Study Claims Merck’s Covid Pill Is Giving Rise To New Virus Mutations
A preprint study says mutations linked to the use of Lagevrio have been identified in viral samples taken from dozens of patients, Bloomberg reported. Merck disputed that its drug — which works by creating mutations in the covid genome — was causing problematic mutations, saying that researchers drew their conclusions from “circumstantial associations.”
Bloomberg:
Merck Covid Drug Linked To New Virus Mutations, Study Says
Merck & Co.’s Covid-19 pill is giving rise to new mutations of the virus in some patients, according to a study that underscores the risk of trying to intentionally alter the pathogen’s genetic code. Some researchers worry the drug may create more contagious or health-threatening variations of Covid, which has killed more than 6.8 million people globally over the past three years. (Lauerman, 2/1)
Reuters:
U.S. FDA Removes COVID Test Requirements For Pfizer, Merck Pills
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday removed the need for a positive test for COVID-19 treatments from Pfizer Inc. and Merck & Co Inc. Pfizer’s Paxlovid and Merck’s Lagevrio pills were given emergency use authorizations in Dec. 2021 for patients with mild-to-moderate COVID who tested positive for the virus, and who were at risk of progressing to severe COVID. Still, the FDA said the patients should have a current diagnosis of mild-to-moderate COVID infection. (2/1)
More on the spread of covid —
San Francisco Chronicle:
Bay Area’s Largest County Shutting Down Its Mass COVID-19 Vaccination, Testing Sites
Nearly three years after it became the first county in the nation to declare COVID-19 a public health emergency, Santa Clara County announced Wednesday a plan to transition out of the emergency phase of the pandemic by the end of February. That includes the closure of all the county-run mass vaccination and testing sites. Residents of the Bay Area’s most populous county will be directed instead to private health care providers, pharmacies or local clinics. (Vaziri, 2/1)
San Francisco Chronicle:
State To Drop Plan For Schoolchildren Vaccine Mandate
California will drop its plan to require schoolchildren to get vaccinated against COVID-19 once the state’s pandemic state of emergency order ends on Feb. 28. “We continue to strongly recommend COVID-19 immunization for students and staff to keep everyone safer in the classroom,” the California Department of Public Health said in an email to EdSource, confirming the change. (Vaziri, 2/1)
San Francisco Chronicle:
COVID In California: Fauci Says ‘Anything Is Possible’ For Pandemic
“Anything is possible,” Fauci said. “One cannot predict, exactly, what the likelihood (is) of getting yet again another variant that’s so different that it eludes the protection that we have from the vaccines and from prior infection.” He noted that each omicron sublineage appears to be progressively better at eluding immune response developed by the vaccines and prior infection. (Vaziri, 2/1)
Reuters:
Draft WHO Pandemic Deal Pushes For Equity To Avoid COVID ‘Failure’ Repeat
Governments may have to reserve drugs and vaccines for the World Health Organization to distribute in poorer countries to avoid a repeat of the “catastrophic failure” during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an early draft of a global pandemic agreement. One of the most concrete proposals in the draft accord reviewed by Reuters on Wednesday includes a measure to reserve 20% of any tests, vaccines or treatments developed for use in poorer countries. (Rigby and Tetrault-Farber, 2/2)
On the end of the emergency declaration —
Axios:
The Funding Cliff For Student Mental Health
Public school districts that received a windfall of COVID relief funds for mental health services are confronting a new dilemma: How to sustain counseling, screenings, teletherapy and other programs when the money runs out. (Moreno, 2/2)
The Boston Globe:
The National COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Will End In May But Some Of Its Provisions May Survive In Mass.
“There’s a lot of wait-and-see,” said Jose Francisco Figueroa, assistant professor of health policy and management at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. When it comes to Medicaid programs, which were allowed to eliminate copays and waive certain requirements, “there’s still wiggle room on what the state can decide to keep versus not to keep,” Figueroa said. Massachusetts has long had a generous Medicaid program, called MassHealth, he noted. (Freyer, 2/1)
KHN:
As Pandemic-Era Medicaid Provisions Lapse, Millions Approach A Coverage Cliff
States are preparing to remove millions of people from Medicaid as protections put in place early in the covid-19 pandemic expire. The upheaval, which begins in April, will put millions of low-income Americans at risk of losing health coverage, threatening their access to care and potentially exposing them to large medical bills. It will also put pressure on the finances of hospitals, doctors, and others relying on payments from Medicaid, a state-federal program that covers lower-income people and people with disabilities. (Galewitz, 2/2)
AP:
TennCare: Nearly 300k Tennesseans Likely To Lose Coverage
Nearly 300,000 Tennesseans who enrolled in Medicaid during the COVID-19 pandemic are expected to lose their coverage this year now that state officials are once again allowed to bump people from the government-funded health insurance program. A spokesperson for TennCare, the state’s Medicaid program, said this week that no removals will occur until April 1, though she said in an email that the “redetermination process” will begin in March. (Kruesi, 2/1)
The Hill:
House Passes Bill To End Coronavirus-Era Telework Policies For Executive Agencies
The number of government employees teleworking increased rapidly amid the pandemic. According to a CBS News review of data and reports from the Office Of Personnel Management (OPM), the number of government employees who teleworked increased from roughly 483,000 in 2018 to more than 1 million by 2021. Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, argued the legislation “offers a much-needed solution to this problem of federal agencies and federal employees putting their own comfort before our constituents’ needs.” (Schnell, 2/1)
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