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A vial labelled "Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine" is seen in this illustration taken January 16, 2022. The Maryland-based company, whose COVID vaccine is its lone marketed product, has adopted cost-cutting measures and is counting on commercial sales of its updated shot to help it stay afloat. The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) will not meet again to discuss the Novavax shot, a spokesperson said. Novavax's original COVID shot received U.S. authorization in July 2022, long after Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were in use. All three of the updated shots target the XBB.1.5 variant of the coronavirus.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, BioNTech, COVID, John Jacobs, Jacobs, Sriparna Roy, Bill Berkrot Organizations: REUTERS, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, U.S . Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, Pfizer Inc, Moderna, FDA, Pfizer, Moderna's, Thomson Locations: U.S, Maryland, Bengaluru

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials plan to endorse a common antibiotic as a morning-after pill that gay and bisexual men can use to try to avoid some increasingly common sexually transmitted diseases. The proposed CDC guideline was released Monday, and officials will move to finalize it after a 45-day public comment period. Doxycycline, a cheap antibiotic that has been available for more than 40 years, is a treatment for health problems including acne, chlamydia and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. That kind of antibiotic resistance hasn't materialized in San Francisco, but it will be important to watch for, Cohen said. ___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group.

Persons: ”, Jonathan Mermin, Mermin, Stephanie Cohen, —, Taimur Khan, Khan, Cohen Organizations: —, Centers for Disease Control, CDC, New, of Medicine, Fenway Health, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: — U.S, “, Boston, San Francisco

☆ US CDC panel weighs use of Pfizer's maternal RSV vaccine to protect infants
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] A child suffering from an RSV infection at the pediatric intensive care unit at the Asklepios Clinic in Sankt Augustin, Germany, December, 6, 2022. RSV is a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms but can also lead to serious illness and hospitalization. It is typically a seasonal illness, starting in the autumn and peaking in the winter in most of the U.S., according to the CDC. An estimated 58,000 to 80,000 children below the age of five years are hospitalized every year due to RSV infection in the U.S., according to government data. However, the agency said the difference did not appear to be statistically significant, thus might have been due to chance.

Persons: Benjamin Westhoff, Sriparna Roy, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Asklepios, REUTERS, Pfizer, GSK, U.S . Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, CDC, FDA, Thomson Locations: Sankt Augustin, Germany, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ New Covid boosters could reach Americans as soon as Thursday – here's what you need to know
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Brian Cassella | Tribune News Service | Getty ImagesA new round of Covid vaccines is finally here in the U.S. Meanwhile, the FDA is still reviewing a third updated vaccine from Novavax for people ages 12 and up. Here's everything you need to know about the updated Covid vaccines, from where to find them, whether you can get them for free and when to get them. The agency's website outlines more specific guidelines for staying up to date on Covid vaccines, which differ depending on age group and risk level. Kroger Americans will soon be able to use the federal website vaccines.gov to find other locations offering the updated Covid shots, according to a CDC spokesperson.

Persons: Brian Cassella, Covid, Biden, Megan Wallace, they've, Brian Snyder, vaccines.gov, Evelyn Twentyman, Will, Moderna's, Twentyman, Taison Bell, Bell, CDC's Wallace, Wallace Organizations: Pfizer, Tribune, Service, U.S, The, Disease Control, Moderna, Food and Drug Administration, CDC, FDA, Walgreens, CNBC, WALGREENS, CVS Albertsons, Kroger, Manufacturers, CVS, University of Virginia Health, Younger Locations: Chatham , Illinois, U.S, Covid, Somerville , Massachusetts

☆ CDC advisors recommend updated Covid vaccines for all Americans ages 6 months and up
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

An independent advisory panel to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday recommended that all Americans ages 6 months and up receive updated Covid vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna , the next step toward the shots reaching Americans in the coming days. Thirteen advisors voted in favor of that "universal" recommendation for Americans, while one voted against it. It is a vaccine-preventable disease," said Dr. Beth Bell, clinical professor at the University of Washington and member of the panel, during the advisory meeting. "And so, for that reason, I favor the universal recommendation." The advisory panel's "universal" recommendation comes a day after the Food and Drug Administration approved the two mRNA jabs, which are designed to target the omicron subvariant XBB.1.5.

Persons: Mandy Cohen, Georgina Peacock, Beth Bell, Hospitalizations, hospitalizations, Megan Wallace Organizations: Moderna, Pharmacy, Centers for Disease Control, Pfizer, CDC, University of Washington, Food and Drug Administration, FDA Locations: Schwenksville , Pennsylvania, U.S

☆ Covid-19, flu, RSV: Here are the vaccine recommendations for fall—and the best time to get them
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Renée Onque | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Updated Covid vaccinesOn Monday, the Food and Drug Administration approved the new Covid vaccine, which will target a variant of Omicron called XBB.1.5. When should you get your updated Covid vaccine? Older adults, and people with heart and lung disease, should also consider getting the RSV vaccine, says Pavia. "Because the ACIP gave a softer recommendation to the RSV vaccine, coverage is going to be variable," says Pavia. For those with certain Medicare plans, the RSV vaccine should be covered, specifically under a Part D plan.

Persons: there's, Andrew Pavia, It's, Don't, Biden, you've, they're, hasn't, it's Organizations: CNBC, Centers for Disease Control, University of Utah, Children's Hospital, CDC, Food and Drug Administration, COVID, FDA, CDC's, U.S . Department of Health, Human Services, Infants, The New York Times Locations: Pavia

☆ US CDC says existing antibodies can work against new COVID variant
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Sept 8 (Reuters) - Early research data has shown that antibodies produced by prior infection or existing vaccines against the coronavirus were sufficient to protect against the new BA.2.86 variant, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Friday. The Food and Drug Administration in the coming days is expected to authorize the updated vaccines that target the XBB.1.5 subvariant of Omicron, and early data provide encouraging signs for the new shots, CDC said. Since CDC's initial risk assessment last month, BA.2.86 has been identified in nine U.S. states as of Friday. The Omicron offshoot has also been identified from both human and wastewater specimens in countries including Japan, UK and Canada. Reporting by Vaibhav Sadhamta in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: coronavirus, Vaibhav, Shailesh Organizations: U.S . Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, Drug Administration, CDC, Omicron, Canada, Thomson Locations: United States, Japan, Bengaluru

☆ Moderna says updated Covid vaccine was effective against highly mutated BA.2.86 variant in trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Moderna 's new Covid vaccine produced a strong immune response against BA.2.86, a highly mutated omicron variant that health officials are watching closely, according to clinical trial data the biotech company released Wednesday. The updated shot produced an 8.7-fold increase in protective antibodies against BA.2.86, which has been detected in small numbers nationwide. Moderna is the first out of the companies producing updated Covid jabs to release data on how its shot fares against BA.2.86. Last month, Moderna also released clinical trial data suggesting that its new shot provides protection against the now-dominant EG.5, or "Eris," variant and another rapidly spreading strain called FL.1.5.1. New vaccines are set to arrive as Eris and other Covid variants fuel a rise in cases and hospitalizations across the country.

Persons: Stephen Hoge, Covid hospitalizations Organizations: Disease Control, Moderna, Pfizer, Novavax, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, EG, CDC Locations: U.S

☆ US CDC tracks new lineage of virus that causes COVID
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Deena Beasley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The lineage is named BA.2.86, and has been detected in the United States, Denmark and Israel, the CDC said in a post on messaging platform X. "As we learn more about BA.2.86, CDC's advice on protecting yourself from COVID-19 remains the same," the agency said. The WHO said that, so far, only a few sequences of the variant have been reported from a handful of countries. The new lineage, which has 36 mutations from the currently-dominant XXB.1.5 COVID variant "harkens back to an earlier branch" of the virus, explained Dr. S. Wesley Long, medical director of diagnostic microbiology at Houston Methodist. https://slides.com/jbloom/new_2nd_gen_ba2_variant?ftag=YHF4eb9d17#/12The Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 is the strain targeted by vaccines in upcoming COVID booster shots.

Persons: Wesley Long, Jesse Bloom, Fred Hutch, Dr, Long, Shivani Tanna, Himani Sarkar, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Science, Trinity College, Reuters, U.S . Centers for Disease Control, CDC, World Health Organization, WHO, Houston Methodist, Fred Hutch Cancer Center, Thomson Locations: Dublin, Wuhan, United States, Denmark, Israel, Bengaluru

☆ New Covid vaccines are on the way as 'Eris' variant rises
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Michael Erman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Some public health experts hope that Americans will welcome the new shot as they would a flu jab. In the fall of 2022, by which time most people had either had the COVID virus or the vaccine, fewer than 50 million people got the shots. Its biggest rival, Moderna, conceded demand could be as few as 50 million shots. POST PANDEMIC VACCINEThe COVID public health emergency ended in May and the government has handed much of the duty of vaccinating America to the private sector. As with the flu, Pfizer (PFE.N)/BioNTech SE (22UAy.DE), Moderna (MRNA.O) and Novavax (NVAX.O), have created versions of the COVID vaccine to try to match the variant they believe will be circulating this fall.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Ashley Kirzinger, Kirzinger, BioNTech, Jefferies, Michael Yee, " Yee, Mandy Cohen, William Schaffner, Schaffner, David Boulware, Michael Erman, Caroline Humer, Diane Craft Organizations: REUTERS, CVS Health, Family, Reuters, Pfizer –, Moderna, Pfizer, U.S . Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, CDC, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, EG, Vanderbilt University, University of Minnesota, Thomson Locations: U.S, America, United States, COVID, CDC's

☆ These are the cruise ships with the best — and worst — sanitation scores so far this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( Hannah Towey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

These are the cruise ships with the best and worst sanitation report cards in 2023 so far. There's nothing like a stomach virus to ruin your vacation, as hundreds of cruise ship passengers have unfortunately learned this year. "People often associate cruise ships with acute gastrointestinal illnesses such as norovirus, but acute gastrointestinal illness is relatively infrequent on cruise ships," the CDC explains on its website. In the past 10 years, only three other cruise ships have received sanitation scores below 70, CDC records show. These are the cruise ships with the highest and lowest sanitation scores so far this year:The 15 cruise ships with perfect scores of 100The majority of cruise ships have received CDC sanitation scores in the high nineties this year.

Persons: Gerard Bottino Organizations: CDC, Morning, Health, Vessel Sanitation, MSC, MSC Cruises, Royal Caribbean International Cruise, Seas Royal Caribbean, Cruise Lines, Inc, Sunshine, Disney, Disney Cruise, Cruise Management, Joy Norwegian Cruise, Pearl Norwegian Cruise, Riviera Oceania, Rotterdam Holland America, Silversea Cruises, Getty Locations: United States, Rotterdam

☆ U.S. officials say risk of locally acquired malaria remains low as nationwide cases jump to seven
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Joe Raedle | Getty ImagesU.S. public health officials say the risk of locally transmitted malaria in the country remains low as seven new cases in Florida and Texas raise questions. "Despite these cases, the risk of locally acquired malaria remains extremely low in the United States," the agency added. The seven are the first known cases of "locally acquired" malaria in the country since 2003. Health experts say the new locally acquired cases shouldn't warrant panic about widespread malaria transmission in the U.S. Here's what you need to know about the locally acquired malaria cases in the U.S. – and why the risk of transmission remains low right now.

Persons: Barrington Sanders, Joe Raedle, it's, vivax, Daniel Parker, –, Parker, Sadie Ryan, Ryan, Chandan Khanna, UC Irvine's Parker, we're, Rajiv Chowdhury, Chowdhury, Stephane de Sakutin Organizations: Miami - Dade Mosquito Control, Getty, Florida Department of Health, Centers for Disease Control, CDC, CNBC, UC Irvine, University of Florida, Florida Climate Institute, Local, Sarasota County Mosquito Management Services, AFP, UC, Florida International University Locations: Miami, Miami , Florida, Florida, Texas, Sarasota County, United States, U.S, Florida , Texas, Sarasota, Sarasota , Florida

☆ Flavored e-cigarette sales are booming despite federal crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Stefan Sykes | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Flavored e-cigarettes represented 41.3% of U.S. retail-store e-cigarette unit sales in December 2022, up from 29.2% in January 2020, the organizations found. Overall e-cigarette sales in the U.S. rose about 47% in the period. The spike in sales comes despite a federal crackdown that placed more restrictions on the flavors and marketing for tobacco products. From January 2022 to December 2022, disposable e-cigarette unit share increased from 24.7% to 51.8% of total unit sales. Last year, the FDA ordered Elf Bar and Breeze Smoke off the U.S. market, according to the CDC report.

Persons: JUUL, Deirdre Lawrence Kittner, Robin Koval Organizations: Centers for Disease Control, CDC Foundation, Truth, FDA, Elf, CDC Locations: New York City, U.S

☆ Baby raccoon euthanized after woman took it to a pet store and let people kiss it — possibly exposing them to rabies
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A woman brought a baby raccoon into a pet store in Maine to have its nails trimmed. The raccoon was handled and kissed by multiple customers, possibly exposing them to rabies. In order to test if the raccoon had rabies, it needed to be euthanized. Anyone with information about the woman who brought in the juvenile raccoon is requested to contact the Maine Warden Service, authorities said. "Please 'Keep Wildlife Wild'" and "If you care, leave them there," the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife reminded people.

☆ New HIV infections decline in U.S. but most people at risk are not receiving prevention drugs
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-23 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The decline was driven by a 34% drop in new HIV infections among 13- to 24-year-olds, according to the data. The U.S. has set a national goal to end the HIV epidemic by reducing new infections 90% by 2030. About 40% of new infections within the gay community were among Black men and 35% were among Hispanic men, according to the data. Among heterosexual women, 60% of new infections were among Black women. Among heterosexual men, about 61% of new infections were among Black men, according to the CDC.

☆ CDC urges mpox vaccination among people at high risk to prevent summer surge
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The patients in the Chicago cluster all have mild symptoms, according Demetre Daskalakis, deputy head of the White house mpox task force. Many of the people who caught mpox in the Chicago cluster were fully vaccinated against the virus, raising questions about whether immunity from the shots might wane over time. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday urged gay men and other individuals at high risk from mpox to get fully vaccinated to prevent a summer resurgence of the virus. Though the estimates of mpox vaccine effectiveness vary, Daskalakis said the message is clear: "One dose is good, two doses are better." It's also possible that the vaccine the patients in the Chicago cluster received were compromised in some way or weren't administered properly, he said.

☆ Here's why Covid vaccines will still be free for uninsured Americans as public health emergency ends
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Vanessa Leroy | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesBut the vast majority of Americans will not have to pay out of pocket for Covid vaccines even after the federal government's stockpile runs out. Insured Americans will be able to access Covid shots as part of their coverage, without having to pay out of pocket. Under the arrangement, the CDC will continue to purchase Covid vaccines at a discount and distribute them through 64 state and local health departments. That HHS effort will leverage the "public commitments" by drug manufacturers to provide free Covid vaccines and treatments to uninsured people. Pfizer and Moderna have not said whether they would supply free shots to pharmacies.

☆ MSC cruise ship fails health inspection with the lowest score in years after CDC finds a door handle covered in hamburger blood and yogurt containers with 'black filth residue'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Hannah Towey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The cruise ship MSC Seaside failed its CDC's sanitation inspection on April 27, records show. The vessel received a 67 out of 100 — the lowest score a cruise ship has received in five years. The cruise ship MSC Seaside failed the CDC's vessel sanitation inspection at the end of April with an unusually low score. The vessel received 67 out of 100 points, nearly twenty points below the agency's passing grade. In the past 10 years, only three other cruise ships have received sanitation scores below 70, CDC records show.

"The end of the COVID-19 public health emergency marks a tremendous transition for our country, for public health, and in my tenure as CDC Director," Walensky wrote to President Joe Biden in her resignation letter. "We have all benefited from her service and dedication to public health, and I wish her the best in her next chapter," Biden said in a statement. "For 75 years, CDC and public health have been preparing for COVID-19, and in our big moment, our performance did not reliably meet expectations," she told CDC staff last summer. Public health experts said Walensky wrestled with political and technical challenges during her tenure. "Dr. Walensky was put into place at the CDC at a time when the agency was basically captive to politicians which clearly hampered her ability to lead," he said.

☆ CDC will have less data to track Covid and new variants after public health emergency ends
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

"The end of the public health emergency means CDC will have less authority to collect certain types of public health data — that means less data will be available to us," Dr. Nirav Shah, the CDC's principal deputy director, told reporters during a call Thursday. Congress required these labs in March 2020 to send results to the federal government, but that mandate was tied to the public health emergency. "In some of the jurisdictions or some of the states those authorities will go away with the end of public health emergency," he said. The spotty reporting of case data also means the CDC will no longer report virus transmission at the county level after the public health emergency ends. Shah said the CDC will still have ways to monitor Covid after the public health emergency ends.

WASHINGTON, May 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Friday it would stop reporting or monitoring COVID-19 case data and transmission rates after the government ends the pandemic's public health emergency designation next week. The government on May 11 will end the COVID-19 public health emergency that allowed millions of Americans to receive vaccines, tests, and treatments at no cost during the pandemic. "The changes that we're discussing today are happening because the end of the Public Health Emergency means that CDC will have less authority to collect certain types of public health data," said CDC Principal Deputy Director Dr. Nirav Shah. The CDC will continue to provide COVID death rates but will no longer rely on aggregate case data reported by local jurisdictions and will instead use national death certificate data, Jackson said. COVID-19 surveillance will be folded into a wider integrated strategy for monitoring respiratory viruses, he said, adding that some data reporting including demographic case data, the CDC's work on long COVID, and wastewater surveillance for the virus will continue past May 11.

☆ Gilead Sciences battles U.S. government in court over HIV prevention patent
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The U.S. is trying to enforce four patents issued to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on a two-drug regimen known as pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP for short. The government accuses Gilead of reaping billions of dollars in PrEP sales without paying royalties to the CDC. Gilead has rejected U.S. allegations that the company's sales of its PrEP oral medications, Truvada and Descovy, infringe on any CDC patents. "Indeed, Gilead has reaped billions from PrEP through the sale of Truvada and Descovy, but has not paid any royalties to CDC." Gilead rejects CDC claims that agency scientists developed the the PrEP regimen.

Foster City, California-based Gilead collaborated with the CDC in the mid-2000s to test if Truvada could prevent HIV as well as treat it. The government received four patents for HIV prevention drug regimens that CDC researchers invented. Its lawsuit claims the patents also cover Gilead's pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) drug regimen for lowering HIV infection risk. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Gilead's Truvada for HIV prevention in 2012 and approved its related drug Descovy for the same purpose in 2019. Descovy, which earned Gilead over $1.8 billion last year, is its fourth-best selling drug behind the HIV drugs Biktarvy and Genvoya and COVID-19 treatment Veklury.

☆ Candida auris fungus spreading in U.S. hospitals - CDC
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FollowMarch 21 (Reuters) - Potentially deadly fungal infections with Candida auris are spreading rapidly in U.S. healthcare facilities, with cases nearly doubling between 2020 and 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. A high fever with chills that does not get better after taking antibiotics may be a sign of Candida auris infection. The CDC noted that spread of the infections in 2021 may have been exacerbated as the healthcare system was hit by pandemic-related stressors, such as staff and equipment shortages. Other countries have also reported increased spread of the fungus, the researchers said. Reporting by Leroy Leo in Bengaluru; editing by Caroline Humer, Nancy Lapid and Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Pregnancy-related deaths in US surged during pandemic - CDC
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Mariam Esunny | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The United States has one of the highest rates of pregnancy-related deaths among developed countries. It recorded more than 1,200 deaths in pregnant women in 2021, compared with 861 in 2020 and 754 in 2019, according to CDC data. About 32.9 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births were reported in 2021, compared with 23.8 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2020 and 20.1 in 2019. The mortality rate for Black women in the United States was at 69.9 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2021, about 3 times higher than white and Hispanic women. UN agencies reported last month that nearly all parts of the world saw a spike in maternal mortality rates in 2020.

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