Omicron Vax Trial Begins; EU Eases Restrictions; Neil Young Takes on Spotify Misinfo

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Pfizer and BioNTech announced the start of a clinical trial to evaluate their Omicron-specific COVID-19 vaccine in adults.

Meanwhile, antibodies capable of neutralizing Omicron may persist for up to 4 months after a booster shot of Pfizer/BioNTech’s original vaccine, according to a preprint study that has not been peer-reviewed. (Washington Post)

Israel is considering offering a fourth vaccine dose for all adults. (AP)

While World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, said it’s dangerous to assume that globally we are in the “end game” of the pandemic … (Reuters)

… the organization’s European head suggested that between vaccination and immunity from prior infection in European nations, “Omicron offers plausible hope for stabilization and normalization.” (New York Times)

The EU announced that people who have recently been vaccinated against COVID-19 or have recovered from previous infection should not face testing or quarantine restrictions when traveling among its 27 member states. (New York Times)

As of 8 a.m. ET on Tuesday, the unofficial COVID-19 toll in the U.S. was 71,709,939 cases and 868,514, increases of 1,009,261 and 1,974, respectively, from yesterday.

After FDA restricted the authorizations for certain monoclonal antibodies for outpatient COVID treatment, Florida shut down all of its monoclonal antibody treatment sites. (CNN)

Idaho health officials activated crisis standards of care in three regions, allowing them to ration care due to “severe” staffing and blood shortages. (Boise State Public Radio)

The Los Angeles Unified School District has prohibited students from wearing only cloth masks on school grounds, requiring “well-fitting, non-cloth masks with a nose wire.” (NPR)

A New York Supreme Court judge ruled that the state’s indoor mask mandate was unconstitutional and cannot be enforced. (CNN)

In Virginia, more than half a dozen school boards filed a lawsuit challenging the governor’s ban on school mask mandates. (Washington Post)

Legislators in California are proposing a bill that would require all students to get vaccinated against COVID-19 to attend school starting in 2023, effectively eliminating the state’s personal belief exemption. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Omicron can survive for up to 8 days on plastic surfaces and skin, much longer than previous viral strains, according to another preprint study that has not yet been peer-reviewed. (EuroNews)

NIH researchers found that supportive relationships, physical activity, and better sleep were associated with improved mental health in adolescents during the pandemic.

The FDA approved Medtronic’s spinal cord stimulation therapy to treat chronic pain in patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy, the company announced.

The agency also approved a 40-mg prefilled syringe of mepolizumab (Nucala) for at-home use in children ages 6 to 11 years with severe eosinophilic asthma, according to manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline.

This family rushed to the emergency room for their child, never saw a doctor, yet still received a bill for more than $1,000. (Kaiser Health News)

The start of Sarah Palin’s libel case against the New York Times was postponed after she tested positive for COVID-19; she previously tested positive for COVID-19 last March. (Politico)

Neil Young posted a letter (which has since been deleted) stating that he wanted all of his music removed from Spotify, because of the vaccine misinformation on the platform spread by Joe Rogan’s podcast. (Rolling Stone)

Speaking of vaccine misinformation, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is being torched for suggesting that Anne Frank had it better than unvaccinated people today. (Washington Post)