GOP Urges ‘No Mandates’; Hurricanes and COVID; Animal Ivermectin in Short Supply

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The NIH announced it is launching a study of a third vaccine dose for kidney transplant patients who didn’t respond to their first two doses of mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer or Moderna.

COVID-19 remains a hot topic in Washington, with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) calling for “no mandates” related to the coronavirus, while Sen. Rand Paul, MD (R-Ky.) urged Americans to remain defiant in the face of increased rules. (Washington Post)

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) was suspended from Twitter for a week after posting that vaccines don’t work. (Newsweek)

Actor Christina Applegate announced that she has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. (CNN)

The World Health Organization announced their Solidarity PLUS trial will test artesunate, imatinib and infliximab in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in 52 countries.

As of Wednesday at 8:00 a.m. EDT, the unofficial COVID-19 toll was 36,058,757 cases and 618,149 deaths, up 108,505 and 725, respectively, from yesterday.

Universal masking can save school children’s lives, wrote two experts who collected data on one million students. (New York Times)

A Texas judge granted officials in San Antonio and Bexar County a restraining order allowing them to mandate mask-wearing in city and county buildings and local schools. (San Antonio Report)

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced teachers and school employees in the state must either be vaccinated or tested regularly for COVID. (Politico)

Senate Democrats approved a $3.5 trillion budget resolution that includes provisions that would expand Medicare to include dental, vision, and hearing benefits. (CNN)

What do hurricanes have to do with COVID vaccines? If you have to evacuate because of one, you’ll want to be protected from COVID, President Biden said. (Reuters)

FibroGen, Inc. received a complete response letter from the FDA, saying the agency needs more clinical data on roxadustat to treat anemia of chronic kidney disease, the manufacturer announced. A previous FDA advisory committee had not recommended its approval.

Farm supply stores are running short of the dewormer drug ivermectin because it has been touted as a COVID cure. (slate.com)

Some politicians are blaming migrants for spreading COVID, but public health officials say it isn’t true. (NPR)

Guinean health authorities in Guinea are tracking 155 people because they may have been in contact with a confirmed case of Marburg virus disease. (Reuters)

It’s not easy to donate unused COVID vaccines, as the state of Alabama found out. (NPR)

Patient who got the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine continue to be concerned about its effectiveness. (Washington Post)

Do you live in Virginia? If so, you’re likely to come into contact with the coronavirus Delta variant over the next few months, regardless of your vaccination status, according to public health officials. (Virginian Pilot).