Biden announces further mandates, researchers are exploring new shots and treatments, and the global spread of vaccines is fluctuating. Here’s what you need to know:
Do you want to receive this weekly review and other news about the coronavirus? register here!!
Headlines
The White House is announcing a comprehensive new plan to combat the next phase of the pandemic
Yesterday, President Biden announced a number of new policies for Covid-19. The six steps of his plan increase vaccinations, increase protection for the unvaccinated, keep schools safe and open, increase testing and disguise, support economic recovery and renew care for people who get sick. Vaccine mandates are a central element. All employers with more than 100 employees will have to require either vaccinations or weekly tests, give workers paid leave to take pictures and recover from side effects, and risk being fined up to $ 14,000 for a violation if they don’t. And all federal executive workers and government executives will also need to be vaccinated.
Biden also called on governors to demand vaccinations for school staff. This week, Los Angeles, the country’s second-largest school district, took another step forward and announced that it would require all students over the age of 12 to be vaccinated in order to attend classes in person.
Drug manufacturers and researchers are working to develop more vaccination and treatment options
BioNTech senior executives recently announced that the drugmaker is ready to seek worldwide approval for the use of Covid-19 in children as young as 5 years old. Meanwhile, other drugmakers have said plans are underway for a new type of vaccine that can fight both Covid-19 and the flu. Novavax said this week that it began testing at an early stage to test its combined shot, and expects results in the first half of 2022. Moderna is also developing a two-in-one accelerator.
Researchers are also working to find existing drugs that could treat mild cases of Covid and keep more people out of the hospital. Initial evidence suggests that a drug, an antidepressant called fluvoxamine, may be helpful, but further research is needed to say for sure. And although ivermectin had some promising early results, there is no evidence to suggest that it helps prevent or treat Covid.
International efforts to disseminate vaccines continue to be lacking
The Biden administration is expected to propose an international summit to discuss the pandemic, and in particular the production and distribution of vaccines, during UN General Assembly meetings later this month. Fair vaccine distribution continues: COVAX announced this week that it is on track to fall by almost 30% of its 2021 distribution target. Drugmakers have said there should be enough vaccines for every adult in the world. in 2022, but rich nations that have purchased most of the world’s supplies will have to make sure these photos are distributed fairly.
This week, the head of the WHO spoke again about boosting shots, urging rich countries to pause them until the end of the year to make those doses available to people who have not yet received their initial doses.
Daily distraction
Red pill or blue pill? The question has been circulating since the first Matrix the film came out 20 years ago. Now the franchise is back with a new trailer – and a new twist on the old issue.
Something to read
When 3-year-old Dylan Eller disappeared last year, the only trace he left was a pair of rain boots. But when social media appeared on the Internet, they became convinced that they knew where he had gone, and his family’s story took a tragic turn.
Common sense check
Achieving a state of night zen can be difficult. But sometimes you just need some soothing sounds to help you fall asleep.
One question
Why do nosocomial infections increase during a pandemic?
Health-related infections, which often occur in people while in the hospital, are caused by several factors. Patients in the intensive care unit are vulnerable to infections, but are treated in close proximity to other sick people, and medical staff may unknowingly be carriers as well as life-saving equipment. Overcrowding and additional requirements for hospital staff also do not help. During the pandemic, the pressure of caring for people with Covid undermined years of progress in preventing this type of infection. The good news is that the solution to this problem may be the same as the solution to the pandemic: vaccination. The fewer people are seriously ill, the better hospitals will be equipped to protect everyone who enters through their doors.
More from WIRED on Covid-19