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Pfizer said this week it may be time for fully vaccinated people to get a booster shot – but federal health agencies say, not so fast. Meg Tirrell has the details. Scientists and other health experts say low vaccinated states this fall may be forced to reintroduce some traditional public health measures, such as indoor mask wearing. That story, and more on the pandemic, below.
| | Pfizer says waning immunity means boosters are coming; CDC and FDA say not so fast | Data from Israel suggests protection from Pfizer's vaccine against infection and disease wanes after about six months, the pharma giant said Thursday night, noting a third shot has proven to boost antibodies back to "encouraging levels." It plans to file for emergency use authorization of a booster in the U.S. next month. Pfizer also said it's developing a delta variant-targeted booster just in case. And indeed, health-care leaders from Israel told us they do expect boosters will be needed. But in the U.S., the CDC and FDA were quick to reassure Americans that people who are fully vaccinated do not yet need booster shots – trying to keep the focus on getting as many people to get their first vaccinations as possible.
-Meg Tirrell | | | | Indoor masks likely to make a return this fall in low vaccinated states | Scientists and other health experts are warning that indoor mask mandates and other public health measures will likely make a return in the U.S. this fall, particularly in states with the lowest vaccination rates. Delta, already the dominant variant in the U.S., is expected to hit those places the hardest — unless officials reintroduce mask rules, capacity limits and other public health measures that they've largely rolled back in recent months, experts told us. Given pandemic fatigue, health and legal experts also noted it may be difficult to persuade some Americans to put the masks back on or follow other public health guidance.
-Berkeley Lovelace Jr. | | | | Africa suffers worst surge in cases as delta spurs third wave of pandemic | Africa, where less than 2% of the population is vaccinated against Covid-19, experienced its worst surge of cases last week since the pandemic began. The second-largest continent recorded more than 251,000 new Covid cases during the week ending July 4, a 20% increase from the prior week and a 12% increase from the January peak, according to WHO data. More than 16 African countries, including Malawi and Senegal, are seeing new cases rise. The more transmissible delta variant has been detected in at least 10 of those countries.
-Rich Mendez | | | | Here's what you need to know about the lambda Covid variant | The lambda variant, or "C.37" as the lineage has been designated, has been spreading rapidly in South America, particularly in Peru where the earliest documented samples of the virus date from last August. It was only flagged up as a "variant of interest" by the World Health Organization on June 14 this year as cases attributed to the variant had spread noticeably. The WHO and other public health bodies are trying to understand how the variant compares to other strains of the virus, including whether it could be more transmissible and more resistant to vaccines.
-Holly Ellyatt | | | | Six vaccinated countries have high infection rates. Five rely on Chinese vaccines | Among countries with both high vaccination rates and high rates of Covid-19 infection, most rely on vaccines made in China, a CNBC analysis shows. The findings come as the efficacy of Chinese vaccines faces growing scrutiny, compounded by a lack of data on their protection against the more transmissible delta variant. CNBC found that weekly Covid cases, adjusted for population, have remained elevated in at least six of the world's most inoculated countries — and five of them rely on vaccines from China.
-Yen Nee Lee | | | | Missouri seeing delta perfect storm | Two thirds of Missouri's counties are on the CDC's watch list of high-risk areas for the Delta variant surge. They have a combination of rising rates of infection and vaccination rates below 30%. In one in six counties, the vaccination rate is below 20%. Hospitals are again overwhelmed and increasingly begging the community to get immunized. The common denominator for new cases – people are unvaccinated.
-Bertha Coombs | |
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