Bay Area daily COVID cases hit lowest level since April

The seven-day average of new coronavirus infections in the Bay Area fell below 20 new infections per 100,000 people for the first time since April on Friday, according to state data analyzed by The Chronicle. The region is seeing an average of 19 daily cases per 100,000, while California’s seven-day average is holding steady at 24 daily cases per 100,000 people. The statewide positive test rate also plateaued at 10%. Confirmed COVID-19 deaths continue to rise, with the state now averaging 49 a day, including 16 in the Bay Area. That’s up from 44 and 7, respectively, a month ago. There are 3,144 people hospitalized with the virus in California, including 582 in the Bay Area.

FDA removes N95 respirators from shortage list

More than two years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the US Food and Drug Administration announced on Friday the removing N95 respirators from agency’s list of medical device shortages, signaling that demand or projected demand for this type of facial protection device commonly used in healthcare facilities no longer exceeds supply. The FDA attributed the change to increased domestic manufacturing and supply chain assessment updates. “Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the FDA’s top priorities has been ensuring frontline healthcare workers have access to the essential protections they need,” said Suzanne Schwartz, director of the agency. “We have worked closely with our partners at NIOSH, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and U.S. manufacturers to stabilize, rebuild, and secure healthcare access to high-quality single-use respirators, including American-made ones. Today, our national capacity to produce these devices is stronger and our supply chain is more resilient thanks to these collective efforts on behalf of the dedicated people working to save lives.

Secret Service recovers $286 million in stolen pandemic loans

The US Secret Service said on Friday it had recovered $286 million in fraudulently obtained pandemic loans and returned the money to the Small Business Administration. The Secret Service said an investigation by its Orlando office found suspected conspirators submitted economic disaster loan applications using fake or stolen jobs and personal information and used a bank in line, Green Dot, to conceal and move their proceeds of crime. The agency worked with Green Dot to identify approximately 15,000 accounts and seize $286 million related to the accounts, Associated Press reports. “This and future forfeiture efforts are a direct and necessary response to the unprecedented size and scope of pandemic relief fraud,” said Kevin Chambers, COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Director. 19 to the Ministry of Justice.

Moderna sues rivals Pfizer and BioNTech over COVID vaccine patent infringement

Moderna said on Friday it filed a patent infringement action against Pfizer and BionTech, claiming to have copied key features of its mRNA technology which was in development long before the COVID-19 pandemic. “We believe that Pfizer and BioNTech illegally copied Moderna’s inventions, and they have continued to use them without permission,” Shannon Thyme Klinger, Moderna’s chief legal officer, said in a statement. The lawsuit does not seek to remove the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine from the market or bar future sales. Moderna had previously promised not to enforce its patents related to COVID vaccines while the pandemic lasts, but more recently signaled that the policy may not extend to manufacturing in wealthier countries. reports the New York Times.

One million COVID deaths in 2022: WHO

One million people died from COVID-19 in 2022, World Health Organization officials said Thursday, marking another “tragic milestone” in the pandemic. The agency has recorded around 6.45 million deaths since the coronavirus was first detected in Wuhan, China, in late 2019. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the latest figure is particularly disheartening as there are life-saving measures such as vaccination, masking and ventilation available now. “This week we passed the tragic milestone of one million deaths reported so far this year,” he said. said at a press briefing. “We cannot say that we are learning to live with COVID-19 when one million people have died from COVID-19 this year alone, when we have been in the pandemic for two and a half years and we have all the tools necessary to prevent them. deaths.”

Less than 15,000 of the 626,900 Novavax injections available have been used

The United States has administered 14,559 of its 626,900 available doses of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine since the shots were cleared for use in mid-July, according to data released Thursday by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Unlike the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines which use an mRNA-based approach to build immunity, the Novavax vaccine uses traditional protein-based technology, which federal health officials hoped would make it more palatable to some vaccines. The fourth vaccine option was initially offered to adults aged 18 and over as the primary dose and last week authorized for children aged 12 to 17. So far, only 2,591 people have completed their primary vaccination series using Novavax injections.

COVID-19 vaccinations stagnate for younger children as hospitalizations rise

Vaccination among children under 5 years of age remains stagnant in the United States, with only 3.4% of those under 2 years of age and 5.7% of those 2-4 years of age having received at least one dose since the vaccines became available for the youngest group in June, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But COVID-19-related hospitalizations among children 4 and under have risen sharply since the spring, from 20 children hospitalized in April to 100 in the first week of August, and 80 last week, show federal data. By comparison, 44 children between the ages of 5 and 17 were hospitalized with the virus in the past week. Vaccination coverage is 37.8% for 5 to 11 year olds and 70.5% for 12 to 17 year olds. The health agency is urging families to get their children vaccinated. “Parents and caregivers should immunize children aged 6 months and older for the best protection against serious illness from COVID-19,” the CDC tweeted Thursday.

Mutations in Omicron reduce vaccine effectiveness and increase hospitalizations

Almost half of adults hospitalized with COVID-19 during the period when the BA.2 omicron subvariant was dominant in the United States had received a primary series and at least one booster or additional dose, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. From late March to May, COVID-related hospitalization rates increased among all adults – with a higher proportion of hospitalized people aged 65 or older compared to the delta and BA.1 periods in 2021 and early 2020. 2022.

In period BA.2, 27.8% of hospitalized adults were unvaccinated, representing a 60% decrease from 69.4% in the delta period and a 41% decrease from 47.2% during the BA.1 period, highlighting that many more people had received their vaccine. strokes. The vaccines reduced the severity of the disease, with the proportion of in-hospital deaths during these periods decreasing from 12.4% (delta) to 7.5% (BA.1) and 5.1% (BA. 2). “This result indicates that in addition to increasing vaccination coverage and encouraging all adults to keep up to date with their vaccinations, multiple other non-pharmaceutical and medical preventive measures should be implemented to protect people. at high risk of serious illness and hospitalization due to advanced age, disability, moderate or severe immunosuppression, or other underlying medical conditions,” the health agency said in its report.

Paxlovid no benefit for young adults, study finds

Pfizer’s COVID-19 pill appears to offer little or no benefit to young adults, while reducing the risk of hospitalization and death in high-risk older adults, according to a large study released Wednesday. Results of an Israeli study of 109,000 patients showed that Paxlovid reduced hospitalizations by around 75% in people aged 65 and over when given soon after infection. This matches previous results used to license the drug in the United States and other countries. But people between the ages of 40 and 65 saw no measurable benefit, according to analysis of medical records. “Paxlovid will remain important for those most at risk of severe COVID-19, such as the elderly and those with weakened immune systems,” said Dr. David Boulware, a researcher and physician at the University of Minnesota, who did not participate in the study. “But for the vast majority of Americans who are now eligible, it really doesn’t have much of a benefit.” A Pfizer spokesperson declined to comment on the results, which were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Unvaccinated Novak Djokovic withdraws from US Open

Novak Djokovic, 21-time Grand Slam champion, announced on Thursday that he will not play the US Open next week due to rules which state that any non-citizen must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to receive a visa and enter the country. “Unfortunately, I won’t be able to travel to New York this time for the US Open,” the 35-year-old Serb said. wrote in a Twitter post. “Good luck to my fellow players! I will keep fit and positive and wait for an opportunity to compete again. See you tennis world!” US Open officials have confirmed his withdrawal in a report. “Novak is a great champion and it is very unfortunate that he cannot participate in the US Open 2022 because he cannot enter the country due to the federal government’s vaccination policy for non-US citizens” , Stacy Allaster, says the tournament director. “We look forward to welcoming Novak to US Open 2023.” Fans noted on Twitter that the tennis star chose not to be vaccinated and knew that would mean he couldn’t play.