U.S. health advisers endorsed a booster of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine Friday, citing growing worry that Americans who got the single-dose shot aren’t as protected as those given two-dose brands.
According to the state health department’s latest breakthrough statistics, nearly 500 people in Indiana have died of COVID-19 despite being fully vaccinated.
U.S. health advisers on Friday tackled who should get boosters of Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot COVID-19 vaccine and when—and whether using a competing brand for the second dose might provide better protection.
The panel of outside advisers to the FDA voted unanimously to recommend a booster shot for seniors, as well as younger adults with other health problems, jobs or living situations that put them at increased risk from COVID-19.
The International Monetary Fund called Thursday for greater efforts from wealthy nations to boost COVID vaccination rates in poorer countries, while also urging the Federal Reserve and other central banks to respond quickly if current inflation pressures prove not to be transitory.
Statewide hospitalizations due to COVID-19 decreased from 1,708 on Tuesday to 1,634 on Wednesday, the lowest number since Aug. 17.
FDA scientists didn’t reach a firm conclusion about whether there’s enough evidence for J&J boosters, citing shortcomings with the company’s data and little information on protection against the extra-contagious delta variant.
Statewide hospitalizations due to COVID-19 decreased from 1,729 on Monday to 1,708 on Tuesday. More than 21% of Indiana’s intensive care unit beds are occupied by COVID patients.
On Thursday, advisers are expected to consider data supporting a third shot of Moderna, which would be the equivalent of a half-dose of the original shot. The booster would be administered at least six months after initial vaccination.
The state health department’s tracking shows Indiana giving about 6,000 shots a day through last week—about half the rate from early September.
Statewide hospitalizations due to COVID-19 dipped from 1,746 on Sunday to 1,729 on Monday.
On Thursday and Friday, the FDA convenes its independent advisers for the first stage in the process of deciding whether extra doses of the two vaccines should be dispensed and, if so, who should get them and when.
The Indiana State Department of Healthreported 1,114 new cases of COVID-19, raising the pandemic total in the state to 987,164 cases.
The total number of doses being administered in the U.S. is climbing toward an average of 1 million per day, almost double the level from mid-July.
The state released the latest statistics for so-called breakthrough cases, hospitalizations and deaths on Thursday.
An Indiana state senator who spent 10 days in a hospital’s intensive care unit with COVID-19 says he stands behind his decision to not get vaccinated against the illness.
The administration said the plan to buy rapid, at-home coronavirus tests should address ongoing shortages and quadruple the number of tests available to Americans by December,
Congress sent billions of dollars in federal pandemic relief to schools across the nation this year. But with few limits on how the funding can be spent, some districts have used large portions to cover athletics projects they couldn’t previously afford.
The Indiana State Department of Health on Wednesday reported 2,675 new cases of COVID-19, up from 2,130 the previous day.
Statewide hospitalizations due to COVID-19 rose from 1,861 on Sunday to 1,879 on Monday, the department said. About 23% of Indiana’s intensive care unit beds are occupied by COVID patients.
