IN-DEPTH
COVID-19 Update
As of November 2021, over 59% of Americans are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. 71% of adults compared to 69% of children over 12 years of age.
As of November 19, fully vaccinated Americans 18 and older can receive a COVID-19 booster shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines under FDA EUA.
- Some states have expanded COVID-19 vaccine booster shot eligibility to include all adults over 18, six months after their second dose.
On November 4, President Biden announced the details of two major vaccination policies aimed to protect workers. These new rules and the vaccination mandate for federal contractors must be implemented by January 4.
- The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced a requirement for employers with 100 or more employees to ensure each of their workers is fully vaccinated or tests for COVID-19 on at least a weekly basis.
- The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the requirement for health care workers at facilities participating in Medicare and Medicaid to be fully vaccinated.
As of October 21, people can choose to booster mix, meaning individuals can choose which booster shot they prefer: Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson; regardless of which shot they may have received on the first dose.
As of October 29, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19 to include children 5 through 11 years of age.
As of October 25, effective November 11, a negative COVID-19 test is required for all U.S citizens and legal permanent residents who are not fully vaccinated.
Therapeutics Update
On November 16, Pfizer announced their EUA submission for investigational oral antiviral candidate, PAXLOVID™ (PF-07321332; ritonavir), to treat mild to moderate COVID-19 in patients at increased risk of hospitalizations or death. If approved, this drug will be the first oral antiviral medicine of its kind for COVID-19, that could be prescribed as an at-home treatment. It has been shown to reduce the risk of hospitalization or death by 89%.
As of November 16, Pfizer signed a licensing agreement with the Medicines Patent Pool, a United Nations-backed public health organization, that would allow generic manufacturers to make the pill widely available in 95 low- and middle-income countries covering 53% of the world's population.
As of November 8, Regeneron has announced new phase 3 analyses from a trial conducted jointly with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) found a single dose of REGEN-COV (1,200 mg subcutaneous) reduced the risk of COVID-19 by 81.6% during the pre-specified follow-up period (months 2-8), maintaining the 81.4% risk reduction previously reported during the first month after administration as shown in previous reports.
Supply Chain Disruptions
On November 15, the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach announced that they will delay their container dwell fee directed at ocean carriers until November 22. The announcement follows a 26% reduction in the number of containers dwelling past the limit, compared when they first announced the penalties.
As vaccine equity efforts are being prioritized globally, to stop the spread of COVID-19, the WHO has released targets to vaccinate 40% of the population of all countries by the end-2021 and 70% by mid-2022. Putting the plan in action will require a stable and predictable supply of not only vaccines, but syringes as well. To avoid shortages of syringes, UNICEF is calling for urgent, achievable actions including expanding access to supply.
Public Health
On November 9, US Surgeon General
released a Community Toolkit for Addressing Health Misinformation to help Americans navigate the serious threat of health misinformation, especially online. The toolkit offers specific guidance to individuals, health care professionals and administrators, teachers, librarians, and faith leaders to understand, identify, and stop the spread of health misinformation.
On November 15, the University of Michigan announced that federal public health officials are investigating a “large and sudden” outbreak of the flu among students. Since October, there have been 528 cases of the flu, with 77% of those cases occurring in students who have not been vaccinated against the flu.
