Pfizer vaccine may be OK at "normal" freezer temperature; J&J vaccine faces FDA review Friday
Texas, other states loosen public health measures, another new variant emerges in New York, and 55 people infected after a Chicago gym rat attended workout class while sick with COVID-19.
Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines could start shipping out early next week, if FDA advisors and the FDA Commissioner deem it safe and effective enough to justify emergency use. The advisors meet Friday starting at 9:00 AM EST.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky says people should think of vaccines as another layer of protection that works with other layers such as masks and social distancing: Because some virus gets through each layer, multiple layers provide the best protection. (This is sometimes referred to as the “Swiss Cheese Model.”) She was speaking on a webinar hosted by the American Public Health Association.
The FDA says frozen, undiluted Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines can be safely transported and stored for up to two weeks at “normal” freezer temperatures (-13ºF to -5º F.) The agency issued specific guidance in an update issued Thursday after reviewing data submitted by Pfizer. Until now, the vaccine had to be kept at -112ºF to -76ºF — requiring specialized freezers.
COVID-19 deaths at nursing homes have dropped more than 65% since vaccines started to be administered in December, the New York Times reports with dramatic graphs to help make the point.
Texas, Mississipi and North Dakota are relaxing mask mandates. University of Washington health forecasters predict mask use in the USA will drop to around 65% before summer. “Universal mask” use could prevent about 30,000 COVID-19 deaths between now and then, according to the UW IHME team.
A new variant, B.1.526, now accounts for 1 out of 4 COVID-19 cases in New York City, raising concerns that the strain has adapted in ways that could help it avoid the human immune response.
Wear a mask if doing an intense workout inside a gym, says the CDC. And don’t go if you are feeling unwell. After a gym-goer notified their gym that they tested positive, Chicago health authorities tallied a total of 55 COVID-19 cases were identified among 80 other people who attended the same gym, including 22 who were there around the same time. The person who reported the positive test admitted attending a high-intensity workout class even though they felt sick that day.
The CDC published new communications tools for community-based organizations Thursday, saying it will continually update these materials to support vaccination and other COVID-19 prevention and treatment programs.
