PLUS: The Covid-19 headlines you need to know, a distraction, and something to read.
By Eve Sneider | 07.14.22 |
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| A programming note: The Coronavirus Update will be off next Monday. See you in a week! The FDA approves Novavax's vaccine, Shanghai residents fear another lockdown, and the Biden administration considers more boosters. But first, here's this week's big story: | |
New CDC analysis unveils the impact of pandemic-induced antibiotic use In the early days of the pandemic, when masks and protective equipment were in short supply and hospital workers couldn't swap out their gear as frequently as they otherwise would, many had to get creative to keep Covid patients from catching other diseases. This often meant preemptively beginning courses of antibiotics to keep non-Covid infections at bay. Now a new analysis from the CDC reveals the full extent of this practice and the ramifications of doling out antibiotics so generously. It found that in 2020 almost 80 percent of Covid patients received at least one such drug during their hospital stay. At the same time, the number of antibiotic-resistant infections and resulting deaths increased, marking a major setback in the fight against superbugs. Experts are voicing concern about these findings, as well as hope that they will encourage people to rebuild public health systems rather than reinstating pre-pandemic norms. But many hospitals are still in survival mode. New admissions in the US remain high and are forecast to increase in the coming weeks as the Omicron subvariant BA.5 spreads across the country. | |
Headlines Yesterday the FDA authorized Novavax's Covid vaccine for Americans 18 and older. Officials said they hope this approval of the more traditional two-shot course will appeal to those who remain skeptical of mRNA vaccines. (STAT News) Weeks after Shanghai emerged from two months of lockdown, an increase in cases fueled by the BA.5 subvariant is raising concerns that residents might once again be confined to their homes. (Wall Street Journal) The White House is reportedly developing a plan that would make all US adults eligible to receive a second booster shot, since the latest wave has arrived as immunity from the first boosters may be waning. (The Washington Post) African WHO officials made a statement today urging countries to stay vigilant and continue enforcing public health measures, especially with highly transmissible Omicron subvariants causing infection across the region. (The New York Times) As it battles surges of both Covid and the flu, New Zealand has announced that it will make rapid tests and masks free and more widely available and ensure antivirals are more accessible to those most at risk of developing severe cases of Covid. (Al Jazeera) | |
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| If Google is to be believed, there are some 32 million Star Wars movie rankings out there. Here's another one. | |
| In recent years, influencers have taken over the internet, commandeering the attention and trust of their audiences to peddle products. Now a Washington ad-tech startup is using the same strategies to hawk ideologies. | |
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