 Health Care |
Health Care |
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'Eris' strain leaves vaccine strategy mostly unchanged
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The updated COVID-19 booster shots were designed to target the XBB variant, and they'll still likely work just as well against the new dominant strain. |
Moderna on Thursday said early-stage trials show its new booster provided a robust immune response against the now-dominant EG.5, or Eris variant. Despite the difference in names, XBB.1.5 and EG.5 both descended from the XBB omicron subvariant. Immunization stakeholders had anticipated the possibility that the dominant strain in the U.S. would change by the time vaccines were administered later this year and aimed to get as close to a match as possible. Matching a vaccine with the most prevalent circulating strain is a constant challenge for vaccine makers. Still, manufacturers targeted XBB.1.5 with their most recent doses, and experts say the new booster will be a better match to EG.5 than the very first COVID-19 vaccines were to the variant that was dominant by the time they were released. Eris is estimated to account for about 20 percent of all new cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But like most COVID-19 data in recent months, reporting is inconsistent. Just three out of 10 regions of the U.S. are reporting genomic COVID-19 data to the CDC, leaving it unclear just how widespread EG.5 is. In the Northeast, the FL.1.5.1 omicron subvariant, also descended from XBB, is the top strain. The World Health Organization designated Eris a "variant of interest" earlier this month, meaning it will be monitored for mutations that could make it more severe. New shots from Moderna, Pfizer and Novavax are likely to begin rolling out by the end of September, pending approval by the Food and Drug Administration. Even though there's an uptick in cases now, public health experts advise waiting until the new shots are available. |
Welcome to The Hill's Health Care newsletter, we're Nathaniel Weixel and Joseph Choi — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health. |
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How policy will be impacting the health care sector this week and beyond: |
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An abortion rights group in Nebraska is taking initial steps to put the issue on the ballot in 2024. A political campaign committee called Protect Our Rights filed paperwork earlier this month in support of a ballot initiative that would amend the state constitution to protect the right to an abortion. Language for the measure hasn’t been proposed yet, but the Secretary of State will need to sign off before the group … |
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| The cigarette smoking rate among American adults is holding near a historic low reached last year, according to a Gallup survey released Friday. Gallup’s Consumption Habits survey found that only 12 percent of Americans said they had smoked cigarettes in the past week. That figure marked a 1 percentage point increase from last year, but it was “significantly lower” than in every other year of the eight decades … |
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| The battle over abortion pills is likely heading to the Supreme Court, whose ruling last year overturning Roe v. Wade has Democrats and abortion rights advocates nervous about another blow. The Justice Department has already said it will appeal a ruling from a federal appeals court Wednesday that said Mifeprex and its generic counterpart are allowed to stay on the market, but with restrictions that would roll back efforts by … |
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Branch out with a different read from The Hill: |
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Stem cells from one eye show promise in healing injuries in the other |
Phil Durst recalled clawing at his face after a chemical from a commercial dishwashing machine squirted into his eyes, causing "the most indescribable pain I've ever felt — ever, ever, ever." His left eye bore the brunt of the 2017 work accident, which stole his vision, left him unable to tolerate light and triggered four to five cluster … |
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Local and state headlines on health care: |
- 'Very problematic': Medicaid drops another 22,000 Mississippians, mostly for paperwork issues (Mississippi Today)
- Colorado Medical Board finds that so-called abortion reversal is outside "generally accepted standard of practice" (Colorado Sun)
- 988 mental health number a success in South Dakota during first year (Rapid City Journal)
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Health news we've flagged from other outlets: |
- Why so few get screened for lung cancer, the deadliest cancer in the U.S. (Stat)
- GOP push to get more Americans into high-deductible health is dividing Democrats (Politico)
- Six months after new abortion leave policy, Pentagon doesn't know how many troops have used it (Military.com)
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Most read stories on The Hill right now: |
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Enforcing the Disqualification Clause against an official who violated their oath is an act of patriotism, not partisanship. Read more |
| The federal judge overseeing Hunter Biden's case in Delaware dismissed two misdemeanor tax charges against him in a filing Thursday. U.S. District … Read more |
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Opinions related to health submitted to The Hill: |
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You're all caught up. See you next week! |
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