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Here is what the editors at Physician’s Briefing chose as the most important COVID-19 developments for you and your practice for the week of Sept. 13 to 17, 2021. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal studies and other trusted sources that is most likely to affect clinical practice.<\/p>\n
FDA Advisory Panel to Hold Meeting Today on COVID-19 Booster Shots<\/strong><\/p>\n FRIDAY, Sept. 17, 2021 (HealthDay News) — U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisors are meeting today to consider whether it is safe and effective for Americans to receive a third “booster” dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.<\/p>\n Read Full Text<\/a><\/p>\n COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Dose Cuts Infection in Those 60 and Older<\/strong><\/p>\n FRIDAY, Sept. 17, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Among Israeli adults aged 60 years and older, those receiving a third booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine have rates of confirmed COVID-19 and severe illness that are substantially lower than the rates seen for individuals only receiving the two original vaccine doses, according to a study published online Sept. 15 in the New England Journal of Medicine<\/em>.<\/p>\n Read Full Text<\/a><\/p>\n MS Patients Show Robust T-Cell Response to mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines<\/strong><\/p>\n FRIDAY, Sept. 17, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Patients with multiple sclerosis receiving anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody treatment can mount T-cell responses to mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, according to a study published online Sept. 14 in Nature Medicine<\/em>.<\/p>\n Read Full Text<\/a><\/p>\n Government Buys More Monoclonal Antibody Treatments to Ward Off Shortage<\/strong><\/p>\n THURSDAY, Sept. 16, 2021 (HealthDay News) — As severe cases of COVID-19 rise and demand surges for monoclonal antibody treatments, the U.S. government is ordering more from two key suppliers.<\/p>\n Read Full Text<\/a><\/p>\n NIH Spending Nearly $470 Million on ‘Long-Haul COVID’ Study<\/strong><\/p>\n THURSDAY, Sept. 16, 2021 (HealthDay News) — The U.S. National Institutes of Health is spending nearly $470 million to study the long-term effects of COVID-19, the agency announced Wednesday.<\/p>\n Read Full Text<\/a><\/p>\n Hospitalizing the Unvaccinated Has Cost U.S. Nearly $6 Billion<\/strong><\/p>\n THURSDAY, Sept. 16, 2021 (HealthDay News) — The cost of providing hospital care for unvaccinated Americans has reached $5.7 billion in just three months, CBS News<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n Read Full Text<\/a><\/p>\n Pandemic Caused Many Women to Abandon Plans for More Children<\/strong><\/p>\n THURSDAY, Sept. 16, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Nearly half of mothers report they halted plans to have additional children because of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study published online Sept. 15 in JAMA Network Open<\/em>.<\/p>\n Read Full Text<\/a><\/p>\n COVID-19 Vaccines Prevent Hospitalizations in High-Risk Populations<\/strong><\/p>\n THURSDAY, Sept. 16, 2021 (HealthDay News) — COVID-19 vaccines are effective against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection requiring hospitalization, intensive care unit admission, and emergency department or urgent care clinic visits, even in populations disproportionately affected by SARS-CoV-2 infection, according to a study published online Sept. 8 in the New England Journal of Medicine<\/em>.<\/p>\n Read Full Text<\/a><\/p>\n Considerations for Use of COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters Discussed<\/strong><\/p>\n WEDNESDAY, Sept. 15, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Although providing COVID-19 vaccine boosters could be appropriate for some individuals and may ultimately be needed, the current evidence suggests that vaccine efficacy is high against severe disease, with no evidence of declining protection, according to a viewpoint article published online Sept. 13 in The Lancet<\/em>.<\/p>\n Read Full Text<\/a><\/p>\n COVID-19 Vaccines for Children Under 12 Could Come This Fall: Fauci<\/strong><\/p>\n WEDNESDAY, Sept. 15, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Many parents hoping for COVID-19 vaccines for their children younger than 12 years may get their wish this fall, according to Anthony Fauci, M.D., director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.<\/p>\n Read Full Text<\/a><\/p>\n WHO Says Africa Will Get 30 Percent of COVID-19 Vaccines It Needs by February<\/strong><\/p>\n WEDNESDAY, Sept. 15, 2021 (HealthDay News) — In Africa, only 4 percent of people have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.<\/p>\n Read Full Text<\/a><\/p>\n Vaccine Effectiveness High for Preventing COVID-19 Hospitalization<\/strong><\/p>\n WEDNESDAY, Sept. 15, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Vaccine effectiveness is high for preventing COVID-19-associated hospitalization, even during predominance of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 delta strain, according to two studies published in the Sept. 10 early-release issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report<\/em>.<\/p>\n Read Full Text<\/a><\/p>\n COVID-19 School Closures Take Toll on Mental Health of Older Children<\/strong><\/p>\n WEDNESDAY, Sept. 15, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Older children, Black and Hispanic children, and children from families with lower income who attended school remotely during the pandemic in 2020 experienced disproportionate mental health difficulties, according to a study published online \u00c2\u00adSept. 3 in JAMA Network Open<\/em>.<\/p>\n Read Full Text<\/a><\/p>\n BNT162b2 Elicits Lower Antibody Levels Than mRNA-1273 Vaccine<\/strong><\/p>\n WEDNESDAY, Sept. 15, 2021 (HealthDay News) — BNT162b2 elicits relatively lower antibody levels to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 spike receptor binding domain than mRNA-1273, and lower antibody levels are observed with BNT162b2 in older versus younger adults, according to a research letter published online Sept. 2 in JAMA Network Open<\/em>.<\/p>\n Read Full Text<\/a><\/p>\n COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness Changing With Delta Predominance<\/strong><\/p>\n TUESDAY, Sept. 14, 2021 (HealthDay News) — With increasing prevalence of the delta variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, there was a decline in vaccine protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection, while protection remained stronger against hospitalization and death, according to research published in the Sept. 10 early-release issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report<\/em>.<\/p>\n Read Full Text<\/a><\/p>\n Israeli Data on Booster Shots to Be Published This Week in Major Journal<\/strong><\/p>\n TUESDAY, Sept. 14, 2021 (HealthDay News) \u00e2\u0080\u0093 New data out of Israel, to be published this week, could bolster the notion that a third booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine significantly lowers a recipient’s odds for severe illness.<\/p>\n Read Full Text<\/a><\/p>\n Health Care-Associated Infection Up During COVID-19 Pandemic<\/strong><\/p>\n TUESDAY, Sept. 14, 2021 (HealthDay News) — In 2020, there were increases in the incidence of health care-associated infection, according to a study published online Sept. 2 in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology<\/em>.<\/p>\n Read Full Text<\/a><\/p>\n U.K. Approves COVID-19 Vaccine for Children 12+<\/strong><\/p>\n TUESDAY, Sept. 14, 2021 (HealthDay News) — While in the United States preteens and teens aged 12 to 15 years have been eligible for COVID-19 vaccines since the spring, the vaccines are only now becoming available for that age group in the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n Read Full Text<\/a><\/p>\n Estimated Population Immunity Against SARS-CoV-2 62.0 Percent<\/strong><\/p>\n TUESDAY, Sept. 14, 2021 (HealthDay News) — In the United States, population immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection was estimated at 62.0 percent as of July 15, 2021, according to a study published online Sept. 14 in the Annals of Internal Medicine<\/em>.<\/p>\n Read Full Text<\/a><\/p>\n Risk Factors ID’d for Severe COVID-19 in Children With Cancer<\/strong><\/p>\n TUESDAY, Sept. 14, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Almost one-fifth of children with cancer and COVID-19 have severe and critical illness and 3.8 percent die, according to a study published online Aug. 26 in The Lancet Oncology<\/em>.<\/p>\n Read Full Text<\/a><\/p>\n COVAX Cuts Global COVID-19 Vaccine Supply Estimates by a Quarter<\/strong><\/p>\n MONDAY, Sept. 13, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Fewer COVID-19 vaccine doses than expected will be available through the global COVAX program, affecting many less-affluent nations waiting on these doses.<\/p>\n Read Full Text<\/a><\/p>\n Appeals Court Backs Florida Ban on School Mask Mandates<\/strong><\/p>\n MONDAY, Sept. 13, 2021 (HealthDay News) — The law on whether or not students in Florida schools will be required to wear masks has changed again. On Friday, the First District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee reinstated the state’s ban on school mask mandates, CBS News<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n Read Full Text<\/a><\/p>\n Frequency of Long-Term Symptoms Up With Positive SARS-CoV-2 Test<\/strong><\/p>\n MONDAY, Sept. 13, 2021 (HealthDay News) — The frequency of long-term symptoms associated with COVID-19 is higher among individuals who self-reported ever receiving a positive severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 test, according to research published in the Sept. 10 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report<\/em>.<\/p>\n Read Full Text<\/a><\/p>\n Healthy, Plant-Based Diet Tied to Lower COVID-19 Risk<\/strong><\/p>\n MONDAY, Sept. 13, 2021 (HealthDay News) — A healthy, plant-based diet is associated with lower risk and severity of COVID-19, according to a study published online Sept. 6 in Gut<\/em>.<\/p>\n Read Full Text<\/a><\/p>\n High Viral Load in Lungs Linked to COVID-19 Mortality<\/strong><\/p>\n MONDAY, Sept. 13, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Increased severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 abundance and low anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody response are associated with COVID-19 mortality, while hospital-acquired respiratory pathogen acquisition is not associated with fatal outcomes, according to a study published online Aug. 31 in Nature Microbiology<\/em>.<\/p>\n