How Spotify is responding to Joe Rogan podcast, COVID misinformationAs musicians leave Spotify, the streaming service plans to add content advisories before podcasts discuss COVID-19.Just the FAQs, USA TODAYDrug manufacturers Sanofi and GSK announced they are seeking approval for a new COVID-19 vaccine that they say shows 100% efficacy against hospitalization due to severe disease in human trials.The trials showed that two doses of the new vaccine had 75% efficacy against moderate or severe disease, and about 58% against any symptoms of disease, the manufacturers said in a news release Wednesday. They also said among study subjects who received a previously approved vaccine such as Pfizer or Moderna and took the Sanofi-GSK vaccine as a booster shot, the booster dose “induced a significant increase in neutralizing antibodies.”“We’re very pleased with these data,” said Thomas Triomphe, an executive vice president at Sanofi. “No other global Phase 3 efficacy study has been undertaken during this period with so many variants of concern, including omicron, and these efficacy data are similar to recent clinical data from authorized vaccines.”The Sanofi-GSK vaccine received $2.1 billion as part of former President Donald Trump’s Operation Warp Speed to quickly develop and manufacture COVID vaccines, but the companies announced a delay in late 2020 because trials showed an insufficient immune response in older people. Also in the news: ►Los Angeles County’s mask mandate for vaccinated people at indoor public places will end Friday.►The CDC updated its guidance for when to receive a second vaccine dose. Moderna and Pfizer vaccine receivers should consider waiting up to 8 weeks instead of the previously advised four and three weeks between doses.📈Today’s numbers: The U.S. has recorded more than 78.7 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and 941,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Global totals: More than 428.9 million cases and over 5.9 million deaths. More than 215 million Americans – 64.8% – are fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.📘 What we’re reading: Experts worry a lack of data may be obscuring where to target strategies for vaccinating kids of color, who disproportionately suffer severe illness from COVID-19 but may lack access to the shot.Keep refreshing this page for the latest news. Want more? Sign up for USA TODAY’s free Coronavirus Watch newsletter to receive updates directly to your inbox and join our Facebook group.Maternal deaths in the U.S. increased markedly in the first year of the pandemic, largely among women of color, according to a new study from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.The rate of maternal mortality, referring to deaths during pregnancy or shortly after giving birth, rose by 18.4% in 2020 — from 20.1 to 23.8 per 100,000 live births — compared to 2019, the last year before the pandemic.Black women fared the worst among the racial and ethnic groups studied, as their rate of maternal deaths grew from 44 per 100,000 to 55.3, nearly three times the number for white women (19.1). Hispanic women’s mortality rate remained below that of white women, as it did the previous years, but shot up from 12.6 per 100,000 to 18.2.“It’s disheartening, but it’s not shocking. We’ve been in this for a long time. And we’ve seen these patterns for a long time,” said Dr. Allison Bryant, senior medical director for health equity at Mass General Brigham health system. “It’s disheartening that we haven’t gotten where Black women deserve to be.”— Nada HassaneinContributing: The Associated Press
Sanofi and GSK seek approval for new COVID vaccine after strong data
