When the end of the COVID-19 pandemic comes, it could create major disruptions for a cumbersome U.S. health care system made more generous, flexible and up-to-date technologically through a raft of temporary emergency measures.
The FDA has also emphasized the need for “regulatory flexibility” when reviewing drugs for fatal diseases like ALS. The panel’s close vote could tip the agency toward an approval, given the lack of options currently available.
On Wednesday, a panel of FDA advisers will take a non-binding vote on whether the drug warrants approval. The meeting is being closely watched as an indicator of the FDA’s approach to experimental drugs with imperfect data and its ability to withstand outside pressure.
In making their case, executives cited the “persistent and steady decline” of hospitalizations and death rates related to the coronavirus.
Hospitalizations have plummeted 90% since hitting a pandemic high of 3,519 on Jan. 13. COVID patients occupy only 2.9% of Indiana’s intensive care unit beds.
Scores of projects across the United States are being funded with federal coronavirus relief money despite having little to do with combating the pandemic, a review by The Associated Press has found.
One reason the variant has gained ground, scientists say, is that it’s about 30% more contagious than the original omicron.
With an urgent funding request stuck in Congress, a federal agency says it can no longer cover COVID test and treatment bills for uninsured people and will stop taking claims at midnight Tuesday.
The goal is to get patients started on either Pfizer’s Paxlovid tablets or Merck’s molnupiravir capsules within five days of symptoms appearing. But the tight deadline has highlighted several challenges.
Although some fully vaccinated and boosted people came down with mild infections during the omicron surge, the study showed that the vaccines—and especially the booster shot—protected most people from the virus’s worst effects.
It’s clear that in those who already have diabetes, COVID-19 can worsen the condition and lead to severe complications. But there are other possible links.
The decision from the FDA could come relatively quickly, especially if officials conclude the data is straightforward and does not have to be reviewed by a panel of outside vaccine experts.
The mask mandate was scheduled to expire March 18, but the Transportation Security Administration said Thursday that it will extend the requirement through April 18.
Despite the decline in hospitalizations and cases, the virus is still claiming lives. Another 77 COVID deaths were reported on Wednesday, raising the pandemic total to 22,215 in Indiana.
The milestone is the latest tragic reminder of the unrelenting nature of the pandemic even as people are shedding masks, travel is resuming and businesses are reopening around the globe.
As demand for COVID-19 vaccines collapses in many areas of the United States, states are scrambling to use stockpiles of doses before they expire and have to be added to the millions that have already gone to waste.
The Biden administration is seeking more funds to help protect Ukraine against the Russian invasion and to cover coronavirus pandemic-related expenses, two major additions to budget talks already underway.
The 96-page road map is part of a broader White House strategy to move the country from crisis footing and convince Americans that their lives can return to normal amid the president’s tanking approval ratings.
Meanwhile, statewide hospitalizations due to COVID fell to 751 as of Tuesday, the lowest number since July 25.
The estimates, compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, show that about 43% of the country has been infected by the virus. Indiana is among 14 states where more than half the population has been infected.
