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☆ Opinion | Vaccines, Inflation, Abortion: 2022 in Charts
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Steven Rattner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +16 min

By the end of 2022, 23 percent of American women resided in states with effective bans on abortion. June 2022 March 2022 Dec. 2021 Sept. 2022 Dec. 2022 Fed Funds Rate 6% 5 4 3 2 1 2022 2023 2025 2024 Longer run Unemployment 5% 4 3 2 1 2022 2023 2025 2024 Longer run G.D.P. Growth 4% 3 2 1 2022 2023 2025 2024 Longer run Core Inflation 5% 4 3 2 1 2022 2023 2025 2024 Sept. 2022 June 2022 March 2022 Dec. 2021 Dec. 2022 Fed Funds Rate G.D.P. Growth 4% 6% 5 3 4 3 2 2 1 1 2022 2023 2025 2022 2023 2025 2024 2024 Longer run Longer run Core Inflation Unemployment 5% 5% 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 2022 2023 2025 2022 2023 2025 2024 2024 Longer run Source: Federal Open Market CommitteeThe sustained period of high inflation left the Fed playing catch-up, as it had initially believed that the surge would prove transitory. 150 100 Xi Jinping addresses in 2017 & 2022 50 1982-2012 Economy Military Market Technology Reform Security Source: Capital EconomicsThen there was China: Our biggest source of imported goods became ever more clearly our biggest strategic adversary.

☆ As child vaccine rates slip, local health officials fight misinformation
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Lauren Sausser | Kaiser Health News | Lauren Sausser Covers Health Across The South As Part Of Khn'S Southern Bureau. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

So the Health Department conducted something called an online “sentiment search,” which gauges how certain words are perceived on social media. An analysis conducted by KHN and The Associated Press found local health department spending dropped by 18% per capita from 2010 to 2020. To that end, the health department has partnered with local leaders and groups to encourage vaccinations. — Phil Maytubby, Oklahoma city County health departmentThe more than 3,000 public health departments nationwide stand to benefit from a unified message, he said. In late 2020, the foundation, working with other public health groups, established the Public Health Communications Collaborative to amplify easy-to-understand information about vaccines.

☆ 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.

The updated Covid booster shot is proving to be effective at keeping people — especially older adults — out of the hospital, according to two new studies published Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Full coverage of the Covid-19 pandemicBoth studies looked at the impact the updated Covid booster shot has had since it was first recommended by the CDC on Sept. 1. Those who had received the updated booster were 84% less likely to be hospitalized with Covid, compared with people who had never had the Covid vaccine. The effectiveness was nearly identical — 83% — for people who had their last Covid shot more than a year ago. "There are 28 million people over the age of 65 that are eligible for this updated booster shot but haven’t gotten it," Link-Gelles said.

☆ U.S. FDA advisers to weigh on updating initial COVID vaccine doses
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Friday it planned to hold a meeting of outside experts next month to discuss whether initial doses of COVID-19 vaccines need to be updated to combat circulating variants. While updated booster doses from Pfizer (PFE.N) and Moderna (MRNA.O) are already approved for adults as well as children as young as five years, the FDA said it was important to weigh in on the composition of both initial and booster doses as new variants spread. The independent advisers, who are scheduled to meet on Jan. 26, are also expected to weigh in on whether the timing or composition of booster doses need to be adjusted. In June, advisers to the FDA had recommended a change in the composition of COVID-19 booster shots before fall to combat more recently circulating variants of the coronavirus. Reporting by Bhanvi Satija and Manas Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Sherry Jacob-PhillipsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ DeSantis' latest anti-COVID-19 vaccine push puts him on a collision course with Trump over the pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Ron DeSantis intensified his attacks on the COVID-19 vaccines on Tuesday, in a move that positions the Republican governor to contrast his pandemic record with that of former President Donald Trump. It's not clear whether Trump will lean into his success on the COVID-19 vaccine through his Operation Warp Speed program. Then-President Donald Trump with then-Florida governor candidate Ron DeSantis at a July 2018 “Make America Great Again” rally in Tampa, Florida. For instance, the FDA and CDC have cleared the bivalent booster for those as young as 6 months of age depending on what COVID-19 vaccine a person has previously had. The committee will issue guidance about COVID vaccines and other healthcare matters.

☆ Getting a Covid booster? You may be eligible for discounts, or even a $75 gift card
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Renée Onque | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Financial incentives are a great way to get more people on board with pretty much anything, even vaccination efforts. The Bay State is offering $75 gift cards to residents who receive their omicron-specific boosters by December 31 at select vaccine clinics, for as long as supplies last. For children or teens under 18 years old, an accompanying adult must be present to receive the gift card(s)," the site states. WashingtonSimilarly, but on an even larger scale, the governor of Washington, Jay Inslee, wants to offer $1,000 to state workers who get the updated Covid-19 booster. These 4 stores are offering discounts for getting boosted against Covid-19If you're not a resident of Massachusetts or Washington state, there are some financial incentives you may be eligible to receive.

☆ U.S. FDA authorizes bivalent COVID shots for kids as young as 6 months old
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The amended authorization on Thursday from the Food and Drug Administration allows use of Moderna's bivalent shot as a booster in children 6 months through 5 years of age, two months after their initial vaccination. Children who have completed their initial three-dose vaccination with Pfizer's original shot are not yet eligible to receive the bivalent booster, the agency said. The regulator added that data supporting use of Pfizer/BioNTech's bivalent shot as a booster in this age group is expected in January. Moderna's vaccine for children under 6 is a two-dose, 25 microgram vaccine, with the shots given about four weeks apart. Overall, 39.7 million people in United States have received a bivalent booster as of Nov. 30, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed.

[1/2] A woman holds a small bottle labelled with a "Coronavirus COVID-19 Vaccine" sticker and a medical syringe in this illustration taken October 30, 2020. REUTERS/Dado RuvicPARIS, Dec 8 (Reuters) - France's Haute Autorite de Sante public health body advised the government not to use Valneva's (VLS.PA) VLA2001 COVID-19 vaccine as part of its wider vaccination strategy, although two rival products should be included as booster shots. The snub caused Valneva's shares to fall, with Valneva down by around 1% during the late morning trading session in Paris. "However, the HAS does not include the use of Valneva's VLA2001 vaccine in the current primary vaccination strategy", it added. Reporting by Jean-Stephane Brosse and Tassilo Hummel; Editing by Sudip Kar-GuptaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Children as young as 6 months can now receive an updated Covid-19 vaccine
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Jamie Gumbrecht | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Children as young as 6 months are now eligible to receive an updated Covid-19 vaccine. The US Food and Drug Administration on Thursday authorized updated Covid-19 vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech for use in children from ages 6 months through 5 years. Not all young children are eligible to receive an updated vaccine:Children age 6 months through age 5 who received the original, two-dose Moderna vaccine are eligible to receive a single booster of the updated bivalent Moderna vaccine two months after completing the primary vaccine series. Children age 6 months through 4 years who haven’t started their three-dose primary series of the Pfizer vaccine or received the third dose will receive the updated Pfizer vaccine as the third dose of the primary series. The data to support giving an updated bivalent booster dose for these children are expected in January.

The spread of RSV appears to be slowing, though Covid cases have risen since Thanksgiving and flu hospitalizations remain at a decade high, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Monday. "This year’s flu season is off to a rough start," Dr. Sandra Fryhofer, board chair of the American Medical Association, said at a CDC press briefing. Nationally, the number of positive weekly RSV tests fell from more than 19,000 in the week ending Nov. 12 to around 7,500 in the week ending Nov. 26. Average daily Covid cases, however, have risen 16% over the last two weeks, according to NBC News' tally. The CDC recorded a nearly 18% increase in average daily hospital admissions due to Covid from the week ending Nov. 22 to the week ending Nov. 29.

☆ Hardly Anyone Is Buying Biden’s Bivalent Boosters
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Allysia Finley | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

When it doesn’t live up to the hype, the public won’t trust what you’re selling the next time around. That’s the problem the Biden administration faces as it tries to peddle “bivalent” booster shots for Covid-19. Vaccines have served a useful purpose by reducing severe illness among the vulnerable and seniors. Some were knocked out for days with flulike symptoms—exactly what they were trying to avoid by getting vaccinated and boosted. Can you blame them for not buying the administration’s pitch that the new and supposedly improved bivalent boosters will “protect” them and their families?

☆ New subvariants, family gatherings may bring more Covid-19 after holiday, but experts don’t expect severe surge
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Brenda Goodman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Experts expect that Thanksgiving gatherings will stir up social networks and give new coronavirus subvariants fresh pockets of vulnerable people to infect. And we are concerned that after holiday gathering, lots of people coming together, that we may see increases in Covid-19 cases as well,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Tuesday on CNN. For the week ending Nov. 19, the CDC estimates that BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 were causing about half of all new Covid-19 cases in the US. Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths have remained flat for the past four weeks. “It’s probably got a bit more of a fitness advantage, so what we’re seeing is gradual replacement without a massive change in the total number of Covid-19 cases,” he said.

☆ Updated COVID vaccines offer better protection than original -U.S. study
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 22 (Reuters) - Updated COVID-19 boosters offer increased protection against new variants in people who have previously received up to four doses of the older vaccine, a real-world study in the United States showed. The study of over 360,000 people, published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, offers the first evidence that the new vaccines by Pfizer-BioNTech (PFE.N)(22UAy.DE) and Moderna (MRNA.O) provide better protection compared to the original shots. Since their introduction in September, the vaccine boosters, which contain both original and Omicron BA.4/5 coronavirus strain, provided greater benefit to younger adults aged 18-49 years that those in the older age group. The variation in effectiveness was lower, in the range of 28-31%, when the boosters were given 2-3 months apart. The authors warned that the study may not be generalizable to future variants, as the dominant variants keep changing.

☆ Updated boosters add limited protection against Covid-19 illness, first real-world study shows
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Brenda Goodman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The new study found that the updated boosters work about like the original boosters. Compared with people who were unvaccinated, adults 18 to 49 who had gotten bivalent boosters were 43% less likely to get sick with a Covid-19 infection. The relative vaccine effectiveness showed the added protection people might expect on top of whatever protection they had left after previous vaccine doses. So overall, the updated boosters got them to around 50% effectiveness against symptomatic infection. According to CDC data, roughly two-thirds of Americans have completed at least their primary series of Covid-19 vaccines.

☆ Children’s health leaders call for emergency response as respiratory viruses continue to spread across the US
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

And health care systems nationwide continue to feel the strain of a respiratory virus season that has hit earlier and harder than usual. There have been about 8 flu hospitalizations for every 100,000 people this season – rates typically seen in December or January. While the Covid-19 emergency declaration remains in place, the federal government has not made a formal emergency declaration around children’s health care. HHS and the CDC are in regular contact with health care leaders and providers, actively monitoring situational needs and ready to provide assistance on a case-by-case basis, an HHS spokesperson told CNN. They also urge all those eligible to get their flu and Covid-19 vaccines, along with other routine vaccinations.

☆ Pfizer/BioNTech's updated COVID shot shows strong response against BQ.1.1
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 18 (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and its German partner BioNTech SE said on Friday their Omicron-tailored shot produced higher virus-neutralizing antibodies in older adults against the emerging subvariant BQ.1.1 than its original vaccine. Antibody levels against the variant rose nearly nine-fold in older adults, aged 55 and above, who received the Omicron shot compared to a roughly 2-fold increase in participants with the original shot, according to data posted on online archive bioRxiv. The variant and related BQ.1 are gaining ground in the United States, and are expected to cause a rise in cases in the winter in Europe. The companies had recently released data that showed their Omicron-tailored shot produced a strong antibody response in older adults than the original shot after one month against the BA.4/5 subvariants. Pfizer and BioNTech said the bivalent shot also produced an immune response against newer Omicron subvariants including BA.4.6, BA.2.75.2 and XBB.1.

☆ Loads of Covid-19 Boosters Are Going Unused This Fall and Here’s Why
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Stephanie Armour | Brianna Abbott | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Uptake of fall Covid-19 booster shots remains anemic well into November, frustrating public-health experts who blame the lackluster interest on pandemic fatigue and insufficient outreach from officials. About 31 million people in the U.S. have gotten the updated shots, or roughly 10% of people ages five and older, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The federal government purchased more than 170 million doses of the new bivalent boosters that target two Omicron subvariants and the original virus strain.

Two new omicron subvariants have overtaken BA.5 as the prevailing versions of the coronavirus in the U.S.BA.5 became dominant in July, then consistently accounted for the majority of new Covid infections until last week. The two together make up around 44% of new Covid infections, whereas BA.5 makes up just 30%. BQ.1.1 and BQ.1 cases are also rising in the U.K. and elsewhere in Europe. Both of the subvariants are considered part of the BA.5 family — they're sublineages that evolved from BA.5. "There’s nothing in the signature of the clinical cases that are being reported that suggests that anything is changing in terms of symptoms with these omicron subvariants," Pekosz said.

☆ Moderna says Covid booster better against omicron BA.5, triggers immune response against BQ.1.1
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Moderna's new Covid booster triggered a stronger immune response against omicron BA.5 and also appears to work against the emerging BQ.1.1 subvariant, according to the company. Moderna, in clinical trial data published Monday, found that the new booster triggered five times more antibodies against omicron BA.5 than the old vaccines in people with prior Covid infections. Moderna said it also found the new booster triggered robust immune response against omicron BQ.1.1, an emerging Covid subvariant in the U.S. Pfizer also released data earlier this month indicating that the boosters provide better protection against omicron BA.5 than the old shots. Two independent studies from Columbia and Harvard found that the boosters did not do a much better job against omicron BA.5.

☆ Covid vaccine and booster shots in U.S. hit highest weekly level since January
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Monica-Alba-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Monica Alba | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — More than 5.6 million Covid vaccine and booster shots were administered in the past week, the highest seven-day total in the U.S. since January, according to a Biden administration official. The new numbers, first shared with NBC News, outpace the previous weekly sums by about 1 million. About 5.1 million of the past week's shots were bivalent boosters, designed to combat the most virulent Omicron strains. Senior administration officials have warned in recent weeks about a possible winter surge, particularly as people spend more time indoors. The administration plans to launch a new push next week to increase the rate of vaccinations and boosters by the holidays.

☆ Sanofi, GSK score late win with EU COVID booster approval
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Ludwig Burger | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The shot is based on lab-made viral proteins provided by Sanofi and an adjuvant ingredient from GSK that increases the immune response. Adapting the older protein technology chosen by Sanofi and GSK to a new virus variant requires several months longer than under the mRNA approach, which saw a breakthrough during the pandemic. Work on the shot by Sanofi and GSK, two of the world's largest vaccine makers by sales, was delayed repeatedly. The partners later pivoted to targeting the Beta variant, requiring months in additional development time. While the shot tested at the time was bivalent - meaning it was based both on original Wuhan strain of the virus and Beta - Sanofi and GSK later focused on a monovalent shot based on Beta only.

☆ European regulator recommends Pfizer's Omicron booster for children
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Nov 10 (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and its partner BioNTech said on Thursday the EU health regulator has recommended authorising the use of their bivalent COVID-19 shot as a booster in children aged 5 through 11. The Omicron-tailored vaccine is already authorised by the European Commission for individuals aged 12 years and above. The updated bivalent booster shot targets the original coronavirus strain as well as the BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants of Omicron. In October, European Medical Agency backed authorization of Moderna Inc's (MRNA.O) COVID-19 tailored booster shots for 12 and above to further vaccination campaigns in the region. Reporting by Bhanvi Satija and Khushi Mandowara in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta amd Shinjini GanguliOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK approves Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID booster targeting BA.4/5
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 9 (Reuters) - Britain's health regulator on Wednesday approved a COVID-19 booster from Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and partner BioNTech SE (22UAy.DE) targeting the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants and the original coronavirus strain. The UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said the vaccine was approved for use as a booster dose in people aged 12 years and older after it was found to meet safety, quality and effectiveness standards. "All approved COVID booster vaccines help to improve the protection obtained from earlier doses of the vaccine and help give longer-term protection against getting seriously ill from COVID-19," according to the MHRA. Pfizer and BioNTech last week said their so-called bivalent COVID-19 vaccine tailored for BA.4/5 produced a strong antibody response in older adults than the original shot after one month, and in October said it generated a strong immune response. Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Shounak DasguptaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Novavax says Omicron shot shows strong immune response as second booster
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 8 (Reuters) - Vaccine maker Novavax Inc (NVAX.O) said on Tuesday its COVID-19 shot retooled against the Omicron BA.1 variant showed a strong immune response as the fourth dose and met the main goal of strain change in a late-stage study. Data showed the shot, NVX-CoV2515, produced 1.6 times the amount of neutralizing antibodies in people who had previously not been exposed to COVID-19 compared to Novavax's original coronavirus vaccine. The trial included Novavax's so-called bivalent vaccine, the BA.1-tailored shot and its prototype vaccine. Novavax says the results from the study showed its Omicron-tailored shot can be changed to target a new variant vaccine if necessary. Novavax's COVID shot has not yet received approval in the United States as a second booster dose.

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