Polio update | Novavax booster | Medicaid for millions in jeopardy

VIEW IN BROWSER | SUBSCRIBE Fri, Oct 21, 2022 EDITOR'S NOTE Think a friend or colleague should be getting this newsletter? Share this link with them to sign up.   The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is considering using the oral polio vaccine for the first time in more than 20 years to address an outbreak.    New York state health officials have continued to detect poliovirus in sewage samples through September after an unvaccinated adult was paralyzed over the summer.    Though New York has launched an immunization drive with the inactivated vaccine, it's unclear whether this will stop the rare outbreak. The inactivated vaccine, administered as a shot, is very good at preventing disease but not that effective at stopping transmission.   The oral vaccine, on the other hand, is much more effective at stopping transmission but it uses a live virus strain that carries a rare risk of mutating into a virulent form that can cause paralysis. The oral vaccine the CDC is considering is a newer form that is more stable and carries less a risk of mutation.    In other vaccine news, Novavax's Covid-19 booster shot was authorized in the U.S. for adults, including as a third dose for people who received Pfizer and Moderna as their primary series.    And on Covid, the Biden administration has extended the public health emergency through January, but it's telling healthcare providers to start preparing for an end. Lifting the emergency would have dramatic consequences, including the loss of Medicaid health insurance for millions of people.  Feel free to send any tips, suggestions, story ideas and data to me at spencer.kimball@nbcuni.com. Spencer Kimball | Health Reporter @spencekimball Spencer Kimball | Health Reporter @spencekimball CDC is discussing using oral polio vaccine for first time in 20 years to stop New York outbreak The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is considering using the oral polio vaccine for the first time in more than 20 years to stop an outbreak in the greater New York City metropolitan area that left an adult paralyzed over the summer. "We are in discussions with our New York State and New York City colleagues about the use of nOPV," said Dr. Janell Routh, the CDC's team leader for domestic polio, referring to the novel oral polio vaccine.   "It will be a process. It's not something that we can pull the trigger on and have it appear overnight," Routh told CNBC on Friday. "There will be lots of thought and discussion about the reintroduction of an oral polio vaccine into the United States," she said. - Spencer Kimball   CDC allows Novavax's Covid shots as mix-and-match first booster to Pfizer or Moderna   The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday recommended Novavax's Covid boosters for adults in the U.S., including for people who received Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson's shots as their primary series. The Food and Drug Administration, in a factsheet for healthcare providers, said adults ages 18 and older can receive Novavax as their third dose six months after completion of the primary series of a U.S. authorized Covid vaccine.   The CDC gave the final go ahead for pharmacies to start administering the Novavax boosters just hours after the FDA had authorized the shots. Dr. Evelyn Twentyman, a CDC official, announced the Novavax recommendation during a meeting of the agency's independent vaccine experts Wednesday afternoon. - Spencer Kimball Millions at risk of losing health insurance if U.S. ends Covid public health emergency in January The Biden administration is telling health-care providers to begin preparing for an end to the public health emergency declared in response to the Covid-19 pandemic nearly three years ago. The change will have broad implications for Medicaid health insurance recipients and could significantly impact how hospitals and pharmacies operate.   How the U.S. manages Covid this fall and winter will provide crucial data on whether the emergency needs to remain in place, Health Secretary Xavier Becerra told reporters on a call earlier this month. - Spencer Kimball Hearing aids are now available over the counter at Walmart, Walgreens, CVS and Best Buy Millions of Americans with hearing loss can now purchase hearing aids without a prescription or medical exam from Walgreens, CVS and Best Buy, according to the companies. Walgreens on Monday started selling over-the-counter hearing aids online and at its stores nationwide for $799 a pair. By comparison, the average cost of prescription hearing aids can range between $2,000 and $8,000, according to the company. - Spencer Kimball It's time to stop saying 'fully vaccinated' for Covid, experts say—here's why  If you still say "fully vaccinated" for Covid, it's time to stop.   With new boosters on the market and an ever-evolving virus, experts say the term no longer means being the most protected you can be.    They point to two, far more appropriate alternatives to use in this current phase of the pandemic: "up-to-date" with Covid vaccines or simply indicating whether you've gotten your latest booster shot.   "I certainly would say that we need to stop using it, set that aside altogether. 'Fully vaccinated' is not the term that we want to use," Cindy Prins, an epidemiologist at the University of Florida, tells CNBC Make It. - Annika Kim Constantino JOIN US REGISTER CONTRIBUTORS Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs Meg Tirrell @megtirrell Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs Meg Tirrell @megtirrell Unsubscribe Manage Newsletters Terms of Service Join the CNBC Panel Digital Products Feedback Privacy Policy CNBC Events © 2022 CNBC LLC. All rights reserved. A property of NBCUniversal. 900 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes and Market Data and Analysis. Data also provided by THOMSON REUTERS