COVID Boosters Still Iffy; Delta Deaths To Come; Medicare Mulls Aduhelm Coverage

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In a meeting with representatives from Pfizer, U.S. government officials stated that more data is needed before they can determine whether COVID-19 booster shots will be necessary. (New York Times)

Meanwhile, WHO director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, criticized COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers for focusing on developing booster shots instead of working on distributing shots to countries with lower access. (STAT)

As of about 8 a.m. ET, the estimated COVID-19 toll in the U.S. included 33,890,833 cases and 607,442 deaths, increases of 36,706 and 285, respectively, since the same time a day ago.

Medical analysts predict that this country will start to see a “surprising amount of death” in places that have experienced surges of the Delta variant. (CNN)

Officials announced that Medicare will begin a review process of the controversial new Alzheimer’ drug, aducanumab (Aduhelm), to decide whether or not to standardize coverage of the medication nationally. (Wall Street Journal)

Both France and Greece will enact a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all healthcare workers. (Reuters)

After Utah celebrated hitting the milestone of getting 70% of its population fully vaccinated, its governor was forced to walk back claims of success. (Politico)

A study in JAMA Network Open confirmed that the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine reduced risk of COVID-19 infection in pregnant women.

Despite a continued surge in cases, the U.K. will still lift its remaining COVID restrictions early next week. (AP)

Why genetic anomalies in COVID-19 cases could hold the key to developing new treatments. (New York Times)

A United Nations report concluded that there was a dramatic worsening of global hunger in 2020, likely due to the pandemic.

Companies are marketing genetic testing to couples undergoing IVF as a way to screen for the healthiest embryos, but experts say the testing might be based on shaky science. (Scientific American)

A federal judge approved a $73 million settlement for a lawsuit alleging that former UCLA gynecologist, James Heaps, sexually abused around 6,000 women. (CBS News)

A multi-drug resistant bacteria was found in raw dog food, igniting fears over a new public health crisis. (EuroNews)