COVID-19 Federal Responses: Monday, April 18, 2022

The FDA granted emergency use authorization of a breath test that can detect COVID-19 infections within as little as three minutes and has a 0.7% rate of false positives.
During COVID-19 the rate of children receiving routine immunizations including the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine and vaccines against meningitis and chickenpox have fallen. Doctors, school nurses, and public health experts attribute the decline to misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine which spilled over into the confidence of longer-standing, more routine vaccines.
A study found that a fourth dose of Pfizer’s COVID vaccine reduced the risk of infection, symptomatic infection, hospitalization, and severe illness among participants between 52% and 76% compared to three doses. Results also indicate that the benefits of a fourth dose are more durable than those of a third dose.
Public health experts, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, state that the United States is unlikely to reach COVID-19 herd immunity in the near future.
The CDC updated its website and guidelines including COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shot.

White House and Federal Agencies

The FDA granted emergency use authorization to a breath test that can detect COVID-19 infections within as little as three minutes and has a 0.7% rate of false positives.
White House COVID coordinator Ashish Jha said that zero-COVID strategies involving lockdowns, such as those policies in place in China, are unlikely to work and will not be implemented in the United States.
A federal judge in Florida struck down the CDC’s mask mandate for travel, ruling that the agency overstepped its statutory authority. It is unclear whether the Biden Administration will challenge the ruling or retract the order.

Research found that vaccinated patients already infected with COVID-19 were considerably less likely to be hospitalized upon reinfection.
Public health experts, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, state that the United States is unlikely to reach COVID-19 herd immunity in the near future.
During COVID-19 the rate of children receiving routine immunizations including the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine and vaccines against meningitis and chickenpox have fallen. Doctors, school nurses, and public health experts attribute the decline to misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine which spilled over into the confidence of longer-standing, more routine vaccines.
A study using a model accounting for the Alpha, Delta, and Omicron variants estimated that vaccination efforts in the U.S. averted approximately 2.2 million deaths and saved approximately $900 billion from December 12, 2020 to March 31, 2022.
Life expectancy declined 1.87 years in the United States from 2019 to the end of 2020, compared to an average decline of 0.58 years in peer countries. Declines were much larger among Black and Hispanic populations.
A study found that a fourth dose of Pfizer’s COVID vaccine reduced the risk of infection, symptomatic infection, hospitalization, and severe illness among participants between 52% and 76% compared to three doses. Results also indicate that the benefits of a fourth dose are more durable than those of a third dose.

The CDC published the following reports and website updates: