COVID-19 Timeline: August 2022
January 5, 2023
At Bioethics.com we have kept up with the spread of COVID-19 and the related bioethical questions that this pandemic brings. The posts that follow highlight news from August 2022 and were originally posted at Bioethics.com. These posts focus on the bioethical issues that medical professionals, bioethicists, public health officials, and scientists grappled with as SARS-CoV-2 swept the globe.
Aug 1: “How the Covid-19 Pandemic Changed Americans’ Health for the Worse” by Brianna Abbott, The Wall Street Journal
The ripple effects of the Covid-19 pandemic’s influence on nearly every aspect of health in America are becoming clear. Covid-19 has killed more than one million people in the U.S., a toll mounting by some 350 people a day. A range of other chronic diseases and acute threats to health also worsened during the pandemic, data show, as people missed screenings, abandoned routines and experienced loss and isolation.
Aug 4: “Eli Lilly’s Covid-19 Antibody Treatment to Be Sold Commercially” by Stephanie Armour and Peter Loftus, The Wall Street Journal
Eli Lilly & Co. said it plans to begin commercial sales of its Covid-19 monoclonal antibody treatment to states, hospitals and other healthcare providers this month, as the federal government’s supply of the drug is nearly depleted.
Aug 5: “’God, No, Not Another Case.’ COVID-Related Stillbirths Didn’t Have to Happen.” by Duaa Eldeib, ProPublica
Heerema-McKenney was in her office when the phone rang. As she listened, she knew that what Odronic was describing was what she and her colleagues had observed repeatedly over the past several months: a patient positive for the coronavirus, a placenta destroyed by COVID-19, a baby stillborn.
Aug 5: “Exclusive: Over 1 Million Courses of Paxlovid Prescribed in One Month for First Time” by Oriana Gonzalez, Axios
July marked the first month that more than 1 million courses of Pfizer’s COVID antiviral Paxlovid were prescribed, according to Biden administration figures provided to Axios.
Aug 8: “Most Parents Are Saying No to Covid-19 Vaccines for Toddlers” by Jared S. Hopkins and Jon Kamp, The Wall Street Journal
More than a month after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended shots for about 17.4 million children ages 6 months through 4 years, about 4% to 5% of them have received a shot, according to the most recent agency data and population estimates from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Aug 8: “COVID-19 Vaccines Induce Better Long-Term Immunity Than Infection” by Jennifer Zieba, The Scientist
When compared to samples from primary infections, all vaccines were just as, if not more, effective in inducing a SARS-CoV-2-specific long-term immune response that lasted up to six months.
Aug 10: “WHO: COVID-19 Deaths Fall Overall by 9%, Infections Stable” Associated Press
The number of coronavirus deaths fell by 9% in the last week while new cases remained relatively stable, according to the latest weekly pandemic report released by the World Health Organization Wednesday. The U.N. health agency said there were more than 14,000 COVID-19 deaths in the last week and nearly 7 million new infections.
Aug 11: “Covid-19 Variants Keep Getting More Contagious. Here’s Why.” by Brianna Abbott and Josh Ulick, The Wall Street Journal
Covid-19 vaccinations and infections have changed our immune defenses over time, making head-to-head matchups between past and present variants harder, including for characteristics like intrinsic severity of the disease. The specific traits that help a variant thrive and take over have shifted, too, as our immunological landscape has changed.
Aug 11: “COVID Rebound Is Surprisingly Common—Even Without Paxlovid” by Ewen Callaway, Nature
After months of grasping at straws, scientists are beginning to make some headway in understanding ‘Paxlovid rebound’. Two recent studies suggest that it is surprisingly common for SARS-CoV-2 to return in untreated cases of COVID-19, while hinting that the virus’s comeback is fiercer and more common in people who take Paxlovid.
Aug 12: “J&J COVID Vaccine Factory Forced to Trash Even More Doses” Associated Press
About 135 million more doses of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine from a troubled Baltimore factory will have to be destroyed due to quality problems, Congressional panel leaders said Thursday [August 11].
Aug 12: “CDC Drops Quarantine, Distancing Recommendations for COVID” by Mike Stobbe and Collin Binkley, Associated Press
The nation’s top public health agency relaxed its COVID-19 guidelines Thursday [August 11], dropping the recommendation that Americans quarantine themselves if they come into close contact with an infected person. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also said people no longer need to stay at least 6 feet away from others.
Aug 15: “British Regulator 1st to OK Moderna’s Updated COVID Booster” by Maria Cheng, Associated Press
British drug regulators have become the first in the world to authorize an updated version of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine that includes protection against the omicron variant, which the government said would be offered to people aged 50 and over starting in the fall.
Aug 17: “Study: Many People Unaware They’re Infected May Be Spreading COVID-19” by Judy Packer-Tursman, UPI
More than half of the people infected with COVID-19’s Omicron variant were unaware they had the highly contagious virus, and this may be a “key contributor” to its rapid person-to-person transmission within communities, a new study says.
Aug 18: “Blood Abnormalities Found in People with Long Covid” by Jennifer Cousin-Frankel, Science
An ambitious study of people with Long Covid, the mysterious, disabling symptoms that can trail a SARS-CoV-2 infection, has turned up a host of abnormalities in their blood.
Aug 19: “U.S. Plans to Shift Bill for Covid Shots and Treatments to Insurers, Patients” by Stephanie Armour, The Wall Street Journal
Shifting payments for Covid-19 drugs and vaccines to the commercial market is expected to take months, an HHS spokesman said. At the meeting this month, officials and company representatives are expected to discuss reimbursement and coverage, regulatory issues and access to vaccines and treatment for the uninsured.
Aug 22: “Pfizer Seeks OK of Updated COVID Vaccine Booster for Fall” by Lauran Neergaard, Associated Press
Pfizer asked U.S. regulators Monday to authorize its combination COVID-19 vaccine that adds protection against the newest omicron relatives — a key step toward opening a fall booster campaign. The Food and Drug Administration ordered vaccine makers to tweak their shots to target BA.4 and BA.5 that are better than ever at dodging immunity from earlier vaccination or infection.
Aug 22: “FDA Authorizes Novavax Vaccine for Ages 12 to 17” by Fedel Allassan, Axios
The Food and Drug Administration has authorized Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use for adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17, the biotech company announced Friday [August 19].
Aug 22: “Fauci to Step Down After Decades as Top US Infection Expert” by Lauran Neergaard and Zeke Miller, Associated Press
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert who became a household name — and the subject of partisan attacks — during the COVID-19 pandemic, announced Monday [August 22] he will leave the federal government in December after more than five decades.
Aug 22: “Variant-Targeted Covid-19 Boosters Test the Promise of mRNA Technology” by Peter Loftus, The Wall Street Journal
The U.K. last week became the first country to clear a modified Covid-19 vaccine targeting the Omicron variant, and other countries including Canada and Australia might soon follow.
Aug 23: “Pfizer COVID Shots Appear 73% Effective in Children Under 5” Associated Press
Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine was 73% effective in protecting children younger than 5 as omicron spread in the spring, the company announced Tuesday [August 23]. Vaccinations for babies, toddlers and preschoolers opened in the U.S. in June after months of delay.
Aug 24: “Moderna Seeks FDA Approval for Updated COVID Vaccine” by Sareen Habeshian, Axios
Moderna announced Tuesday [August 23] that it has requested emergency approval for its updated COVID-19 vaccine from the Food and Drug Administration.
Aug 26: “Unraveling the Interplay of Omicron, Reinfections, and Long Covid” by Liz Szabo, Kaiser Health News
Although omicron infections are proving milder overall than those caused by last summer’s delta variant, omicron has also proved capable of triggering long-term symptoms and organ damage. But whether omicron causes long covid symptoms as often — and as severe — as previous variants is a matter of heated study.
Aug 26: “Moderna Sues Pfizer and BioNTech Over Covid-19 Vaccine” by Jason Mast, STAT News
Moderna on Friday [August 26] sued Pfizer and BioNTech, its main rivals in the mRNA Covid vaccine race, for allegedly infringing on its patents, the latest and perhaps most significant in a series of intellectual property disputes over the technology behind the world-changing and astoundingly lucrative shots.
Aug 29: “Omicron Booster Shots Are Right Around the Corner” by Caitlin Owens, Axios
The first updated coronavirus vaccines — and likely the last one purchased by Uncle Sam — are about to become available across the U.S. and will ideally provide more targeted protection against the dominant strain that’s circulating.
Aug 30: “Millions in New COVID Lockdown as China Keeps Strict Policy” Associated Press
China has placed millions of its citizens under renewed lockdown following fresh outbreaks of COVID-19, authorities reported Tuesday [August 30], as the government persists in its hard-line policy on containing the virus.
Aug 31: “US Clears Updated COVID Boosters Targeting Newest Variants” by Lauran Neergaard, Associated Press
The U.S. on Wednesday [August 31] authorized its first update to COVID-19 vaccines, booster doses that target today’s most common omicron strain. Shots could begin within days.
Aug 31: “WHO: New COVID Cases, Deaths Keep Falling Nearly Everywhere” Associated Press
WHO said COVID-19 infections dropped everywhere in the world while deaths decreased everywhere except for Southeast Asia, where they climbed by 15% and in the Western Pacific, where they rose by 3%.
