Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #112

[Gemmie]

Trump administration has shut down CDC's infection control committee

Four members said they were informed of the termination Friday, but it had already taken effect in late March, according to a CDC letter.

www.nbcnews.com

The Trump administration has terminated a federal advisory committee that issued guidance about preventing the spread of infections in health care facilities.

The Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) crafted national standards for hand-washing, mask-wearing and isolating sick patients that most U.S. hospitals follow.

Four committee members said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention delivered the news about HICPAC’s termination to members Friday...

FDA names oncologist Dr. Vinay Prasad, a Covid vaccine critic, as the new vaccine chief

Prasad was an outspoken critic of the FDA’s response to the pandemic, including the former vaccine chief, Dr. Peter Marks.

www.nbcnews.com

The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday named Dr. Vinay Prasad — a hematologist-oncologist who has been accused of spreading misinformation about Covid vaccines and was an outspoken critic of the agency’s decision to approve Covid shots in children — as its new vaccine chief.

The FDA commissioner, Dr. Marty Makary, announced Prasad would lead the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research to agency employees earlier Tuesday and later on X...

Heaven help us. *sigh*

 

[Gemmie]

You beat me to it, @BetteDavisEyes. I heard them talking on CNBC about Vinay and came in here to post what I heard.

“The FDA is a failure,” Prasad wrote at another point. “It rubber stamps too many useless products. It needs to either remove itself from the picture, or demand randomized trials measuring appropriate endpoints.”

Vinay Prasad, in his own words, outlines the philosophy he’ll bring to the FDA

Vinay Prasad, tapped to be a top official at the FDA, has never shied from speaking his mind.

www.statnews.com

 

[Gemmie]

Read it and weep...

NBC10 Boston

Dr. Vinay Prasad spent much of the pandemic criticizing the FDA’s and the CDC's response to COVID-19. In a 2021 blog post, he suggested the response might bring on the collapse of democracy, invoking...

www.facebook.com

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Moderna's combo Covid and flu mRNA shot outperforms current vaccines in large trial

A combination shot would make it easier for people to get vaccinated against Covid and the flu at the same time.

www.nbcnews.com

Moderna’s combined Covid and flu shot outperformed the existing standalone vaccines for both viruses, according to the results of a phase 3 clinical trial published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The vaccine uses the same messenger RNA technology as Moderna’s approved Covid vaccine. (There are no approved mRNA-based flu shots.)...

 

[lonetraveler]

I took the mRNA-based vaccine shot and immediately came down with PMR, polymyalgia rheumatoid Arthritis. Doctors decided it was a side effect of the vaccine. I now have a crippling disease for the rest of my life. No more vaccines for me. I'm in very debilitating pain. Each time I finally decided to take the vaccine, I came down with covid. The second time OMicron was the latest flavor. I had to travel so I was pretty much forced to take the vaccine. Now I have this debilitating disease for the rest of my life.

 

[lonetraveler]

Moderna's combo Covid and flu mRNA shot outperforms current vaccines in large trial

A combination shot would make it easier for people to get vaccinated against Covid and the flu at the same time.

www.nbcnews.com

Moderna’s combined Covid and flu shot outperformed the existing standalone vaccines for both viruses, according to the results of a phase 3 clinical trial published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The vaccine uses the same messenger RNA technology as Moderna’s approved Covid vaccine. (There are no approved mRNA-based flu shots.)...

I think it is way past time to research the people who are suffering debilitating problems from taking the vaccine. Europe is investigating the people who are suffering from taking the covid vaccines. I'm one of these people.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

RFK Jr. takes aim at COVID shots for kids, worrying vaccine experts

Senior leaders at the FDA began pushing Moderna and Pfizer to file for full, formal approval of their COVID vaccines for children last summer.

www.detroitnews.com

Senior leaders at the US Food and Drug Administration began pushing Moderna Inc. and Pfizer Inc. to file for full, formal approval of their COVID vaccines for children last summer. The conversations gained urgency after President Donald Trump was reelected, and climbed higher when Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine critic, became the nation’s top health official.

It wasn’t enough. By the time the applications were in hand at the agency, FDA employee departures had begun, slowing the work, according to a person familiar with the process who wasn’t authorized to speak about it. They are still under review, as the number of political appointees who oppose the immunizations for children climbs.

Unlike adult vaccines, pediatric doses of the shots from Moderna and Pfizer were made available on an emergency basis that was granted during the pandemic. As the head of the Department of Health and Human Services, Kennedy has the power to revoke that access. Meanwhile, momentum is building to scale back the current recommendation that all children over six months old get immunized against the virus...

 

[weepingangel]

Nearly half of Americans skip handwashing at key times, survey finds

Think your handwashing is enough? Here’s the scoop on what experts say.

www.wcvb.com

 

[Gemmie]

I took the mRNA-based vaccine shot and immediately came down with PMR, polymyalgia rheumatoid Arthritis. Doctors decided it was a side effect of the vaccine. I now have a crippling disease for the rest of my life. No more vaccines for me. I'm in very debilitating pain. Each time I finally decided to take the vaccine, I came down with covid. The second time OMicron was the latest flavor. I had to travel so I was pretty much forced to take the vaccine. Now I have this debilitating disease for the rest of my life.

Sorry to hear you've had covid a few times. Were you aware that the vaccine does not prevent a person from catching covid? What it does is it helps protect you from severe illness, hospitalization, and death. Sign me up!

What helps prevent you from catching it are things like wearing a properly fitting N95 mask when you go out and about. That includes everyone in your household, since I know no one is going to wear them 24/7 inside their homes. You want to make sure those living with you are also protecting themselves from catching it when going out into public places. They too would need to 100% wear a well-fitting N95 anytime they are out around other people. Then you'd be safe inside your home to not wear your mask.

 

[Mo Thuairim]

Irishman Mike Ryan among World Health Organisation staff leaving following US funding cuts

Washington never paid its 2024 dues and is not expected to pay in 2025.

THE HEAD OF the World Health Organization told staff today that the UN agency was reducing its management team by nearly half due to dramatic US funding cuts.

One of the WHO’s senior staff members departing is Irishman Mike Ryan.

In a short email to WHO staff, seen by the AFP news organisation, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced the new “composition of the executive management team” at the agency’s Geneva headquarters, with six members – down from 11.

The new team takes over from 16 June, he said.

Two big figures from WHO’s work leading the global battle against Covid-19 will be leaving: emergencies director Mike Ryan of Ireland and Canadian Bruce Aylward, who heads work towards universal health coverage.

“Mike planned to leave over two years ago but stayed on at my request, and I am very thankful for that,” Tedros wrote in a second email to staff.

Ryan’s “steady presence has been instrumental during our toughest times, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic”, he added.

Irishman Mike Ryan among World Health Organisation staff leaving following US funding cuts

Washington never paid its 2024 dues and is not expected to pay in 2025.

www.thejournal.ie

 

[gremlin444]

Really love how RFK Jr says the measles vaccine protection wanes very quickly.

Let's see, I'm 52...last time I got a measles vaccine was when I was a kid. Got my titers checked two weeks ago, I still have immunity.

 

[SouthAussie]

Irishman Mike Ryan among World Health Organisation staff leaving following US funding cuts

Washington never paid its 2024 dues and is not expected to pay in 2025.

THE HEAD OF the World Health Organization told staff today that the UN agency was reducing its management team by nearly half due to dramatic US funding cuts.

One of the WHO’s senior staff members departing is Irishman Mike Ryan.

In a short email to WHO staff, seen by the AFP news organisation, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced the new “composition of the executive management team” at the agency’s Geneva headquarters, with six members – down from 11.

The new team takes over from 16 June, he said.

Two big figures from WHO’s work leading the global battle against Covid-19 will be leaving: emergencies director Mike Ryan of Ireland and Canadian Bruce Aylward, who heads work towards universal health coverage.

“Mike planned to leave over two years ago but stayed on at my request, and I am very thankful for that,” Tedros wrote in a second email to staff.

Ryan’s “steady presence has been instrumental during our toughest times, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic”, he added.

Irishman Mike Ryan among World Health Organisation staff leaving following US funding cuts

Washington never paid its 2024 dues and is not expected to pay in 2025.

www.thejournal.ie

Mike Ryan was fabulous during the height of covid. We referenced his advice many times on this thread.

Wishing him all the best in his future ventures.

It is REALLY unfortunate that WHO has to now downsize.
They are an extremely valuable organisation for world health.

imo

 

[gremlin444]

Sigh.

"Novavax makes the nation’s only traditional protein-based coronavirus vaccine – and until now it had emergency authorization from FDA for use in anyone 12 and older.

But late Friday, the FDA granted the company full approval for its vaccine for use only in adults 65 and older – or those 12 to 64 who have at least one health problem that puts them at increased risk from COVID-19.

Next month, influential advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were set to debate if yearly COVID vaccines still should be recommended for everyone or only certain people at higher risk. The Novavax decision suggests the Trump administration may already have decided how to proceed in advance of that meeting."

FDA approves Novavax COVID-19 vaccine, but with unusual restrictions on its use

In its Friday approval letter, the FDA didn’t explain the restrictions although they reflect skepticism about vaccines from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other Trump officials.

www.pbs.org

 

[Gemmie]

Heard about this last night on Bloomberg. China is having a spike in Covid cases.

Health authorities in densely-populated Hong Kong and Singapore have warned that Covid-19 cases are spiking, as a resurgent wave spreads through Asia.

The virus’ activity in Hong Kong is now “quite high,” Albert Au, head of the Communicable Disease Branch of the city’s Center for Health Protection, told local media this week. The percentage of respiratory samples testing Covid-positive in Hong Kong recently reached its highest in a year.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-05-15/covid-cases-spike-in-hong-kong-singapore-as-new-wave-spreads

 

[sds71]

NEW YORK, May 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration plans to require new clinical trials for approval of annual COVID-19 boosters for healthy Americans under 65, effectively limiting their availability this fall to older adults and those with a higher risk of developing severe illness, FDA leaders said on Tuesday.
FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and top U.S. vaccines regulator Vinay Prasad said based on data from tests that measure immune response in patients, they anticipate that the FDA will be able to approve the boosters for adults over the age of 65 years.

FDA tightens requirements for COVID vaccine, adding trials for healthy adults

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday said it plans to require new clinical trials for approval of annual COVID-19 boosters for healthy Americans under age 65, effectively limiting them to older adults and those at risk of developing severe illness.

www.reuters.com

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

New Trump vaccine policy limits access to COVID shots

It comes as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his appointees continue to scrutinize the use of vaccines for a number of diseases.

www.detroitnews.com

Washington — Annual COVID-19 shots for healthy younger adults and children will no longer be routinely approved under a major new policy shift unveiled Tuesday by the Trump administration.

Top officials for the Food and Drug Administration laid out new requirements for access to yearly COVID shots, saying they'd continue to use a streamlined approach that would continue offering them to adults 65 and older as well as children and younger adults with at least one health problem that puts them at higher risk...

ETA: I will be very disappointed if there isn't an updated Covid shot this fall/winter. We've booked a winter cruise (for my birthday, end of January) as we do most years, and we want to be as protected against illness as possible.

 

[gremlin444]

I want to see the list of what they now consider to be "qualifies as a health problem that puts them at higher risk," because I suspect that list has changed from what it used to be.

My long Covid 18 yo and long Covid self had better qualify to get the shot.

 

[dmac55]

Diseases are spreading. The CDC isn’t warning the public like it was months ago. - NPR

Diseases are spreading. The CDC isn’t warning the public like it was months ago — NPR

Some of the CDC’s main channels for communicating urgent health information to the public have gone silent.

apple.news

 

[Gemmie]

The source links are found in blue in each short paragraph below.

The FDA announced a new COVID-19 vaccine policy yesterday limiting access to adults ages 65 and over and others at high risk, and raising questions about who will be able to get one this fall. Here’s what to know.

The policy: It will require drugmakers to conduct new clinical trials before updated vaccines can be approved for healthy people who don’t fit into the at-risk categories. Drugmakers say that could delay the availability of vaccines until after their usefulness has passed. [Reuters]

Policy break: The new guidance is different from the previous federal policy, which recommended an annual shot for all Americans 6 months and older. One official called it a “reasonable compromise” that will allow for new data on whether the shots benefit healthier people. [AP]

What it means: The FDA said up to 200 million Americans could still have access to updated vaccines, and that many people are considered high risk, including pregnant women and those with mental health conditions, like depression. [NBC News]

 

[gremlin444]

Sharing for everyone: the public comment at the FDA is open until May 23. This article has a link to the comment page plus some language that you can use. Vaccine Access is Under Attack. Act now to tell the FDA we need universal COVID vaccine access