Deja Vu All Over Again; Delay of Game: NFL Vaccine Pushback; Third FDA Advisor Quits

Note that some links may require registration or subscription.

Here we go again. As cruise lines struggle to recover from COVID-19, two passengers aboard a Royal Caribbean ship tested positive for coronavirus; all crew and passengers over 16 were required to be fully vaccinated. (Reuters)

Another “superspreader?” Some of the 12,000 attendees at a Bitcoin conference in Miami — the largest in-person meeting since the pandemic began — have tested positive for coronavirus. (CNBC)

Who needs a nasal swab test when you have a dog that can sniff out coronavirus infection? (WUSF)

Moderna filed an emergency use authorization with the FDA to allow use of its COVID-19 vaccine in adolescents (ages 12-17).

A G-7 plan to donate 1 billion COVID vaccines is but a drop in the ocean, critics say. (Reuters)

Introducing bacteria-modified mosquitoes reduced the incidence of dengue fever by 77% in a dengue-susceptible region of Indonesia; for complete details see our coverage. (CNN)

The CDC alerted clinicians and caregivers of an increased rate of interseasonal respiratory syncytial virus in certain parts of the Southern U.S.

Following an outcry from medical groups and hospitals, UnitedHealthcare backed off a plan to stop reimbursing emergency department visits that it deemed non-urgent — for the time being. (New York Times)

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued mandatory, but temporary, COVID safety rules for healthcare facilities, stopping short of a broader mandate for other sectors. (NPR)

The National Football League’s pro-COVID vaccination stance has run into substantial vaccine hesitancy among players and personnel. (Forbes)

A third member of the FDA’s Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee has resigned in protest over the agency’s approval of aducanumab (Aduhelm), the controversial new Alzheimer’s drug. (New York Times)

FDA expanded the pediatric indication for sofosbuvir/velpatasvir (Epclusa) to include the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus infection in kids as young as 3 years old, Gilead announced.

The world’s worst famine conditions in a decade have emerged in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia, according to a United Nations humanitarian official. (AP)

A low sperm count after vasectomy doesn’t always mean the procedure was successful. (Journal of Urology)

Under-age drinking remains rampant in the U.S., according to a new study. (CNN)

Vertex Pharmaceuticals announced disappointing trial results for its alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency drug candidate.

Last Updated June 11, 2021