- N.J. reports 1,180 COVID cases, 7 deaths – nj.com: New Jersey health officials reported 1,180 new COVID-19 cases and seven confirmed deaths on Friday. The state’s transmission rate is 0.95 and the seven-day average for positive tests is 956, down 17% from a week ago. Thirteen counties have “medium” community levels of the virus, while eight counties have “low” levels.
- UW study: Catching COVID gives protection from its worst effects | The Seattle Times: A new study has found that a past COVID-19 infection offers temporary protection against getting severely sick with the virus, lasting for nearly a year. Vaccination is still the best way to prevent serious illness, however.
- King Charles Gives Update on Queen Camilla’s Health Following COVID-19 Diagnosis: King Charles III has confirmed that Queen Camilla is recovering from a COVID diagnosis.
- Fact check: False claim CDC official linked ‘debilitating illnesses’ to COVID-19 shots: A Facebook video from Feb. 9 shows a doctor from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention speaking at a Jan. 26 meeting of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee. The doctor acknowledged reports of people experiencing long-lasting health problems after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, with a former Minnesota gubernatorial candidate expressing skepticism about the safety of the shots. The video has been viewed more than 18,000 times in just over a week.
- How much immunity do we get from a COVID infection? Large study offers new clues: A new study published in The Lancet looked at the strength and duration of natural immunity to COVID-19 by variant. The authors found that people who had been infected previously were less likely to be infected again, and that the immunity acquired from a prior infection could reduce the severity of a subsequent infection. However, the duration of this protection varied by variant, with some providing longer-term protection than others.
- Two Idaho lawmakers introduce legislation to criminalize giving out certain COVID-19 vaccines: Two Republican lawmakers in Idaho have introduced a bill that would make it a crime to administer mRNA vaccines, such as the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, in the state. Those who violate the bill would be charged with a misdemeanor.
- COVID Infection Provides Immunity Equal to Vaccination: Study – WebMD: A new study published in The Lancet has found that natural immunity provided by a COVID infection is at least as effective as two doses of mRNA vaccine in protecting against severe illness, hospitalization, and death. However, protection against the BA.1 subvariant of Omicron was not as high.
- While County COVID Largely Disregarded, Cases & Deaths Continue to Mount – WHBL: COVID-19 cases in Sheboygan County have more than doubled in the past week, with 34,903 people having experienced a COVID-19 infection. Hospital admissions have also increased to 3.3 per 100,000 people over the past 7 days, though this is still lower than the previous week.
- Unvaccinated employee’s ADA claims dismissed | Virginia Lawyers Weekly: A discrimination claim was dismissed where an unvaccinated employee alleged his employer discriminated against him because he refused to comply with its COVID-19 policy, but the evidence showed the company did not regard him as disabled, there was no record of disability and he suffered no adverse employment action.
- Pfizer Quietly Changes Requirements for Fellowship Applicants after Discrimination Lawsuit: The group is speaking out against racial discrimination and Dr. Fauci has changed his public stance on Covid vaccines.
- Senator Markey, Colleagues Demand Insurance Companies Cover Free At-Home COVID …: Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act to require insurers to cover COVID-19 testing during the pandemic.
- Idaho bill would make it a misdemeanor to give a COVID-19 vaccine | Just The News: A proposed law in Idaho would make it a crime to administer mRNA vaccines, including the COVID vaccine. Critics have alleged that mRNA vaccines are insufficiently tested and may be responsible for a rise in adverse reactions. The bill has not yet been passed into law.
- UNICEF Access to Global COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) Situation Report No. 4: The UNICEF ACT-A HAC appeal enabled UNICEF to support national governments to equitably scale up access to COVID-19 vaccines, tests, treatments, and PPE. The ACT-A targets for 2022 include 4 billion vaccine doses, 988 million diagnostic tests, 120 million cases of COVID-19 treated, and 2.7 million health workers protected with PPE.
- No conscience exemption of COVID vaccine in SD after house vote – Dakota News Now: South Dakota’s House of Representatives has voted against a bill that would have allowed people to claim a conscience exemption from taking an employer-mandated COVID-19 shot. The bill was defeated after about 40 minutes of debate, with proponents arguing that the vaccines were still experimental and could make people sick. Opponents argued that employers could use other methods such as testing, masks, or segregation instead.
- State urges NC Appeals Court to reject compensation for bars shut down for COVID: Lawyers for the N.C. state government argued that the N.C. Appeals Court should reject bar owners’ pleas for compensation related to COVID-19 shutdowns, as the trial court had already dismissed the case in March 2022. They argued that the bar owners were asking for compensation for private business losses without providing any legal basis for it, and that courts across the nation had unanimously rejected such claims.
- Texas Lawyer Gets New Trial Over Lack of Rescheduling Notice – Bloomberg Law News: The Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that a lawyer whose firm allegedly failed to repay a $3.25 million loan is entitled to a new trial, as neither the plaintiff nor the court gave him adequate notice that a hearing which was initially canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic was back on the same day.
- Use of convalescent plasma in the treatment of COVID-19 | Nature Reviews Nephrology: We have serious concerns about the authors’ dismissal of COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) as an effective treatment for COVID-19, especially in immunocompromised patients with kidney disease. We provide four reasons why this dismissal is unwarranted, but emphasize that CCP must be used properly, which is to say, early in the disease course and in the appropriate dose.
- Pfizer pulls 50% of people from phase 3 trial for GCP violations – Fierce Biotech: Pfizer and Valneva are conducting a phase 3 clinical trial for a Lyme disease vaccine, and are also exploring a new approach to vaccines to address the next wave of COVID-19.
Daily News Pulse for March 13, 2023
Summary: Princeton students have seen an overall improvement in course satisfaction since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In Japan, many people are still wearing masks despite the government’s easing of guidelines.
