The FDA’s Vaccines Committee plans to consider recommendations for annual COVID-19 vaccination plans, similar to those employed for influenza vaccination.
Plus: President Biden will issue a memorandum to further protect access to medical abortion.
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Panel to consider annual COVID vaccine
At a meeting this week, the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Advisory Panel on Vaccines is scheduled to review the annual schedule for the coronavirus vaccine, as well as how the flu vaccine is administered.
- The FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biologics Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) met on Thursday to discuss ways to simplify and streamline the COVID-19 vaccination process, including the composition of coronavirus vaccines and recommended schedules for these vaccinations. increase.
- The rapid evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has resulted in mutants with improved abilities to evade immune protection, implying “regular updates to the composition of COVID-19 vaccines as needed.” A review, according to a panel document posted Monday, as was done with the updated bivalent booster.
Possible plans: The committee said it planned to evaluate the composition of the COVID-19 vaccine each June and make recommendations the following year, but acknowledged the difficulty of making globally coordinated vaccine recommendations.
- “FDA expects to conduct SARS-CoV-2 strain assessments at least annually and engage VRBPAC around early June each year regarding strain selection for the fall season,” the document states.
- While acknowledging that COVID-19 and influenza are not identical, the Panel found a bivalent COVID-19 booster designed to target both the ancestral strain of the virus and the BA.4 and BA.5 omicron subvariants. deployment is “similar” to the annual flu vaccination.
Please check this out for details.
Biden issues memo protecting access to abortion pills
President Biden on Sunday issued a presidential memorandum to further protect access to abortion medicines by allowing doctors to prescribe and dispense them across the country.
Vice President Harris announced the memorandum on Sunday in a remark in Florida marking the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision.
- This memo calls on the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Attorney General and the Department of Homeland Security to consider new guidance to support patients, providers, and pharmacies who wish to legally access, prescribe, or provide mifepristone. is instructing the chief of
- The memorandum also ensures that patients know their rights to access reproductive health care, including medical abortion from pharmacies.
Mifepristone, a Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drug used for medical abortion, has become an increasingly popular method for terminating pregnancies, especially after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. It is It accounts for more than half of all abortions in the country.
Earlier this month, the FDA Said it would allow US retail pharmacies Providing abortion drugs directly to patients with a prescription in states where abortion is legal.
Although medical abortion has been available in the United States since the FDA approved the use of mifepristone in 2000, many states that strictly prohibit abortion do not allow anyone to prescribe and dispense the pill. It limits the availability of mifepristone by restricting or completely banning it.
Please check this out for details.
Wisconsin Blocks Ban on Conversion Therapy Opponents
Wisconsin’s LGBTQ advocates and legislators are rearranging after the state’s Republican legislators held a second ballot last week. Stop the ban on conversion therapy from entry into force.
- Rep. Greta Neubauer (Democrat) said: One of six members who are openly LGBTQ A member of Wisconsin’s Republican-dominated Congress told The Hill.
- “Conversion” or “restorative therapy” is an umbrella term that refers to a host of interventions designed to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Leading medical organizations such as the American Medical Association (AMA) and the American Psychological Association condemn this because it is fueled by the belief that LGBTQ identity is a medical condition that requires treatment.
Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia have laws or policies that prohibit conversion therapy for minors. Exercise enhancement projectis a think tank that tracks state laws that impact the LGBTQ community. 5 states including Wisconsin through 2021 presidential decree Issued by Governor Tony Evers (Democrat) with a partial ban.
Three states—Alabama, Georgia, and Florida—cannot ban conversion therapy due to injunctions from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Please check this out for details.
57% government guarantees universal health care
A majority of adults believe it’s the federal government’s job to provide health insurance to all Americans, but most prefer private health care to government-run options, according to a new survey. Said he liked it.
57% of respondents who support the idea that health insurance coverage is the job of the federal government Gallup poll A new survey finds an overwhelming majority of Democrats share this view, with 59% of independents agreeing. Only 28% of Republicans support the idea.
- Opinion polls showed a majority of people say the federal government should guarantee health insurance, but a majority of respondents favor private health care systems over government-run ones. I also found out that This is driven by a government-run system that has just 13% of his support from Republicans and 46% of his support from independents.
- More than 7 in 10 Democrats (72%) support the idea of a government-run health care system.
The survey results show the mixed position most people in the United States hold toward the country’s health care system. Balancing government responsibility for health care with maintaining a private health care system has been a daunting task faced by lawmakers and successive presidential administrations for decades.
Please check this out for details.
Health experts are still learning about Omicron subvariants
Over 80% of coronavirus cases in the Northeast are now due to XBB.1.5.
According to health officials, XBB.1.5 appears to be the most contagious variant of omicron ever detected, but it is still unclear whether it causes more serious illness.
Doctors in the Northeast who spoke with Hill said they saw no notable difference in disease severity among recent COVID-19 patients.
Bernard Cummins, medical director of infection prevention at New York’s Mount Sinai Health System, said the rate of patients severe enough to require hospitalization in the intensive care unit was the same as in previous variants. said.
Ulysses Wu, chief epidemiologist at Hartford Health Care in Connecticut, said XBB.1.5 doesn’t appear to be more deadly, saying that morbidity and mortality are increasing every time we see a case of COVID-19. I pointed out that the rate increases in order.
“The presentation is pretty much the same. Maybe they don’t show up as sick, but we still see a lot of sick patients, and we certainly see those who die.
- Sheila Doron, chief infection control officer at Tufts Medicine in Boston, said the new dominant strain was “not such a big deal” in her area. While there has been a “slight” increase in new hospitalizations, most of those who test positive for coronavirus are hospitalized for other illnesses, not COVID-19, she said. bottom.
- “We feel we are in a really good place. As for securing, he added that there is still work to be done- 19.
Please check this out for details.
hats we read
- Three years later, the pandemic and our response have been devastating. This is something that even experts have not seen (statistics)
- Department of Justice to Investigate Problematic Infant Formula Plants (new york times)
- ‘Unprecedented Avian Flu Pandemic’ Hits U.S. Poultry Industry (luck)
by state
- Kindergarten immunization rates are declining in all but three Washington counties (Seattle Times)
- Transgender people living in rural America struggle to find doctors who want or can provide treatment (Kaiser Health News)
- Tennessee says it’s cutting federal HIV funding. Will other states follow? (NBC News)
The Hill OP-EDS
Roe Requiem and the Road to a Brighter Future
That’s all for today, thanks for reading.Check out The Hill healthcare page For the latest news and coverage. see you tomorrow.
