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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Vaccine stocks have tumbled since Trump appointed vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to health secretary.</li><li>Vaccine-makers Moderna, Pfizer, and GSK saw sharp losses.</li></ul>It's been a tough day for health stocks since Donald Trump announced his appointment of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-robert-f-kennedy-jr-rfk-department-health-human-services-2024-11">Robert F. Kennedy Jr.</a> — a staunch vaccine skeptic — as health secretary.The news, which came late in the day on Thursday, sent the shares of vaccine-makers sharply lower on Friday, with <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/mrna-stock">Moderna</a> leading the losses, falling as much as 10%. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/pfe-stock">Pfizer</a> and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/nvax-stock">Novavax</a> both dropped 6% at intraday lows, while <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/gsk-stock">GSK</a> lost 5%.But the selling wasn't contained to just vaccine names. It spread into US-exposed European healthcare stocks, such as Novo Nordisk and Roche, which were down 5% and 3% at intraday lows, respectively.The losses extend a days-long skid for the sector after the election results last week saw investors boost bets that Kennedy — a key Trump ally — would notch a cabinet role.Since Election Day, Moderna has fallen more than 30%, while Pfizer has slid 11%. Those losses have stood in contrast to the rally enjoyed by the rest of the market, which has <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/trump-election-win-stock-market-today-record-high-sp500-dow-2024-11">rallied</a> on the hopes that Trump's lighter regulatory stance and corporate tax cuts could boost corporate earnings.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/robert-f-kennedy-jr-views-vaccines-autism-testing-debunked-2023-7">Kennedy</a> has long railed against vaccines, once calling those that protect against Covid-19 a "crime against humanity." He has treaded more carefully in recent weeks, though, and has said he wouldn't outright ban vaccines."If vaccines are working for somebody, I'm not going to take that away. People ought to have choice," he told <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/trump-win-rfk-jr-says-wont-take-away-anybodys-vaccines-rcna178955">NBC</a> after Trump's election.Since Trump's election win, several analysts have downgraded their outlooks on vaccine stocks amid the rising uncertainty in the industry. Bank of America analysts lowered their price target on Moderna last week, from $110 to $90, partially citing uncertainty after Trump's election win, while Deutsche Bank analyst Emmanuel Papadakis cut his rating on GSK to a hold after Kennedy's appointment."We consider vaccines to be amongst the greatest scientific achievements to impact public health: unfortunately this view is not shared by the nominee," Papadakis wrote in a client note <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-11-15/health-stocks-slide-as-trump-picks-vaccine-skeptic-kennedy">seen by Bloomberg</a>.Formerly an environmental justice lawyer, Kennedy pivoted to running an anti-vaccine charity in recent years, and ran for president as an independent candidate in this election cycle. He dropped out to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rfk-jr-drops-out-presidential-race-2024-8">endorse Trump</a> in August, which some sources reported was a bid to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rfk-wanted-white-house-job-exchange-for-endorsing-trump-report-2024-7">secure a position</a> in the administration.In his role as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-rfk-jr-plans-to-make-america-healthy-again-2024-11">health secretary</a>, Kennedy will have a top role in health policy in the US, but likely won't be able to actually control which vaccines children are required to get for school. That will remain up to individual states, but he could change vaccine requirements for federal employees or the US military.That's if the Senate confirms his appointment, which some have said could be a close vote considering mixed reactions among policymakers so far.Kennedy has also promoted removing fluoride from water supplies and overhauling federal food regulations, and has supported products like raw milk, which the Food and Drug Administration warns against.He's also floated hopes to cut highly processed food from school lunches, which was a priority under the Obama administration.

Health stocks are tumbling after Trump's appointment of vaccine skeptic RFK Jr.

Sydney, Aug 15 (The Conversation): The <keyword id="19896311" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="World-Health-Organization" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="World Health Organization" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="World Health Organization">World Health Organization</keyword> (<keyword id="19895006" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="WHO" source="keywords">WHO</keyword>) has declared <keyword id="20965747" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="mpox" source="keywords">mpox</keyword> a public health emergency of international concern, after rising cases in the <keyword id="22796094" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Democratic-Republic-of-the-Congo" source="keywords">Democratic Republic of the Congo</keyword> and the potential for further spread. This now triggers a coordinated international response to an extraordinary event and the mobilisation of resources, such as vaccines and diagnostic testing, to curb the spread of this infectious disease. But WHO has not declared mpox a <keyword id="19913581" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="pandemic" source="keywords">pandemic</keyword>. Rather, the measures it has triggered are designed to prevent it from becoming one. <h2>What triggered this latest alert?</h2> Mpox, once known as monkeypox, is a viral infection closely related to <keyword id="22362924" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="smallpox" source="keywords">smallpox</keyword>. Initial symptoms include a fever, headache, swelling of the lymph nodes and muscle ache. A typical rash follows, mainly on the face, hands and feet. The spread of mpox through certain African countries led the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention to declare earlier this week mpox a public health emergency of continental security. This is the first time the organisation has issued such an alert since it was established in 2017. The situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in central Africa has been particularly worrying for more than a year. There are two types or clades of mpox. Clade II, which originates in west Africa, is less severe. It has a fatality rate of up to 1 per cent (in other words, roughly one in 100 are expected to die from it). But clade I, from central Africa, has a fatality rate of up to 10 per cent (up to one in ten die). This compares to a 0.7 per cent fatality rate for the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is seeing large epidemics of the more deadly clade I mpox. Mpox is endemic in some parts of central and west Africa, where the virus exists in animals and can spread to humans. Outbreaks have been increasing, with more human-to-human spread, since 2017. This is partly due to very low levels of immunity to the mpox virus, which is related to the virus that causes smallpox. Mass vaccination against smallpox ceased more than 40 years ago globally, resulting in minimal immunity in populations today against mpox. The WHO designation announced this week relates to the clade I. Not only does this have a higher fatality rate, it has new mutations that enhance spread between people. These changes, and the global lack of immunity to mpox, makes the world's population vulnerable to the virus. <h2>There are two different epidemics</h2> In 2022, an epidemic of mpox swept through non-endemic countries, including beyond Africa. This was a variant of clade II originating from Nigeria, called clade IIb. This was sexually transmitted, predominantly affecting men who have sex with men, and had a low fatality rate. That epidemic peaked in 2022, with vaccines made available to people at risk in high-income countries, but there has been an uptick in 2024. At the same time, large clade I epidemics were occurring in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but with far less attention. Vaccines were not available there, even in 2023, when there were 14,626 cases and 654 deaths. Mortality was 4.5 per cent, and higher in children. In fact, most cases and deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been children. This means most transmission there is non-sexual and is likely to have occurred through close contact or respiratory aerosols. However, in 2023 an <keyword id="20877025" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="outbreak" source="keywords">outbreak</keyword> in a non-endemic part of the country, South Kivu in the east, appeared to be by sexual transmission, indicating more than one epidemic and different transmission modes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. By mid-2024, there were already more cases in the country than all of 2023 - more than 15,600 cases and 537 deaths. Testing capacity is low in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, most cases are not confirmed by lab testing, and the data we have are from a small sample of genomic sequences from the Kamituga region of South Kivu. This show mutations to the clade I virus around September 2023, to a variant termed clade Ib, which is more readily transmissible between people. We do not have much data to compare these viruses with the viruses causing cases in the rest of the country. <h2>Mpox is spreading internationally</h2> In the past month, the virus has spread to countries that share a border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo - Rwanda and Burundi. It has also spread to other east African countries, such as Kenya and Uganda. None of these countries have had mpox cases previously. In an interconnected, mobile world, cases may spread to other continents, as mpox did in 2018 from Nigeria to the United Kingdom and other countries. A few travel-related cases between 2018 and 2019 may have led to the large multi-country 2022 clade IIb epidemic. <h2>We have vaccines, but not where they are needed</h2> As the mpox virus and smallpox viruses are related (they are both orthopoxviruses), smallpox vaccines offer protection against mpox. These vaccines were used to control the 2022 clade IIb epidemic. However, most of the world has never been vaccinated, and has no immunity to mpox. The newer <keyword id="19959412" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="vaccine" source="keywords">vaccine</keyword> (called Jynneos in some countries and Imvamune or Imvanex in others) is effective. However, supplies are limited, and vaccine is scarce in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. WHO's declaration of mpox as a public health emergency of international concern will help mobilise vaccines to where they are needed. The Africa Centres for Disease Control had already begun negotiations to secure 2,00,000 doses of vaccine, which is a fraction of what is required to control the epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. <h2>What happens now?</h2> Ultimately, a serious epidemic anywhere in the world is a concern for all of us, as it can spread globally through travel, as we saw with the COVID pandemic. Controlling it at the source is the best measure, and WHO's latest declaration will help mobilise the required resources. Surveillance for spread of this more serious version of mpox is also essential, bearing in mind that many countries do not have the capacity for widespread testing. So we'll have to rely on "suspected cases", based on a clinical definition, to keep track of the epidemic. Open-source epidemic intelligence - such as using AI to monitor trends in rash and fever illness - can also be used as an early warning system in countries with weak health systems or delayed reporting of cases. A further complication is that 20-30 per cent of people with mpox may simultaneously have chickenpox, an unrelated infection that also causes a rash. So an initial diagnosis of chickenpox (which is easier to test for) does not rule out mpox. Effective communication and tackling push-back against public health measures and disinformation is also key. We saw how important this was during the COVID pandemic. Now, WHO will coordinate the global mpox response, focusing on equity in disease prevention and access to diagnostics and vaccines. It is up to individual countries to do their best to comply with the International Health Regulations, and the protocols for how such a global emergency are managed.

WHO has declared mpox a global health emergency. What happens next?

<keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword> reported 10,725 fresh Covid cases and 36 deaths in the last 24 hours, said the <keyword id="83655" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="union-health-ministry" source="Orion">Union Health Ministry</keyword> on Thursday. On Wednesday, the country had recorded 10,649 Covid cases. With 36 more Covid deaths, the nationwide toll has reached 5,27,488. The active caseload of the country has come down to 94,047 cases, accounting for 0.21 per cent of total positive cases. The recovery of 13,084 patients in the last 24 hours took the cumulative tally to 4,37,57,385. Consequently, India's recovery rate stands at 98.60 per cent. India's daily positivity rate has marginally risen to 2.73 per cent, while the weekly positivity rate currently stands at 3.20 per cent. Also in the last 24 hours, a total of 3,92,837 tests were conducted across the country, increasing the overall tally to over 88.39 crore. As of Thursday morning, India's <keyword id="8971762" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Covid-19-vaccination" source="Orion">Covid-19 vaccination</keyword> coverage exceeded 210.82 crore, achieved via 2,80,58,526 sessions. Over 4.01 crore adolescents have been administered with a first dose of Covid-19 jab since the beginning of vaccination drive for this age bracket. SEE ALSO : <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/enterprise/news/practos-insta-says-its-saas-transition-will-help-reduce-costs-by-4x/articleshow/93769317.cms">Practo’s Insta says it’s SaaS transition will help reduce costs by 4x</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/apple-schedules-iphone-14-event-for-september-7-heres-everything-new-expected-on-this-years-iphones-and-watch/articleshow/93769011.cms">Apple schedules iPhone 14 event for September 7 – here’s everything new expected on this year’s iPhones and Watch</a>

India logs 10,725 new Covid cases, 36 deaths

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Gov. Ron DeSantis was an early proponent of the COVID vaccine, urging the elderly to get the shot.</li><li>But as Republican sentiments toward the vaccines shifted, DeSantis began downplaying his support.</li></ul>Gov. Ron DeSantis is building his <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/desantis-campaign-launch-on-twitter-spaces-off-to-gltichy-start-2023-5">fledgling 2024 presidential campaign</a> on the <a href="https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/florida-got-it-right-gov-desantis-touts-states-pandemic-recovery-success-at-cpac" target="_blank" rel="noopener">supposed merits of his COVID-19 response in Florida</a>, often touting the state's prioritization of protecting personal freedoms over mask mandates and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/desantis-offended-police-coronavirus-vaccine-mandate-florida-biden-lawsuit-2021-10">vaccine requirements.</a>But a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/22/us/politics/ron-desantis-covid.html?unlocked_article_code=z9mcZHbXGsYC9NPeydXsslIz4V9QWmOnLvyrwsWicVl_oi_eiI-nzMpmYHQTUaZDSx7YdAHgndrir75VLOLTxS6wJQAxUpFZjqjPTNumViMSf6D3LcKjkp1ACoGUrXLvzcXuPLjYUPIr5wX9AEenyY2VYcCQfIAhSB5zyLUFIQ23MBGI0BFhOIIhk-MFG-nDnOmyk_iB5XBBhsgbARVVEnLoj1KAAQHKVgde9nbO1a_EpQccws9OZuHZg3mEhWNdSh-3qL8cc-QbuObb7ivu7kuTohJ25zJbqAfXMJ3mtptQ82l3BtXbxY8mVOVxeNfVBj_zvOR5mF-T2rXsKdeTWQ&amp;smid=tw-share">New York Times report</a> published Saturday suggests the Florida governor's <a href="https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2022/12/15/gov-ron-desantis-shifting-positions-vaccines-under-fire/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shifting public attitude toward vaccines</a> throughout the pandemic may correlate with an <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/covid-19-florida-reports-its-highest-death-toll-yet-2020-7">unnecessary spike in deaths throughout the state during the brutal Delta wave</a> in the summer of 2021. The Times found that the majority of Florida's COVID deaths took place after vaccines were readily available to all adults — not before, as was the case in many Democratic-led states, as well as nationwide. A spokesperson for DeSantis did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Florida was initially one of the early success stories of the pandemic. The state's death rate throughout the first year of the pandemic was lower than all but 10 other states, The Times reported, and Florida was ahead of the curve in vaccinating people 65 and older in early 2021. While <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/florida-texas-vaccinating-people-65-and-older-covid-2020-12">DeSantis made efforts to get elder Floridians vaccinated early on</a>, his approach seemed to shift as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/just-45-of-house-republicans-say-theyve-gotten-a-covid-19-vaccine-2021-5">the Republican party stoked increased skepticism about the science behind the shots.</a> By the spring of 2021, as the vaccines became more readily available to adults of all ages, DeSantis was instead emphasizing his opposition toward mandates and offering some appraisals of the shot, according to The Times.The governor also bolstered medical officials who have <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/florida-surgeon-general-cut-data-covid-19-vaccine-safety-study-2023-4">downplayed the severity of the virus</a>, including appointing Florida State Surgeon General, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/florida-surgeon-general-joseph-ladapo-covid-19-vaccine-mask-mandate-2021-9">Dr. Joseph Ladapo, in September 2021, who publicly questioned the vaccine's effectiveness</a> and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-florida-public-health-ron-desantis-9bcb627b5168b0a957a2064ec29b6dd1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">would not say whether he himself got the shot.</a>By July 2021, Florida's vaccine numbers had fallen from their early lead, and rates of vaccination among younger adults in the state were below the national average, the outlet reported. The consequences of that downward trend would be on full display when the Delta variant ravaged the country in the summer of 2021. The Times analysis found that Floridians died at a higher rate, adjusted for age, than people in almost any other state during the Delta wave. Florida made up 14% of deaths between July and October 2021, despite representing less than 7% of the country, according to The Times. Twenty-three-thousand Floridians died during the Delta wave, and 9,000 of them were younger than 65 — a majority of whom were either unvaccinated or had not finished their two-dose regimen, the newspaper reported. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/republican-gop-now-urge-people-vaccines-after-anti-vaxx-stance-2021-7">DeSantis suddenly began recommending vaccinations again</a> as July 2021 came to a close and cases skyrocketed, The Times reported.The governor has previously taken issue with the suggestion that his comments about vaccines played a role in Florida's case count, suggesting that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/governor-ron-desantis-signed-legislation-prevent-florida-covid-vaccine-mandates-2021-11">his opposition was toward mandates</a> and not the shots themselves. But local officials in Florida told The Times that DeSantis' public shift on vaccines was notable.Dr. Alina Alonso, the recently-retired health director for Palm Beach County, told The Times DeSantis' messaging went from, "Let's get everybody vaccinated 65 and older" to "Vaccines are not really useful." Florida's death rate eventually fell in the autumn, as many other states' rates did when the wave subsided. In total, Florida's death numbers throughout the pandemic, when adjusted for age, actually trended better than the national average, according to The Times. But <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/desantis-latest-anti-covid-vaccine-action-draws-contrasts-with-trump-2022-12">DeSantis' vaccine pivots</a> are worth reckoning with, Dan Gelber, the Democratic mayor of Miami Beach, told The Times."There are people in the state who will do what he says," Gelber said. "He's a popular governor."

Most COVID deaths in Florida happened after vaccines were readily available: NYT

People exposed to higher levels of <keyword id="55910" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="air-pollution" source="Orion">air pollution</keyword> before the pandemic are likely to have lower antibody responses to Covid-19 vaccines, suggests a study. In particular, exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and blank carbon (BC) was associated with about a 10 per cent decrease in IgM and IgG antibody responses in people without prior infection, said researchers from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), and the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP) in Spain. The fact that previous infections lead to higher vaccine responses could explain why the effect of pollutants was only observed in people without a prior infection. However, the role of long-term exposure to air pollution on hybrid immunity (infection plus vaccination) deserves further investigation, the researchers warned, in the study published in Environmental Health Perspectives. "Air pollution can induce chronic inflammation, which has been associated with a negative effect on vaccine efficacy," said Carlota Dobano, researcher from ISGlobal. "Our findings are consistent with evidence that persistent organic pollutants reduce vaccine responses in children," she added. Air pollutants have been shown to affect immune responses. Previously it has been linked to adverse health outcomes, including lung cancer, cardiovascular and respiratory disease, and diabetes. The team analysed data from 927 participants (aged 40 to 65 years), who answered questionnaires and gave blood samples in the summer of 2020 (right after the first lockdown) and in 2021 (after the start of Covid-19 vaccination). All had received one or two doses of the main Covid-19 vaccines administered in Spain (made by AstraZeneca, Pfizer or Moderna). The research team measured IgM, IgG and IgA antibodies to five viral antigens (three of them on the Spike protein contained in the vaccine). Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), black carbon (BC), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ozone (O3) was estimated for each participant based on his or her address before the pandemic. The results show that in uninfected individuals, pre-pandemic exposure to PM2.5, NO2 and BC was associated with a 5 per cent to 10 per cent reduction in vaccine-induced Spike antibodies. The decrease in antibodies was shown both for early IgM responses and late responses measured by IgG. The IgG response after the first dose peaked later in participants exposed to higher air pollution levels, and lower IgG levels persisted for several months after vaccination. Results were similar for the three vaccines. The study did not look at whether the reduction in antibody responses led to an increased risk of breakthrough infections and their severity. However, the findings add to the growing body of evidence on the adverse effects of air pollution even at the relatively low levels observed in Western Europe, the researchers said, while calling for stricter air pollution limits. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/ipl-2023-to-drive-fantasy-sports-companies-to-2900-3100-crore-revenue/articleshow/99285556.cms">IPL 2023 to drive fantasy sports companies to ₹2,900-3,100 crore revenue, fueled by Tier-2 cities and exciting prizes</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/google-makes-it-easier-for-users-to-delete-their-account-and-data-from-applications/articleshow/99289621.cms">Google makes it easier for users to delete their account and data from applications</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/9-out-10-tvs-sold-in-india-in-2022-were-smart-tvs-and-nearly-all-of-these-tvs-are-assembled-locally/articleshow/99262205.cms">9 out 10 TVs sold in India in 2022 were smart TVs, and nearly all of these TVs are assembled locally</a>

Air pollution can affect your Covid vaccine efficacy: Study

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The general public's attitude toward COVID is more relaxed than ever, even amid a summer surge.</li><li>Doctors say relaxed COVID precautions are to be expected and are not necessarily a bad thing.</li></ul>Gone are the days of scrubbing surfaces, sudden <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/covid-shut-down-school-two-days-after-classes-started-2022-1">school closures</a>, and social distancing.Where a positive COVID-19 test once wrought panicked <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/covid-19-mistakes-us-focus-on-contact-tracing-not-sequencing-2021-3">contract tracing </a>and guaranteed two weeks of isolation, these days, a diagnosis sparks relatively little worry for most people.Even amid a summer spike in cases — everyone from President <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-tests-positive-for-covid-19-2024-7#:~:text=President%20Joe%20Biden%20tested%20positive,Press%20Secretary%20Karine%20Jean%2DPierre.">Joe Biden</a> to the 2024 Summer Olympians seems to be battling the virus — the general public's attitude toward the pandemic that upended our lives more than four years ago is more relaxed than ever.The federal public health emergency for COVID expired in May 2023, officially <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-covid-19-global-health-emergency-is-over-who-says-2023-5">ending the crisis</a>, at least in name, more than three years after it was first declared. Since then, thanks to high infection and immunization rates, the country has continued climbing toward the herd immunity doctors so desperately sought in the early days of the pandemic, four medical professionals told Business Insider."The risk perception and anxiety around acute COVID infection has definitely lessened," said Dr. Anita Chopra, an internist at the University of Washington medical system. "People are interacting and mingling more like in pre-pandemic times."Healthcare professionals told BI that the public's more relaxed attitude toward COVID is ultimately a good thing. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/life-returning-to-normal-labor-market-vaccines-pandemic-2021-11">A return to normality</a> was the goal, after all.But COVID is still very present and very much a potential threat, especially for the immunocompromised and those unlucky enough to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/who-official-individuals-coronavirus-infection-unlucky-long-covid-2022-6">develop long COVID symptoms</a> — up to 10% of patients, according to some doctor estimates. Meanwhile, relaxed masking and declining vaccination rates, while to be expected at this point, could be linked to the rising case numbers doctors are seeing in clinics around the country, medical professionals told BI."We need to acknowledge that we're in a very different place now than we were at the height of the pandemic," said Dr. Eric Chow, chief of communicable disease epidemiology and immunizations at Public Health Seattle and King County. "But so long as COVID-19 continues to circulate, there are health implications to getting infected."<h2 id="8540c815-ae27-4465-8106-21a572b3f035">Evolving behaviors and beliefs</h2>Many of the early-day pandemic precautions have all but disappeared in 2024. Chief among them, according to doctors, are <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mask-mandates-lifted-states-reasonable-experts-2022-2">masking</a>, isolations, and vaccinations.Soon after the pandemic emerged, medical professionals emphasized masking as a key way to slow the spread of the virus.The face coverings quickly became a contentious cultural topic and among the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trumps-decision-to-oppose-masks-bizarre-self-sabotaging-coronavirus-pandemic-2020-6">most politicized aspects</a> of COVID. But these days, even many who once championed masks have ditched the deterrent entirely. An August 2023 Yahoo News/YouGov <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/only-12-percent-of-americans-wear-mask-in-public-194019882.html">poll</a> of 1,665 US adults found that 12% of respondents said they were masking — down from 60% in January 2022. And doctors told BI that they've seen a steady decrease in masking since then."I think the public has appropriately adjusted their attitudes to what they hear in the news and what they see around them," said Dr. Edward Jones-Lopez, infectious disease specialist with Keck Medicine at the University of Southern California.More worrying to medical professionals is the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/covid-vaccine-us-vaccination-sites-joe-biden-2021-4">decline in vaccinations.</a>While early immunization rates helped bolster immunity, vaccination uptake has been on the decline in recent years, and fewer and fewer people are keeping up to date with their booster shots, a preventive step the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.cdc.gov/covid/vaccines/stay-up-to-date.html#:~:text=Everyone%20aged%205%20years%20and,of%20updated%20COVID%2D19%20vaccine.">CDC recommends</a> in its COVID guidelines.Most medical professionals also recommend a yearly COVID-19 vaccine. There's a new shot coming out in September. But Chow, who previously worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at the height of the pandemic, said most people aren't aware of the recommended vaccine schedule — a challenge that is indicative of a larger problem doctors are trying to navigate in this new COVID age."People are much more fatigued by COVID messaging," he said. "We're trying to right-size the appropriate message to make sure people continue to acknowledge the health impacts of COVID."<h2 id="3c719499-920d-46e7-b315-35ec4a1cdc50">The long COVID scare</h2>Relaxed attitudes are not necessarily a bad thing, according to doctors."I think it's to be expected as we learn more about the virus over these four years and as we've developed these other COVID countermeasures to address infection," said Dr. Jessica Bender, a primary care doctor at Harbor View Medical in Seattle and the co-director at the university's long COVID clinic.On the one hand, people are generally not getting as sick as they once did when ill with COVID, medical professionals told BI. On the other hand, this summer seems to have brought yet another COVID surge with a spike in cases.People don't typically equate respiratory illnesses with the warmer months, but an increase in summer socializing combined with the general decrease in preventive measures is likely fueling the uptick, Bender said.For an unlucky subset of patients, a COVID diagnosis — even in this new relaxed era — could mean <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/long-covid-survivor-its-wrecked-my-life-2022-1">long-term challenges.</a>Doctors define long COVID as any infection related to the virus that is present for at least three months, said Chopra, who treats patients at the UW long COVID clinic. The often <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/healthcare-workers-nurses-long-covid-impact-careers-labor-shortage-2022-5">debilitating</a> condition is indiscriminate in who it affects. Up to 10% of all people who get COVID are susceptible, according to Chopra, and patients of all ages, genders, races, and vaccination statuses can present with long COVID.<div type="image" title="A young girl gets a COVID vaccine" height="2661" width="4000" msid="112065018" hostid="261" sizebytes="341938"></div>Even as the country relaxes its COVID response, doctors said they are still seeing many new patients presenting with long COVID each day. The condition has at least <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/common-long-covid-symptoms-hair-loss-vertigo-low-libido-2022-7">200 known signs and symptoms</a> that range from shortness of breath to chronic fatigue and brain fog.Doctors told BI they'd treated several patients who have been forced to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/long-covid-symptoms-disability-insurance-unemployment-quit-job-2022-11">stop working</a> or rendered unable to participate in any physical activity because of a long COVID diagnosis. A 2023 <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9721155/">study</a> published in the National Library of Medicine explored a possible link between long COVID and the risk of suicide because of the condition's tendency to inflict depression, anxiety, posttraumatic symptoms, sleep disturbances, fatigue, and cognitive deficits.Medical professionals are doing their best to understand long COVID, but admit that there's still much to learn. According to the CDC, about 17 million people <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/covid19/pulse/long-covid.htm">reported</a> having long-term COVID-19 in March 2024.For these people, the pandemic is still very real."When I treat people with long COVID, they are always masked," Chopra said.<h2 id="c71342ed-0973-4d09-978b-dae3bd11fc3e">The future of COVID</h2>As doctors look to the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/red-cross-says-world-is-dangerously-unprepared-for-next-pandemic-2023-1">future</a> of COVID, little is for sure."We always say the one thing that is predictable about COVID is its unpredictability," Chow said.But medical professionals told BI they are optimistic that even as the virus continues to evolve, the next few years will continue to look like the past year, with small seasonal surges and hopefully less intense illness.While lax attitudes may be a welcome sign of a cautious new normal, doctors said it's important to remember the lessons we've collectively learned from COVID. The precautions that proved useful against the virus protect people from other illnesses, too.Just because the world has adapted to COVID-19, medical professionals say, doesn't mean we should drop the hygiene, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/air-circulation-coronavirus-how-to-judge-ventilation-systems-2020-8">ventilation</a>, and masking lessons learned along the way."We've learned so much about how we can protect ourselves," Chow said. "It's hard to see people leave some of those precautions behind."Doctors recommend people gauge their individual risk, as well as the risk of those close to them when considering which precautions to take in this new COVID age. Most medical professionals still recommend masking, testing, and visiting a doctor after testing positive."We're aiming to get to a state where COVID is not a threat to our healthcare system," Bender said. "And not a threat to our lives and livelihoods.

Most people don't really care about COVID anymore. That's good — and bad. 

(Eds: With file pics) Hyderabad, Two major vaccine makers from Hyderabad, <keyword id="1379126" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Biological-E" source="Orion">Biological E</keyword> Ltd and <keyword id="149108" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="bharat-biotech" source="Orion">Bharat Biotech</keyword>, together are holding about 250 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines ready to dispatch as and when orders are received. According to respective company sources, Biological E is holding 200 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine <keyword id="11370342" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="corbevax" source="Orion">Corbevax</keyword> while Bharat Biotech is sitting on a stockpile of 50 million doses of Covaxin. Dr Vikram Paradkar, Executive Vice President (Manufacturing), Biological E, said the firm produced about 30 crore doses of Corbevax in total, abiding by the vaccine manufacturing commitment to the Central government. In March '22, Biological E successfully supplied 10 crore doses to the government. "Currently, we have approximately 20 crore (200 million) doses that are fully tested and ready for supply, as and when we receive orders. Additionally, we manufactured 20 crore doses equivalent of the antigen which will help us ramp up the manufacturing of the Corbevax finished product quickly," Paradkar told PTI. The vaccine has been developed by Biological E in collaboration with Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development (Texas Children's CVD) and Baylor College of Medicine (Baylor) in Houston, Texas, USA. He further said Biological E can begin with the additional vaccine supplies within eight weeks of future orders and can manufacture and supply approximately 10 crore doses of Corbevax on a monthly basis as per its qualified manufacturing capacity. Bharat Biotech sources said the vaccine maker has more than 50 million doses of Covaxin readily available in vials, and over 200 million doses as drug substance. "Additional production capacity is also available to meet product demand," they said adding fresh stocks of the vaccine are available and ready for supplies. Covaxin, India's indigenous COVID-19 vaccine, was developed in collaboration with the <keyword id="6364555" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="indian-council-of-medical-research" source="Orion">Indian Council of Medical Research</keyword> (ICMR) - National Institute of Virology (NIV). Due to lack of product demand, production stoppage of Covaxin was initiated earlier this year and also the 50 million doses in vials are set to expire during early 2023, resulting in losses to the company, sources had earlier said. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/rise-in-active-covid-19-cases-in-bihar-no-need-for-panic-says-expert/articleshow/96561025.cms">Rise in active COVID-19 cases in Bihar; no need for panic, says expert</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/covid-19-nasal-vaccine-bharat-biotechs-incovacc-is-the-first-approved-intranasal-vaccine-in-the-world/slidelist/96542239.cms">All you need to know about the world’s first Covid-19 nasal vaccine - iNCOVACC</a>

Biological E, Bharat Biotech together sitting on stockpile of 250 million COVID vaccine doses

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The <keyword id="14445918" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ba-5" source="Orion">BA.5</keyword> subvariant of <keyword id="12616996" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="omicron" source="Orion">Omicron</keyword> is reinfecting people at a record clip, causing alarm.</li><li>We asked public-health experts how concerned you should be about it, on a scale of 1 to 10.</li></ul>There's a new <keyword id="11893194" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus" source="Orion">coronavirus</keyword> variant traveling around this summer at a record clip.It's a variant of Omicron called BA.5, and it's causing a stir largely because it has evolved even further away than other Omicron variants did from the coronavirus we already knew. Previously, getting infected with Omicron meant you probably had <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/can-you-get-ba2-if-you-had-omicron-evidence-risk-2022-3">some protection against reinfection</a> for a few months. But BA.5 is <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05053-w#Sec4">strategically evading our built-up defenses</a> against prior versions of the virus. This all means that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/covid-variant-omicron-ba5-reinfection-contagious-health-experts-2022-7">reinfections — even in vaccinated and recently infected</a> people — are <a href="https://twitter.com/nataliexdean/status/1546161018287624193">up, way up</a>.So, yes, BA.5 is easier to catch than other variants have been, and it may feel like it's lurking everywhere right now, infecting anyone, whether or not you've already had a vaccine, a booster shot, and/or a recent bout of COVID-19."If you were infected with BA.1, you really <a href="https://youtu.be/A0OF_MbQUng?t=907">don't have a lot of good protection</a> against BA.4/5," Dr. Anthony Fauci, the US's top infectious-disease expert, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fauci-prior-omicron-infection-doesnt-give-good-protection-against-ba5-2022-7">said Tuesday</a>.We asked four top public-health experts to help us figure out how worried we should be about this new, extra-stealthy Omicron subvariant. Telling us how concerned to be about new infectious-disease threats is typically what these people do for a living. But rating BA.5 gave them some pause."I can't answer that," Dr. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/doctor-not-boosted-but-mom-is-getting-3rd-covid-shot-2021-11">Celine Gounder</a>, an infectious-disease expert and the editor at large for <keyword id="6364896" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="public-health" source="Orion">public health</keyword> at Kaiser Health News, said. "Because it depends on your vaccination status, your age, your health, your occupation, your living situation, etc., etc."Others did give hard numbers, but there was variation in their answers based on where you may live or who you are. <h2>If you're up to date on vaccines, one expert says your worry scale should register at '3 out of 10'</h2>Dr. Preeti Malani, an infectious-disease physician at the University of Michigan, was willing to give a hard and fast number. "I'd say 3 out of 10," she said, expressing mild concern about the new variant. "BA.5 is everywhere, and if you haven't gotten it yet, the odds are pretty" good you will," Malani said, adding: "But if you are up to date on vaccines, the illness should be mild and without major medical consequences."While there's a "high risk of exposure" to this variant, she said there were also "lots of reasons to be hopeful." Early <a href="https://aspr.hhs.gov/testtotreat/Pages/default.aspx">treatment with Paxlovid is now free</a> for all Americans who may need it."With <a href="https://special.usps.com/testkits">home testing</a> and rapid connection to treatment (for those at risk of complicated infection), COVID is manageable," Malani said.<h2>Older adults without booster shots should be more worried </h2>In the UK, which is at least a few weeks ahead of the US in terms of variant spread, national <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1086494/Technical-Briefing-43-28.06.22.pdf">health security experts</a> have assessed that the protection offered by current vaccines against BA.5 "likely remains comparable to that observed previously," meaning that vaccinated and boosted people, while certainly at risk of getting sick with BA.5, won't likely end up in the hospital, or dead. However, for those who aren't up to date on shots, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/experts-why-omicron-ba5-is-concern-how-to-avoid-infection-2022-7">who don't have a COVID action plan at the ready</a>, outcomes could be bad. The <a href="https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/news/ecdc-ema-update-recommendations-additional-booster-doses-mrna-covid-19-vaccines">European Union</a> earlier this week dispatched fresh recommendations for a second booster for all adults 60 years old and up, in line with what the US already recommends. "We are currently seeing increasing COVID-19 case notification rates and an increasing trend in hospital and ICU admissions and occupancy in several countries, mainly driven by the BA.5 sublineage of Omicron," Dr. Andrea Ammon, the Director of European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, <a href="https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/news/ecdc-ema-update-recommendations-additional-booster-doses-mrna-covid-19-vaccines">said</a>. "There are still too many individuals at risk of severe COVID-19 infection whom we need to protect as soon as possible." <h2>Regional differences in vaccine rates and heat waves may complicate the calculation</h2><div type="image" title="Miami, Florida" height="3470" width="4626" msid="92857159" hostid="261"></div>Public health expert Katelyn Jetelina, who runs the popular '<a href="https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/epidemiology-of-reinfections">Your Local Epidemiologist' blog</a> wasn't willing to give a single number out for the entire US. She said risk is too variable right now, based on where you live."I'm quite worried about the South," she said, ranking it a 7 out of 10 due to low rates of booster shots, low Paxlovid usage, low testing, and "everyone going inside for the heat."The south also had a relatively low number of infections in the recent BA.2.12.1 wave, unlike the Northeast, where Jetelina said people should be at about a 4 out of 10 level of concern.Bottom line: if you're boosted, wearing <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kX9t8jQ9-fM">masks when appropriate</a>, and have a test and treatment action plan for if you do get sick, most experts agree this wave should be alright.But like all risk calculations, "the number is different based on who it is being applied to," as Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, pointed out. "If it is a fresh lung transplant patient, the number would be 10. For a healthy 18 year old, it would be 0," he ventured."Risk is not one-sized fits all."

How worried should I be about BA.5, on a scale of 1 to 10? We asked 4 leading COVID experts for their rating

New Delhi [India], April 23 (ANI): India reported over 10,000 COVID cases for the fifth straight day with 10,112 <keyword id="7571551" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="new-infections" source="Orion">new infections</keyword> in the last 24 hours, according to the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare on Sunday. The country saw a little dip from Saturday's COVID cases tally. India recorded 12,193 on April 22, 11,692 on April 21, 12,591 on April 20, 10,542 on April 19, 7,633 on April 18, and 9,111 on April 17. According to the Union Health Ministry, the country's active cases increased to 67,806 which was 67,556 yesterday. Presently recovery rate stands at 98.66 per cent, the Health Ministry stated further. As many as 9,833 patients recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours taking the overall count of people cured of the infection to 4,42,92,854, according to the Ministry. Under the nationwide vaccination drive, India has so far administered 220.66 crore Covid vaccine doses (95.21 cr second doses and 22.87 cr precautionary doses), of which 1,947 doses were administered in the last 24 hours. The total number of tests conducted in the last 24 hours is 1,43,899, the health ministry stated. In wake of the spike in the number of COVID-19 cases across the country, Dr PK Mishra, the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister earlier chaired a high-level meeting on Wednesday to assess the situation. The PMO informed in a statement that the focus of the meeting was on the status of preparedness of health infrastructure and logistics, drugs, vaccination campaign in the country and the key necessary steps as a response to the recent surge in Covid cases. "Dr PK Mishra stressed that the time tested 5-fold strategy of Test-Track-Treat-Vaccination and adherence COVID Appropriate Behaviour must continue to be implemented and equally crucial to promote awareness within the community regarding COVID appropriate behaviour and caution citizens against complacency," the PMO statement read. During the meeting, a comprehensive presentation was made by Rajesh Bhushan, the Secretary of Health and Family Welfare providing an overview of the global COVID-19 situation. The presentation also provided an overview of the Genome Sequencing of different variants since January 2023 and noted the proportion of circulating variants in India. The status of vaccination was discussed, followed by drug availability and infrastructure preparedness across the country, the PMO stated. As per directions of the Prime Minister, a nationwide mock drill for the assessment of functional infrastructure was conducted and the status of the mock drill was presented to participants. Further, the expenditure of the COVID-19 vaccination programme and budget provisions for drugs and vaccine raw materials were also reviewed. (ANI)

India reports over 10,000 COVID cases for fifth straight day

<ul class="summary-list"><li>GoFundMe has blocked $10 million donations destined for the so-called "Freedom Convoy" in <keyword id="6356687" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="canada" source="Orion">Canada</keyword>.</li><li>The Freedom Convoy is protesting <keyword id="11896806" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid-19-vaccine" source="Orion">COVID-19 vaccine</keyword> rules and has occupied the center of Ottawa.</li></ul>GoFundMe has blocked $10 million in donations destined for a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-donald-trump-praised-canadian-trucker-vaccine-mandate-protest-2022-1">Canadian trucker vaccine protest</a> that was praised by <keyword id="11914386" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="donald-trump" source="Orion">Donald Trump</keyword> and Elon Musk.The funds, which were donated to the so-called "Freedom Convoy," will now be automatically returned to donors, GoFundMe <a href="https://medium.com/gofundme-stories/update-gofundme-statement-on-the-freedom-convoy-2022-fundraiser-4ca7e9714e82">said</a> Saturday.Last weekend, thousands of truckers and <keyword id="12217297" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="protesters" source="Orion">protesters</keyword> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/thousands-canada-protest-covid-19-vaccine-mandates-truckers-justin-trudeau-2022-1">gathered</a> in Ottawa to protest Canada's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/truckers-vaccine-mandate-drivers-crossing-us-border-biden-2021-11">cross-border COVID-19 vaccine mandates</a>. The protesters have since occupied the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/videos-of-trucking-vaccine-mandate-protest-truckers-camp-outside-capital-2022-1">center of Canada's capital</a> and Ottawa police have <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/01/31/canada-ottawa-protests-trucker-coronavirus-vaccine/">launched</a> "several criminal investigations" into incidents connected to the protest.Trump <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-donald-trump-praised-canadian-trucker-vaccine-mandate-protest-2022-1">said</a> last weekend: "We want those great Canadian truckers to know that we are with them all the way." He also criticized US President Joe Biden's <keyword id="11899454" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="vaccine-mandate" source="Orion">vaccine mandate</keyword> for truckers and added that the Canadian protesters were "doing more to defend American freedom than our own leaders by far."<a href="https://medium.com/gofundme-stories/update-gofundme-statement-on-the-freedom-convoy-2022-fundraiser-4ca7e9714e82">On Friday</a>, GoFundMe said that it "supports peaceful protests and we believe that was the intention of the Freedom Convoy 2022 fundraiser when it was first created." It added: "We now have evidence from law enforcement that the previously peaceful demonstration has become an occupation, with police reports of violence and other unlawful activity."This meant the fundraiser was in violation of its terms of service, the company said, adding that "no further funds will be directly distributed to the Freedom Convoy organizers."GoFundMe did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Insider's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/canada-trump-calls-trudeau-far-left-lunatic-trucker-protests-continue-2022-2">Bethany Dawson</a> reported Trump calling Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau a "far-left lunatic" and added the group could be coming to the US to protest Joe Biden's COVID-19 rules.Ontario Premier Doug Ford <a href="https://www.kcrw.com/news/shows/npr/npr-story/1078415610">told the Associated Press</a>: "It's not a protest anymore. It's become an occupation. It's time for this to come to an end."Canada senator Dennis Patterson said: "Let me be clear: If you wrap yourself in or go about waving a Nazi or Confederate flag, you are declaring yourself a person who embraces hate, bigotry, and racism."

GoFundMe has blocked $10 million in donations to a Canadian trucker vaccine protest praised by Trump and Elon Musk

Hello,Welcome to Insider <keyword id="11897506" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="healthcare" source="Orion">Healthcare</keyword>. I'm healthcare editor Leah Rosenbaum, and today in healthcare news:<ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/100-people-transforming-business-presents-healthcare-leaders-2021-11">We picked the top leaders transforming the healthcare industry in 2021</a>;</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-doj-is-investigating-oak-street-health-amid-medicare-crackdown-2021-11">The Department of Justice is investigating primary-care company Oak Street Health</a>;</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/these-are-softbanks-top-12-healthcare-investments-in-2021-2021-11">SoftBank is shaking up digital health with a new round of investments</a>. </li></ul>If you're new to this <keyword id="11894123" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="newsletter" source="Orion">newsletter</keyword>, <a href="http://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/4np/newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/4np/insider-healthcare">sign up here.</a> Comments, tips? Email me at <a href="mailto:lrosenbaum@insider.com">lrosenbaum@insider.com</a> or tweet <a href="https://twitter.com/leah_rosenbaum">@leah_rosenbaum.</a> Let's get to it...<h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/100-people-transforming-business-presents-healthcare-leaders-2021-11"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/100-people-transforming-business-presents-healthcare-leaders-2021-11">Healthcare's transformative leaders are looking to upend the industry by building on the pandemic's scientific advancements</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/100-people-transforming-business-presents-healthcare-leaders-2021-11"></a></h3><ul><li>Insider identified 10 healthcare leaders changing the business of healthcare across the globe.</li><li>They're exploring high- and low-tech pathways toward a more resilient healthcare system.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/100-people-transforming-business-presents-healthcare-leaders-2021-11">Their contributions range from new ways to develop medicine to social interventions in the hospital.</a></li></ul><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/100-people-transforming-business-presents-healthcare-leaders-2021-11">See the full list&gt;&gt; </a><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-doj-is-investigating-oak-street-health-amid-medicare-crackdown-2021-11"><div type="image" title="MIKE PYKOSZ Oak Street Health (1)" height="1985" width="2647" msid="87630687" hostid="261"></div>Federal law enforcement has stepped up scrutiny of companies operating in the lucrative Medicare Advantage market. Oak Street Health is the latest target.</a></h3><ul><li><keyword id="12506181" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="oak-street-health" source="Orion">Oak Street Health</keyword> revealed on Monday that it was a focus of a US Justice Department investigation.</li><li>The primary-care provider said the DOJ was investigating whether it violated the False Claims Act.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-doj-is-investigating-oak-street-health-amid-medicare-crackdown-2021-11">Federal law enforcement has increased scrutiny of companies in Medicare Advantage.</a></li></ul><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-doj-is-investigating-oak-street-health-amid-medicare-crackdown-2021-11">Check it out&gt;&gt; </a><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/these-are-softbanks-top-12-healthcare-investments-in-2021-2021-11"><div type="image" title="Insitro" height="1767" width="2357" msid="87630688" hostid="261"></div></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/these-are-softbanks-top-12-healthcare-investments-in-2021-2021-11">SoftBank is betting big on healthcare in its second fund. Here are the 12 startups its backed in the last 10 months.</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/these-are-softbanks-top-12-healthcare-investments-in-2021-2021-11"></a></h3><ul><li>SoftBank has participated in $6.2 billion worth of funding rounds for healthcare companies in 2021.</li><li>That's up from 2020, when it participated in $1.2 billion worth of funding, per PitchBook data.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/these-are-softbanks-top-12-healthcare-investments-in-2021-2021-11">While it is partly due to larger checks, SoftBank also tripled its number of investments this year.</a></li></ul><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/these-are-softbanks-top-12-healthcare-investments-in-2021-2021-11">Read more&gt;&gt;</a>More stories we're reading:<ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/compass-pathways-psychedelics-psilocybin-phase-2-data-depression-2021-11">Compass Pathways released its latest study on a psychedelic to treat depression. A top Wall Street analyst says the results are 'very encouraging.'</a> (Insider)</li><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/08/sports/football/aaron-rodgers-vaccine.html">NFL player Aaron Rodgers is spreading vaccine misinformation, undermining medical professionals</a> (The New York Times)</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/singaporeans-unvaccinated-by-choice-no-free-covid-19-treatment-2021-11">Singaporeans who are 'unvaccinated by choice' can no longer receive free COVID-19 treatment</a> (Insider)</li><li><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2021/11/the-worlds-only-normal-until-you-test-positive/620653/">It's easy to think the pandemic is over - until you get COVID-19</a> (The Atlantic)</li></ul>-Leah

Meet the 10 leaders transforming healthcare in 2021

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Vaccinating the world would cost roughly $50 billion, according to the <keyword id="11904767" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="oecd" source="Orion">OECD</keyword>'s chief economist.</li><li>That's less than a tenth of the extra profits US companies have made in 2021 thanks to the vaccine-fueled recovery.</li></ul>Getting every human being vaccinated against COVID-19 would be expensive, but it would prevent further mutations like Omicron from developing and threatening the economic recovery — and life as we know it.It would also cost just a fraction of corporate America's extra profits in 2021.The emergence of the Omicron variant has governments doubling down on calls to get the whole world vaccinated, yet developing countries are still struggling to get shots in arms and put the pandemic behind them. The price tag could be as low as $50 billion, Laurence Boone, chief economist at the <keyword id="12651284" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="organization-for-economic-co-operation-and-development" source="Orion">Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development</keyword>, said in a Wednesday interview on <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2021-12-01/oecd-puts-50-billion-price-tag-on-vaccinating-the-world-video">Bloomberg TV</a>. The sum is "completely disproportionate" to the $10 trillion that Group of 20 countries have deployed in stimulus through the pandemic, she added.It would also be a drop in the bucket for the US corporations that have benefitted from domestic vaccine rollouts. <keyword id="12500486" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="corporate-profits" source="Orion">Corporate profits</keyword> have grown by $577 billion in 2021 so far. Much of the gains have been driven by the US economic reopening, which began early in the year as vaccines were approved and distributed. Vaccination sparked a wave of spending as Americans unleashed pent-up demand, and those sales boosted companies' earnings.If US corporations banded together, they could vaccinate the entire world with less than one-tenth of their extra profits from the year-to-date.Even US companies' quarterly <keyword id="12068951" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="stock-buybacks" source="Orion">stock buybacks</keyword> easily surpass the $50 billion cost. Companies in the S&amp;P 500 are likely to spend more than $224 billion on share repurchase programs over the three months that ended in September, Reuters reported on November 2, citing data from <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/us-stock-buybacks-head-record-third-quarter-2021-11-02/">S&amp;P Dow Jones Indices</a>. That would be a record high for quarterly buybacks and easily enough to vaccinate the world four times over.The US government could easily swing the bill as well. The federal government is slated to spend more than $6 trillion in fiscal 2022, according to the White House's budget proposal. Cutting just a sliver from that total could pay for global vaccination.For example, the House Armed Services Committee revealed in September plans to spend roughly $778 billion on the military in fiscal 2022. That's enough to vaccinate the world nearly 16 times over.Even the $37.5 billion increase to military spending from last year's budget could cover three-quarters of a global vaccine drive.The richest Americans could save the world on their own, too. The $50 billion price tag is roughly one-fourth of Jeff Bezos's net worth as of Wednesday afternoon, and only 16% of <keyword id="11897862" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="elon-musk" source="Orion">Elon Musk</keyword>'s wealth. The Tesla CEO's wealth has surged by $142 billion in 2021 so far. That could cover the vaccination cost and leave him with more than $90 billion left over.Musk has already indicated he's open to spending big for humanitarian efforts. The chief executive said in October he would <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/musk-sell-tesla-stock-if-6-billion-solves-world-hunger-2021-11">spend $6 billion to solve world hunger</a>, as long as the World Food Programme could show its math and prove the amount would end the crisis. Musk hasn't made the donation yet.Ponying up the cash would help remedy one of the biggest snags in the global recovery. The world <keyword id="11893570" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="economy" source="Orion">economy</keyword> has bounced back through 2021 as vaccination and reopening revives spending. Yet advanced countries have counted for the bulk of the recovery while emerging economies struggle to keep up. Helping these lagging countries is critical to bringing about a strong global economy, OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann said in a Wednesday <a href="https://www.oecd.org/newsroom/oecd-economic-outlook-sees-recovery-continuing-but-warns-of-growing-imbalances-and-risks.htm">statement</a>."Keeping the recovery strong and on track will entail addressing a number of imbalances, but above all it will mean managing the health crisis through better international coordination, improving health systems and massively stepping up vaccination programmes worldwide," he said.Yes, $50 billion is a difficult pile of cash to conceptualize for the average Americans. But there are plenty of avenues for scrounging up the cash, and a big one is the corporate profits that were enabled by the relatively successful US-based vaccine drive.

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