An advisory panel for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday endorsed the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for 12-to 15-year-olds, following the FDA's emergency use authorization.
Why it matters: Approval from the CDC panel was the final step needed before inoculations could be offered at any vaccination site for this age group.
57% of U.S. adults believe proof of COVID-19 vaccination should be required to attend a sporting event, per the latest Axios-Ipsos survey. Coincidentally, 58% of American adults have received at least one shot, which President Biden hopes to increase to 70% by July 4.
What they're saying: The fully vaccinated NIAID director Anthony Fauci told CNN he "would not hesitate to go to an outdoor baseball game. My risk would be extremely low, particularly if I wear a mask."
If anything is certain in life, it's death and taxes. And in some states, the former is a heck of a lot more expensive, according to data released by Self Financial.
State of play: Using 2020 figures from the National Funeral Directors Association and the CDC, the group looked at the average 'cost of dying' across the U.S. based on the price of end-of-life care, funerals and cremations.
A new type of obesity drug may help doctors, patients and the public understand that obesity is a medical condition that needs chronic treatment, the New York Times reports.
Why it matters: People with obesity have been highly stigmatized and experience poor treatment and bias in health care settings, despite scientific evidence showing the strong influence of genetic and environmental factors over individual body weights.
Pandemic-related anxieties are entering a new phaseas more employers start to call vaccinated workers back into their offices.
Why it matters: Some employees simply don't want to go back to the office; some are desperate to. Some are struggling to rearrange their routines yet again; some don't have that flexibility. And everyone — employers and employees alike — is figuring out on the fly how to make it work.
India's health ministry reported Wednesday the country's highest-ever number of deaths from COVID-19 in 24 hours.
By the numbers: The 4,205 virus fatalities confirmed in the past 24 hours take the official death toll past 250,000 since the pandemic began. The ministry reported 348,421 new cases as the official caseload surged past 23 million.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) announced Tuesday that his state will withdraw from federally funded pandemic unemployment benefits on July 3.
Why it matters: Tennessee joins a growing list of states with Republican governors that are turning down the federal benefits citing worker shortages. Some experts say, however, it's the job climate and not unemployment benefits that is determining when and how people return to work.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced Tuesday that members will be allowed to remove their masks on the House floor while recognized to address the chamber.
Why it matters: The move is a relaxing of the House's COVID-19 safety guidelines. Pelosi introduced a mask requirement in July 2020 after several Republican members refused to wear them.
The American Medical Association released a report on Tuesday detailing its past failings in ensuring equitable care and outlining a three-year strategy to fight racism in health care.
Why it matters: "[T]he plan marks a major change for a 174-year-old organization marred by a racist history of excluding Black physicians for more than a century," Stat News reports.
The Cleveland Clinic on Tuesday released a study showing that 99.75% of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 between Jan. 1 and April 13 were not fully vaccinated, according to data provided to Axios.
Why it matters: Real-world evidence continues to show coronavirus vaccines are effective at keeping people from dying and out of hospitals. The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines have been found to be 95% and 94% effective, respectively, at preventing symptomatic infections.
Anthony Fauci and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) got into a heated debate at a Senate health committee hearing on Tuesday, clashing over whether funding from the National Institutes of Health was used for risky "gain-of-function" research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
Why it matters: Questions remain about the origins of the coronavirus and the so-called "lab leak hypothesis" — the theory that the virus resulted from experiments in the Wuhan lab that accidentally spilled over, which the head of the World Health Organization has said should be investigated further.
The Biden administration has reached agreements with ride-sharing companies Uber and Lyft to offer free rides to coronavirus vaccination sites through July 4, the White House announced Tuesday.
Why it matters: The free rides, starting in the next two weeks, are part of the Biden administration's push to administer at least one vaccine dose to 70% of U.S. adults by Independence Day.
About 17 million teens aged 12 to 15 will be now eligible for the Pfizer COVID vaccine in the coming days — if health officials can get parents on board.
By the numbers: Parents are split nearly 50-50 on whether they will allow their children to get vaccinated as soon as possible, according to Axios/Ipsos data.
Kids across the country have fallen behind after more than a year of interrupted, unstable and inequitable virtual school. And they'll need to go to summer school to catch up.
Yes, but: It's not that easy. Kids are demoralized, teachers are exhausted, and it'll take more than one summer to fix the pandemic's damage.
For the first time since the pandemic began, less than half of Americans (43%) say returning to their "normal" pre-coronavirus lives would pose a large or moderate risk, according to the latest installment of the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index.
The big picture: This tipping point comes as nearly two thirds of respondents in our weekly national poll say they've gotten at least one shot.
