The first data from real-world use, not lab testing, shows that bivalent shots tailored for the omicron variant do a better job than the original boosters. But uptake remains low.
Stat:
Real-World Data Show New Covid Boosters Increase Protection
The updated Covid-19 boosters increase people’s protection against symptomatic infection from the coronavirus, according to some of the first estimates of how the shot is performing in the real world and in people, not just in lab experiments. What’s more, that protection was even stronger when people waited a longer period of time since their last dose of the original shot. (Joseph, 11/22)
Roll Call:
New Booster Shots Cut Risk Of Symptomatic COVID-19
The new bivalent COVID-19 booster shots are up to 56 percent more effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 infection than the two original COVID-19 vaccines in adults ages 18 and up, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Cohen and Clason, 11/22)
NBC News:
Omicron Covid Booster Better Protection Against Symptoms, CDC Says
The CDC’s results are based on more than 360,000 symptomatic adults tested for Covid at pharmacies nationwide from Sept. 14 to Nov. 11, when omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 were the dominant strains in the United States. People who got the updated booster shots after two or more shots of the original vaccine were compared to another group of people who received only two or more doses of the original vaccine. (The first iterations of Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccine target only the original coronavirus strain identified in late 2019.) (Lovelace Jr., 11/22)
More on the booster rollout —
WUSF Public Media:
Florida Has One Of The Worst Updated COVID-19 Booster Rates In The Country
Florida has the fourth lowest rate in the country for adults getting the updated COVID-19 booster shot, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Rates for kids and teens are well below the national average as well. Some health experts say that’s concerning, especially as the holidays approach. (11/22)
CIDRAP:
Study Finds 10-Fold Return On COVID Vaccine Investment
Each dollar invested in New York City COVID-19 vaccine efforts generated $10.19 in savings by lowering infection and death rates, productivity loss, and healthcare use, estimates a study published yesterday in JAMA Network Open. (Van Beusekom, 11/22)
On other covid treatments —
San Francisco Chronicle:
Antiviral Shown To Reduce COVID Hospitalization Risk By Half — CDC Study
A new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention links the antiviral drug Paxlovid with reducing the risk of hospitalization by more than half for people infected with COVID-19. U.S. adults with mild to moderate COVID who got Paxlovid within five days of diagnosis had a 51% lower hospitalization rate than those who did not take the drug, the study released Tuesday found. (Beamish and Narayan, 11/22)
CIDRAP:
Remdesivir, Steroids Tied To Better COVID Hospital Outcomes
The antiviral drug remdesivir and corticosteroids were linked to better outcomes in COVID-19 patients admitted directly to a hospital ward in the Netherlands, suggests a real-world study published today in Open Forum Infectious Diseases. Patients received remdesivir, corticosteroids, the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine, immune-suppressing interleukin-6 (IL-6) antagonists, or combinations thereof; intensive care unit (ICU) patients didn’t receive remdesivir. In patients admitted directly to an ICU, hydroxychloroquine, corticosteroids, and IL-6 antagonists weren’t tied to a lower risk of death or hospital release alive. (11/22)
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