Monkeypox Vaccine Rollout; Plus, Omicron-Specific Boosters

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TThe World Health Organization said over the weekend that the spread of monkeypox has not yet risen to the level of a public health emergency of international concern. However, the committee will reconvene if there is significant spread to other countries and higher rates of cases in the next 21 days. On Tuesday, the Biden administration announced plans to expand access to nearly 300,000 doses of the monkeypox vaccine made by Denmark-based Bavaria Nordic. By the end of the year, the federal government expects to have 1.6 million doses available. “While monkeypox poses a small risk to most Americans, we are doing everything we can to offer vaccinations to those at high risk of contracting the virus,” Xavier Becerra, HHS Secretary, said in a statement.

Monkeypox does not spread as easily as COVID-19. It is primarily transmitted through close contact with an infected person, animal, or contaminated objects, although it may also spread through respiratory droplets. The current outbreak, which includes more than 3,200 cases worldwide, has mainly affected the MSM population. There are 351 cases in the US now with the highest numbers in California 80 cases and New York 72 cases, According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The federal government currently recommends vaccination for people with confirmed or suspected exposure to monkeypox as a precaution.

15 Million People Have Downloaded Pregnancy Trackers That Might Give Data to Cops Without a Court Order – Should You Worry?

Pregnancy trackers with millions of downloads seem to reserve the right to reveal user data to the police when they suspect user error.

AFP via Getty Images

Forbes’ analysis of two pregnancy and ovulation trackers – BabyCenter and What To Expect – owned by the $3.6 billion Ziff Davis media group, showed that they reserve the right to share data with law enforcement at their discretion. In a section on how apps handle law enforcement requests, there is no express requirement for police to have a signed warrant or subpoena before sharing user data. In fact, the language indicates that if companies suspect a user of illegal behavior, or just a violation of their terms of service, they will share it with the relevant authorities. Privacy activists want these companies to do more to protect users in a post-Roe v. Wade United States. Read more here.

Offers of the week

photographic equipment: Magnetic Insight, which builds imaging technology that enables physicians to monitor the course of cell therapy treatments, has announced its lifting 17 Million Dollar Series B. The capital injection will be directed towards expanding the clinical applications of his device.

Pharma’s big bets on recoding: Genetic drug company ReCode Therapeutics Announced an extension of 120 million dollars of financing her Series B, bringing the total value of the round to $200 million. The investment arms of Pfizer, Sanofi and Bayer contributed to the round, along with several other venture firms.

Diagnostic dollars: Visby Medical, a diagnostic company that has developed a portable PCR test for sexually transmitted diseases and Covid-19 with results in less than 30 minutes, has announced Additional $35 million In Series E financing led by Lightrock, the total is $135 million.

New Biotechnology Fund: ARCH Venture Partners closed a new center Nearly 3 billion dollars To develop and invest in early-stage biotechnology companies. “Science doesn’t care what markets do, and science is moving forward,” said Bob Nielsen, co-founder of ARCH, in a statement. The company’s 12th fund comes a year and a half after closing its 11th $1.9 billion fund in January 2021. The fund will address areas including infectious disease, mental health, immunology and oncology, among many others.

Noticeable

Health Care Employment Market Bedouin health He raised $105 million in equity and debt financing as it expands beyond travel nursing to other health care workers.

Walgreens Boots Alliance It no longer plans to sell its UK-based pharmacies after strategically reviewing potential buyers amid a volatile financial market.

The Missouri attorney general says the state’s abortion ban doesn’t apply to him Emergency contraception After a major health system stopped providing it but later reversed its course.

Inequalities currently cost the US health care system about $320 billion and can reach 1 trillion dollars or more by 2040, according to a report from Deloitte.

Medicare Benefits Plan Align Healthcare It will expand to Florida and Texas markets in 2023.

Healthcare automation startup Medal The company raised $30 million in Series B last week, as the company looks to enroll top companies, especially hospitals and health insurance companies, for its programs.

Corona Virus Updates

An FDA advisory panel voted 19-2 yesterday to recommend that the agency switch to new Covid booster shots that specifically target the omicron variant. Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax have released clinical trial data showing that omicron shots that also include the original coronavirus targets produced robust antibody responses against the omicron variant. This committee is following the World Health Organization’s suggestion earlier this month that updated vaccines may be necessary to enhance immune protection. One key question remains: Even if there was a set dose for omicron, how many people in the US would get it? Only about two-thirds of the eligible population was vaccinated with two doses. Only about 33% have been vaccinated with three. Meanwhile, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of new cases is now higher than last year, and hospital admissions for Covid are on the way back. New hospital admissions for Covid were 12.9% higher last week than in the previous week.

Study finds high maternal mortality rates during the pandemic – especially among black and Hispanic women

Maternal mortality rates have increased during the pandemic.

Maternal deaths have risen during the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly among black and Latino women, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open Tuesday, underlining the huge disparities that have exacerbated during the crisis and the unique health issues the virus is causing for pregnant women. Read more here.

Other Corona Virus News

danger from covid long A new study finds that it is higher among women, older adults, white people, and individuals with certain pre-existing health conditions.

The Biden administration’s COVID-19 Vaccine mandate For federal employees, it’s been blocked again in court — at least for now — as the Federal Court of Appeals ruled on Monday that it would reconsider the case and overturned its previous decision upholding the clause.

During the weekend of Juneteenth and Father’s Day and the weekend 14,000 US flights has been cancelled. Big reason for that? Covid-related absenteeism.