ReutersThe Biden administration faces an April 18 deadline on whether to extend or end a mandate requiring travelers to wear masks on airplanes, trains and in transit hubs.
During his first State of the Union Address, President Biden noted that the pandemic has been a disruptive force on multiple levels, not only for the United States but the entire globe. Among his pledges is a plan to distribute Pfizer’s antiviral drug Paxlovid free of charge to people who test positive.
People who die of severe COVID-19 have brain abnormalities that resemble changes seen in Alzheimer’s disease – accumulation of a protein called tau inside brain cells, and abnormal amounts of the protein beta-amyloid that accumulates into amyloid plaques – small studies found. In other news, seniors can safely get the high-dose flu vaccine and an mRNA COVID-19 booster dose at the same time, a new study confirms.
Insurance companies will be required to cover eight over-the-counter at-home coronavirus tests per person each month starting January 15, the Biden administration said, expanding access to highly sought-after kits as Americans grapple with a surge in coronavirus cases.
Genetic testing specialist Qiagen received emergency use authorization for a new coronavirus test from the U.S. drugs regulator.
A molecular test from Becton Dickinson that detects viruses that cause Covid-19 as well as influenza and produces result in 2-3 hours was given emergency use authorization by the U.S. health regulator.
South Korea’s Celltrion Inc. received emergency use authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the rapid Covid-19 testing kit Sampinute, which boosted shares of the company and its affiliates.
U.S. manufacturers are sharply increasing production of cheap, fast – but less accurate – Covid-19 tests, aiming for 100 million per month by year-end 2020 that will enable schools and workplaces to significantly expand testing.
A Covid-19 vaccine could be broadly rolled out in the United States by the middle of 2021 or a little later, the head of the federal government’s disease control agency said.
More U.S. colleges were grappling with high numbers of students testing positive for the coronavirus just days into the start of the fall semester after some universities rolled back their campus reopening plans in recent weeks.
