www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2022/08/study-pfizer-…
Study: Pfizer COVID vaccine efficacy wanes 27 days after dose 2 in teens
A new study finds waning Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine protection against symptomatic infection in Brazilian and Scottish teens starting 27 days after the second dose amid the Delta and Omicron variant waves, but protection against severe illness was still strong at 98 days in Brazil.
The study, published yesterday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, analyzed nationwide data from 503,776 COVID-19 tests of 2,948,538 adolescents aged 12 to 17 years from Sep 2, 2021, to Apr 19, 2022, in Brazil, and 127,168 tests of 404,673 adolescents from Aug 6, 2021, to Apr 19, 2022, in Scotland. Protection against severe illness, defined as hospitalization or death within 28 days, was estimated only in Brazil owing to the small number of such cases in Scotland.
The researchers estimated vaccine effectiveness (VE) against symptomatic COVID-19 by comparing the time elapsed since the first or second dose in adolescents who tested positive on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests in Scotland, or by PCR or antigen test in Brazil, and those who tested negative (controls).
The period was marked by the Omicron surge in both countries, supplanting Delta in December 2021 in Scotland and January 2022 in Brazil. Vaccine rollout for this age-group began in August 2021 in Scotland and September 2021 in Brazil.
The study authors said the study was the first to use national data to assess VE against severe COVID-19 outcomes over time among adolescents amid Omicron.
VE against Omicron symptoms 5.9% at 98 days in Brazil
In Brazil, over the study period, 176,002 (34.9%) COVID tests were positive, and 327,774 (65.1%) were negative. During Omicron, 355,066 tests were recorded, with 150,291 (42.3%) positive, and 204,775 (57.7%) negative. Among patients who had 150,291 Omicron-positive tests, 585 (0.4%) became severely ill.
In Scotland, 60,574 COVID-19 tests were positive (47.6%), and 66,616 were negative (52.4%) over the study period. Of the 45,771 tests performed during Omicron, 26,177 (57.2%) were positive, and 19,954 (42.8%) were negative.
Estimated vaccine effectiveness (VE) peaked 14 to 27 days after dose two in both countries in both the Delta and Omicron waves and was significantly lower against symptomatic COVID-19 during Omicron in Brazil (64.7%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 63.0% to 66.3%) and Scotland (82.6%; 95% CI, 80.6% to 84.5%) than amid Delta in Brazil (80.7%; 95% CI, 77.8% to 83.3%) and Scotland (92.8%; 95% CI, 85.7% to 96.4%).
During Omicron, 27 days after the second vaccine dose, VE against symptomatic infection began to fall, plummeting to 5.9% (95% CI, 2.2% to 9.4%) in Brazil and 50.6% (95% CI, 42.7% to 57.4%) in Scotland at 98 days or more. Over the same period after dose two in Brazil, VE against severe infection stayed above 80% at 28 days and was 82.7% (95% CI, 68.8% to 90.4%) at 98 days or more.
"Two doses of vaccination with BNT162b2 [Pfizer] among adolescents are insufficient to sustain protection against symptomatic disease; however, they do offer substantial protection against serious COVID-19 outcomes for at least 3 months," the researchers wrote. "Our findings support the importance of maximizing vaccination coverage and the consideration of booster doses for adolescents, though further research is needed."
www.cnbc.com/2022/08/10/social-security-cost-of-living-ad…
Retirees on Social Security could see monthly benefit rise an average of $159 in 2023 due to inflation, estimate finds
High inflation points to a possible 9.6% Social Security cost-of-living adjustment in 2023, according to a new estimate based on data released Wednesday.
There are still a couple of months to go before the Social Security Administration announces just how much to expect.
New government data points to signs that red-hot inflation is starting to cool. But Social Security beneficiaries may still be in for a record high cost-of-living adjustment in 2023.
The Senior Citizens League, a nonpartisan senior group, now estimates Social Security benefits may increase 9.6%, based on Consumer Price Index data released Wednesday.
That would amount to an extra $158.98 per month for the average retiree benefit of $1,656, according to the group’s calculations.
In comparison, The Senior Citizens League had predicted a 10.5% COLA last month based on hotter than expected CPI data.
The Consumer Price Index, which measures changes in prices for goods and services, rose 8.5% in July over a year ago, a slower pace from previous months as gas prices fell.
A subset of that index, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or CPI-W, which is used to calculate Social Security’s annual cost-of-living adjustment, increased 9.1% in July over the previous 12 months.
The COLA estimate is still preliminary
The Senior Citizens League’s estimate is still preliminary. The Social Security Administration calculates the annual COLA by determining the percentage change in the CPI-W from the third quarter of the current year to the average from the third quarter of the previous year.
There are still two months of data to go before the official COLA for next year is announced.
Gas prices are one of the big drivers of the CPI-W, according to Mary Johnson, Social Security and Medicare policy analyst at The Senior Citizens League. Fluctuations in gas prices in the coming two months could affect the final Social Security COLA calculation.
Social Security beneficiaries can still expect a record COLA for next year. If inflation runs hotter than the recent average, the COLA could be 10.1%, according to The Senior Citizens League. If inflation cools, the adjustment could be 9.3%.
Seniors are still struggling with inflation
Social Security beneficiaries received a record 5.9% COLA in 2022.
But as inflation has climbed this year, that increase has lost its buying power, according to The Senior Citizens League.
This year’s benefit increase has fallen short based on inflation data through July, according to calculations from The Senior Citizens League. The average benefit of $1,656 is short about $58 per month on average and $373.80 to date this year, the group’s calculations found.
A survey conducted in the first quarter by The Senior Citizens League found half of people ages 55 and up dipped into their emergency savings to cope with rising costs. Meanwhile, 47% have visited a food pantry or applied for benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, and 43% have carried debt on a consumer credit card for more than 90 days.
Older and disabled people who rely on low-income assistance may be at risk for having those benefits trimmed once the extra income from a record-high COLA kicks in, the group’s research has found.
Medicare Part B premiums may be flat next year
The impact of a record-high cost-of-living adjustment for 2022 was also limited due to higher-than-normal increases to Medicare Part B premiums.
The premiums, which jumped 14.5% this year, are often deducted directly from Social Security checks.
The standard monthly premium is $170.10 per month in 2022, up from $148.50 in 2021.
Much of the increase for this year was due to the cost of an Alzheimer’s drug, Aduhelm, which has since been cut in half.
The savings is expected to be applied to the 2023 Part B premium. However, the Medicare trustees projected in their June annual report that the standard monthly premium for 2023 will stay the same, at $170.10 per month.
Legislation may help curb prescription costs
One thing the annual COLA measure doesn’t account for is the percentage people pay for prescription drugs in retirement, according to Johnson.
The Inflation Reduction Act, which just passed the Senate, seeks to curb those costs by capping annual out-of-pocket spending at $2,000 per year for Medicare Part D prescription drugs.
"Any help with costs is going to make a big, big difference going forward, especially protections like caps on out-of-pocket spending," Johnson said.
That legislation has yet to be approved by the House and the president. The $2,000 cap is not slated to go into effect until 2025.
Current projections from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services show the average basic monthly premium may be $31.50 in 2023, down from $32.08 in 2022.
However, the maximum deductible for Part D coverage is projected to increase to $505 in 2023 from $480 this year.
For the median retiree, just 75% of Social Security benefits and 88% of total income are available for nonmedical spending, according to recent research from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
Posted by guywong on 2022-08-11 04:29:14
Tagged: , COVID-19 , Covid , SARS-COV-2 , Coronavirus
