Novavax Shot Hits Snag; Frustration, Grief in the ICU; 700K Bikers Converge

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Novavax will delay submitting its COVID-19 vaccine to the FDA for emergency use authorization, while the U.S. pauses funding for production of the company’s shot. (CNBC, New York Times)

U.S. vaccinations increased by 864,000 on Wednesday, the highest single-day total since July 3, according to the White House. (CNN)

FDA may make COVID boosters available for immunosuppressed people in the coming weeks, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Seven states, primarily located in the South, accounted for about half of all new infections in the past week, whereas two states — Maine and Vermont — have not reported high rates of community transmission. (Reuters)

Four of the seven states with high transmission rates — Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana — have doubled their vaccination rates since July. (CNBC)

“I just don’t want to watch anyone else die.” An intensive care nurse in Mississippi pours out her frustration and grief on social media. (Reuters)

As of about 8:00 a.m. EDT, the unofficial U.S. COVID-19 toll included 35,443,290 cases and 615,341 deaths, increases of 108,868 and 587, respectively, since the same time a day ago.

As COVID-related hospitalizations more than tripled in the past month, hospitals have returned to actions taken during the early phases of the pandemic: reinstating strict prevention measures, postponing elective surgery, and closing admission of new patients with the viral illness. (AP)

Blaming a slow vaccine rollout in Australia, Premier Daniel Andrews of Melbourne announced the city’s sixth lockdown to limit the spread of COVID-19. (AP)

Gilead said it is aware that tampered and counterfeit versions of its HIV therapies — bictegravir/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide (Biktarvy) and emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide (Descovy) — are being distributed to U.S. pharmacies.

Long-time Rolling Stones’ drummer Charlie Watts will miss the band’s 2021 No Filter tour following an undisclosed medical procedure. (Rolling Stone)

Despite the ongoing surge in COVID-19 cases, as many as 700,000 people are expected to attend the 81st Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota, beginning today and continuing through next week. (NBC News)

U.S. intelligence agencies are poring over a “treasure trove” of genetic information on virus samples from a Wuhan, China laboratory, looking for clues into the origin of SARS-CoV-2. (CNN)

Many big-brand companies have inadvertently poured billions of dollars in advertising into sites that promote misinformation about COVID and other issues. (Business Insider)

Valneva announced that its single-shot vaccine candidate against chikungunya infection effectively induced protective antibodies in a pivotal U.S. study.

The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan could complicate efforts to achieve global eradication of polio. (Science)

A lawsuit filed in a Pennsylvania court alleges that staff at WellSpan York Hospital failed to check on a 72-year-old man for hours after he attempted to get their attention before collapsing and dying in his wheelchair in a waiting room. (AP)

Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), who sued speaker Nancy Pelosi over mask mandates in the House, acknowledged he has a breakthrough infection, despite having been fully vaccinated against COVID since February. (AP)

After allegedly kicking a student in the groin during an altercation, a Kansas state legislator surrendered his teaching license and blamed the incident on an “isolated episode of mania with psychotic features.” (NBC News)

England’s antitrust watchdog agency reached a tentative conclusion that Pfizer and its business partner Flynn Pharma broke the nation’s anti-competition laws by charging “unfairly high prices” for the epilepsy drug phenytoin. (FiercePharma)

Last Updated August 06, 2021