything else that we can be helpful with," he said. "We want China to get COVID right," Blinken said earlier this month. “China faces a very challenging system in reopening,” Powell said, adding that its manufacturing, exporting and supply chain remain critical. Officials set up health centers and apps that told people with symptoms how to avoid infecting others, he said.

☆ White House's Covid coordinator urges people to get vaccinated ahead of holidays
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

As Covid and flu hospitalizations have climbed in the weeks since Thanksgiving, White House's Covid-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said families will be safer at upcoming holiday gatherings if they get their updated vaccines. This year, hospitals are facing the simultaneous threat of Covid, flu and RSV for the first time. Around 23,503 patients were admitted to the hospital with influenza this week, the CDC reported, while RSV hospitalizations appear to have peaked in some states. Hospitalizations of people with Covid topped more than 5,000 per day on average, according to the CDC. "The updated vaccine is essential for keeping people out of the hospital," Jha said.

☆ Omicron boosters are 84% effective at keeping seniors from being hospitalized with Covid, CDC says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The new COVID-19 booster which includes protection for Omicron at AltaMed Health Services in South Gate on Thursday, October 6, 2022. The latest omicron boosters are 84% effective at keeping seniors 65 and older from being hospitalized with Covid-19, according to a study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday. Seniors who received the omicron booster had 73% more protection against hospitalization than those who only received two or more doses of the original vaccines that were not updated to target omicron, according to the CDC. In a larger study that looked at more more than 15,000 adults ages 18 and older, the omicron booster was 57% effective at preventing hospitalization. U.S. health officials have repeatedly called on everyone who is eligible to get an omicron booster ahead of the holidays.

☆ Most nursing home residents haven't had omicron booster ahead of expected winter Covid wave
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

U.S. White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Ashish Jha speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, December 15, 2022. Less than 50% of nursing home residents, one of the country's most vulnerable populations to severe illness from Covid-19, have received an omicron booster ahead of an expected wave of infection this winter. The administration is working with nursing homes to make sure vaccines and treatments are available on site, Jha said. The federal government is also increasing the pool of staff that can administer vaccines at nursing homes. Covid deaths in nursing homes increased 25% from 256 during the week ending Nov. 20 to 321 for the week ending Dec. 11.

☆ Less than 50% of nursing home residents have received omicron booster ahead of expected winter Covid wave
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

☆ White House warns of possible Covid-19 winter surge: ‘This is not one disease in isolation’
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Mj Lee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —For Americans across the country preparing to gather and socialize with family and friends during the end-of-year holiday season, the White House has a clear warning: Covid-19 is not over, and you had better protect yourself. “This is not one disease in isolation,” Jha said, referring to the ongoing wave of Covid-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza. “The stress on hospitals and stress on health care workers is because of all the respiratory pathogens. As a part of its new push, the administration is restarting the free at-home Covid-19 test program, permitting each American household to order up to four free tests this winter from COVIDTests.gov. But it’s not like Christmas Day is the last day people socialize over winter,” Jha said.

☆ Philadelphia schools will require masks as U.S. COVID cases spike
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Philadelphia is among state and local agencies around the United States rolling out mask mandates or recommendations this month to fight a new surge in virus cases, which is expected to grow as Americans travel and socialize around the winter holidays. Health experts say the U.S. healthcare system is under strain because of a "tridemic" caused by COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). There is debate over the mandates' efficacy, as months of stringent public health rules early in the pandemic exacerbated the public's COVID fatigue and stoked political controversy. California's public health department on Thursday told Reuters it was urging people to wear masks, but stopping short of requiring them. While the political will to impose mask mandates may have waned, covering one's face remains the best way to avoid getting sick - and infecting others.

☆ Dr. Jha: The U.S. is ready to 'move on' from Covid if people 'keep their immunity up to date'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Renée Onque | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The U.S. is getting closer than ever to finally putting Covid in the rearview mirror, according to Dr. Ashish Jha. "The good news is: People can move on if they keep their immunity up to date." Currently, that means a primary series of Covid vaccines followed by a booster shot with an omicron component, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The omicron booster shot provides a particularly strong immune response against omicron subvariants like BA.4 and BA.5, recent data from Pfizer and BioNTech shows. But Jha hopes that figure will rise in the coming weeks, as more people get flu shots and potentially knock out both vaccines simultaneously.

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