Hello,
Welcome to Insider Healthcare. I'm healthcare editor Leah Rosenbaum, and today in healthcare news:
- Dr. Fauci said in a recent interview that booster shots aren't a luxury;
- The Delta variant has caused the vast majority of COVID-19 cases worldwide over the last two months;
- A second American has come down with a rare disease called monkeypox.
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Dr. Richard Schwartz celebrates after receiving his COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine booster on October 6, 2021.Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images Dr. Fauci says 'a booster isn't a luxury' — think of it as the final step in your COVID-19 vaccine regimen
- Dr. Fauci predicts that Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines may, one day, be considered three shot vaccinations.
- That's because the immune system learns better when shots are spaced several months apart.
- It's possible that "we're not going to see an absolute need to reboost every several months" after that, he said.
A man receives a nasal swab COVID-19 test at Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport .Mario Tama/Getty Images The Delta variant was detected on 99.7% of sequenced tests worldwide in the past 60 days
- Of almost 800,000 sequences collected in the last 60 days, 99.7% were Delta, a WHO report said.
- Delta is highly infectious and has mutations that help it avoid the immune response.
- It was first detected in India in October 2020 and has since spread to at least 166 countries.
Pox viruses are oval shaped, and they're typically characterized by bumpy lesions and flulike symptoms.Roger Harris/Science Photo Library via Getty Images
- A US resident got monkeypox after returning from Nigeria to Maryland.
- A similar but separate case was reported in Dallas in July.
- Monkeypox is rare but can be deadly, so the CDC has urged vigilance around pox-like lesions.
More stories we're reading:
- Fauci says COVID-19 cases need to fall below 10,000 per day for a 'degree of normality,' as daily cases reach 85,000 (Insider)
- Drug overdose deaths have reached an all-time high in America (The Wall Street Journal)
- Antibody tests can show whether you need a COVID-19 booster shot, some experts say — but the FDA disagrees (Insider)
- School districts invested in air purifying systems, but they may not have worked as expected (Axios)
-Leah
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