Good News About Immunity; Biden Demands COVID Intel; COVAX’s Undoing

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Immunity to SARS-CoV-2 lasts at least a year and grows over time, studies suggest. (New York Times)

President Joe Biden orders intelligence officials to report back with answers about the origin of COVID-19 in 90 days. (CNN)

Later, the Senate passed a bill to declassify government records of where SARS-CoV-2 came from. (Insider)

Israel’s vaccine rollout for younger teenagers will start with a one-dose regimen of mRNA vaccine as a safety compromise. (Times of Israel)

As of Thursday at 8:00 a.m. EDT, the unofficial COVID-19 toll in the U.S. was 33,191,164 cases and 591,957 deaths, increases of 24,262 and 963, respectively, since this time a day ago.

Facebook ended its ban on posts asserting SARS-CoV-2 was man-made or manufactured. (Politico)

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, hints at relaxed summer camp rules for vaccinated teenagers. (CNBC)

American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that unvaccinated children and teens continue to mask up, even at home if they live at home with at-risk individuals.

The pressure is on for India’s junior doctors to staff emergency rooms and critical care units. (NPR)

Why has COVAX failed to vaccinate the world’s poorest? (Wall Street Journal)

In Baja California, Mexican factory workers employed by U.S. companies will be vaccinated as part of a unique cross-border pilot program. (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Belgium suspended Johnson & Johnson vaccination for people under age 41 after a death related to thrombosis and reduced blood platelets. (AP)

Cyprus, where British model Stephanie Dubois died days after getting the AstraZeneca vaccine, is setting age restrictions for the shot. (Reuters)

A COVID-19 death in a California nursing home, and the realization that nursing home operators can keep doors open even after they’ve been denied a license. (NPR)

New York teenagers who choose to get vaccinated now have a chance to win full scholarships to the state’s public universities. (ABC7)

In other news:

• Should human embryos be kept growing in the lab past 14 days? Perhaps, says the International Society for Stem Cell Research. (STAT)
• Google and HCA Healthcare are partnering to develop healthcare algorithms using EHR data. (Wall Street Journal)
• Companies are under fire by the FDA and Federal Trade Commission for illegally marketing dietary supplements as treatments for infertility.
• Marie Bernard, MD, was officially appointed NIH’s Chief Officer for Scientific Workforce Diversity.
• Maximum longevity for humankind is expected to be 120-150 years, scientists say. (The Hill)
• It’s a no-go for accelerated approval of sparsentan in focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. (FierceBiotech)
• Former Senator John Warner of Virginia, a military expert also known for his previous marriage to film icon Elizabeth Taylor, died at 94 of heart failure. (ABC News)