How Ivermectin Became The Darling Of Anti-Vaxxers

Also: How deadly pufferfish toxin may help treat "lazy eye" ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  [View in Browser]( | [Donate [WBUR]]( [WBUR](  [WBUR]( September 20, 2021 Good afternoon everybody, Pfizer shared some big news this morning: the company says its [COVID-19 vaccine works for young children ages 5 to 11](. The drug maker will apply for Food and Drug Administration authorization for the age group, which would open the door for elementary school children to get the shot. Until then, schools are using face coverings and other COVID safety measures to keep kids safe. Mask policies in middle and elementary schools have been a flashpoint in Massachusetts — and much of the rest of the country — over the last few months. [Health experts had been divided]( whether masks should be required in schools, and the fact that students under 12 couldn't be vaccinated made the issue thornier. But, if shots become available to kids 5 and older – and enough families take advantage of it – that might pave the way to dropping mask requirements in schools. In other COVID news, [fully vaccinated foreign nationals can come to the U.S. starting in November](. The new policy will replace the travel bans instituted by the Trump administration. P.S.– One more thing: I will be leaving WBUR and this newsletter in a couple of weeks. Connecting with all of you through these weekly notes has been a delight, as has my time at WBUR these last couple of years. I'm very excited to join STAT News, where I'll cover cancer as a reporter, starting next month. I hope you'll all welcome the next health reporter who takes on CommonHealth (more details to come on this soon). I'll see you all next week for my last newsletter! — Angus Chen, health reporter newsletters@wbur.org Must Reads url[Pfizer And BioNTech Say Vaccine Trial For Kids Shows Its Safe And Effective]( New data from the companies show that Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine can be safely given to kids 5 and older. They plan to ask the FDA for emergency use authorization for the age group by the end of the month. [Read more](.   #%23%23[Twitter](  #%23%23[Facebook](    [How Ivermectin Became The New Focus Of The Anti-Vaccine Movement]( Ivermectin, also known as the brand medication Heartgard, is the darling of the anti-vaccine movement. How exactly that happened may be confusing – there's no evidence it helps prevent or treat COVID-19. [Read more](.  [Pufferfish Toxin Holds Clues To Treating 'Lazy Eye' In Adults]( Pufferfish can kill you with a horrible, deadly toxin called tetrodoxin. But researchers are learning that jabbing just a tiny little bit of it into an eye might help treat "lazy eye." [Read more](.  Support the news [Radio Boston | MassHealth Expands Covered Care For Transgender And Non-Binary Residents]( Transgender health care is now more accessible for patients with MassHealth. The agency has updated its guidelines for determining what is considered medically necessary. [Listen here](.  [New Hope For ALS Patients After FDA Reverses Course On Possible Treatment]( Cambridge-based Amylyx has a chance to gain early approval for its new ALS drug, AMX0035. There's limited but promising evidence the treatment can slow the progression of a disease that kills most patients within three to five years. [Read more.]( What We're Reading For all of human history and evolution, our species has lived under the steady pull of 1G of gravity. But in the foreseeable future, non-professional astronauts will have access to a vastly different environment: the micro gravity of outer space. In the past, astronauts had to pass extreme physical fitness requirements to blast off the planet, so studying their health in space is a bit like looking at the 1% of human specimens. Since more normal bodies, like those on the crew of Inspiration4, are now finding themselves on the float, medical researchers have an opportunity to understand how space affects human health and disease. "We're going to learn some things that are very fundamental," Dorit Donoviel, a space health researcher at the Baylor College of Medicine, told the New York Times. [This piece from the Times]( how researchers are examining the crew of the private spaceflight Inspiration4 to learn those fundamental things about health in zero G. “ It fits a political narrative, which is about reopening the economy as soon as possible. The miracle cure paints a rosy picture of the situation. It is portrayed as a quick fix that is designed to persuade people to go back to work. — Yunkang Yang, George Washington University disinformation researcher ["How Ivermectin Became The New Focus Of The Anti-Vaccine Movement]( ICYMI [Here Are Mass. Cities And Towns With Mask Mandates]( Here's our running tally of which of the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts have brought back masking rules. The latest addition: As of today, you must wear a mask in all indoor public places in Worcester.      Did you know 66 pounds of hops was aboard the [Inspiration4]( when the first all-civilian crew went to space last week? It will later be brewed into beer by Samuel Adams. 😎 Forward to a friend. They can sign up [here](. 📣 Give us your feedback: newsletters@wbur.org 📨 Get more WBUR stories sent to your inbox. 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