COVID-19 Update October 5, 2023

COVID-19 cases are beginning to subside after a summer spike, but officials are recommending that Americans receive the newly released vaccine or a dose of the newly-authorized Novovax, prior to the expected winter surge in cases.

In Arizona, cases were down 5% week over week with 3,134 new cases reported for the week beginning on September 24. The Arizona Department of Health Services COVID-19 Surveillance Data Dashboard reports 13 new deaths in the same timeframe.

The updated COVID-19 vaccines designed to protect against XBB.1.5 and new strains including EG.5 and BA.2.86 and manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna were authorized in mid-September. Yale Medicine compiled an FAQ on how the updated vaccine works, why another COVID vaccination is suggested, and its safety levels. It also explains that this shot is no longer considered a “booster” in anticipation of the need for updated vaccine formulas to be provided annually, like the influenza vaccine.

Last Tuesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the use of a new vaccine, made by Novovax. The Novovax shot uses a protein rather than mRNA to target the spike protein found on the surface of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, USA Today reports. The Novovax vaccine is designed to provide immunity against the same strain as the other two new vaccines.

Katalin Karikó, now vice president of BioNTech and her former colleague Drew Weissman of the University of Pennsylvania were awarded this year’s Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for their work on messenger RNA (mRNA), which the Nobel Foundation found to be “critical” to the development of the COVID-19 vaccines. Yahoo!Finance reports that while at UPenn, Karikó was threatened with deportation and cut salary in order to pressure her into giving up her research. The school removed her from tenure track and forced her to retire in 2013.

The U.S. government will stop distributing free doses of Merck & Co.’s (Merck) antiviral treatment molnupiravir by the middle of November, Reuters reports. The drug is anticipated to be sold on the commercial market under the brand name Lagevrio, once it receives an updated letter of authorization from the FDA.

Now that the federal government is no longer providing and delivering vaccines to nursing homes for residents and staff, many long-term care providers are falling behind on administering shots. According to Skilled Nursing News, many won’t begin delivering updated vaccine until well into the fall.

The Arizona Court of Appeals struck down a 2021 law that protected nursing homes from COVID liability claims on the grounds that it violated a provision in the state constitution that prohibits lawmakers from revoking a citizen’s right to recover damages for injuries, McKnight’s reports. Arizona Health Care Association CEO Dave Voepel noted that the Arizona statute of limitations on such claims could complicate its effects on the nursing home industry in Arizona.

This is greatly concerning to providers in Arizona, as it could impact all assisted living and skilled nursing facilities in the state. We are watching it very closely, especially if it makes its way up to the Supreme Court.