The Food and Drug Administration recommends that the United States decide each June which strains of SARS-CoV-2 should be included in an annual fall recall.
This would allow updated COVID-19 vaccines to be ready for distribution “by September” each year, according to documents released by the regulator.
The FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biologics Advisory Committee is due to meet Thursday to discuss the proposal, as well as other issues, including whether the same strain should be included in the primary vaccine series and doses of reminder.
The news comes as the seven-day average of new COVID cases in the United States stood at 46,418 on Monday, according to a New York Times tracker, down 29% from two weeks ago. The average daily hospitalization fell 22% to 37,089. The average death was 487, up 4% from two weeks ago.
Cases are now rising in just five states: Alaska, Tennessee, Illinois, Kentucky and Missouri. Per capita, Tennessee leads with 41 new cases per 100,000 population, followed by Rhode Island at 27.
New York and New Jersey, which were recent hotspots, are showing signs of recovery, with cases down regarding 30% in both states, trackers noted.
Coronavirus update: CNET’s daily roundup curates and reports all the latest developments each weekday since the coronavirus pandemic began.
Other COVID-19 news you should know:
• The next variant of the coronavirus that causes COVID might come from China if a current wave of infections allows more people to develop immunity. This might force the virus to find new ways to evade immune protections, according to the journal Nature. It’s crucial that variants continue to be tracked, but scientists wonder how quickly the next variant of concern will be detected as many countries reduce surveillance efforts. It has been a repeated complaint from the World Health Organization in its weekly epidemiological updates, which warn that data is being distorted as countries drop surveillance and testing.
What is believed to be the world’s largest annual human migration is back in action in China for the Lunar New Year, following the country lifted pandemic restrictions. The Wall Street Journal’s Yoko Kubota explains how he should stimulate the economy — and the risk of further outbreaks of COVID-19. Photo: Cfoto/Zuma Press
• A Mississippi doctor who leads a group of doctors opposed to COVID-19 vaccination mandates has filed documents to challenge Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves in the state’s Republican primary, The Associated reported. Press. John Witcher is the only Republican other than Reeves to enter the gubernatorial primary so far. He is best known for founding Mississippi Against Mandates, the group opposing the requirement for COVID vaccines. Witcher said he was discharged from a Mississippi hospital in 2021 following switching patients’ COVID-19 medication to ivermectin, an antiparasitic drug that is not cleared by the FDA for use once morest the new coronavirus and which research shows is not effective.
• JNJ de Johnson & Johnson,
Fourth-quarter earnings fell 25.7% to $3.52 billion, or $1.33 per share, from $4.74 billion, or $1.77 per share, in the same period last year. last year. The company’s adjusted net income last quarter totaled $2.35 per share, ahead of Wall Street analysts’ estimate of $2.23 per share, according to FactSet data. The pharmaceutical company’s revenue fell 4.4% to $23.71 billion, slightly below Wall Street’s revenue target of $23.896 billion. The company said the decline was due to reduced sales of COVID vaccines.
Here’s what the numbers say:
The global tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases topped 669.1 million on Monday, while the death toll topped 6.74 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University.
The United States leads the world with 102 million cases and 1,104,390 deaths.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracker shows that 229.5 million people living in the United States, or 69.1% of the total population, are fully immunized, meaning they have received their first shots.
So far, only 50.7 million Americans, or 15.3% of the total population, have had the updated COVID booster that targets both the original virus and omicron variants.
