First U.S. Omicron Death?; COVID Pill EUAs Expected; Walgreens, CVS Limit Tests

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An unvaccinated Houston man in his 50s may have become the first COVID-19 fatality in the U.S. publicly attributed to the Omicron variant. (Washington Post)

The Biden administration expects to take delivery of 4 million courses of COVID-19 treatments by the end of January, including a monoclonal antibody, pre-exposure preventive drugs for immunocompromised people, and new antiviral pills that are expected to be authorized by the FDA today. (Bloomberg)

The fact that the Omicron variant has surpassed the Delta variant in the U.S. is not necessarily all bad, experts say. (USA Today)

As of Wednesday at 8 a.m. EST, the unofficial U.S. COVID toll is 51,274,973 cases and 810,164 deaths, increases of 174,264 cases and 2,212 deaths versus a day ago.

Walgreens and CVS limit how many at-home tests customers can buy as they struggle to keep up with demand. (CNBC, Washington Post)

California will require health care workers to get a booster shot of the coronavirus vaccine. (AP News)

Only one monoclonal antibody is effective against Omicron, and it’s in short supply. (New York Times)

The FDA approved two pediatric indications for Janssen Pharmaceutical’s rivaroxaban (Xarelto): treatment of and reduction of risk for venous thromboembolism in children 0-18, and thromboprophylaxis in children 2 and older with congenital heart disease who have undergone the Fontan procedure, the company announced.

The agency also approved Amgen’s apremilast (Otezla) for adults with plaque psoriasis who are candidates for phototherapy or systemic therapy, Amgen said.

An intervention to help first-time parents prevent obesity in their child also helps second children, even without additional parental training, NIH researchers found.

A hospital offered parents of a premature infant who spent 2 months in the NICU an easy payment plan for their $550,000 bill: $45,843 a month for 12 months. (NPR)

A 15-year-old McDonald’s employee jumped out of the drive-thru window to give the Heimlich maneuver to a customer who was choking on a chicken nugget. (USA Today)

Israel will be offering a fourth vaccine dose to people over 60 as concerns about the Omicron variant increase. (Reuters)

Convalescent plasma is showing some promise for treating COVID-19 patients if given early in the course of the disease, researchers found. (Science)

Hospitals are falling into financial ruin as nurses quite due to the pandemic. (Bloomberg)

Chemistry Harvard professor Charles Lieber, who was charged with hiding his ties to a Chinese-run recruitment initiative, was found guilty on all counts. (Washington Post)

The CDC is urging people not to travel to Spain, Monaco, Finland and several other countries because of the high COVID risk. (USA Today)

Aquestive Therapeutics announced the FDA will not be ready to decide on its diazepam buccal film (Libervant) by December 23.

One Nigerian family lost three daughters to sickle cell disease; now they’re trying to save their fourth. (New York Times)

Last Updated December 22, 2021