Biden Gets Boosted; N.Y. to Unvaccinated: You’re Fired; 90% Immunity After Delta?

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President Biden got his booster shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine (Comirnaty), encouraging eligible Americans to follow suit and the unvaccinated to get their shots. (Politico)

New York hospitals began firing and suspending workers who refused to follow the state’s vaccination order, leading some to postpone elective surgeries and reduce services; Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) is considering calling up the National Guard and out-of-state workers to address staffing shortages. (Reuters)

As of Tuesday at 8:00 a.m. EDT, the unofficial U.S. COVID-19 toll reached 43,117,906 cases and 690,555 deaths, up 185,695 cases and 2,514 deaths over a day ago.

Pfizer said it submitted data to the FDA for authorization of a lower-dose version of its vaccine for kids ages 5 to 11.

The latest CDC data show that 75.3% of the eligible U.S. population (12 and up) have received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine, and 64.8% are fully vaccinated.

Between vaccinations and prior infection, as much as 90% of U.S. residents will have some immunity against SARS-CoV-2 by the time the Delta wave passes through, former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, estimated. (CNBC)

An Arizona judge said the state’s law banning school mask mandates is unconstitutional; the attorney general announced plans to appeal the decision. (KPNX)

After Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving said he was unvaccinated, fellow NBA star Bradley Beal, a guard for the Washington Wizards, revealed he too is unvaccinated. (Washington Post)

Maryland hospitals have alerted EMTs to take patients elsewhere more often over the last 6 months than ever before, citing patient overflow and staff shortages as overarching factors. (WTOP)

According to a lawsuit from insurance company Humana, Biogen tried to increase sales for multiple sclerosis drugs by “seeding” patients with free samples, and then “sweeping” them onto Medicare and similar programs via charity donations. (FiercePharma)

Facebook is holding off development of its under-13 Instagram app, facing public opposition including concerns over the site’s potential mental health consequences. (AP)

The average life expectancy of American men fell by 2 years in 2020 over 2019, the biggest drop since World War II, according to a University of Oxford study. (CBS News)

The COVID-19 pandemic proved deadlier in other ways as well, as murders and manslaughter in the U.S. rose 29.4% last year, the FBI said, the largest 1-year jump since the government started tracking these data in the 1960s. (Washington Post)

Eli Lilly announced plans to reduce the list price of its insulin Lispro injection by an additional 40% in the U.S., starting next January.

Meanwhile, FDA alerted on a patient-level recall involving one lot of the company’s Glucagon Emergency Kit for low blood sugar, due to a potential loss of potency.