Latino children in the U.S. are twiceas likely to be uninsured as non-Latino children, according to an analysis by the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families.
Why it matters: More than 1.8 million Latino children in the U.S. have not had health insurance since before the pandemic, putting them at greater risk for COVID-19. The virus has hit Latinos especially hard, resulting in higher infection rates, hospitalizations and unemployment.
The big picture: There have been 7.8 cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare neurological disorder, per million doses among adults, which is higher than expected in the general population, according to CDC data.
Florida, Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota have recently curtailed their COVID-19 daily reporting, shifting to weekly or monthly updates despite witnessing upticks in virus-related cases, hospitalizations and deaths, AP reports.
Why it matters: The trend of reducing reporting worries some health care experts, many of whom believe more data is better amid the pandemic. Some people treat state virus dashboards as essentials help make decisions social gatherings mask wearing, and broad community risk.
TOKYO — The COVID rule-breaking was obvious at Friday's opening ceremony, when athletes were clearly visible on TV with masks below their noses, but an athlete tells Axios that the rule-breaking has been going on well before that.
It's been happening at least since athletes arrived in the Olympic Village, where masks were dropped below noses and different teams were forced to share buses.
As the Delta variant continues to drive a fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S., Biden officials see a booster shot among at least some vaccinated Americans as increasingly likely.
Why it matters: Another round of shots — beginning as early as late fall — could not only boost the level of protection against the virus among the vaccinated, but also help curb its spread throughout the population.
Israeli officials announced that citizens will be legally required to present vaccination certificates to attend many social events across the country.
Why it matters: Israel has fully vaccinated 58% of its population, but Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said the country needs to safeguard public health and maintain the Israeli economy by implementing the vaccination certification.
The city and county of St. Louis are again requiring residents to wear face masks starting Monday because of increasing coronavirus cases, according to KMOV, a local CBS affiliate.
Why it matters: People must wear masks inside public places and on public transportation regardless of vaccinated status, and health officials recommend that masks be worn while outside in group settings.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Friday that quarantine-free travel from Australia to New Zealand will be suspended as COVID-19 cases rise in Australia.
Why it matters: The travel bubble, which opened in April, was supposed to boost the economy and serve as a model to safely allow international travel. More than 200,000 people have utilized the quarantine-free travel bubble since April, the Washington Post reports.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Friday recommended the authorization of Moderna's coronavirus vaccine for children between the ages of 12 and 17.
Why it matters: This is the first time that Moderna's shot has been approved for teens. Until now, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was the only option for children in Europe.
Tennessee Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey said Friday the state would resume advocating for vaccines after state Republicans pressured the health department into halting all of its vaccine outreach programs to minors, the Tennessean reports.
Why it matters: State lawmakers received nationwide criticism for preventing the health department from promoting the coronavirus vaccine to minors and called for the firing of its top vaccine official for promoting a state law that allows minors to seek medical care without their parent's permission.
A frustrated Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) told reporters Thursday that "it's time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks, not the regular folks" for the state's continued surge in new COVID-19 cases.
Why it matters: Alabama has reported nearly 8,000 new cases of COVID-19 over the past week. It's one of the few states in the country with fewer than 40% of residents fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
In the latest attempt to encourage players to get vaccinated, the NFL is threatening forfeits and the loss of game checks if an outbreak occurs.
Driving the news: If a game can't be played due to an outbreak among unvaccinated players/staff this upcoming season — and the NFL can't find "a suitable date to reschedule" — the team responsible will forfeit and both teams will lose their game checks.
About 100 of the total 613 Team USA competing athletes have not been vaccinated, NBC News reports, citing the team's top doctor.
State of play: The estimate comes from the health histories submitted by 567 athletes prior to the team's departure to Japan, Jonathan Finnoff, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s medical chief, told NBC News. He estimated that 83% of the competitors were fully vaccinated — a higher rate than the national average.
The U.S. government has purchased an additional 200 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to be delivered from October 2021 through April 2022, the companies announced Friday.
Why it matters: The Biden administration is continuing to expand its arsenal of vaccine doses as it seeks to help vaccinate the world and potentially deliver booster shots to U.S. citizens if it becomes necessary.
Absci — a company that uses synthetic biology and machine learning to help pharmaceutical companies rapidly identify new drugs — went public Thursday.
Why it matters: Discovering a new drug usually takes years of trial and error and huge amounts of investment. Also, more often than not, a candidate will never make it to market.
New studies show the smoke from some wildfires like the 2018 Camp fire could be even more harmful than previously believed because its noxious fumes include elevated levels of chemicals such as lead, zinc and iron, Los Angeles Times reports.
Why it matters: Hazardous chemicals in the air are linked with serious health implications for blood pressure, reproductive systems and even cancer and neurological disorders, especially in children.
CDC officials are concerned about a strain of the Candida auris fungus that's resistant to all drugs and appears to have spread in small clusters in health care settings, rather than in individuals who had taken antifungals.
Why it matters: "The concern is that it could spread to any of the patients who are at high risk, not just the ones who've been treated before — and that the population who could acquire these potentially untreatable infections could be much larger," Meghan Lyman, medical officer in the CDC's Mycotic Diseases Branch, tells Axios.
Biogen executives used their earnings day to take aim at critics and the media, saying the federal approval of the company's new Alzheimer's drug, Aduhelm, "has been the subject of extensive misinformation and misunderstanding."
Why it matters: Biogen has billions of dollars on the line with this drug, and uptake has been very slow so far due in part to the blowback. But the company's grievances don't change the fact that Aduhelm failed to slow the progression of Alzheimer's in late-stage clinical trials.
Thirty-one children under the age of 12 tested positive for COVID-19 after an outbreak at a sleep-away camp in upstate New York, the New York Times reported Thursday.
Why it matters: None of the children are seriously ill, but the infections raise concerns about the possibility of transmission to nearby communities. The cases come as the Delta variant spreads across the U.S.
