CDC urges Pfizer booster for children ages 5 to 11
The CDC’s advisers pointed to growing evidence from older children and adults that two primary vaccinations plus a booster are providing the best protection against the newest coronavirus variants.
FDA clears COVID booster shot for healthy children ages 5-11
There is one more hurdle: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must decide whether to formally recommend the booster for this age group. The CDC’s scientific advisers are scheduled to meet on Thursday.
How big is the latest U.S. COVID wave? No one really knows.
Americans are navigating murky waters in the latest wave of the pandemic, with highly transmissible subvariants of omicron spreading as governments drop measures to contain the virus and reveal less data about infections.
U.S. deaths from COVID reach 1 million
The U.S. is averaging about 300 COVID-19 deaths per day, compared with a peak of about 3,400 a day in January 2021.
White House warning: U.S. ‘vulnerable’ to COVID without new shots
White House COVID-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha issued a dire warning Thursday that the U.S. will be increasingly vulnerable to the coronavirus this fall and winter if Congress doesn’t swiftly approve new funding for more vaccines and treatments.
Pandemic gets tougher to track as COVID testing plunges
Experts say testing has dropped by 70% to 90% worldwide from the first quarter to the second quarter this year—the opposite of what they say should be happening with new omicron variants on the rise in places such as the United States and South Africa.
FDA restricts J&J’s COVID-19 vaccine due to blood clot risk
The vaccine was initially considered an important tool in fighting the pandemic because it required only one shot. But the single-dose option proved less effective than two doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
Pandemic continued to financially punish Indiana hospitals in 1st quarter
Indiana University Health lost $29.8 million, and Community Health lost $28.5 million during the quarter, as both systems postponed surgeries to deal with the rising number of COVID-19 cases.
Sneakers, elastic pants: People alter office wear amid COVID
After working remotely in sweats and yoga pants for two years, many Americans are rethinking their wardrobes to balance comfort and professionalism as offices reopen.
New omicron subvariant shows virus mutations aren’t slowing down
Two-and-a-half years after it first spilled into humans, the COVID virus has repeatedly changed its structure and chemistry in ways that confound efforts to bring it fully under control.
COVID deaths no longer overwhelmingly among unvaccinated as toll on elderly grows
The pandemic’s toll is no longer falling almost exclusively on those who chose not to get shots, with vaccine protection waning over time and the elderly and immunocompromised having a harder time dodging increasingly contagious strains.
Moderna seeks to be first with COVID shots for littlest children
Moderna on Thursday asked U.S. regulators to authorize low doses of its COVID-19 vaccine for children younger than 6, a long-awaited move toward potentially opening shots for millions of tots by summer.
United States is ‘out of the pandemic phase,’ Fauci says
Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, said the United States was in the “full-blown pandemic phase” in the winter, then entered a period he refers to as the “deceleration” phase. The country is transitioning, he said, to the control phase.
CDC estimates 3 in 4 children have had coronavirus infections
More than half of all Americans have signs of previous infections, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers estimated in a report Tuesday.
Administration expanding availability of COVID antiviral pill
Paxlovid, when administered within five days of symptoms appearing, has been proven to bring about a 90% reduction in hospitalizations and deaths among patients most likely to get severe disease.
White House: Without funding, U.S. will lose out on COVID treatments
Officials are expressing increasing alarm that the U.S. is also losing out on critical opportunities to secure booster doses and new antiviral pills that could help the country maintain its reemerging sense of normalcy.
COVID shots still work, but researchers hunting new improvements
COVID-19 vaccinations are at a critical juncture as companies test whether new approaches like combination shots or nasal drops can keep up with a mutating coronavirus—even though it’s not clear if changes are needed.
Justice Department to appeal order voiding travel mask mandate
The notice came minutes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asked the Justice Department to appeal the decision handed down by a federal judge in Florida earlier this week.
Moderna takes step toward updating COVID shots for fall
Moderna hopes to offer updated COVID-19 boosters in the fall that combine its original vaccine with protection against the omicron variant.
Federal judge voids mask mandate for planes, other travel
The judge’s decision freed airlines, airports and mass transit systems to make their own decisions about mask requirements, resulting in a mix of responses.
Resources
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC Resources for Businesses and Employers OSHA Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19 Indiana State Department of Health Indy Chamber Rapid Response Hub Small Business Administration The SBA is making low-interest loans for working capital available to Indiana small businesses. Indiana Unemployment Information Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Dashboard Critical Industries Hotline(for business and industry only)
877-820-0890
covidresponse@iedc.in.gov State’s virus-related executive orders State plan to reopen Indiana