COVID-19 Timeline: September 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 September 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.
Sep 1: “Paxlovid Cuts Covid Deaths Among Older People, Israeli Study Finds” by Roni Rabin, New York Times
Paxlovid, the Covid-19 treatment made by Pfizer, reduced hospitalizations and deaths in older patients during the Omicron surge in Israel earlier this year, but made no difference for patients under 65 at high risk for severe disease, new research has found.
Sep 1: “Scoop: COVID Vaccine Pill Maker Posts Positive Phase 2 Results” by Tina Reed, Axios
San Francisco-based biotech Vaxart, an underdog in the COVID response that’s developing a vaccine that would be delivered in a pill, is reporting promising Phase 2 clinical trial data today, the company told Axios exclusively.
Sep 1: “China Locks Down 21 Million in Chengdu in COVID-19 Outbreak” Associated Press
Chinese authorities have locked down Chengdu, a southwestern city of 21 million people, following a spike in COVID-19 cases.
Sep 2: “FDA Authorizes Omicron-Targeted Booster Shots” by Ingrid Hein, MedPage Today
The FDA on Wednesday [August 30] authorized bivalent COVID-19 booster shots from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna that target the original strain along with the Omicron BA.4/BA.5 subvariants.
Sep 2: “’Game Changer’ Paxlovid Turns Into Pandemic Enigma” by Arielle Dreher, Axios
Paxlovid, once hailed as a “game-changer” for its ability to treat COVID-19 infections at home, is becoming one of the pandemic’s biggest enigmas. The intrigue: There’s growing concern about the link between Pfizer’s antiviral pill and COVID rebound, in which patients test positive or have symptoms days after a course of the drug is completed.
Sep 6: “Pfizer Isn’t Sharing Covid Vaccines with Researchers for Next-Gen Studies” by Rachel Cohrs, STAT News
Right now, Pfizer isn’t sharing its vaccines for research purposes, a spokesperson confirmed to STAT. Moderna didn’t comment when we asked.
Sep 6: “India and China Clear Needle-Free COVID-19 Vaccines” by Aniruddha Ghosal, Associated Press
India and China have cleared a new approach in COVID-19 vaccination — two needle-free options, one a squirt in the nose and the other inhaled through the mouth.
Sep 6: “10.5 Million-Plus Kids Worldwide Lost Parents, Caregivers to COVID-19, Study Says” by Judy Packer-Tursman, UPI
More than 10.5 million children worldwide have lost parents or caregivers, and 7.5 million-plus have lost one or both parents from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to estimates from a new study.
Sep 7: “U.S. Plans Shift to Annual Covid Shots as New Boosters Roll Out” by Liz Essley Whyte, Wall Street Journal
U.S. health authorities plan to recommend that people get Covid-19 boosters once a year, starting with the new shots now rolling out, a shift from their current practice of issuing new advice every several months.
Sep 8: “A Key to Long Covid Is Virus Lingering in the Body, Scientists Say” by Sumathi Reddy, Wall Street Journal
A growing number of scientists think that lingering virus is a root cause of long Covid. New research has found the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the blood of long Covid patients up to a year after infection but not in people who have fully recovered from Covid.
Sep 9: “Companies Are Dropping Vaccine Mandates” by Emily Peck, Axios
Some companies are rolling back mandates for employee COVID vaccination — but few are making official public statements about it. Why it matters: These moves signal that we’ve shifted into a new chapter of the pandemic — and that employers are desperate to get people back to the office.
Sep 12: “Covid-19 Is Still Killing Hundreds of Americans Daily” by Jon Kamp, Wall Street Journal
The U.S. has recently averaged about 320 new Covid-19 deaths each day, and the average was above 400 before the Labor Day holiday weekend, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show. The rate is far below pandemic peaks, including levels above 2,500 a day during the Omicron wave early this year.
Sep 13: “WHO Report: 17 Million in EU May Have Suffered Long COVID-19” Associated Press
New research suggests at least 17 million people in the European Union may have experienced long COVID-19 symptoms during the first two years of the coronavirus pandemic, with women more likely than men to suffer from the condition, the World Health Organization said Tuesday.
Sep 13: “One of Long COVID’s Worst Symptoms Is also Its Most Misunderstood” The Atlantic
It wasn’t even included in the list of possible COVID symptoms when the coronavirus pandemic first began. But 20 to 30 percent of patients report brain fog three months after their initial infection, as do 65 to 85 percent of the long-haulers who stay sick for much longer.
Sep 14: “WHO: COVID End ‘in Sight,’ Deaths at Lowest Since March 2020” Associated Press
The head of the World Health Organization said Wednesday [September 14] that the number of coronavirus deaths worldwide last week was the lowest reported in the pandemic since March 2020, marking what could be a turning point in the years-long global outbreak.
Sep 14: “Under COVID Lockdown, Xinjiang Residents Complain of Hunger” by Dake Kang, Associated Press
Residents of a city in China’s far western Xinjiang region say they are experiencing hunger, forced quarantines and dwindling supplies of medicine and daily necessities after more than 40 days in a virus lockdown.
Sep 15: “Donated COVID Drugs Start Flowing to Poor Nations—But Can’t Meet Demand” by Heidi Ledford, Nature
A programme to bring oral COVID-19 antivirals to low- and middle-income countries has launched with an initial donation of 100,000 courses of treatment, to be distributed in 9 sub-Saharan African countries and Laos.
Sep 16: “Vax Protection Fades Fast Against BA.4/5 Related Hospitalizations” by Ingrid Hein, MedPage Today
Vaccine protection against hospitalization from the latest Omicron subvariants deteriorates rapidly, even after a third dose, new data from South Africa indicated, suggesting that annual boosters might not cut it for high-risk people.
Sep 16: “’At the Breaking Point’: Tibetans, Under Lockdown, Make Rare Cries for Help” by Vivian Wang, New York Times
Infected patients quarantined alongside those who tested negative. No food for hours, despite repeated requests. Lines of buses, loaded with people, waiting late into the night to drop them off at makeshift isolation centers. These are the scenes described by residents of Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, who have been locked down for one month as officials try to contain a coronavirus outbreak.
Sep 20: “Fatal Bus Crash Underscores Cost of China’s Covid Measures” by Cao Li, Wall Street Journal
A fatal bus crash in southwestern China that killed 27 people being transferred to a quarantine facility has reignited public anger about the toll of strict anti-Covid measures meant to protect the Chinese public.
Sep 20: “DOJ Charges 47 with Stealing $250 Million from a Pandemic Food Program for Kids” by Venessa Romo, NPR
The Justice Department has unveiled criminal charges against 47 defendants who cheated the government out of $250 million that were supposed to be used to feed needy kids in Minnesota during the COVID-19 pandemic. The DOJ said indictments allege “the largest pandemic relief fraud scheme charged to date.”
Sep 22: “New Analysis Supports Paxlovid Use” by Tina Reed, Axios
Here’s one more data point to consider in the back-and-forth about Pfizer’s antiviral pill Paxlovid: A new analysis found it can meaningfully reduce COVID hospitalizations and deaths, even in those younger than 65.
Sep 23: “4.4 M Americans Roll Up Sleeves for Omicron-Targeted Boosters” by Carla K. Johnson, Associated Press
U.S. health officials say 4.4 million Americans have rolled up their sleeves for the updated COVID-19 booster shot.
Sep 23: “Major Covid Holdouts in Asia Drop Border Restrictions” by Alexandra Stevenson and Ben Dooley, New York Times
After two and a half years of tight pandemic controls, some of Asia’s last holdouts are opening their borders, as they move to bolster their economies and play catch-up with a world that has largely learned to live with Covid.
Sep 23: “Some Who Rushed to Covid-19 Vaccine Hold Off on Boosters” by Jared S. Hopkins, Wall Street Journal
Health authorities encouraging retooled Covid-19 boosters are facing resistance from an unlikely corner: people who had embraced vaccines earlier in the pandemic.
Sep 26: “Pfizer Seeks to Expand Omicron Booster to 5-to-11-Year-Olds” Associated Press
Pfizer asked U.S. regulators Monday to expand use of its updated COVID-19 booster shot to children ages 5 to 11. Elementary school-aged children already received kid-sized doses of Pfizer’s original vaccine, a third of the dose given to everyone 12 and older — two primary shots plus a booster.
Sep 27: “Canada Repeals Covid-19 Border Restrictions” by Paul Vieira, Wall Street Journal
Canada will scrap its remaining Covid-19 border restrictions on Oct. 1, bringing an end to pandemic policies that have dramatically slowed cross-border traffic between Canada and the U.S. Canada will no longer bar people that haven’t been fully vaccinated for Covid-19 from entering the country.
Sep 29: “Study Confirms Link Between COVID-19 Vaccination and Temporary Increase in Menstrual Cycle Length” National Institutes of Health
A large international study has confirmed the findings of a previous U.S. study that linked COVID-19 vaccination with an average increase in menstrual cycle length of less than one day.
Sep 30: “Sweden to Stop Offering Covid Jabs to Teenagers” Medical Xpress
Sweden’s Public Health Agency said Friday it was no longer recommending that children aged 12 to 17 get vaccinated against Covid-19, citing the “very low risk” for the group. The new recommendation will come into force on October 31.
Sep 30: “China Gets Its First mRNA Vaccine Approval. In Indonesia.” by Alexandra Stevenson, New York Times
The shot, developed by Walvax Biotechnology, Suzhou Abogen Biosciences and the Chinese military, was cleared this week by Indonesia for emergency use, handing China a long-sought victory in the development of a homegrown vaccine using mRNA at a politically sensitive moment for the ruling Communist Party.
Sep 30: “North Korea Launches Mass Covid-19 Vaccination Campaign” by Dasl Yoon, Wall Street Journal
North Korea has begun a mass Covid-19 vaccination campaign in its border areas, according to South Korea’s spy agency, becoming one of the world’s final countries to embark on such a national rollout.
