More than 80% of people in the U.S. say inflation, global uncertainty and the war in Ukraine are significant sources of stress, a survey by the American Psychological Association out Thursday finds.
Why it matters: More people rated inflation and the war asstressors than any other issue asked about since the poll was first conducted in 2007, per the APA, which described the findings as "alarming."
Drug companies have asked federal courts to overturn the U.S. border officials' decision to stop allowing Mexican nationals to cross the border to be paid to donate blood plasma, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Why it matters: The plasma is a critical component of treatments for some neurological and autoimmune diseases, and pharmaceutical companies have said that up to 10% of the plasma collected in the U.S. usually comes from Mexican nationals who have entered the country on visitor visas.
Coronavirus cases have continued to plummet nationally and in nearly all states, and daily deaths are also dropping.
Why it matters: COVID precautions have already been lifted across most of the country as pandemic fatigue runs deep. The virus will probably be with us for the long term, but these improving metrics show Americans are moving on with their lives more safely.
The Americas reported 63% of worldwide COVID cases in the first two months of 2022 despite accounting for around 13% of the global population, World Health Organization (WHO) officials said Wednesday.
The big picture: Though overall cases and deaths are falling in the Americas, as they are globally, the WHO is warning countries not to let their guard down.
The U.S. has pledged to donate more than 1 billion COVID vaccines around the world, but it would have to significantly scale up its monthly donation rate to meet that goal by the end of this year, according to a new Public Citizen analysis.
Why it matters: Vaccines not only save lives, but also help protect the world against new variants.
The first person to receive a heart from a genetically modified pig died on Tuesday, two months after the experimental operation, the University of Maryland Medical Center announced.
Driving the news: The hospital said David Bennett's condition began to deteriorate several days earlier but did not identify an exact cause of death.
Austria on Wednesday suspended its sweeping coronavirus vaccination mandate less than a week before it was set to be enforced.
Driving the news: Authorities were expected to begin checking people's vaccination status on March 15, but officials said they "don't see any need" to implement the law at this time, citing milder illnesses from the Omicron variant, AP reports.
Congress appears likely to allocate more than $15 billion more toward pandemic preparedness, but that probably wouldn't be enough to adequately safeguard the U.S. against future waves of COVID-19 — or even a potential wave this fall.
Why it matters: Having vaccines and therapeutics ready for a threat that may not fully materialize is difficult and expensive, but the alternative is risking hundreds of thousands more deaths and another huge hit to the economy.
The biotech industry is slumping after delivering life-saving COVID treatments and attracting droves of investors early in the pandemic.
Why it matters: Biotechs keep the drug pipeline flowing with novel treatments — and make attractive M&A targets for big pharmaceutical manufacturers. But regulatory uncertainty and a return to pre-pandemic life are combining to cool interest in public and private markets, experts say.
