Hospitalizations Climb in States; Opioid Ruling Overturned; Brothel Vax Campaign?

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Pfizer and BioNTech asked the FDA to approve their coronavirus booster shot for everyone 18 and up; the agency is expected to grant the request well before Christmas and possibly before Thanksgiving. (New York Times)

Meanwhile, Health Canada just authorized Pfizer’s booster shot for all adults in the country.

Colorado reactivated crisis guidelines for hospital staffing as COVID-19 inpatients and infections rose, and state officials said anyone 18 and older now qualifies for a booster. (Denver Post)

California’s 7-day COVID case rate climbed to 113.4 cases per 100,000 people, more than double Florida’s rate despite stricter mandates. (Newsweek)

After plateauing in October, COVID-related hospitalizations are climbing in Arizona. (ABC15)

As of Wednesday at 8 a.m. ET, the unofficial U.S. COVID toll reached 46,696,230 cases and 757,417 deaths, increases of 81,932 cases and 1,693 deaths versus this time Tuesday.

More than 100,000 children a week have tested positive for COVID-19 for the past 13 weeks, the American Academy of Pediatrics said.

Of nearly 29,000 Texans who died from COVID-related illnesses this year, 85% were not vaccinated and 7% were partially vaccinated, state public health data showed. (Texas Tribune)

Moderna’s patent application named several employees as sole inventors of a central component of the company’s COVID-19 vaccine, excluding three NIH scientists. (New York Times)

The Oklahoma Supreme Court overturned a $465 million opioid ruling against Johnson & Johnson, saying a lower court wrongly interpreted the state’s public nuisance law. (Washington Post)

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) signed an amendment barring moral objections from being used as a reason to not comply with workplace COVID-19 vaccine or testing requirements. (Chicago Tribune)

A federal court in Texas ruled United Airlines can mandate its employees be vaccinated against the coronavirus. (The Hill)

Celebrity physician Dr. Oz is considering a U.S. Senate run in Pennsylvania, TMZ reported.

Unsealed emails revealed how baby-powder maker Johnson & Johnson may have shaped a report an industry group submitted to U.S. regulators about possible links between talc and cancer. (Bloomberg)

Could a proposed tax on vaping products in the Democrats’ social-spending bill turn people back to traditional cigarettes? (Wall Street Journal)

People spreading misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines are “criminals” and have cost “millions of lives,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said. (CNBC)

An advisory committee in Germany is recommending that people under the age of 30 only receive Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. (Reuters)

Double-masking, staying at home nearly 24/7, and rarely seeing anyone still are a way of life for transplant recipients and other immunocompromised people, even after multiple COVID-19 vaccine shots. (CNN)

Singapore will stop covering medical bills for COVID-19 patients who are unvaccinated by choice. (NPR)

In response to a mandate barring unvaccinated people from restaurants and other indoor areas, a brothel in Austria offered patrons who get a COVID vaccine onsite a free sex session with the prostitute of their choice. (New York Post)

The U.S. State Department called on the Chinese government to release citizen journalist Zhang Zhan who was prosecuted for reporting on the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak, amid reports she is close to death. (BBC News)

Physician revenue in the second and third quarters of this year surpassed both 2019 and 2020 performance, but expenses climbed above pre-pandemic levels, too. (Fierce Healthcare)