Health authorities urge caution as Covid cases rise across the US

Moderna issued a press release Wednesday stating that clinical trial data show the company’s updated Covid vaccines work well against BA.2.86, also known as the Pirola variant.

“These results demonstrate that our updated COVID-19 vaccine generates a strong human immune response against the highly mutated BA.2.86 variant,” Moderna president Stephen Hoge, MD, said in the statement. “Our updated COVID-19 vaccine will continue to be an important tool for protection as we head into the fall vaccination season.”

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre holds a press briefing as Covid case counts continue to rise. New CDC data show that from 20 August to 26 August, Covid hospital admissions rose 15.7 per cent compared to the previous week.

NFL star Aaron Rogers recently posted a picture from the US Open to his Instagram story, showing Novak Djokovic on the court.

“Bucket list…being able to witness the greatness of @djokernole in person at #arthurashestadium,” he wrote in the story. In his post, Rogers included the hashtag #novaxdjokovic and crossed out the Moderna advertisement at Arthur Ashe Stadium featured in his photograph.

Rogers and Djokovic both refused the Covid-19 vaccine when it became available.

The site features a vaccine appointment finder that allows residents to input their zip code and find pharmacies offering the vaccinations near their home.

Some at-home Covid tests may last longer than originally expected, per the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The agency has provided a list of tests that have been given “extended expiration dates” on its website.

You should not use tests that are expired and are not featured on the FDA’s list of products with extended expiration dates, per the FDA.

President Biden has been tested for Covid-19 twice since his wife tested positive for the virus. Both times—on the evening of 4 September and during the day on 5 September—he was negative.

However, he will wear a mask in certain settings since he was recently exposed, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday.

“As far as the steps he is taking—since the President was with the First Lady yesterday, he will be masking indoors and around people in alignment with CDC guidance, and—as has been the practice in the past—the President will remove his mask when sufficiently distanced from others indoors and while outside,” she said.

The latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that from August 20 to 26, Covid deaths rose 17.6 per cent from the previous week.

The death count is lower than it was during the same time period in 2020, 2021, and 2022, according to CDC data. However, experts are urging the American public to take the current Covid wave seriously.

Dr Anthony Fauci recently said he hopes “if in fact we got to the point where…organisations like CDC recommend [masking]…people wear masks [and] abide by the recommendation to take into account risk to themselves and to their families.”

Jill Biden, 72, has tested positive for Covid and is experiencing “mild symptoms”, the White House said in a statement issued 4 September. She is staying in the Bidens’ home in Rehoboth, Delaware, per the statement.

Ms Biden’s positive test comes as experts warn not to underestimate the current summer wave of Covid cases.

Health authorities are monitoring two new worrisome variants—BA.2.86, colloquially known as “Pirola”, and EG.5.1, colloquially known as “Eris”.

The condition can cause a range of symptoms including tiredness, fatigue, difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, cough, headache, sleeping problems, dizziness when standing up, change in smell or taste, diarrhoea, and stomach pain.

The new report on how activity level is affected by long Covid highlights the importance of staying up-to-date on Covid vaccines and taking precautions to avoid the virus, the CDC said.