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| Presented By General Mills |
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| Axios AM |
| By Mike Allen · Aug 28, 2022 |
| Happy Sunday. Smart Brevity™ count: 1,161 words ... 4½ mins. Edited by Donica Phifer. |
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| 1 big thing: Vaccines' new fall season |
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| Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios |
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| The first updated COVID vaccines — and likely the last one purchased by Uncle Sam — are about to become available across the U.S., likely the week after Labor Day. - Why it matters: Although COVID and its risks have become a routine part of life for most Americans, the virus is still killing around 400 Americans a day. Staying up to date on vaccines could minimize these deaths, Axios' Caitlin Owens reports.
What's happening: The updated vaccines will go through the regulatory approval process this week. The shots are expected to become available soon after — likely the week of Sept. 5, according to a senior Biden administration official. - The federal government is expected to authorize them for everyone 12 and older. Only Pfizer's shot will be available for children under 18.
- "When available, new boosters are expected to help provide greater protection against the currently circulating strains. We encourage all who are eligible to consider a booster," FDA Commissioner Robert Califf tweeted Thursday.
Between the lines: Being vaccinated and boosted is crucial for avoiding hospitalization and death, particularly for those with conditions that put them at high risk. - But it's unclear how well the retooled vaccines will protect against infection and transmission.
- Although the original vaccines initially offered a high level of protection against infection, they're not nearly as effective against the Omicron variant.
🧠Reality check: Americans don't seem to be very interested in boosters, at least not lately. - Less than half of fully vaccinated Americans have received a first booster dose, per the CDC.
- Among people 65 and older, who are at higher risk for severe disease, 71% have received a first booster shot, and 41% of those people have received a second.
The intrigue: The FDA has prioritized speed — which is necessary if the goal is to keep up with the virus's mutations — over having all of the data on how the vaccines work in real life. - Some experts warn this risks dampening enthusiasm for the shot.
🕶️ What we're watching: Peter Marks, the top FDA vaccine official, told the N.Y. Times that the FDA may recommend that people who recently received a vaccine dose wait "a few months" before getting a new shot. |
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| 2. 😷 U.S. ends free at-home COVID tests |
| Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Time is running out to order free at-home COVID tests after the government said on COVID.gov that it will suspend the program this Friday — or sooner if supplies run out, Axios' Kelly Tyko reports. - Why it matters: Consumers should prepare to soon pay for COVID treatments and vaccines as the federal government prepares to shift costs back to health insurers.
🖼️ The big picture: White House COVID response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said earlier this month that we're moving "out of that acute emergency phase where the U.S. government is buying the vaccines, buying the treatments, buying the diagnostic tests." - "My hope is that in 2023, you're going to see the commercialization of almost all of these products," he said at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation event. "Some of that is actually going to begin this fall."
HHS has a planning session scheduled for Tuesday with drugmakers, pharmacies, and state health departments to explain the changes, The Wall Street Journal reports (subscription). |
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| 3. 📜 Surprising institution under attack |
| In the Mar-a-Lago search affidavit released Friday, "FPOTUS" stands for former president of the U.S, and "NDI" is national defense information. Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images After the Mar-a-Lago search, Attorney General Merrick Garland faced online assassination threats, and he decried the rising "unfounded attacks on the professionalism of the FBI and Justice Department agents." - On a separate front, the IRS last week launched a safety review because of misinformation about agency funding that riled the right.
Now, it's the National Archives — keeper of the Declaration of Independence, and romanticized in 2004 by the film "National Treasure." - The agency "has become the target of a rash of threats and vitriol" because of the records fight with former President Trump, rattling civil servants tasked with preserving the nation's records, the WashPost reports.
Acting Archivist of the United States Debra Steidel Wall said in a staff-wide email, obtained by The Post, that the National Archives and Records Administration "has received messages from the public accusing us of corruption and conspiring against the former President, or congratulating NARA for 'bringing him down.'" - "Neither is accurate or welcome."
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| A message from General Mills |
| Improving the resilience of agriculture |
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| General Mills believes that good food comes from good soil. That's why the company is working with farmers to grow food as nature intended. The reason: People and the planet depend on it. Learn how regenerative agriculture can help build a thriving future for all. |
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| 4. 🌀 How hurricanes wreck baby names |
 Data: NOAA and SSA. Chart: Nicki Camberg/Axios After devastating Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Louisiana in 2005, 83% fewer babies were named Katrina over the next 10 years than in the year before, Axios data-visualization journalist Nicki Camberg found. - Why it matters: Major hurricanes stick in the American public consciousness, with consequences for years to come.
The bottom line: The names of the 30 deadliest U.S. mainland hurricanes all became much less popular in the years after landfall. - Click here for an interactive version of this visual. Hover over a line to see the hurricane name.
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| 5. 🎾 Coco Gauff, "The Prodigy" |
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| Photo: Arielle Bobb-Willis for The New York Times |
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| Coco Gauff, who went pro at 14 and now is 18, will play in the U.S. Open — which begins tomorrow — at a time when tennis could use a new legend, Susan Dominus writes in The New York Times Magazine: Serena Williams announced she would stop competing at some point after the U.S. Open. The decision would leave the sport bereft of not just her charisma and greatness but also the blockbuster ratings and crowds those qualities reliably draw. Men's tennis, too, rests precariously on legends whose era will surely wane soon enough: Djokovic is 35; Nadal, 36; Federer, 41. "The nature of Gauff's sports celebrity is already distinct, a reflection of the era in which she has come of age," Dominus writes. - "Gauff has a keen awareness of the public self she helps construct on social media. ... [I] her Instagram feed represents the professional, packaged Coco Gauff, her TikTok represents the personal one."
"She also has a sense of urgency about social justice; she was just 16 when she spoke at a rally for Black Lives Matter in her hometown, Delray Beach, Fla.," Dominus adds. |
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| 6. 🎥 "House of the Dragon" renewed |
| Emma D'Arcy as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen in "House of the Dragon." Photo: Ollie Upton/HBO via AP "House of the Dragon," the "Game of Thrones" prequel, has been renewed for a second season after its first episode was a hit. - "Fire reigns," the show tweeted yesterday. "#HouseoftheDragon has been renewed for Season 2."
The debut last Sunday drew 10 million U.S. viewers on TV and the HBO Max streaming service — the largest series premiere audience in HBO history. - Why it matters: The prequel shows the power of extending popular franchises for superfans. It also proves HBO can still market hits under its new owners, Warner Bros. Discovery, Axios' Herb Scribner and Sara Fischer report.
Backstory: Based on George R.R. Martin's "Fire & Blood," the spinoff is set 200 years before the events that played out in "Game of Thrones," and focuses on how the House of Targaryen falls into civil war. (Reuters) |
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| A message from General Mills |
| A healthier and cleaner planet |
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| General Mills is innovating in packaging design to reduce environmental impact. The goal: By 2030, General Mills is committed to make 100% of its packaging recyclable or reusable to create a healthier tomorrow for our planet. Learn how. |
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