PENNSYLVANIA, USA (March 30th, 2022) — Just one day after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) approved a second COVID-19 booster for Americans 50 and older, Rite Aid announced all of its Pennsylvania locations are now offering the shot. According to a media release from […]
WASHINGTON, March 29 (Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will weigh the benefits of authorizing a round of boosters of either the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to a broader population in the fall, a top official said on Tuesday. The agency authorized on Tuesday a second booster dose of either vaccine for […]
The New York Times (3/29) reports that according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates, the Omicron subvariant BA.2 “is now the dominant version of the virus in new U.S. cases.” The variant “accounted for about 55 percent of new U.S. cases in the week ending Saturday, according to” the CDC. The Wall Street […]
Reuters (3/29) reports the “Food and Drug Administration will weigh the benefits of authorizing a round of boosters of either the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to a broader population in the fall…said” FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research director Peter Marks, MD, PhD. Dr. Marks said, “It would not be surprising if there […]
MedPage Today (3/29) reports that “fewer than 0.5% of children” had SARS-CoV-2 reinfection after a primary infection, “and reinfection was not associated with more severe disease, British researchers found.” According to the study findings published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, “reinfection rates were highest among adolescents ages 12 to 16 (0.49%), followed by […]
The Washington Post (3/29) reports, “Older adults can get second booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna coronavirus vaccines, federal agencies announced Tuesday as they expanded access to additional shots to help shore up protection against severe illness.” The Food and Drug Administration authorized the second mRNA booster doses “for people 50 and older at […]
Reuters (3/22) reports, “About one-in-three COVID-19 cases in the United States are now caused by the BA.2 Omicron sub-variant of the coronavirus, according to government data on Tuesday that also showed overall infections still declining from January’s record highs.” Despite the “rise of the extremely contagious sub-variant also seen in other countries, U.S. health experts say […]
Healio | Infectious Disease News (3/24) As of late February, just 64.5% of Americans were fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and less than half of eligible people had received a recommended booster dose. Paul A. Offit, MD, director of the Vaccine Education Center at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, fears those figures will remain stagnant.
The Washington Post (3/25) reported, “With another pandemic surge possibly on the way, vaccination for the coronavirus in the United States has all but ground to a halt, with initial doses and boosters plummeting to the lowest levels since the program began in late December 2020.” On March 23, “the seven-day average of vaccinations fell […]
Influenza Surveillance – For week 9, ending on March 5, CDC’s Weekly U.S. Influenza Surveillance Report, FluView summary reports that seasonal influenza activity in the United States is low but continues its gradual increase in parts of the country. The levels of acute respiratory illness reflected in the national map include both influenza and non-influenza […]