Data Snapshot
UW Medicine Hospitals:
King County: The county reported 620 new positive cases and 8 new deaths on Aug 10.
Washington: The state reported 450,716 cases and 6,177 deaths as of Aug 8.
United States: The CDC reports 35,824,258 cases and 614,856 deaths as of Aug. 9.
Global: WHO reports 202,608,306 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 4,293,591 deaths as of Aug. 9.
Numbers update frequently, please follow links for most up-to-date numbers.
UW Medicine COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Update
Total Vaccine Doses Administered: 355,071
As of August 4, 2021.
UW Medicine in the News
The Seattle Times: Who owns COVID-19 vaccines?
Featuring: Nancy Jecker, PhD, Bioethics and Humanities
“The World Trade Organization is considering temporarily waiving its 1995 agreement that protects intellectual property (IP) for COVID-19 vaccines and treatments. If IP is temporarily waived during the pandemic, would pharmaceutical companies stop innovating? Would medical progress slow?
“It strains credulity to think that. In 2021 alone, Pfizer/BioNTech will score $15 billion to $30 billion for COVID-19 vaccine sales, while Moderna could rake in $18 billion to $20 billion and Johnson & Johnson $10 billion. Couldn’t these companies have earned less while the incentive to innovate remained intact?
“In a paper published in The Journal of Medical Ethics, we developed an evidence-based distinction between profits necessary to drive innovation and profits exceeding this. Since the profits of large pharmaceutical companies are substantially higher than those of other (non-pharmaceutical) large companies on the S&P 500 index, we concluded that big pharma could earn less profit without significantly sacrificing scientific innovation.”
The Atlantic: Masks Are Back, Maybe for the Long Term
Featuring: Helen Chu, MD, MPH, Allergy & Infectious Diseases
“By limiting the virus’s access to human airways, masks can set vaccinated immune systems up for success. And they help protect vulnerable people in the vicinity, by corralling the problem and curbing its spread. ‘I’ve always thought the real strength of vaccines is keeping you from getting severely ill,’ Chu told me. ‘Masks work on the other end of the spectrum.’ Their return to the pandemic front lines makes logical sense.”
Tweet of the Week
https://twitter.com/uwmnewsroom/status/1423786179489533961
