COVID in California: First case of BA.2.75 subvariant detected in the state

U.S. orders 3.2 million doses of Novavax vaccine

The Biden administration will buy 3.2 million doses of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine after federal regulators give it the green light, the Department of Health and Human Services and the drugmaker announced Monday. The shot will be the fourth brand of coronavirus vaccine offered for free in the U.S. after the Food and Drug Adminstration authorizes it for emergency use and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends it, Reuters reported. Novavax’s version, used in more than 40 countries, is a more traditional, protein-based vaccine than the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA shots most widely used in the U.S. Maryland-based Novavax is hoping to make inroads with the 27 million U.S. adults who have not yet received vaccines.

Bay Area infants and toddlers are getting vaccinated faster than elsewhere

Vaccine uptake among babies and toddlers in the Bay Area appears to be far outpacing statewide and national rates, according to early figures provided by several local health departments. Nearly three weeks since vaccines became available for babies and toddlers, 12% of children under age 5 in San Francisco have gotten their first shot, comparable to the rate among kids 5 to 11 at the same stage in their earlier rollout, said the San Francisco Department of Public Health. Read more about the Bay Area’s surprising early success at getting the littlest tots their shots.

Bay Area hospital admissions rise amid persistent COVID surge

COVID-19 hospitalizations in California and the Bay Area have reached their highest point since February, when the region was still coming out of the winter omicron surge. As of Friday, there were 770 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the Bay Area, and ICU admissions climbed to 94 from 63 a month ago. But the rate of hospitalization is still far below that of any previous surge and deaths are fortunately rare. Read more about the rising toll of the surge that won’t go away.

Sen. Chuck Schumer infected with virus

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is working remotely this week after testing positive for COVID-19, his spokesman said. Schumer has mild symptoms, and plans to isolate while remotely maintaining his “robust schedule” this week as the Senate returns to Washington after the July 4th recess, spokesman Justin Goodman said. In a Sunday night statement, he said, “As a part of his regular testing regimen, Leader Schumer received a positive test result for COVID-19. The Leader is fully vaccinated and double boosted, and has very mild symptoms.”

BA.2.75 subvariant detected in California — one of two cases in U.S.

A new sub-lineage of the omicron variant, of the coronavirus, labeled BA.2.75, has been detected in California, according to variant tracking data from GISAID. It is one of two confirmed cases of the new strain in the United States, with the other case identified in Washington. BA.2.75 is the fast becoming the dominant variant in India and has been reported in at least 10 other countries but little is known about it. It reportedly has 40 mutations, according to Dr. Ilan Shapiro, AltaMed medical director. “We do not know if our immunity will actually work against it, the natural immunity or with the vaccines,” he said in an interview with KCRA. “We are monitoring what is happening in India and other countries. Hopefully, we will do a good job and maintain the vaccination rates.”

FDA gives full approval to Pfizer vaccine for children 12-15 years old

The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine has been given full approval for use in children between the ages of 12 to 15 years old, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Friday. “The approval follows a rigorous analysis and evaluation of the safety and effectiveness data conducted by FDA,” the agency said in a briefing. The vaccine has been available to the age group since May 2021 under emergency use authorization. The latest development may help move up the date when vaccine mandates for schools go into effect for middle and high school-age children.

Sewage can act as an early warning system for new variants, study says

Scientists are now able to detect new coronavirus variants before they appear in tests, according to research from UC San Diego. Rob Knight, a microbiologist who co-authored of the study that was published in Nature on Thursday, told Scientific American that over the past year his laboratory has tracked “wave after wave of different viruses” through wastewater sequencing. He said his lab detected the alpha and delta variants of the coronavirus in wastewater up to two weeks before the strains were picked up by swabbing and testing in clinics, and found omicron 10 days before the first person in San Diego tested positive for the variant. The scientists hope their research will help ramp up public health response before the next COVID-19 variant hits. “When the next strain comes through, we will be ready for it,” Knight said.

New York City officials recommend indoor masking as cases surge

Officials are urging New Yorkers to wear high-quality face masks indoors and near crowds due to a wave of new coronavirus infections. “We’re currently seeing high levels of COVID-19 in NYC,” the health department said Friday on Twitter. “To help slow the spread, all New Yorkers should wear a high-quality mask, such as an N95, KN95 or KF94 in all public indoor settings and around crowds outside.” The city’s test positive rate has reached 15.4%, the highest level since January. The city is also in the process of updating its COVID alert system due to the BA.4 and BA.5 variants. “A new variant, new variants, are finding their way into the city,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said at a press briefing this week. “And as it comes about, as they come about, we continue to pivot and shift. We’re now looking at and bringing in experts from all across the globe, and finding out, how do we continue to prepare New Yorkers and Americans in dealing with the pivoting and shifting of COVID?”