U.S. making COVID antiviral drug more available at test sites
Despite a nationwide surge in COVID-19 cases, deaths from the virus have remained largely stable over the past eight weeks.
Public Health
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Appeals court OKs Biden’s federal employee vaccine mandate
The administration argued that the Constitution gives the president, as the head of the federal workforce, the same authority as the CEO of a private corporation to require that employees be vaccinated.
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IU Health says it’s ahead of schedule to meet lawmakers’ affordability demands
In its response to lawmakers, IU emphasized the role of public health in health care costs and called on lawmakers to spend more on public health. It pointed to a recent study that ranked Indiana 47th among states in per-person public health funding.
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Roche lands $340M to make rapid antigen tests in Indianapolis
The contract is part of the U.S. government’s effort to double its procurement of rapid COVID-19 tests to be delivered for free to Americans through a forthcoming federal website.
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Indiana state health commissioner tests positive for COVID-19 for second time
Indiana State Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box is one of an estimated 113,000 Hoosiers to suffer a breakthrough case since Jan. 18, 2021.
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Articles
Vaccines might not prevent many symptoms of long COVID, study suggests
This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new estimates of the syndrome’s toll in the United States, suggesting it affects one in five adults younger than 65 who had COVID, and one in four of those aged 65 and older.
Pfizer says three low-dose COVID shots protect children under 5
Pfizer plans to give the data to U.S. regulators later this week in a step toward letting the littlest children get the shots. The 18 million tots under 5 make up the only group in the U.S. not yet eligible for COVID-19 vaccination.
FDA clears COVID booster shot for healthy children ages 5-11
There is one more hurdle: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must decide whether to formally recommend the booster for this age group. The CDC’s scientific advisers are scheduled to meet on Thursday.
U.S. deaths from COVID reach 1 million
The U.S. is averaging about 300 COVID-19 deaths per day, compared with a peak of about 3,400 a day in January 2021.
White House warning: U.S. ‘vulnerable’ to COVID without new shots
White House COVID-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha issued a dire warning Thursday that the U.S. will be increasingly vulnerable to the coronavirus this fall and winter if Congress doesn’t swiftly approve new funding for more vaccines and treatments.
Pandemic gets tougher to track as COVID testing plunges
Experts say testing has dropped by 70% to 90% worldwide from the first quarter to the second quarter this year—the opposite of what they say should be happening with new omicron variants on the rise in places such as the United States and South Africa.
FDA restricts J&J’s COVID-19 vaccine due to blood clot risk
The vaccine was initially considered an important tool in fighting the pandemic because it required only one shot. But the single-dose option proved less effective than two doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
New omicron subvariant shows virus mutations aren’t slowing down
Two-and-a-half years after it first spilled into humans, the COVID virus has repeatedly changed its structure and chemistry in ways that confound efforts to bring it fully under control.
COVID deaths no longer overwhelmingly among unvaccinated as toll on elderly grows
The pandemic’s toll is no longer falling almost exclusively on those who chose not to get shots, with vaccine protection waning over time and the elderly and immunocompromised having a harder time dodging increasingly contagious strains.
United States is ‘out of the pandemic phase,’ Fauci says
Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, said the United States was in the “full-blown pandemic phase” in the winter, then entered a period he refers to as the “deceleration” phase. The country is transitioning, he said, to the control phase.
Administration expanding availability of COVID antiviral pill
Paxlovid, when administered within five days of symptoms appearing, has been proven to bring about a 90% reduction in hospitalizations and deaths among patients most likely to get severe disease.
White House: Without funding, U.S. will lose out on COVID treatments
Officials are expressing increasing alarm that the U.S. is also losing out on critical opportunities to secure booster doses and new antiviral pills that could help the country maintain its reemerging sense of normalcy.
COVID shots still work, but researchers hunting new improvements
COVID-19 vaccinations are at a critical juncture as companies test whether new approaches like combination shots or nasal drops can keep up with a mutating coronavirus—even though it’s not clear if changes are needed.
Justice Department to appeal order voiding travel mask mandate
The notice came minutes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asked the Justice Department to appeal the decision handed down by a federal judge in Florida earlier this week.
Indianapolis Mayor Hogsett tests positive for COVID-19
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett is experiencing “mild symptoms” and is isolating at home, his office announced Sunday afternoon.
Trackers who monitor sewers find COVID rising again in much of U.S.
With official reporting of COVID-19 cases and testing data becoming less frequent and less reliable, especially as people test at home, sewage monitoring has gained increasing importance.
UPDATE: CDC extends travel mask requirement to May 3
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is set to extend the order, which was to expire on April 18, to monitor for any observable increase in severe virus outcomes as cases rise in parts of the country, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Democratic, GOP Senate bargainers reach $10B COVID agreement
The compromise drew quick support from President Joe Biden, who initially pushed for a $22.5 billion package.
Long COVID accelerating revolution in medical research
The government estimates that between 7.7 and 23 million people may already have long COVID.