Here is what the editors at Physician's Briefing chose as the most important COVID-19 developments for you and your practice for the week of July 12 to 16, 2021. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal studies and other trusted sources that is most likely to affect clinical practice.
FDA to Prioritize Full Approval for Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine
FRIDAY, July 16, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Pfizer Inc. announced on Friday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted priority review to its COVID-19 vaccine, positioning the vaccine for full approval by January.
Read Full Text
Canada May Open Borders to Fully Vaccinated Americans by Mid-August
FRIDAY, July 16, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Fully vaccinated Americans may be able to visit Canada by mid-August, and fully vaccinated travelers from all countries may be able to visit by early September, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday.
Read Full Text
CDC Advisers to Discuss Third COVID-19 Vaccine Dose for Immunocompromised
FRIDAY, July 16, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Giving a third dose of COVID-19 vaccines to immunocompromised adults will be up for discussion during a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel meeting next week.
Read Full Text
U.S. Surgeon General Issues Call to Counter 'Urgent Threat' of Vaccine Misinformation
FRIDAY, July 16, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, M.D., on Thursday called on tech companies, health care workers, journalists, and ordinary Americans to do more to fight vaccine misinformation.
Read Full Text
Staff Size, COVID-19 Outcomes Linked at Skilled Nursing Facilities
FRIDAY, July 16, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- At skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), staff size, including staff members not involved in resident care, is strongly associated with COVID-19 outcomes, according to a study published online July 14 in Health Affairs.
Read Full Text
Neutralizing Monoclonal Antibody Combo Treats Mild, Moderate COVID-19
FRIDAY, July 16, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- For ambulatory patients with mild or moderate COVID-19 who are at high risk for progression to severe disease, bamlanivimab plus etesevimab infusion leads to a lower incidence of COVID-19-related hospitalization and death, according to a study published online July 14 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Read Full Text
Almost Half of Patients Admitted With COVID-19 Have Complications
FRIDAY, July 16, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Almost 50 percent of patients admitted to the hospital for management of COVID-19 have at least one complication, according to a study published online July 15 in The Lancet.
Read Full Text
Restrictive Eating Disorders Up Among Teens During Pandemic
FRIDAY, July 16, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a significant increase in medical admissions related to restrictive eating disorders among adolescents, according to a study published online July 8 in Pediatrics.
Read Full Text
48.3 Percent of U.S. ≥16s Have Had at Least One Dose of COVID-19 Vaccine
THURSDAY, July 15, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- As of May 15, 2021, 48.3 percent of U.S. persons aged 16 years and older had received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, according to research published in the July 16 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Read Full Text
Many States Move to Ban Vaccine Mandates, Passports in Public Schools
THURSDAY, July 15, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- As schools around America begin to prepare for reopening this fall, many states are taking steps to stop public schools from requiring COVID-19 vaccination or proof of vaccination.
Read Full Text
Model Estimates Routine Child Vaccine Doses Missed During 2020
THURSDAY, July 15, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Pandemic-related disruptions in routine childhood vaccine coverage occurred worldwide in 2020, with the highest disruptions seen in April 2020, according to a study published online July 14 in The Lancet.
Read Full Text
Impact of Pandemic Projected for U.S. Breast Cancer Mortality
THURSDAY, July 15, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Pandemic-related disruptions in breast cancer care experienced during the first six months of the pandemic are expected to have a long-term cumulative impact on breast cancer mortality in the United States, according to a study published online July 14 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Read Full Text
COVID-19 Outcomes May Be Worse for People With Learning Disability
THURSDAY, July 15, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- The risks for hospital admission and death from COVID-19 may be higher for people with learning disabilities, according to a study published online July 14 in The BMJ.
Read Full Text
Some Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients Have Ongoing GI Symptoms
WEDNESDAY, July 14, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Nearly one in five patients hospitalized with COVID-19 has gastrointestinal symptoms, with persistence of symptoms in some patients for up to six months, according to a study recently published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
Read Full Text
New COVID-19 Cases Doubled in U.S. in Past Three Weeks
WEDNESDAY, July 14, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- New coronavirus infections are once again climbing in the United States, driven by the highly contagious Delta variant, lingering vaccine resistance, and Fourth of July celebrations.
Read Full Text
U.S. Drug Overdose Deaths Up ~30 Percent in 2020
WEDNESDAY, July 14, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Drug overdose deaths in the United States rose nearly 30 percent in 2020, according to provisional data released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics.
Read Full Text
Risk Factors ID'd for Severe COVID-19 With Sickle Cell Disease
WEDNESDAY, July 14, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- A history of severe pain episodes and coexisting organ conditions may increase the risk for severe COVID-19 illness and hospitalization in individuals living with sickle cell disease, according to a study published online July 1 in Blood Advances.
Read Full Text
Review Compiles Myocarditis Cases Associated With COVID-19
WEDNESDAY, July 14, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Health care professionals should be aware that myocarditis is a potential complication of COVID-19, according to a review published online July 7 in the International Journal of Clinical Practice.
Read Full Text
WHO: Get COVID-19 Vaccines to Poor Nations Instead of Making Booster Shots
TUESDAY, July 13, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- COVID-19 vaccine makers such as Pfizer should focus on getting shots to poor countries instead of trying to persuade wealthy nations to give their citizens booster shots, World Health Organization officials said at a press briefing held Monday.
Read Full Text
Pfizer Presses U.S. Scientists, Officials on Third Booster Shot
TUESDAY, July 13, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Pfizer made its case for quick U.S. approval of a third booster shot of its COVID-19 vaccine during a meeting with the country's top scientists and federal regulators on Monday.
Read Full Text
Neither Remdesivir Nor HCQ Affect Viral Clearance in COVID-19
TUESDAY, July 13, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- For hospitalized patients with COVID-19, neither remdesivir nor hydroxychloroquine affects viral clearance, according to a study published online July 13 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Read Full Text
Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine Safe, Effective in Cancer Patients
TUESDAY, July 13, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 BNT162b2 vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech) appears to be safe and achieves satisfactory serologic status in patients with cancer, according to a study published online July 8 in JAMA Oncology.
Read Full Text
FDA Adds Guillain-Barré Warning to J&J COVID-19 Vaccine
MONDAY, July 12, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a new warning for the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine that says the shot has been tied to Guillain-Barré syndrome.
Read Full Text
Cardiovascular Drugs Do Not Impact COVID-19 Outcomes
MONDAY, July 12, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Cardiovascular drugs do not affect COVID-19 outcomes, according to a review published online June 7 in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.
Read Full Text
Pfizer to Meet With U.S. Officials About COVID-19 Booster Shot
MONDAY, July 12, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Pfizer said it will meet with U.S. officials on Monday to discuss possible authorization for a third booster shot of its COVID-19 vaccine.
Read Full Text
ACIP: Benefits of mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines Outweigh Risks for ≥12s
MONDAY, July 12, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- The benefits of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines outweigh the risks, including myocarditis, for all ages, according to an update from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices published in the July 9 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Read Full Text
mRNA From COVID-19 Vaccines Not Detectable in Breast Milk
MONDAY, July 12, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Messenger RNA from COVID-19 vaccines is not detectable in breast milk, according to a research letter published online July 6 in JAMA Pediatrics.
Read Full Text
Nearly Four in 10 With Mild COVID-19 Report Symptoms Seven Months Later
MONDAY, July 12, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Residual symptoms after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection are common among otherwise young and healthy persons followed in an outpatient setting, according to a study published online July 6 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Read Full Text
