Good Day BIO: What to know about immunizations

With COVID deaths rising again and the school year beginning, this August is the most important National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM) yet. 

The seven-day average of COVID deaths in the U.S. passed 1,000 over the weekend,reports New York Magazine—“the highest seven-day average of deaths in the U.S. since March 30, when vaccinations were not yet widely available for most Americans.”

The authorized vaccines remain highly effective against hospitalization and death—but just 51.5% of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated. 

Addressing vaccine hesitancy remains critically important—which is why BIO continues to share the COVID vaccine facts from experts. 

But National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM) is about more than COVID-19,as we’ve explained. 

Rates of routine immunizations have been declining, as well, we previously reported—putting all of us, particularly school children, at risk of preventable diseases like diphtheria, measles, mumps, polio, rubella, and tetanus. 

But there are three things we can do to encourage immunization this month,experts explained during a recent BIO Patient Advocacy event. They include:

1. Engage in local outreach to historically underserved communities to reduce vaccine hesitancy.
2. Encourage annual checkups of pediatric patients and advocate for keeping up with routine immunizations.
3. Confront disinformation and stay informed.

Do you have questions about the COVID vaccines? Visit www.COVIDVaccineFacts.org. 

Do you want to help stop the spread of vaccine misinformation? Visit Stronger, a campaign supported by BIO, The Public Good Projects, and Google with resources to help.

More Health Care News: 

The New York Times: The FDA is aiming to give full approval to Pfizer’s COVID vaccine today
“The approval is expected to pave the way for a series of vaccination requirements by public and private organizations who were awaiting final regulatory action before putting in effect mandates.”

Capturing carbon that’s already been emitted is key to addressing climate change—and trees already do this. But what if we could supercharge them to suck up even MORE carbon? One company is using gene editing to hack the process of photosynthesis and turn ordinary trees into super carbon fighters.

“By the middle of the century, by one estimate, the world may need to be pulling 10 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year to be able to meet the goals of the Paris climate agreement,” according to Fast Company.

This need inspired one company to genetically engineer “supertrees.” Startup Living Carbon genetically engineers trees to take even more carbon from the air, as well as handle absorption of copper and nickel, which kill the fungus that makes dead trees decompose and release carbon. 

The goal is to “improve the total drawdown of carbon dioxide from photosynthesis, and also improve retention of that carbon,” so forests full of these trees could help control climate change, Living Carbon co-founder Patrick Mellor told Fast Company. 

Forests are already excellent at capturing carbon, says BIO’s Biotech Solutions for Climate Report: “Afforestation/reforestation of marginal land can result in the formation of new carbon sinks and the long-term removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.” 

But trees alone cannot solve our climate problems,BIO’s Cornelia Poku has explained. “Trees as they are today, have to be planted very strategically to ensure survival,” she wrote. “However, with gene editing, researchers are making small changes to plants’ DNA” to grow trees that can handle “rapidly changing environments.” 

The same is true of crops. Bitoech can give crops deeper roots that don’t get pulled up during harvesting, helping them retain carbon, Innovature explained. 

“Over time, these roots will break down slowly, helping to replenish the soil with carbon,”said BIO’s Connor McKoy.

The bottom line: Nature has given us excellent tools to help solve climate change—and with biotechnology like gene editing, we can supercharge them.

President Biden’s Monday: Meeting with his national security team to get updates on Afghanistan. This afternoon, he’ll welcome the Seattle Storm, the 2020 WNBA Champions, to the White House. 

What’s Happening on Capitol Hill: The House is returning from recess this week to vote on the budget and infrastructure packages—read our recap of where the Senate left things.