How drug companies are planning for the Omicron variant

Hello,

Welcome to Insider Healthcare. I'm healthcare editor Leah Rosenbaum, and today in healthcare news:

• Pharma companies are already planning their counterattack against the new Omicron variant;
• The CDC on Monday called on all adults to get their COVID-19 booster shots;
• Four states are changing their laws to allow people who were fired for not getting vaccinated to claim unemployment benefits. 

If you're new to this newsletter, sign up here. Comments, tips? Email me at lrosenbaum@insider.com or tweet @leah_rosenbaum. Let's get to it...

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Dozens of drug companies are preparing for the Omicron variant.

Ivo Corrà/Eurac Research

Omicron has drug companies preparing for the worst. Here are their plans to counterattack the newest COVID-19 variant.

• Drug companies are preparing for Omicron to be the next major challenge of this pandemic.
• The newest variant's mutations could weaken vaccine protection, though that is still unknown.
• While much is still uncertain, the pharmaceutical industry is already planning its counterattack.

Read more>>

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Director of the CDC Rochelle Walensky and Sec. of Education Miguel Cardona

Stuart Cahill/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald

CDC strengthens its stance on boosters, saying everyone should get an extra shot to protect against the Omicron variant

• Previously, the CDC approved boosters for all vaccinated adults, but said priority should go to adults over 50.
• On Monday, director Rochelle Walensky strengthened that message, calling on all American adults to get extra shots.
• Walensky said boosters are key in light of the newly detected Omicron variant.

Here's what you need to know>>

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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis

Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

4 GOP-controlled states are changing their unemployment laws to allow those defying COVID-19 vaccine mandates to get benefits

• GOP-controlled legislatures are seeking to undermine President Joe Biden's vaccine mandate. 
• Four states have passed bills that would provide unemployment benefits to those fired for refusing the vaccine.
• Vaccine mandates have become an issue of fierce partisan controversy. 

See the full story>>

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More stories we're reading:

• How 3 millennial morticians are using social media and tech to modernize the traditionally secretive death-care industry (Insider)
• Regulators refused to listen when neighborhood members complained that air pollution was impacting their health (ProPublica)
• Federal judge blocks Biden administration's vaccine mandate for healthcare workers in 10 states (Insider)
• How inequitable access to COVID-19 vaccines relates to the new Omicron variant (STAT)

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-Leah

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