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As the U.S. continues to face an increase in monkeypox cases (nearly 9,500 cases as of Tuesday), the FDA has approved a new dosing strategy to increase vaccine supplies. Bavarian Nordic’s Jynneos vaccine was originally approved by the FDA for a full dose to be administered subcutaneously, meaning subcutaneously in the fatty tissue of the arm. On Tuesday, the FDA issued an emergency use permit that allows healthcare workers to inject one-fifth of the normal dose intradermally, meaning into the skin.
However, experts tell Forbes that this new method poses challenges to the vaccine’s rollout: There is limited data to support the strategy, and most healthcare workers are experienced in administering intradermal injections. This method can also lead to more side effects, such as swelling and itching at the injection site, compared to the standard dose, according to Dr. Jay Varma, a professor at Weill Cornell Medicine. Although Varma also said he thought the new approach was the best “given the shortage of vaccine supplies”.
Facebook gave Nebraska cops a teen’s DMs so they could go after her for having an abortion
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A Nebraska teenager is facing criminal charges of having an abortion in violation of state law after authorities obtained her Facebook messages through a search warrant. It marks one of the first cases of a person’s Facebook activity being used to incriminate them in a state where access to abortion is restricted — a scenario that remains largely hypothetical in the weeks since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Read more here.
Offers of the week
Funding Extension: Biofourmis, a digital therapy and artificial intelligence startup developing remote patient monitoring, has raised a $20 million Series D expansion led by Intel Capital. SCAN Group President and CEO Sachin Jain and former Tenet Healthcare Chairman and CEO Trevor Fetter are also joining the company’s board. Biofourmis was valued at $1.3 billion after a $300 million funding round in April.
Sickle Cell: Pfizer acquires Global Blood Therapeutics in a deal valued at $5.4 billion as the pharmaceutical giant acquires its sickle cell disease portfolio. Pfizer estimates that its approved Oxbryta treatment and the group of drugs in development “could achieve combined worldwide peak sales of more than $3 billion,” according to a news release.
Health outcomes: HCA Healthcare partners with Johnson & Johnson on a pilot program to address early detection of lung cancer in the black community. The two companies will also work together on training for nurses in health equity and research using digital technologies to improve outcomes in heart disease.
Diabetes: Abbott has partnered with WeightWatchers on a program for diabetes patients that combines Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre continuous glucose monitor with WeightWatchers’ diabetes management app, which focuses on nutrition and meal planning.
Alzheimer’s collaboration: Drug discovery firm Cerevance announced Tuesday that it has signed a multi-year deal with Merck to identify new drug targets for Alzheimer’s disease. The deal calls for Cerevance to receive $25 million upfront and, if all goes well with drug development, could be worth up to $1.1 billion in milestone payments in addition to royalties.
Remarkable
A new study suggests that more than half of infectious diseases could be worsened by climate change, as warming temperatures, droughts, wildfires and other weather events that displace people make it easier for pathogens to spread.
Cigna reported nearly $1.6 billion in quarterly earnings due to continued growth in health plan membership and the company’s Evernorth health services business.
Georgia parents can claim embryos with detectable heartbeats as dependents on their state tax returns after Roe v. Wade was overturned.
Losses at Medicare benefits company Alignment Healthcare narrowed as enrollment grew, according to its latest earnings report.
Meet Daniel Carnival, the scientist coordinating the new lunar picture of President Joe Biden’s cancer.
Coronavirus updates
Pfizer and BioNTech have completed clinical trials for vaccines that include specific protection against the original omicron variant. The two companies have now begun testing vaccines specific to the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron sub-variants, which are the fastest-spreading variants of Covid-19 in the United States. Production of the new vaccines has already begun and could be introduced as early as October pending regulatory approvals. This is good news as we approach autumn and winter, which are the times of the year when the spread of Covid is highest. Competitor Moderna has also begun testing an Omicron-specific booster, but the FDA has yet to clear any Omicron-specific vaccines.
Newly discovered monkey antibodies may hold the key to a vaccine against all strains of the coronavirus
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Researchers have identified monkey antibodies that are effective against multiple variants of Covid and other coronaviruses, a discovery that could help scientists develop better vaccines and prepare for future pandemics as drug companies race to update their vaccines.
Read more here.
Other news about the coronavirus
New research presented earlier this month suggests that loss of smell during a Covid infection is associated with long-term cognitive impairment.
A recently published study found that wind instruments, especially wind instruments like trumpets and trombones, are the most likely to spread respiratory particles and therefore diseases like Covid.
Americans’ views of the Covid-19 pandemic have grown increasingly pessimistic in recent months, a new Gallup poll has found, with a growing share believing things are getting worse rather than better.
A very small retrospective study found that among patients hospitalized for Covid-19, those who admitted to being chronic cannabis users were less likely to be admitted to the intensive care unit, but the study authors urged caution and more definitive research before drawing conclusions.
Via Forbes
Cloud 100
How much has Trump made from Mar-A-Lago, his Palm Beach estate under siege?
Google urges Apple to fix iMessage’s hateful green bubbles
What else are we reading?
As billionaires race to fund antiaging projects, one much-discussed trial remains overlooked (STAT)
Labs monitoring Covid effluent join monkeypox hunt (Kaiser Health News)
Long COVID treatments: why the world is still waiting (Nature)
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