Pfizer Will Begin Distribution Of 6 Million Paxlovid Treatments To Low-And-Middle Income Countries
Arianna Johnson, Forbes
Pfizer has begun providing 132 low- and-middle-income, Global Fund-eligible countries with six million Paxlovid treatment courses. Initially announced in May, the shipment is part of Global Fund’s Covid-19 Response Mechanism, the independent financing company’s main avenue for providing Covid tests, treatment and equipment to these countries.
COVID raises risk of long-term brain injury, large U.S. study finds
Julie Steenhuysen, Reuters
People who had COVID-19 are at higher risk for a host of brain injuries a year later compared with people who were never infected by the coronavirus, a finding that could affect millions of Americans, U.S. researchers reported on Thursday.
Covid 19 Infection Linked to More Type 1 Diabetes in Kids and Teens
Dong Lyu, Bloomberg
Covid-19 in children and teens appeared to raise the risk of developing diabetes in two studies that didn’t settle the debate about whether the coronavirus can trigger the chronic condition.
4.4M Americans Roll up Sleeves for Omicron-Targeted Boosters
Carla K. Johnson, The Associated Press
U.S. health officials say 4.4 million Americans have rolled up their sleeves for the updated COVID-19 booster shot. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted the count Thursday as public health experts bemoaned President Joe Biden’s recent remark that “the pandemic is over.”
Moderna Covid-19 Booster Shortage Leads to Fewer Appointments at Pharmacies
Peter Loftus, The Wall Street Journal
Some U.S. pharmacies and other vaccine providers are offering the new Covid-19 booster shot only from Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE, after a manufacturing-quality problem at a contract manufacturer caused a shortage of Moderna Inc.’s new booster shot.
Why COVID Is Still Worse Than Flu
Sarah Zhang, The Atlantic
When is the pandemic “over”? In the early days of 2020, we envisioned it ending with the novel coronavirus going away entirely. When this became impossible, we hoped instead for elimination: If enough people got vaccinated, herd immunity might largely stop the virus from spreading. When this too became impossible, we accepted that the virus would still circulate but imagined that it could become, optimistically, like one of the four coronaviruses that cause common colds or, pessimistically, like something more severe, akin to the flu.
Why Omicron Might Stick Around
Carl Zimmer, The New York Times
Where is Pi? Last year, the World Health Organization began assigning Greek letters to worrying new variants of the coronavirus. The organization started with Alpha and swiftly worked its way through the Greek alphabet in the months that followed. When Omicron arrived in November, it was the 13th named variant in less than a year.
Some Who Rushed to Covid-19 Vaccine Hold Off on Boosters
Jared S. Hopkins, The Wall Street Journal
Health authorities encouraging retooled Covid-19 boosters are facing resistance from an unlikely corner: people who had embraced vaccines earlier in the pandemic.
New analysis supports Paxlovid use
Tina Reed, Axios
Here’s one more data point to consider in the back-and-forth about Pfizer’s antiviral pill Paxlovid: A new analysis found it can meaningfully reduce COVID hospitalizations and deaths, even in those younger than 65.
New global initiative aims to hasten long COVID research
Anastassia Gliadkovskaya, Fierce Healthcare
The Long Covid Research Initiative (LCRI), part of the nonprofit PolyBio Research Foundation, is run by a team of about a dozen volunteers and thus far has amassed a roster of two dozen researchers and clinicians. While its efforts have been ongoing for the better part of the year, a formal announcement about the LCRI was made in early September.
