An FDA panel has backed limited use of COVID-19 vaccine boosters

Hello,

Welcome to Insider Healthcare. I'm Lydia Ramsey Pflanzer, and today in healthcare news:

• An expert panel on Friday recommended COVID-19 booster shots for older adults and those who are at higher risk of severe disease;
• How 2 doctors whipped up false hope that ivermectin is a 'miracle cure' for COVID-19;
• A CDC study found Moderna's vaccine protected the best against hospitalization.

If you're new to this newsletter, sign up here. Comments, tips? Email me at [email protected] or tweet @lydiaramsey125. Let's get to it…

While we're waiting for the official word on whether the FDA will authorize Pfizer's booster shots, the pharma giant said Monday that its COVID-19 vaccine is safe and likely to work in younger children.

Pfizer is now planning to ask for permission to use it in kids as young as 5.

The FDA's expert panel backs COVID-19 booster shots for adults 65 and older and those at highest risk of severe disease

• An expert panel recommended that the FDA authorize booster shots for older and vulnerable adults.
• The doctors and health experts who advise the FDA say data suggests younger people are still well protected.
• The panel voted down a proposal to make boosters available to everyone 16 and older.

Check it out>>

2 fringe doctors created the myth that ivermectin is a 'miracle cure' for COVID-19 - whipping up false hope that could have deadly consequences

• Ivermectin is not a miracle cure for COVID-19, and there's no reason to think it could or should ever be treated as such.
• Two men want you to think that the antiparasitic medication ivermectin could be all we need to treat, or even prevent, any COVID-19 case.
• The truth of this pandemic is that there is no single, surefire treatment for COVID-19 patients.

Here's the full story>>

Moderna's vaccine offers better protection against COVID-19 hospitalization than Pfizer or J&J, new CDC study finds

• Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine seems to protect better against hospitalization than other US-authorized shots.
• Moderna's shot lowered the risk of hospitalization by 93%, a new CDC report found.
• Pfizer's shot lowered that risk by 88%, whereas Johnson & Johnson's shot lowered it by 71%.

Find out more>>

More stories we're reading:

• What to do if your child is exposed to COVID-19 at school, from quarantine etiquette to testing (Insider)
• The CDC is spending $2.1 billion to control infections in hospitals (Bloomberg)
• Scientists are getting closer to classifying long COVID as an autoimmune disease (Insider)
• Intermountain Healthcare is acquiring Broomfield, Colorado-based SCL Health (Axios)

- Lydia