Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Uptake Of Covid Boosters Slows, Even Among Older Americans
Although Americans over 65 remain the demographic most likely to have received the original series of vaccinations, at 92 percent, their interest in keeping their vaccinations up-to-date is steadily declining, data from the C.D.C. shows. To date, about 71 percent have received the first recommended booster, but only about 44 percent have received the second. (Span, 10/22)
Have you gotten your bivalent booster yet? If you live in California, chances are the answer is no, according to data from the California Department of Public Health. As of Oct. 18, just 9% of eligible residents statewide — about 2.6 million people — have had a bivalent booster, the first COVID shot directed at the highly infectious omicron variants responsible for almost all new infections in the state. (Neilson, 10/22)
President Joe Biden will get the updated Covid-19 shot Tuesday after he delivers remarks about the pandemic and the administration’s efforts to get people in the U.S. boosted, a White House official said. (Alba, 10/23)
Fast-evolving virus may lead to more booster shots —
Peter Marks, who leads the Food and Drug Administration’s vaccines operation, is still losing sleep over Covid. He thinks it’s conceivable that the booster shot people are getting now may not be the last some will need for the coming year. (Branswell, 10/21)
Another study shows ivermectin is not an effective covid treatment —
Adding further evidence that the antiparasitic drug ivermectin is ineffective as a COVID-19 treatment, preliminary findings from an ongoing randomized, controlled clinical trial of repurposed drugs today in JAMA finds that it does not speed time to recovery in patients with mild to moderate infections. (Van Beusekom, 10/21)
