White House, CDC sound alarm over premature relaxation of public health precautions
Seven-day average of new cases up 5% this week as several states curtail mask mandates and other restrictions. FDA panel reviews J&J vaccine.
CDC Director Dr. Rachelle Walensky said the positive trends she reported Wednesday have been eclipsed by an uptick in new cases in the latest seven-day rolling average. She attributes the increase to variants spreading faster than earlier versions of the novel coronavirus. “The recent shift in the pandemic must be taken seriously,” said Walensky at a White House briefing Friday.
White House COVID-19 advisor Andy Slavitt said case positivity rates must be much lower before mask mandates and other restrictions are lifted. He urged people to be patient, because millions more vaccine doses will be distributed in March and April. Texas and other states with high rates of new infections are curtailing public health precautions.
“Viruses will not mutate if you don’t give them the opportunity to spread,” said NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci. He said that 70,000 new daily cases is a “precariously” high rate. The number likely undercounts new cases, since testing is down 20% as people focus on getting vaccinated.
Ending the pandemic requires “community” or “herd” immunity, which means 60-90% of people are either vaccinated against or recovered from COVID-19.
Variants and vaccines
NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci said researchers are studying whether a booster dose of the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines will work against the emerging and concerning B.1.351 variant.
FDA advisors are expected to vote at 5:30 PM Eastern Time on whether to recommend granting emergency use authorization for Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 single-shot vaccine. The vote is expected to be affirmative. Though both FDA and CDC must approve, the new vaccine could start rolling out to distribution sites within days. A CDC advisory panel will confer over the weekend.
GSK/Sanofi have started a Phase 2 study of their COVID-19 vaccine. This likely puts Phase 3 data review into the late spring or early summer.
Novavax is expected to submit its request for EUA “soon.” Its United Kingdom study showed 89% efficacy.
A report from a hospital in the United Kingdom that has not been peer-reviewed says the Pfizer vaccine dramatically cuts asymptomatic transmission of COVID-19. Similar data has been reported among people vaccinated with other COVID-19 vaccines.
Have a good weekend.