The new office for data, surveillance, and technology, Bloomberg reports, is aimed at boosting monitoring for potential public health threats. Another new office, set to be part of a CDC shake-up, will tackle equity in health care. Meanwhile, the WHO criticizes U.S. plans for yearly covid shots.
Bloomberg:
CDC Chief Rochelle Walensky Shakes Up Agency With New Offices, Leadership
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director is establishing an Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance and Technology aimed at closing up crucial gaps in monitoring for potential threats, according to a person familiar with the developments. Walensky is also forming an Office of Health Equity that will report to her team, according to the person, who asked not to be named discussing details that aren’t public. (Griffin, 1/24)
In updates on the vaccine rollout —
San Francisco Chronicle:
Once-A-Year Vaccine Plan Is Flawed, Say WHO Officials
Officials from the World Health Organization cast doubt on plans by U.S. health officials to make COVID-19 vaccinations more like the annual flu shot. “For the time being, COVID hasn’t really come down to the usual seasonal seasonality that we see for other viruses,” Joachim Hombach, executive secretary of the WHO strategic advisory group of experts on immunization, told a media briefing on Tuesday. (Vaziri, 1/24)
USA Today:
Doctor Destroyed COVID Vaccine, Sold Fake Vaccine Cards In Utah: Feds
A Utah plastic surgeon, his medical corporation and three others were accused of fake COVID-19 vaccination record cards, destroying more than $28,000 worth of government-provided coronavirus vaccines and administering saline shots to children, prosecutors said. (Grantham-Philips, 1/24)
More on the spread of covid —
CBS News:
Long COVID Is Keeping People Out Of Work For Months, Study Finds
Nearly a third of workers’ compensation claimants in the state have long COVID, with more men than women suffering from the condition, according to a report from the New York State Insurance Fund (NYSIF), the largest workers’ compensation insurer in New York State. (Cerullo, 1/24)
CNN:
CDC Figuring Out ‘Logistical And Legal’ Aspects Of Testing Airplane Wastewater For Coronavirus Variants, Source Says
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is ironing out the “logistical and legal” aspects of testing wastewater from airplanes for coronavirus variants as it continues to explore such a Covid-19 monitoring program. The agency is still “figuring out how to operationalize this program,” a person close to CDC discussions said, adding that there are “logistical and legal” hurdles that need to be sorted out before the program “would be operational.” (Howard, 1/25)
CIDRAP:
MRI Study Reveals Fetal, Placental Anomalies In Pregnant COVID Patients
A study of 38 COVID-infected pregnant women who underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in Austria found an elevated rate of fetal and placental abnormalities. … Globular, or jelly-like, placentas were observed in 30% of women infected pre-Omicron and 27.8% in the Omicron group, while controls had none. (Van Beusekom, 1/24)
San Francisco Chronicle:
WHO Head “Very Concerned” About Rising Death Count
The head of the World Health Organization told a media briefing on Tuesday that he is “very concerned” about the rising number of global COVID-19 deaths, which have steadily increased since December. Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said an estimated 170,000 people have died because of the virus over the past eight weeks. (Vaziri, 1/24)
Stat:
Is WHO Ready To End The Covid Emergency? Maybe Not Just Yet
Three years ago, the World Health Organization declared that the mushrooming outbreak of a new coronavirus — later named SARS-CoV-2, the cause of Covid-19 — posed such a threat to global health that it merited designation as a public health emergency of international concern. On Friday, an emergency committee will meet again to deliberate whether the time has come to recommend to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus that he declare the global health emergency is over. (Branswell, 1/25)
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