COVID-19 Federal Responses: Thursday, July 21, 2022

The White House has reiterated the necessity for Americans to get booster shots.
COVID-19 nasal vaccines are still in early development stages, however health officials are optimistic that they could potentially prevent infections in the future.
With new COVID-19 variants and sub-variants, experts are calling for an Operation Warp Speed 2.0 to provide more resources towards the acceleration of new booster developments to extend vaccine protections in the future.
The BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants have now become the dominant strains of COVID-19 and makeup the majority of worldwide cases.
The CDC has updated its website and guidelines including Novavax COVID-19, Adjuvanted Vaccine: Overview and Safety; COVID-19 Vaccines for Moderately to Severely Immunocompromised People; Developing Vaccines Quickly; and Understanding mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines.

White House and Federal Agencies

The Biden Administration will increase the reach of the Health and Human Services Department’s pandemic and disaster response division, in order to better confront future health emergencies through greater access to resources.
The FDA cleared the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine for U.S. distribution following the approval of the drug and after administering a quality manufacturing test.
The CDC has officially endorsed the usage of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine in American adults, after a 12-0 vote from the Advisory Committee and backing from Director Rochelle Walensky.
The White House has reiterated the necessity for Americans to get booster shots.

COVID-19 nasal vaccines are still in early development stages, however health officials are optimistic that they could potentially prevent infections in the future.
With new COVID-19 variants and sub-variants, experts are calling for an Operation Warp Speed 2.0 to provide more resources toward the acceleration of new booster developments to extend vaccine protections in the future.
Data from a new study shows that patients who have been hospitalized by COVID-19 are at a 45% greater risk of heart failure.
An Axios-Ipsos survey found that the majority of Americans across the political spectrum believes that COVID-19 will always be an issue. 78% of Americans surveyed agreed with the statement “We will never fully be rid of the coronavirus in my lifetime.”
A JAMA study revealed that hospitals with a high number of COVID patients in 2020 experienced a higher rate of patients who died after undergoing non-COVID related surgery.
The BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants have now become the dominant strains of COVID-19 and make up the majority of worldwide cases.

The CDC published the following reports and website updates: