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Omicron vs. treatments: What we know about how monoclonal antibodies work against new variant

December 23, 2021 by WDNY Radio

With omicron’s explosive spread threatening to outpace current COVID-19 treatments, the race is on to find new options that will stand up to the variant.

The first oral antiviral treatment for the virus was authorized by the Food and Drug Administration Wednesday. Pfizer’s Paxlovid has proved effective against severe illness and death from COVID, and is expected to hold up against omicron. The news lent a glimmer of hope amid the latest surge, but supply is expected to remain limited for months as production ramps up.

Meanwhile, omicron’s high transmission rate is squeezing what was already a finite arsenal of COVID treatments. Of the currently authorized monoclonal antibody therapies — which have become a primary treatment for COVID to help keep patients out of the hospital — two of the main ones bought in bulk by the U.S. government have not been successful against the omicron variant.

The third option, one so far expected to remain effective against omicron, is in scant supply with federal health officials moving quickly to stockpile the drug, called sotrovimab, from Vir Biotechnology and GlaxoSmithKline.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said the low supply of sotrovimab is “something we need to worry about” in a private call this week between the White House COVID response team and the nation’s governors obtained by ABC News.

The Biden administration is aiming to double its sotrovimab supply to more than 1 million treatment courses, making 300,000 doses available in January.

So far about 55,000 doses of sotrovimab have been allocated to states, with federal health officials promising shipments would arrive as soon as this week. But as the omicron variant rapidly advances — nearly three-quarters of all COVID cases are now omicron — health officials are bracing for a winter surge while potentially lacking ample defense from treatments that hold up against the new variant.

Marcus Plescia, chief medical officer of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, told ABC News that state leaders gearing up for omicron face a multi-pronged challenge: what was a “compelling tool” against the virus is now compromised, and what now works is still in limited supply. In addition, with hospital staffing shortages, there are looming concerns that manpower to administer the treatment will also be scarce.

“We can’t just hope it’s delta and give the older therapies,” he said. “Even if all of these monoclonal treatments still worked against all the variants, and we had an abundant supply, I’d worry we would get to a place where we just didn’t have the capacity to administer them.”

Evusheld, the pre-exposure monoclonal treatment from AstraZeneca, authorized earlier this month and expected to hold up against omicron is another treatment that could help out health officials. It can be given to a small subset of people for preventative use against the virus, such as those where the vaccines are not effective because of compromised immune systems.

“We’re in a very tight situation now where the virus is increasing faster than our access to the drugs that can treat it,” said Dr. Andrew Pavia, a fellow with the Infectious Diseases Society of America and a treatment guidelines panel member with the National Institutes of Health, told ABC News. “Once we have an adequate supply of sotrovimab, of Evusheld and of Paxlovid, we’ll have some pretty good tools for fighting omicron. But the virus is going to wash over the country before we have an adequate supply. So I’m worried January is going to be ugly.”

A spokeswoman for GSK told ABC News the company is “working with urgency and exploring options to expand our supply capacity in 2022,” including securing additional batches of the ingredients they’ll need to amp up sotrovimab manufacturing, and pushing up their next year supply plans to make more available sooner.

“The challenge is that the supplies [of sotrovimab] are still very limited,” Pavia said. “It’s going to require some very careful prioritization of who needs the drug the most.”

It’s not the first time new variants have hindered mainstay COVID treatments: for several months earlier this year federal health officials paused distribution of Eli Lilly’s monoclonal antibody treatment when it was shown to be ineffective against the gamma and beta variants. The Food and Drug Administration recommended health care providers use alternative authorized antibodies — like Regeneron and GSK — which had shown to hold up against the main variants of concern.

The government spent billions of dollars purchasing Regeneron and Eli Lilly’s monoclonal antibody cocktail to ensure there would be enough supply; GSK’s had not been as widely purchased and distributed. When delta became the dominant variant of concern and all three antibody therapies were effective against it, Eli Lilly’s authorization was renewed.

Health officials have increasingly turned to these therapies as breakthrough cases have ticked up and vaccination rates have not ticked up enough. These antibodies are synthetic versions of the body’s natural line of defense, meant for COVID patients early on in their infections and who are at high risk of getting even sicker in order to help keep them out of the hospital.

The currently authorized COVID-19 vaccines and their booster doses have still shown to be highly effective at preventing severe illness and death.

But as omicron gains steam, some hospitals, like Mount Sinai in New York, have already put a pause on using Regeneron and Eli Lilly’s treatments, given they are not effective against the variant. Some jurisdictions, however, are still clamoring for more supply amid the new crush of cases.

Miami-Dade County exhausted its supply of Regeneron’s treatment this week, shutting down its infusion site for a day while more was secured, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office told ABC News. They now have enough to last until Monday.

“What’s emerging is a realization that this virus is going to be with us for a while, and it’s going to be challenging,” Plescia said. “We’re just going to have to get through this as best we can and find new tools to meet that challenge.”

ABC News’ Eric M. Strauss and Cheyenne Haslett contributed to this report.

Private jet firms are soaring in popularity after big COVID-19 bailouts. Were they a ‘handout to the wealthy’?

December 23, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Lingering health concerns about commercial air travel during the COVID-19 pandemic have fueled a boom in private jet travel, a trend that has led to fresh scrutiny of the industry’s taxpayer bailout — which some critics are calling a “handout to the wealthy.”

The multi-trillion-dollar federal rescue for businesses clobbered by the coronavirus included billions for airlines grounded by travel restrictions and safety concerns — and, according to one report, more than half a billion dollars for boutique aviation firms that deliver private jet travel to the super-rich.

“This was the rest of us paying to subsidize the luxury consumption of the very richest people in the country,” Dean Baker, cofounder of the progressive think tank Center for Economic and Policy Research, told ABC News.

During the summer of 2020, at the time of the first of three bailout programs set aside for aviation, industry experts said that private jet operators — just like the commercial airlines — would be confronting substantial drops in revenue. Executives at private aviation firms said they needed the government’s help to save the jobs of their employees.

But at the same time, many of those same executives said publicly that they saw signs of a coming boom, fueled by concerns about the pandemic.

That forecast is now coming to pass, making the once-niche industry an overnight sensation thanks to those who can afford to shell out up to $20,000 for a flight across the country. Industry analysts say private aviation has now exceeded pre-pandemic levels of popularity.

“Private aviation has bounced back faster than many industries, including the airlines,” said Travis Kuhn, vice president of market intelligence at the aviation consulting firm ARGUS International. “At this point in time, private air travel is about 15% larger today than it was two years ago — and it is almost all directly attributed to the pandemic.”

Furthermore, Kuhn said that after flocking to private aviation “for the perceived health advantages” of avoiding crowded airports and commercial planes, wealthy Americans “have since discovered the time-saving and productivity advantages” — a sign that the increased interest in private aviation may be here to stay.

In 2020, private aviation firms collected a total of up to $643 million in government funds from the Payroll Support Program, the Paycheck Protection Program, and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program for small businesses, according to an analysis from Accountable.US, a government watchdog group. Subsequent iterations of the Payroll Support Program released even more funds to the private jet industry.

The overwhelming majority of funds delivered to private aviation firms came as grants that do not need to be repaid, as long as beneficiaries refrained from “conducting involuntary furloughs or terminations of employees” through September of 2021.

But some critics are calling on the firms that rebounded quickly to voluntarily return some of the money.

“These days, it seems many private jet companies are celebrating even greater fortune and opportunity regardless of government aid received,” said Kyle Herrig, the president of Accountable.US. “It’s time to pay taxpayers back.”

Among the biggest bailout recipients was OneSky Flight, an Ohio-based business aviation portfolio of brands like FlexJet, Sentient Jet, and PrivateFly, which received $81 million from a pot of money set aside in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to help airlines. In a 2021 extension of the program, FlexJet, Sentient Jet and PrivateFly collected more than $50 million more in grants.

Executives at the OneSky companies have described the business as catering to a high-net-worth clientele, largely comprised of corporate clients and wealthy fliers. The companies’ social media feeds are peppered with endorsements from celebrity customers like astronaut Buzz Aldrin and golfer Bubba Watson, and references to their sponsorship of thoroughbred horse racing and an annual snow polo tournament in Aspen.

When OneSky reached out to the federal government for bailout dollars, company executives emphasized the needs of their pilots and flight controllers.

Directional Aviation, OneSky’s parent company, did not respond this week to a request for comment from ABC News.

Dan Hubbard, a spokesperson for the National Business Aviation Association, an industry trade group, told ABC News that “these businesses requested federal aid for the same reason countless other small businesses did: to keep employees on the job.”

“This crisis-moment investment worked — as it has in a host of industries — supporting employees and paving the way for their companies’ gradual recovery,” Hubbard said. “To have denied aviation businesses the same kind of lifeline offered to all other kinds of enterprises would have struck a blow to an entire segment of America’s aviation workforce.”

But critics have pushed back on that premise, arguing that private jet operators could have afforded to support their employees for a short stretch if they anticipated that business would rebound — which many industry executives said publicly at the time.

“It’s true that it does support jobs, but it would also support jobs if we agreed to pick up 25% of the tab for [Amazon CEO] Jeff Bezos’ personal servants,” Baker said of the bailouts. “There are much better ways to create jobs than subsidizing the very rich. If these people value having their private jets, then they will pay what it costs to keep the industry in business.”

Steve Ellis, vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, said the success of these firms so soon after accepting government support undermines the spirit of the programs.

“These programs are not designed, nor should they be, to make anyone better off, or even whole. They are a bridge to when our economy is on better footing,” said Ellis, who characterized the bailout as a “handout to the wealthy.”

“The private aviation industry benefited from increased interest during the pandemic … so they got taxpayer cash, and business soared,” he said.

Despite the criticism, some industry experts believe the stimulus of private aviation was warranted. Industry market experts have confirmed that private jet operators, just like the well-known commercial airlines, faced significant revenue drops at the height of the pandemic from mid-March through May of 2020.

Doug Gollan, the editor of Private Jet Card Comparisons, a blog covering the world of private aviation, said the success of the industry now is a reflection of how successful the CARES Act was in getting these businesses back on their feet.

“The money was meant to help companies navigate through the crisis,” Gollan said. “So, for the CARES Act, private aviation was the poster child of what a success story should look like.”

But questions about whether federal support should have more carefully targeted industries that would struggle returning to pre-pandemic levels stem in part from statements made by the private jet operators themselves, who’ve been publicly touting their success as the country emerges from the pandemic.

Kenn Ricci, the CEO of OneSky Flight’s parent company, recently told Bloomberg Media that business is now so good that he plans to expand his fleet by 40% over the next year.

And the recent success of private aviation has led the demand for new aircraft to drastically outpace supply, Bloomberg reported.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime grab,” Ricci said.

Lawmakers have previously taken aim at aviation firms that boasted of strong financial returns after accepting funds under the Payroll Support Program. In Oct. 2020, Rep. Jim Clyburn, the chairman of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, urged four cargo carriers to return hundreds of millions of dollars in government funds.

“It is troubling that Kalitta Air is receiving over $161 million in taxpayer funds intended to cover the wages and benefits of its workers, while simultaneously experiencing increased demand for its services,” Clyburn wrote to one of the companies. “Failing to return the funds to the Treasury would be inconsistent with Congress’ clear intent.”

When contacted this week by ABC News, the committee did not provide an update on the companies’ response. A committee spokesperson also declined to comment on whether the committee would be requesting that private aviation firms return pandemic relief money.

In the meantime, the juxtaposition of executives promoting their success after accepting government funds isn’t lost on some industry leaders. Patrick Gallagher, the president of NetJets, one of Ricci’s biggest competitors, has said that he is “hopeful, as a taxpayer, that some of those CARES Act funds get paid back.”

“We see our competitors touting their recent success and returning to pre-pandemic levels,” Gallagher said. “I’m glad that those funds were available to keep people employed, but many of these companies today are outdoing bolt-on acquisitions and spinning off new ventures.”

“Personally,” Gallagher said, “I am hopeful they are also paying back the tens of millions of dollars that they took to make payroll just a few months ago.”

5 in custody after congresswoman robbed, carjacked at gunpoint

December 23, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Democratic Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon was carjacked at gunpoint in broad daylight Wednesday afternoon in south Philadelphia’s largest park following a business meeting.

The congresswoman was left unharmed, according to a statement provided to ABC News by her spokesperson, Lauren Cox.

“Wednesday afternoon, at around 2:45 p.m., Congresswoman Scanlon was carjacked at gunpoint in FDR Park following a meeting at that location. The Congresswoman was physically unharmed,” Cox said in a statement.

“She thanks the Philadelphia Police Department for their swift response, and appreciates the efforts of both the Sergeant at Arms in D.C. and her local police department for coordinating with Philly PD to ensure her continued safety,” the statement said.

Five suspects were taken into custody in Newark, Delaware, at about 9 p.m., when they were found inside Scanlon’s Acura MDX in a parking lot, Delaware State Police said. Their names were not released.

Scanlon, who was first elected to Congress in 2018, represents the 5th Congressional District in Pennsylvania, which includes parts of south Philadelphia.

Her spokesperson confirmed that Scanlon’s personal belongings, including her personal and government-issued phones and identification, were stolen by the perpetrators.

Philadelphia’s mayor, Jim Kenney, released a statement condemning the incident.

“I’m appalled to learn of this violent crime that was perpetrated against my friend and colleague, Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon. Everyone deserves to feel safe in our city, and sadly, as we know, that hasn’t always been the case this year. It’s disheartening, and quite frankly infuriating, that criminals feel emboldened to commit such a reckless crime in the middle of the day in what should be a place of tranquility and peace—one of Philadelphia’s beautiful parks,” he said in a statement.

“I’m thankful that she was not physically harmed during this incident, and my thoughts are with her during what I’m sure is a traumatic time. I’m also thankful that our police officers have been working hard to identify violent criminals and get them off our streets. PPD is actively investigating this incident. We simply cannot and will not tolerate any acts of violence. If anyone has any information about this incident—or any other crime—please call or text PPD’s anonymous tip line at 215-686-TIPS.”

The incident comes amid a violent year in Philadelphia, which saw a spike in both gunpoint robberies and auto thefts.

Philadelphia is seeing at least an 80% increase in carjackings in 2021, compared with the total number in 2020, Philadelphia Police have said.

India’s staggering COVID-19 death toll could be 6 million: Study

December 23, 2021 by WDNY Radio

New research suggests that India’s COVID-19 death toll during its first and second waves might have been significantly undercounted, with the actual number potentially 12 times higher than the official stats — over 6 million people.

That would be by far the highest COVID death toll in the world — greater than the U.S. at more than 811,000.

India was devastated by a crushing wave of the delta variant in April and May, with supply shortages, makeshift clinics and images of funeral pyres burning nonstop.

There was a sense at the time that the number of deaths was an undercount and a study in July indicated that deaths could be 10 times the official toll, although that research had limitations.

The new study, by researchers in the U.S. and India from the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy, a public health research institute in Washington, D.C., indicates that the “reported COVID-19 deaths greatly underestimated pandemic-associated mortality” and was particularly acute among older and poorer people.

According to government statistics, India logged 478,007 COVID-19 deaths from the beginning of the pandemic, marked at Jan. 3, 2020 to Dec. 21, 2021, and nearly 35 million cases during that time.

The study — which is focused on the Chennai District on the country’s southeast coast — indicates the number is likely much higher, finding that that the death rate there was 5.2 per 1,000, “a 41% increase over typical mortality levels in the city.”

The study uses data on “all-cause mortality” within the district, i.e. the death rate from all causes of death for the population in the given time period are considered.

“On the nationwide figures, the 5.2 deaths per 1000 resident would indicate over 6 million deaths nationwide if the results could be extrapolated to the entire country,” Professor Ramanan Laxminarayan, an economist and epidemiologist and the study’s lead author, told ABC News. He is the founder of the University of Washington’s Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy in DC, which contributed to the project.

Deaths were substantially higher in older age groups.

Greater increases in mortality were observed in communities with lower socioeconomic status during the second wave of infections from March 1-June 30, 2021, but not during the first.

Laxminarayan said that there were limitations to the study — Chennai, as an urban area, might have been more affected than many parts of the country which were rural.

“But by the same token, Chennai has some of the best public health and healthcare facilities in the country and so the mortality rates in Chennai were likely lower than in other parts of the country,” he added.

The study notes that the true burden of disease is still “uncertain” due to restrictions in disease surveillance and a lack of official death records.

Tamales and Christmas Day chili: Brett Young’s got some unusual holiday traditions

December 23, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Brett Young grew up in a family with plenty of holiday traditions, although some were a little quirkier than the usual traditions of caroling around a tree or decorating cookies.

“For me, there were weird ones,” the singer says. “Every Christmas Eve — my dad was a pastor, and a woman from my dad’s church would make him homemade tamales. Not a Christmas dish, but we would have tamales every Christmas Eve.”

The unusual holiday eating didn’t stop there: “My mom, every Christmas Day, would make homemade chili,” he continues. “Not a Christmas dish, but it was our Christmas thing.”

These days, Brett and his wife, Taylor, celebrate the holidays with their own young family: they’ve got two little girls, Presley and Rowan. The family welcomed baby Rowan this July, so she’ll only be a few months old this Christmas, but Presley — who turned two in October — is starting to understand some of the spirit of the season. That means it’s time to start establishing some new holiday traditions, Brett goes on to say.

“She’s talking, and she’s active, and so I think this is the year where the traditions will start,” he relates. “I think this is the first year where Presley is old enough, where I think things will start locking in and become traditions. And I don’t know what those will be yet, but I’m excited.”

Making this year even merrier is the fact that Brett has a new holiday album out: Brett Young & Friends Sing the Christmas Classics. It’s a collection of holiday hits, sung by Brett and a host of musical pals.

As an additional pre-Christmas gift to fans, Brett just shared a behind-the-scenes video about the making of that album.

Why Rob Thomas “hated” his childhood Christmases

December 23, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Rob Thomas is a big Christmas fan, as you might assume from his new holiday album Something About Christmas Time. But as a kid, he says he “hated” Christmas, not because of the holiday itself, but because of the weather, which wasn’t exactly “Christmassy.”

Rob lived in South Carolina as a small child and then moved to Florida at age 10.

“I mean, I hated it, because I started off in South Carolina where it’s a little more wintery and…you get some snow,” he tells ABC Audio.

“So for years and years, when I was young, we would all go to South Carolina for Christmas, and it always kinda still felt a little Christmassy,” he continues. “But then, when my grandparents passed away and we didn’t really have anybody to go see — just spending Christmas in Florida…people get excited because, you know, you needed a coat. Like, ‘Oh, I need to wear a coat. It feels like Christmas!'”

But since Rob has lived in the New York area for over 20 years, he now gets more snow that he can handle, and says “all my great [Christmas] memories are of New York.”

Rob says he’d love to be able to celebrate in Manhattan again like he did in the before times: December of 2019.

“It was one of our favorite Christmases of all time,” he tells ABC Audio. “My wife and her mom and I did the full traditional [thing]. We went to the Rockettes and then we went to The Plaza and had a really nice dinner there…and it just felt very ‘New York Christmas,’ for lack of a better term.”

“I would love something like that,” he admits. “I’m just not sure of my [comfort] factor right now, still, just being out and about.”

Do you know her? Mariah Carey answers some trivia questions about herself

December 23, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Christmas is a few days away and Mariah Carey is the gift that keeps on giving. Ahead of her favorite holiday, the Grammy winner revealed some little-known trivia facts about herself.

Speaking to Harper’s Bazaar, Mariah participated in a YouTube segment for the magazine called “Do You Know Her?” where she was quizzed on questions about her life and career — including the time of day she was born. For the curious, it was at 7:27 in the morning.

She wouldn’t reveal how many dogs she has — it’s seven — but she was able to recall that she spent 500 hours in beauty school, that she “almost burned” the bridal gown she wore in her “We Belong Together” music video, and that she has “no idea” which song of hers contains her longest note. Mariah guessed that it was “Emotions,” but the real answer was 2001’s “Lead the Way,” where she held a note for 21 seconds.

Mariah also stood her ground when she guessed that she’d scored 19 number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100. When a woman off-camera corrected her, saying the number was actually 18, Mariah wasn’t having it.

“I think I know how many number ones I’ve had on the Hot 100 chart, because one of them was a holiday song and it is ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You,'” she deadpanned. “That’s my 19th number one.”

She also knew right off the bat which one of her songs allowed her to surpass Elvis Presley in the ranking of artists with the most Hot 100 number-one hits: It was her 2008 tune “Touch My Body.”

“That was my 18th number one,” she quipped. “It was a pretty amazing moment!”

Cool Yule: John Lodge, Nils Lofgren, Vanilla Fudge’s Mark Stein & The Go-Go’s’ Gina Schock share holiday plans

December 23, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Christmas is upon us, and a variety of music artists tell ABC Audio that, like so many people during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, they’re planning a fairly low-key holiday celebration this year.

Moody Blues singer/bassist John Lodge explains that most years around this time he’d be on tour, “but not this year, so…I’m just gonna enjoy Christmas.”

Lodge notes that his wife is from Denmark, so his family usually observes the Danish tradition of dancing around the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve.

Nils Lofgren, a member of Neil Young‘s and Bruce Springsteen‘s respective backing groups Crazy Horse and the E Street Band, says his Christmas gathering likely will just feature him and his wife, Amy, their son Dylan, “his two dogs and our two dogs very quietly and safely having a very sedate Christmas, because it’s just not safe to do otherwise.”

Vanilla Fudge‘s Mark Stein says his family plans to “just have some stay-at-home dinners and opening presents, like most people in this country do.”

Stein also shares a holiday message for fans, wishing that people “stay safe and stay focused and appreciative of…what we do have this holiday season, because although there’s a lot of unrest going on in the nation and the world, anybody that’s got…a roof over your head and family that you can hug and love and share stories with and gifts…[that’s] more than enough payoff.”

Meanwhile, Go-Go’s drummer Gina Schock won’t be home for the holidays. Schock, whose band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in October, says her yuletide plans entail “rehearsing and doing shows” with the group.

The Go-Go’s have five West Coast concerts lined up between December 28 and January 3.

Dionne Warwick to perform on ‘The Masked Singer’ Tournament of Roses float

December 23, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Dionne Warwick will perform on the first-ever The Masked Singer float on New Year’s Day.

The legendary artist will be joined by her son, Damon Elliott, aka Nomad, on the float at the 133rd annual Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California. The parade will air January 1 at 11 a.m. ET on several networks. Check local listings.

The “That’s What Friends Are For” singer appeared on The Masked Singer as the Mouse in February.

The float will also feature several more of the show’s costumes, including T-Pain‘s Monster, Lil Wayne‘s Robot, Bow Wow‘s Frog, Patti LaBelle‘s Flower, and Chameleon, which was worn by Wiz Khalifa

‘Grey’s Anatomy’ reportedly eyeing 19th season renewal

December 23, 2021 by WDNY Radio

There’s potentially good news for Grey’s Anatomy fans — the ABC drama’s record-breaking run may not end with its current 18th season.

Talks are reportedly underway to bring the series back for a 19th season, though sources tell Deadline that conversations are still in the early stages.

Those talks are said to involve series star and co-executive producer Ellen Pompeo, who has previously expressed her desire to bring Grey’s to an end. Last spring, Pompeo agreed to a one-year deal for season 18, while two other original cast members whose contracts were up at the end of season 17, Chandra Wilson and James Pickens Jr., signed multi-year new pacts, according to the outlet.

Grey’s Anatomy is the longest-running primetime medical drama in TV history and remains ABC’s highest rated scripted series and one of the top scripted series on network television.

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