Updates
With One Move, Congress Could Lift Millions Of Children Out Of Poverty-NPR
The COVID-19 relief bill working its way through Congress is full of big ideas to help people. But there's one idea that's so big, it was politically unthinkable not that long ago. President Biden and Democratic lawmakers want to fight child poverty by giving U.S. families a few hundred dollars every month for every child in their household — no strings attached. A kind of child allowance. If this proposal survives the wrangling in Congress and makes it to Biden's desk, experts say it could … Continue Reading
February 25, 2021
Medical Oxygen Scarce In Africa, Latin America Amid Virus-The Associated Press
A crisis over the supply of medical oxygen for coronavirus patients has struck nations in Africa and Latin America, where warnings went unheeded at the start of the pandemic and doctors say the shortage has led to unnecessary deaths. It takes about 12 weeks to install a hospital oxygen plant and even less time to convert industrial oxygen manufacturing systems into a medical-grade network. But in Brazil and Nigeria, as well as in less-populous nations, decisions to fully address inadequate … Continue Reading
February 25, 2021
CDC Launches Web Tool To Help Americans Find COVID-19 Vaccines-NPR
The scramble to secure a COVID-19 vaccine appointment is chaotic and fierce. There are not yet enough doses for everyone who's eligible and wants to get vaccinated. As frustration rises, the federal government hasn't offered much besides assurances that things will get better and appeals for calm. Now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in partnership with Boston Children's Hospital and Castlight Health, is launching a new tool which allows Americans to search for COVID-19 vaccine … Continue Reading
February 25, 2021
Is More Simply Better? Why Pfizer Thinks A Booster Of Its Covid Vaccine Might Work Against New Variants-STAT
Could the solution to emerging variants of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19, some of which seem to make current vaccines less effective, be more of the current vaccines? While Moderna and Pfizer, along with its partner BioNTech, have announced plans to test vaccines specifically targeted at variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, they are also planning to test the idea of simply giving people three doses instead of two of their vaccines that have already been authorized. Experts say it’s at … Continue Reading
February 25, 2021
China Approves Two More Domestic COVID-19 Vaccines, Increasing Number To Four-Reuters
China’s National Medical Products Administration said on Thursday that it had approved two more COVID-19 vaccines for public use, increasing the number of domestic vaccines approved in China to four. The two newly approved vaccines are made by CanSino Biologics Inc and Wuhan Institute of Biological Products, an affiliate of China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm). Reuters, … Continue Reading
February 25, 2021
Middle-Income Countries Rush To Get Russian COVID-19 Vaccine-Devex
Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine has been getting a lot of traction globally — over 30 countries and territories now have given emergency approval to use the vaccine. Interest in the vaccine seems to fall within a common narrative. Governments around the world are under pressure to secure COVID-19 vaccines and inoculate their population. But there are only limited doses available, and most of them, produced by Western companies, are already purchased in advance by a number of high-income countries. … Continue Reading
February 23, 2021
Johnson & Johnson Says It Can Provide 20M Vaccine Doses By Late March-Politico
Johnson & Johnson can deliver 20 million doses of its single-shot coronavirus vaccine to the U.S. government by the end of March, an executive will testify tomorrow. The company has applied to the Food and Drug Administration for emergency authorization. FDA is expected to grant that as early as this weekend, after an expert FDA panel convenes Friday to discuss the effectiveness and safety of J&J’s vaccine. Politico, … Continue Reading
February 23, 2021
Fauci Says He Sees U.S. CDC Relaxing Some COVID-19 Guidelines Soon: CNN-Reuters
Top U.S. infectious disease official Anthony Fauci on Tuesday told CNN that he expects the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to soon relax some COVID-19 recommendations aimed at curbing its spread for people who have been vaccinated. Reuters, … Continue Reading
February 23, 2021
IFRC And Kazakhstan Red Crescent Launch COVID-19 Chatbot-Devex
A social media chatbot designed to tackle COVID-19 misinformation has been launched by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and Red Crescent of Kazakhstan. Currently only available in Kazakhstan, the chatbot operates on Telegram, a social messaging application, and is able to respond to questions, direct people to services they may be looking for, and escalate a comment to the right person. It is also designed to “relieve some of the burden” on Red Crescent … Continue Reading
February 23, 2021
Dozens Of Institutional Investors Push For ‘Fair And Equitable’ Covid-19 Response-STAT
Nearly 150 institutional investors that oversee combined assets worth more than $14 trillion have issued a joint call for a “fair and equitable” global response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and they intend to huddle with health care companies to make progress on that goal. The investors are eyeing three efforts, starting with greater financing for the ACT Accelerator partnership, a World Health Organization program dedicated to developing, producing and ensuring equitable access to Covid-19 … Continue Reading
February 23, 2021
Race Versus Time: Targeting Vaccine To The Most Vulnerable Is No Speedy Task-NPR
Early in the pandemic, San Diego County recognized its COVID-19 relief efforts needed to reach its large Latino population, and set up a task force in June to lay out plans — well ahead of when vaccines became available. Last month, it opened its first vaccination sites where the target population lives and works: Close to the Mexican border. But the people who showed up for appointments were white, more affluent, and didn't live there. Those needing vaccine most aren't getting as much of the … Continue Reading
February 22, 2021
U.S. National Science Foundation Could Get $600 Million In Pandemic Relief Bill-Science Magazine
The National Science Foundation (NSF) could receive an additional $600 million as part of the massive coronavirus pandemic relief bill moving through Congress this week. The money is not mentioned in the $1.9 trillion plan being taken up today by the Budget committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. But ScienceInsider has learned it is expected to be added to the legislation before the full House votes on the package later this week. The National Institute of Standards and Technology … Continue Reading
February 22, 2021
World Bank's Latin America Chief Sees Chance To Overcome 'Crisis Of Historical Proportions'-Devex
While the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown much of the Western Hemisphere into the worst crisis it has experienced in over a century, the World Bank’s vice president for Latin America and the Caribbean said it also offers an unprecedented opportunity to set the region on a more sustainable, prosperous, and equal path. According to Carlos Felipe Jaramillo, early World Bank estimates show that the pandemic has driven at least 30 million people into poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean, a … Continue Reading
February 22, 2021
Russia’s COVID-19 Vaccination Drive Slowly Picking Up Speed-The Associated Press
At one point in December, Karelia recorded a daily average of 75.7 cases per 100,000 people, the highest rate in Russia as a whole, which had been averaging 18.8 recorded cases per 100,000. The goal is to vaccinate 290,000 people, or 60% of the region’s adults, by summer, said Karelia Deputy Health Minister Galina Matveyeva. Russia took pride in being the first country to approve a coronavirus vaccine, although it faced criticism for doing it before completing the advanced testing necessary to … Continue Reading
February 22, 2021
Novavax Completes Enrolling 30,000 People In U.S. Trial Of COVID-19 Vaccine-Reuters
Drug developer Novavax Inc said on Monday it has completed enrolling 30,000 volunteers in a late-stage study of its COVID-19 vaccine in the United States and Mexico. The company said last month its vaccine was 89.3% effective in preventing COVID-19 in a trial conducted in the United Kingdom, and was nearly as effective against the more highly contagious variant first discovered in the UK. Reuters, … Continue Reading
February 22, 2021
'To Me He's Not A Number': Families Reflect As U.S. Nears 500,000 COVID-19 Deaths-NPR
How do we wrap our minds around the fact that nearly half a million people have died of COVID-19 in the United States alone? The nation is on the cusp of that milestone: 500,000 lives lost, in just one year. For the families of those who died of COVID-19, each successive milestone of this pandemic may seem irrelevant to their particular, punishing loss. NPR, … Continue Reading
February 19, 2021
BioNTech/Pfizer: Vaccine Can Be Stored At Higher Temps-Politico
The world’s chilliest coronavirus vaccine may have gotten a little warmer. The BioNTech/Pfizer coronavirus vaccine — which currently needs to be transported in ultra-low temperatures between -80 to -60 degrees Celsius — can actually remain stable at much higher temperatures, the two companies announced today. New data indicates that the vaccine is stable at -25 to -15 degrees Celsius, temperatures that are more commonly found in pharmaceutical freezers, Pfizer and BioNTech announced in … Continue Reading
February 19, 2021
Booster Shots Against Scary COVID Virus Variants Are In the Works-Scientific American
Since the pandemic began, its viral cause—SARS-CoV-2—has been mutating. These genetic changes appeared inconsequential at first. But recently some alterations have produced variants with the unsettling potential to make the new COVID vaccines less effective, just as the shots have begun to make their way into people’s arms. Now, drug makers are responding by developing different follow-up shots against these variants to keep the disease at bay. Scientific American, … Continue Reading
February 19, 2021
African Union Says Russia Offers 300 Million Doses Of Sputnik V Vaccine-Reuters
The African Union’s (AU) vaccine task team said on Friday that Russia had offered it 300 million doses of its Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine along with a financing package for countries wanting to secure the shots. The Russian vaccine will be available for a period of 12 months starting May 2021, it said in a statement. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which is responsible for marketing the vaccine abroad, said some deliveries could start in May but most would be from June. Reuters, … Continue Reading
February 19, 2021
To Get Ahead Of Variants, Covid-19 Drug Makers Use Evolutionary Biology As A Guide-STAT
Before becoming a Covid-19 drug, each candidate was just a tiny fragment of someone’s immune system, part of a swarm of Y-shaped proteins unleashed to try to keep the coronavirus from invading more cells. If the person recovered, these antibodies might end up in a blood sample in a lab. Some proved more effective than others. Yet even as researchers pinpointed the best of the bunch as possible medications, they knew their power could wane: What worked against the coronavirus as it was last … Continue Reading