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U.S. Reviewing if Moderna Shot Tied to Higher Heart Inflammation Risk
U.S. health officials are reviewing reports that Moderna Inc’s (MRNA.O) COVID-19 vaccine may be linked to a higher risk of a rare heart condition in younger adults than previously thought, the Washington Post reported late on Thursday, citing people familiar with the review.
The review was focused on Canadian data that suggests a higher risk from the shot than the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, especially in men below the age of 30, according to the paper.
Vaccination Status May Be Considered to Get ICU Beds at Dallas-Area Hospitals if COVID Spread Worsens
If North Texas starts running out of ICU beds, doctors may have to consider coronavirus vaccination status as a factor in who gets priority care — a situation health officials hope to avoid but worry is becoming increasingly likely — with the vaccinated potentially being prioritized for treatment on the assumption that they’re more likely to survive.
WHO Issues Call for Experts to Help With COVID Origins Probe
U.S. News & World Report reported:
The World Health Organization has issued a call for experts to join a new advisory group it’s forming, in part to address the agency’s fraught attempts to investigate how the coronavirus pandemic started.
In a statement on Friday, the U.N. health agency said the new scientific group would provide the WHO with an independent analysis of the work done to date to pinpoint the origins of COVID-19 and to advise the agency on necessary next steps. The experts will also provide guidance on critical issues regarding the potential emergence of other viruses capable of triggering outbreaks, such as MERS and Ebola.
Fauci Says U.S. Expanding COVID Vaccine Manufacturing to Donate More Doses to the World
The United States is expanding manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines to donate more doses to countries that don’t have as much access to the lifesaving shots.
“We are now working on greatly expanding the capacity to allow us to donate hundreds and hundreds of millions of doses to the low- and middle-income countries,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, medical advisor to President Joe Biden, said in an interview Thursday on CNBC’s “Closing Bell.”
After Pandemic Ravaged Nursing Homes, New State Laws Protect Residents
When the coronavirus hit Martha Leland’s Connecticut nursing home last year, she and dozens of other residents contracted the disease while the facility was on lockdown. Twenty-eight residents died, including her roommate.
But under a law Connecticut enacted in June, nursing home residents will be able to designate an “essential support person” who can help take care of a loved one even during a public health emergency. Connecticut legislators also approved laws this year giving nursing home residents free internet access and digital devices for virtual visits and allowing video cameras in their rooms so family or friends can monitor their care.
Similar benefits are not required by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the federal agency that oversees nursing homes and pays for most of the care they provide. But states can impose additional requirements when federal rules are insufficient or don’t exist.
Sens. Wicker, King, Hickenlooper Test Positive for COVID-19 After Vaccination
Sens. Roger Wicker, Angus King and John Hickenlooper all have COVID-19 breakthrough infections, their respective offices announced Thursday.
Wicker, a Republican from Mississippi, and King, an independent from Maine who caucuses with Democrats, both tested positive for the virus following mild symptoms, according to their statements, released earlier in the day. Later on Thursday, Hickenlooper, a Democrat from Colorado, announced that he, too, tested positive following mild symptoms.
