Transgender women in the U.S. are contracting HIV at extremely high rates, as they face poverty, discrimination, and gaps in gender-affirming medical treatment, a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds.
Why it matters: Two-thirds of Black trans women and more than one-third of Hispanic trans women surveyed across seven major cities have HIV, in what the CDC called one of the most comprehensive surveys of trans women in the U.S.
People will "likely" need a third shot of the Pfizer vaccine as a booster within 12 months of being fully vaccinated, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told CNBC on Thursday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified about 5,800 fully vaccinated people who have contracted COVID-19 so far, a fraction of the 66 million Americans who have been vaccinated.
Why it matters: The infections, called "breakthrough cases," are rare. The findings are consistent with previous studies that indicate positive coronavirus cases are extremely unlikely among vaccinated people, and that the vaccines prevent severe disease.
Many private businesses and some states are plowing ahead with methods of verifying that people have been vaccinated, despite conservative resistance to "vaccine passports."
Why it matters: Many businesses view some sort of vaccine verification system as key to getting back to normal. But in the absence of federal leadership, a confusing patchwork approach is likely to pop up.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has told hospitals they can't hide their prices from web searches, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The big picture: New federal rules require hospitals to post their pricing information online, but some large systems were using code that prevented that information from appearing in search results.
The number of new coronavirus infections in the U.S continues to rise, making a quick, clean end to the pandemic less and less likely.
The big picture: Much of the U.S. is relying almost exclusively on vaccines to control the virus, abandoning social distancing and other safety measures. And that’s helping the virus to steadily gain ground even as vaccinations barrel ahead.
One of Sweden's most populous regions has asked residents to enter a "personal lockdown" in order to curb soaring COVID-19 cases, Euronews reported Wednesday.
Why it matters: Sweden's more relaxed approach to the pandemic prompted libertarians and conservatives, including Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), to argue the U.S. should've adopted a similar strategy. But the country this week reported the highest infection rate in the EU.
New data shows that more Americans died of drug overdoses in the year leading to September 2020 than any 12-month period since the opioid epidemic began.
Why it matters: The stubborn increase of such "deaths of despair" shows that the opioid epidemic still has room to grow and that some of the social distancing steps we took to rein in the pandemic may have brought deadly side effects.
An advisory panel for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday delayed making recommendations on a decision to pause the use of Johnson & Johnson's coronavirus vaccine, saying it needed more time to examine the data and possible risks, NBC News reports.
Driving the news: Researchers said they did not have enough data to analyze the potential relationship between the J&J vaccine and the rare cases of severe blood clots that six women developed within two weeks of receiving the shot. It will be at least a week before the panel reconvenes.
The decision to pause the use of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine — and the furor that now surrounds it — underscores the confounding psychology behind risk assessment.
Why it matters: From vaccines to emerging technologies, the future will force us to make difficult, risk-based choices that our Stone Age brains are ill-equipped to handle, especially in an environment where social trust has evaporated.
The Biden administration on Wednesday moved to reverse a Trump-era rule banning federally funded health care providers from referring women for abortions.
Why it matters: The rule, which took effect in 2019, prompted Planned Parenthood and other health care providers to withdraw from the federal Title X family planning program, whose grantees provide birth control and other services to mainly low-income individuals.
The pause on administering Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine isn’t expected to have a huge impact on vaccine rollout across local communities.
Why it matters: Like the country writ large, most localities have vaccinated the vast majority of their citizens with the two-dose Pfizer and Moderna shots, which have more than enough supply to fill the gaps caused by the J&J pause.
Keeping middle seats empty on single or twin-aisle airplanes can reduce the spread of the coronavirus from 23% to 57%, according to a study out Wednesday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Why it matters: Delta will be the final U.S. airline to start filling middle seats again on May 1. The company says increased vaccinations and consumer confidence have lowered risks to unblocking middle seats.
President Biden's chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci suggested Wednesday that the decision to pause use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine could actually bolster vaccine confidence, calling it "an affirmation that safety is a primary consideration when it comes to the FDA and CDC."
Why it matters: Tuesday's decision to pause the J&J rollout has set off a chain reaction of fears — both about the safety of the vaccine and about whether the FDA is overreacting, considering that only six cases of rare blood clots have been reported out of 7 million vaccine doses administered.
The FDA’s decision to pause the use of Johnson & Johnson's coronavirus vaccine has set off a chain reaction of fear — about the safety of the vaccine, and about whether the FDA is overreacting — that's causing unnecessary drama just as the vaccine effort is finally picking up speed.
The big picture: Throughout the pandemic, the public and the media, and sometimes even regulators, have struggled to keep risks in perspective — to acknowledge them without exaggerating them, and to avoid downplaying them because other people will exaggerate them.
The NFL outlined in a memo sent to all 32 teams that support staff, including coaches and trainers, should be vaccinated against COVID-19 "unless they have a bona fide medical or religious ground for not doing so."
Why it matters: Anyone who doesn't fit this category and refuses vaccination will be ineligible for Tier 1 or 2 status and "will not be permitted access to the 'football only' restricted area and may not work directly or in close proximity with players," according to the memo, first reported by the NFL Network.
