Top in ID: Biden’s COVID-19 response, Zika 5 years later

President Joseph R. Biden Jr. laid out a COVID-19 vaccination plan, which calls for more federally supported vaccination centers. A closer look at what the plan entails was the top story in infectious disease last week.

Other top stories include the United States’ reengagement with WHO and a cover story about the sudden emergence of Zika virus as a cause of fetal and infant birth defects in children, and when the world can expect it to cause another outbreak.

Read these and more top stories in infectious disease below:

Q&A: Biden vaccination plan shows ‘willingness to use federal assets’

Healio spoke with Amesh A. Adalja, MD, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, about Biden’s vaccination plan and what else needs to be done to confront a worsening pandemic. Read more.

Biden administration to resume US engagement with WHO

Biden pledged that the United States would split with the Trump administration and “re-engage” with WHO. Read more.

Zika 5 years later: Still much to learn as ‘likely’ future outbreak looms

On Feb. 1, 2016, almost 70 years after Zika was first discovered by chance in a forest in Uganda, WHO declared a global public health emergency over an increase in microcephaly and neurological complications linked to the virus. Five years later, a lot is still unknown about Zika’s emergence as the cause of an unexpected epidemic centered in Brazil, according to experts. Read more.

Q&A: COVID-19 lockdowns affected air pollution less than expected

COVID-19 lockdowns in several cities affected air pollution less than expected, according to a study published in Science. Read more.

FDA approves first long-acting injectable regimen for HIV

The FDA approved the first long-acting injectable regimen for HIV treatment, Cabenuva, which includes shots of cabotegravir and rilpivirine given just once a month. Read more.