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Updated language on the CDC website now explicitly states airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is possible, meaning the virus can be inhaled even when individuals are more than 6 feet apart. (New York Times)
NIAID Director Anthony Fauci, MD, predicted that indoor masking guidance may soon be relaxed as more people get vaccinated. (CNN)
CDC said they will narrow the focus on breakthrough infections after vaccination to the most severe cases, limiting them only to those resulting in hospitalization and death. (Bloomberg)
As of Monday at 8:00 a.m. EDT, the unofficial U.S. COVID-19 toll was 32,707,993 cases and 581,755 deaths, up more than 285,000 cases and about 4,700 deaths versus a week ago.
Latest CDC data indicate that 58% of U.S. adults have received at least their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, with 44% fully vaccinated.
AstraZeneca may forgo asking for emergency use authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine and instead apply for full approval. (Wall Street Journal)
Meanwhile, British officials said individuals younger than age 40 should be offered an alternative to AstraZeneca’s vaccine, given the reports of rare blood clots in younger adults. (Reuters)
An Oregon church sued the state for limiting the size of its services. There are now 74 COVID-19 cases potentially associated with the church. (Washington Post)
The safety committee of the European Medicines Agency said it is monitoring cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome among AstraZeneca vaccine recipients and is aware of cases of inflammation of heart muscle and membrane following administration of the Pfizer vaccine, but there is no indication of a causal relationship between the two. (FiercePharma)
Elsewhere overseas, the World Health Organization bestowed emergency approval on Chinese company Sinopharm’s COVID-19 vaccine, the first vaccine by a non-Western company to be approved by the WHO. (BBC News)
An outgoing vaccine task force official in Britain said the coronavirus will no longer be circulating in the U.K. by August. (Reuters)
In other news:
Source: MedicalNewsToday.com
