White House officials debate masking push as covid infections spike
Annie Linskey et al., The Washington Post
Top White House aides and Biden administration officials are debating whether they should urge vaccinated Americans to wear masks in more settings as the delta variant causes spikes in coronavirus infections across the country, according to six people familiar with the discussions.
Growing number of Republicans urge vaccinations amid delta surge
Marianna Sotomayor et al., The Washington Post
A growing number of top Republicans are urging GOP supporters to get vaccinated as the delta coronavirus variant surges across the United States, marking a notable shift away from the anti-vaccine conspiracy theorizing that has gripped much of the party in opposition to the Biden administration’s efforts to combat the virus.
Biden’s vaccine misinformation road not taken
Alexandra S. Levine, Politico
President Joe Biden didn’t heed pleas from activists and congressional Democrats last year that he put a dedicated czar or task force in charge of countering falsehoods about Covid vaccines — despite warnings that conspiracy theories about public health were creating “tragic consequences.”
Delta variant sweeps through states that dialed back health powers
Alice Miranda Ollstein and Dan Goldberg, Politico
The Delta strain of the coronavirus is racing across the country, driving a surge of new cases and hospitalizations. But local and state officials this time have fewer options to slow the spread.
New York City requires health workers to be vaccinated or get tested weekly
Maria Caspani, Reuters
As part of a nationwide response to the threat posed by the more contagious Delta coronavirus variant, New York City will require COVID-19 vaccinations or weekly tests for workers at city-run hospitals and clinics.
Olympics Virus Cases Raise Tricky Questions About Testing
Emily Anthes and Alexandra E. Petri, The New York Times
Frequent screening of healthy, vaccinated people will pick up even the mildest infections. How much testing is too much?
A Covid adviser to the Pentagon, Max Rose, departs and reflects on his role.
Jennifer Steinhauer, The New York Times
Outside of its attempt to vaccinate millions of service members, their families and others affiliated with the department, the military helped set up various mass vaccination sites around the United States, led by the National Guard, to vaccinate some 20 million civilians.
You got a coronavirus vaccine. But you still became infected. How did that happen?
Ben Guarino, The Washington Post
Within the past week, positive coronavirus test results were delivered to at least three New York Yankees players, an Olympic gymnast alternate, multiple state lawmakers from Texas, a White House official and a staffer in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office.
Vaccine IP-Waiver Talks Are ‘Moving Slowly,’ WTO Chief Says
Bryce Baschuk, Bloomberg Law
A World Trade Organization negotiation aimed at securing an intellectual-property waiver for Covid-19 vaccines is “moving slowly at this time, as members try to reconcile differing views and approaches,” WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala says during a meeting with vaccine manufacturers.
CDC advisory group meets to review data on extra shots for immune-compromised
Erika Edwards, NBC News
A panel of independent advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will meet Thursday to discuss whether some patients may need an additional dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.
Two doses of Pfizer, AstraZeneca shots effective against Delta variant, study finds
Alistair Smout, Reuters
Two doses of Pfizer or AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine are nearly as effective against the highly transmissible Delta coronavirus variant as they are against the previously dominant Alpha variant, a study published on Wednesday showed.
We’re Zeroing In On the ‘Holy Grail’ of COVID-19 Immunity
Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic
There’s no good way of measuring whether your vaccine worked—yet.
More than 1.5 million children have lost a caregiver to the pandemic, a study says.
Dan Levin, The New York Times
An estimated 1.5 million children worldwide lost a mother, father or other caregiving relative in the first 14 months of the pandemic, according to a new study. More than a million lost primary caregivers.