New Cases Bottoming Out? Facing ‘Reality of Death’; Bat Researchers Under Scrutiny

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Daily increases in the U.S. COVID-19 case count have reached the lowest level since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020. (Axios)

States with low vaccination rates are “sitting ducks” for the next major COVID-19 outbreak, said NIH Director Francis Collins, MD, PhD. (CNN)

As of about 8 a.m. ET, the unofficial COVID-19 toll in the U.S. included 33,326,999 cases and 596,443 deaths, increases of 19,023 and 604, respectively, since the same time Thursday.

FDA updated the emergency use authorization for casirivimab-imdevimab, cutting the dose in half for the antibody cocktail while also authorizing a subcutaneous injection for situations where IV infusion isn’t possible or would delay treatment, Regeneron announced.

Why contact tracing couldn’t keep up with the pandemic and what can be done to prevent that from happening in the future. (NPR)

NIH researchers may be on the trail to a new oral antiviral therapy for coronavirus infection.

A renowned surgeon who almost died of COVID-19 talks about a new sense of urgency about his own life and a new appreciation for “how patients feel.” (New York Times)

NIAID Director Anthony Fauci, MD, called on the Chinese government to release the medical records of nine people, including three working at a Wuhan lab who reportedly fell sick weeks before the start of the outbreak there. (Forbes)

Leaders of two rival teams of Chinese bat researchers are at the center of suspicions regarding the lab-leak theory. (Washington Post)

A doctor working in a COVID-19 unit in northeastern India was severely beaten by a mob after the death of a patient under his care. (Fox News)

President Biden announced plans for quick action to donate 25 million doses of surplus COVID vaccine to the United Nations-backed COVAX program for global vaccine distribution. (AP News)

The International Monetary Fund and World Bank called on the advanced-economy nations that make up the G7 to release excess vaccine doses as quickly as possible to vaccine-poor developing nations. (Reuters)

In other news:

• CDC reflects on 40 years of progress on HIV/AIDS.
• Former Celgene investors have sued Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) for $6.4 billion, alleging the company intentionally delayed approval of the CAR T-cell therapy lisocabtagene maraleucel (Breyanzi) to avoid additional payout from BMS’s acquisition of Celgene. (Reuters)
• A report from the German government raises questions about the environmental impact of heat pumps (Renew Economy)
• Developers of a new risk calculator for vaginal birth after Cesarean section have eliminated a longstanding racial adjustment from the algorithm. (STAT)
• The collective editors of the JAMA Network publications apologized for a recent podcast that disavowed the existence of structural racism in medicine, calling the position “wrong, misguided, and uninformed” and the review and approval process for the podcast “flawed.” (JAMA)
• The former CEO of Make-a-Wish Iowa pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $40,000 from the charity, which raises funds for sick children and their families. (AP News)