July 16 coronavirus news

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday warned people who are immunocompromised that the Covid-19 vaccine may not have been effective for them and encouraged them to take precautions as if they were not vaccinated. 

“People who are immunocompromised should be counseled about the potential for reduced immune responses to COVID-19 vaccines and to follow current prevention measures (including wearing a mask, staying 6 feet apart from others staying they don’t live with, and avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated indoor spaces) to protect themselves against COVID-19 until advised otherwise by their healthcare provider,” according to the CDC’s website.

The CDC did not go so far as to tell the millions of immunocompromised people in the US to get an additional shot of a Covid-19 vaccine, noting that “the safety, efficacy and benefit of additional doses for COVID-19 vaccines in immunocompromised persons continues to be evaluated.”

A federal official told CNN that “CDC is looking into ongoing research exploring the possibility that immunocompromised could benefit from an additional dose.”

Some immunocompromised people have, on their own, received additional doses of the vaccine, and a study last month by Johns Hopkins researchers suggested that an extra shot may help increase Covid-19 antibody levels for some organ transplant recipients who did not have a full response to their original vaccinations. 

On Sunday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Biden’s chief medical adviser, acknowledged the reality that some people are acting ahead of official recommendations, noting that there are individual physicians “right now that are saying, ‘I want to go the extra mile with someone who might have a lower level of immunity.’” 

On Friday, the CDC said data suggest the response to the vaccines might be reduced for several groups, including organ transplant recipients, people who are receiving chemotherapy for cancer, people who have certain blood cancers, and people receiving dialysis or taking certain medications that suppress the immune system. 

The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is scheduled to discuss additional doses for immunocompromised individuals during its meeting on July 22.

The Association of American Medical Colleges on Friday urged all its member institutions to require Covid-19 vaccinations for employees in order to protect patients and healthcare personnel, as the Delta variant continues to circulate.

"We are not alone in our thinking. Several academic medical centers have recently begun to mandate vaccinations for employees, while others contemplate doing so when the FDA grants full approval of the vaccines," AAMC President Dr. David Sorkin said in Friday's statement. "We are aware of the sensitive nature of this recommendation and understand that it must be made on an institution-by-institution basis, subject to legally required exceptions and consistent with state law. However, for the safety of our patients, communities, health care personnel, faculty, and students, we encourage our members to require vaccinations for employees while working with local public health officials as appropriate."

Sorkin said that the recommendation comes at the same time when there has been a resurgence in Covid-19 cases across the country.

"Across the country, we are seeing increasing evidence that those currently unvaccinated continue to be at high risk of acquiring Covid-19 and are the overwhelming majority of new hospitalizations. This, along with the continued resurgence of Covid-19 cases related to lack of vaccination and exacerbated by novel viral variants, such as the Delta variant, has emphasized the critical need to continue to get individuals vaccinated and mitigate the spread of the virus," Sorkin added.

Just 56% of US health care workers in nursing homes are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, according to a new analysis from AARP.

AARP says only 1 in 5 nursing homes hit the industry target of having 75% of staff fully vaccinated.

At a national level, many more residents are fully vaccinated than staff, according to this analysis. About 78% of residents are fully vaccinated; however, there are some states reporting much lower rates like in Arizona.

With just 63% of nursing home and long-term care residents fully vaccinated, Arizona has the lowest number of fully vaccinated residents in the US. In Florida, it’s 68%. 

Some context: This lag in vaccinations is a concern, AARP said, since nursing homes have seen a disproportionate number of deaths and cases.

While the number of deaths at nursing homes dropped significantly after the vaccine rollout, more than 184,000 residents and staff at nursing homes and long-term care facilities have died from Covid-19 during the pandemic, that’s about a third of all Covid-19 deaths in the US. 

“This national tragedy cannot be repeated,” Nancy LeaMond, AARP’s executive vice president and chief advocacy and engagement officer said in an organization news release. “With cases once again rising across the country and considering the highly contagious Delta variant, every effort must be made to protect vulnerable nursing home residents.”

On Monday, AARP sent a letter urging the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to make sure long-term care facilities have access to Covid-19 vaccines. It also encouraged facilities to educate staff about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines.

AARP is a nonprofit interest group focusing on issues affecting those over the age of fifty, according to the organization.

More than 48% of people in the United States are fully vaccinated, according to the latest data published Friday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Here are some more stats on vaccination efforts in the US, per the CDC:

• 48.4% of the US population is fully vaccinated
• The current pace of vaccinations (a seven-day average) stands at 293,850 people fully vaccinated per day with 519,678 doses reported administered per day. 
• This is a 13% decline from last week, when an average of about 339,000 people became fully vaccinated each day.
• 20 states have fully vaccinated more than half of their residents: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin, as well as Washington, DC.

President Biden said social media platforms like Facebook are “killing people” with misinformation surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic.

“They’re killing people—I mean they’re really—look, the only pandemic we have is among the unvaccinated,” Biden said this afternoon. “And they’re killing people.”

Earlier Friday: White House press secretary Jen Psaki criticized social media platforms for taking insufficient action on misinformation. 

“Why don’t we all participate in a process that will help provide accurate information out there?” Psaki said. 

A decision on full approval of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine is one of the highest priorities of the US Food and Drug Administration, the agency’s acting commissioner said Friday.

The FDA granted priority review for Pfizer/BioNTech’s application for a Biologics License Application (BLA) for its Covid-19 vaccine, which now has emergency use authorization.

As part of the official designation, the FDA automatically set a goal date of January 2022 for a decision.

“The Prescription Drug User Fee (PDUFA) Goal Date of January 2022 reflects the PDUFA deadline for Priority Review and does not mean approval will not happen before that time,” FDA acting commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock tweeted. “Quite to the contrary, the review of this BLA has been ongoing, is among the highest priorities of the agency, and the agency intends to complete the review far in advance of the PDUFA Goal Date.”

Places like hospitals or universities might go ahead with requiring Covid-19 vaccines for employees or students, but it’s not likely the federal government will mandate vaccines, US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said Friday in a virtual discussion hosted by the Washington Post. 

“We may see more institutions in communities such as hospitals, or other employers or universities, put requirements around vaccination, and that would not be unusual,” he said, noting that school districts nationwide frequently require certain childhood vaccinations. 

“We also know that many hospitals require the flu vaccine for their employees and staff, and the reason they do that is they want to protect their patients. They don't want a doctor or a nurse or another staff member to come in with the flu and then inadvertently give it to a patient who was already ill with something else," he continued.

Murthy said these types of requirements may become more common once a Covid-19 vaccine receives full approval from the US Food and Drug Administration, but the federal government will likely remain uninvolved.  

“What I think you won’t see is a requirement from the federal government to have people get vaccinated,” he said.

“This is a decision that historically has not come from the federal government around vaccine mandates. It has come from private institutions, and from local government. I anticipate that will be the case this time around as well," Murthy said.

While some people may be persuaded to get a Covid-19 vaccine after one is fully approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, all the data so far already indicates that vaccination is a smart choice, US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said Friday.

The FDA announced Friday that it had granted priority review to Pfizer/BioNTech’s application for full approval of their Covid-19 vaccine.

“I'm going to defer to the FDA on their reasons for their decisions around the prioritization and the time schedule,” Murthy said in a virtual discussion hosted by the Washington Post. “What I can say about the vaccine, whether it's Pfizer's vaccine or Moderna’s vaccine getting full approval, is that there are some people for whom I think that would be helpful.”

Murthy said there is research showing some people could be persuaded to get vaccinated once there is full approval, but said the data is already there to show the vaccines work safely and well.

“Even though I think some people may be helped by that, I think you can look at what's happened already with the vaccine,” he said. “Not only has it been studied in clinical trials, issued an authorization by the FDA, but it has now been essentially given to millions and millions of people in the United States and around the world."

Murthy added: “I do think that for some people the FDA approval process may make a difference, but I do think that we have a fair amount of experience right now, a tremendous amount of experience, that tells us that, again, the benefits of this vaccine far outweigh any risks.”

As school districts across the country prepare to welcome back students for full time in-person learning, some states are planning to require mask-wearing for all students; while in other states, executive orders have been signed to ban school districts from enacting mask mandates.

​The ever-changing rules, combined with a decision by many states to leave it to school districts to decide locally, is confusing parents, teachers and students.

Six states have announced that they will require K-12 students to wear masks in school, regardless of their vaccination status:

• Connecticut
• Hawaii
• New Mexico
• New York
• Virginia
• Washington.

"All school personnel, volunteers, visitors, and students must wear cloth face coverings or an acceptable alternative (e.g., surgical mask) at school when indoors regardless of vaccination status," according to guidance from Washington's Department of Health, which was updated earlier this month.

However, in Washington, masks are not required outdoors — the varying rules adding to confusion over when masks are required versus not required.

On Monday, California quickly reversed its school mask policy after announcing that students who arrived at school without a mask on would be turned away.

For now, the state will leave decisions on masks up to the districts.

"California's school guidance will be clarified regarding masking enforcement, recognizing local schools' experience in keeping students and educators safe while ensuring schools fully reopen for in-person instruction," the California Department of Public Health tweeted. 

Even among the states requiring masks, there's indication policies are still in flux.

New Mexico is standing by its guidance issued in April for now, in which masks are required for all students in school. But New Mexico's Public Education Department is revisiting its policy now that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated its guidance.

"We expect our updated guidance, which will be announced upon completion, to align closely with the CDC's recommendations and to continue making the health and safety of children a priority," the department said in a statement to CNN.

Where health officials stand: The CDC updated its guidance for schools earlier this month, recommending that unvaccinated individuals over the age of two wear a mask when indoors, but saying that people generally do not need masks outdoors.

"Consistent and correct mask use by people who are not fully vaccinated is especially important indoors and in crowded settings, when physical distancing cannot be maintained," the CDC guidance said.

Despite that guidance, seven states have enacted legislation that would ban districts from requiring masks in school, according to CNN's analysis. Those states are: Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Vermont.

​To make matters even more complicated, two states — Illinois and Michigan — have statewide policies declaring that masks are required only for unvaccinated students. With Covid-19 vaccines only approved for children 12 years old and up, that means you could have junior high and middle schools where a combination of vaccinated and unvaccinated students are in classes together.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this post included Delaware on the list of states requiring masks in school. As of last week, Delaware's state of emergency order expired, and there is no longer a state mask requirement. For now, the decision on requiring masks will be left to local school districts.