Login
Covid News Watch
Kansas Man Says 2nd Pfizer Shot Left Him With Rare, Temporary Paralysis + More
Kansas Man Says 2nd Pfizer Shot Left Him With Rare, Temporary Paralysis
An Olathe, Kansas man said he was temporarily paralyzed after receiving the second dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
“I thought I was doing right, you know,” said Thomas Bolds. “They wanted you to get the shot, so I did it.”
The past few weeks have been a battle for the 54-year-old … He’s been busy regaining strength in his arms and legs after getting the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine last month.
Madison Woman Dies From COVID-19 She Contracted After Full Vaccination
Wisconsin State Journal reported:
A 75-year-old Madison woman died from COVID-19 Sunday after contracting the illness more than a month after being fully vaccinated, according to her sons, who say immunosuppressant drugs likely reduced her vaccine protection and chronic diseases made her more vulnerable to infection.
Reports of so-called “breakthrough” cases and deaths after full vaccination are rare, but some are expected because no vaccine is 100% effective and some people don’t mount as much of an immune response to the vaccine as others, experts say.
Sweden Records More Than 30k Cases of Side Effects Tied to COVID Jabs
As Europe pushes ahead with its vaccination program, the Nordic countries are reporting a surge in damaging side effects. In the country, the tally has surpassed 30K with the majority of these reactions reported in patients who received the AstraZeneca jab.
Sweden’s Medical Products Agency reported that as of last week, the Scandinavian nation had tallied 31,844 reports of adverse reactions linked to its vaccine rollout.
In Rush for Regulatory Approval of COVID Vaccines, Do We Need More Data?
In April 2021, Pfizer and Moderna announced efficacy results at the six-month mark from the phase 3 trials of their respective COVID-19 vaccines.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said the company’s data “confirm the favourable efficacy and safety profile of our vaccine and position us to submit a Biologics License Application to the U.S. FDA [Food and Drug Administration].” And on May 7 it formally initiated that application which, if successful, will earn the Pfizer-BioNTech product, BNT162b2, the distinction of becoming the first COVID-19 vaccine approved by the FDA.
Because lest we forget, all COVID-19 vaccines currently in use in the U.S. are available under emergency access only.
COVID Deaths Plummet as Excess Mortality Falls to Pre-COVID Levels
Well, according to data through mid-March reported by Our World in Data and by the Human Mortality Database, excess mortality began to plummet in early January and is now back to levels below the 2015-2019 average.
Excess mortality peaked the week of Jan. 3 and then it began to collapse, dropping back to summer 2020 levels by mid February. By March 14, excess mortality was at 1% above the 2015-2019 average. All this occurred even as very few Americans were vaccinated. When excess deaths began to drop, less than 1% of Americans had been fully vaccinated. At the end of January, less than two% of Americans had been fully vaccinated. By the end of March, when excess mortality returned to 2019 levels, 15% of the population had been fully vaccinated.
As of May 11, only one-third of Americans had been fully vaccinated, although “experts” insist 60 to 70% of the population must be vaccinated before we can expect to see a drop-off in deaths like that which occurred earlier this year.
About 60% Of Americans 18 and Older Have Had at Least One Dose of COVID-19 Vaccine
The US has reached a “landmark day” in the COVID-19 pandemic as 60% of American adults have gotten at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
In addition, more than 4.1 million young people ages 12 to 17 have received their first dose, Dr. Rochelle Walensky said.
And more people of color are getting vaccinated — marking “encouraging national trends,” said White House Covid-19 Response Team senior adviser Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith.
COVID Cases Dropping by 5% or More in Nearly Every U.S. State, Vaccinations Continue to Fall
The U.S. has reached a “landmark day” in the COVID-19 pandemic as 60% of American adults have gotten at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
In addition, more than 4.1 million young people ages 12 to 17 have received their first dose, Dr. Rochelle Walensky said.
And more people of color are getting vaccinated — marking “encouraging national trends,” said White House Covid-19 Response Team senior adviser Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith.
Brazil’s Christ the Redeemer Statue Lights up for Vaccine Equality
The world’s most famous statue of Jesus Christ was lit up in Rio de Janeiro to promote vaccine equality as Brazil and developing countries struggle to protect residents from COVID-19.
Select Stop & Shop Pharmacies Offering Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine to Customers as Young as 12
Select Stop & Shop pharmacies are now offering Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to customers as young as 12 years old.
The Pfizer vaccine is being offered in addition to existing supply of Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, which have been available at Stop & Shop pharmacy locations since January, the supermarket company announced Monday in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
“Stop & Shop has been proud to support our communities throughout the pandemic, most recently by administering the COVID-19 vaccine,” said Katie Thornell, Director of Pharmacy Operations at Stop & Shop. “We are excited to begin providing the Pfizer vaccine to our customers as young as twelve years of age to help protect members of the community against COVID-19.”
Baby Becomes World’s Youngest Person to Get 2 Pfizer Vaccine Doses + More
Baby Becomes World’s Youngest Person to Get 2 Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Doses
A baby involved in clinical trials into the effects of COVID vaccinations among children has reportedly become the youngest person in the world to get two Pfizer jabs against the disease.
The federal government has only approved the vaccine for children as young as 12.
However, Mike and Marissa Mincolla, both doctors from Baldwinsville, New York, said they had no qualms about their eight-month-old son, Vincenzo, or “Enzo” being administered with two doses of the vaccine at Upstate Medical University.
Delta Is First U.S. Airline to Require New Hires Be Vaccinated
Delta Air Lines will require all new hires in the U.S. to be immunized against COVID-19, the carrier announced Friday, calling vaccines “safe, effective and essential to the future of the airline and our world.”
The Atlanta-based airline noted its progress toward herd immunity within its own workforce, with 60% of its roughly 74,000 employees already vaccinated, the company said. To help maintain that trajectory, Delta will mandate that those joining the company be vaccinated unless they qualify for an accommodation, the company said in a statement. The policy starts Monday.
“Approximately two out of 10 Americans have been infected by COVID-19, and one out of 1,000 Americans has died from the virus. The vaccines are not only extremely effective in preventing illness and symptoms from COVID-19, but they are also nearly 100 percent effective in preventing hospitalization and death,” Delta stated.
AstraZeneca Woes Persist as Vaccine Side Effects Generate Headlines
AstraZeneca’s COVID vaccine, not yet authorized in the U.S., continues to generate negative press in other countries related to reports of adverse side effects.
As The Defender reported today, musician Eric Clapton said he suffered “disastrous” side effects after getting the vaccine.
Other recent news stories include reports in India of 26 cases of blood clots related to AstraZeneca, and from British Columbia, the report of a 43-year-old man recovering from complications due to a blood clot he developed after taking the vaccine.
Eric Clapton ‘Feared He Would Never Play Again’ After AstraZeneca Vaccine, Says ‘Propaganda’ Overstated Safety
Eric Clapton said he had a “disastrous” health experience after receiving the AstraZeneca COVID vaccine, and the 76-year-old musician blamed propaganda for overstating the vaccine’s safety, Rolling Stone reported.
Clapton detailed his experience with AstraZeneca in a letter to Italian architect Robin Monotti, who shared it May 12 on Twitter.
Russell Brand: Is There a ‘Deliberate Attempt’ to Hide Origins of COVID?
What are the origins of COVID-19? Did it occur in nature, as the media has strongly suggested? Or did it escape from a lab where scientists were conducting risky experiments with viruses?
In the video, “COVID Cover-Up: Did It Come From a Lab?,” Russell Brand questions the lack of transparency around the origins of COVID and asks, why is this discussion so contentious?
Fauci Admits — Roughly Half of NIH Employees Have Chosen Not to Get Vaccine …
WATCH: NEW: About 40-50% of CDC, FDA employees are refusing the COVID-19 vaccine according to Fauci, Marks
Scientists Demand New Inquiry Into COVID-19 Origins
A group of 18 top researchers signed a letter published in the latest issue of the journal Science, calling for a new investigation into where and how the novel coronavirus originated, arguing that a satisfactory inquiry still has not been performed.
“Theories of accidental release from a lab and zoonotic spillover both remain viable,” the letter reads. “Knowing how COVID-19 emerged is critical for informing global strategies to mitigate the risk of future outbreaks.” Robert Redfield, former President Donald Trump’s CDC director, has said — without evidence — that he believes the virus escaped from a lab in Wuhan, China.
For its part, the Chinese government has engaged in similarly baseless speculation, blaming the U.S. Army for creating the virus. Mainstream researchers have largely come out in favor of the theory that COVID-19 originated in animals and spilled over into humans naturally, although hard evidence of any sort has thus far remained elusive.
Moderna, Pfizer Join the Popular Crowd, Catapulting Into the Top 10 of America’s Favorite Companies
Americans love their vaccine makers. Cases in point? Moderna and Pfizer leaped into the top 10 best-regarded companies in the U.S. in the annual Axios Harris 100 survey.
They’re the first biopharma companies to crack the top 10 in the ranking’s 20-year history. Johnson & Johnson, which counts pharma as one of its three divisions, has landed in the top 10 before; this year, it hit No. 72 on the list with a reputation score roughly the same as 2020’s.
Meanwhile, Moderna ranked third, while Pfizer came in at No. 7 on the strength of its product and innovation scores, nabbing high marks for vision and culture along the way.
Pediatricians Primed to Lead COVID Vaccination Efforts as Kids Become Eligible + More
Pediatricians Primed to Lead COVID Vaccination Efforts as Kids Become Eligible
Now that both the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have green-lighted Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use in kids ages 12 to 15, pediatricians will soon find themselves on the front lines of the country’s vaccination efforts, playing an essential role in communicating to parents the safety and importance of getting their kids the shot.
That’s a tall order for pediatricians who say they’re facing skyrocketing vaccine hesitancy among families.
CVS, Walgreens Administering Pfizer Vaccine to Kids 12-15 Nationwide
CVS and Walgreens are administering COVID-19 vaccines to adolescents between the ages of 12 and 15 as part of the ongoing effort to overcome the pandemic.
Appointments for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at more than 5,600 CVS Pharmacy locations nationwide became available Thursday following Food and Drug Administration (FDA) emergency use authorization for the age group.
The Food and Drug Administration declared that the Pfizer vaccine is safe and offers strong protection for younger teens based on testing of more than 2,000 U.S. volunteers ages 12 to 15. On May 10, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine became the first and only FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccine for adolescents in this age group.
CDC Data Show 4,000+ Reported Deaths Following COVID Vaccines as Kids 12 and Older Now Eligible
The number of reported deaths following COVID vaccines topped 4,000 according to data released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The data comes directly from reports submitted to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).
VAERS is the primary government-funded system for reporting adverse vaccine reactions in the U.S. Reports submitted to VAERS require further investigation before a causal relationship can be confirmed.
Every Friday, VAERS makes public all vaccine injury reports received as of a specified date, usually about a week prior to the release date. Today’s data show that between Dec. 14, 2020 and May 7, a total of 192,954 total adverse events were reported to VAERS, including 4,057 deaths — an increase of 220 over the previous week — and 17,190 serious injuries, up 1,176 since last week.
COVID Deaths — Putting the Numbers in Perspective
Every year roughly between 2.8 and 3 million people die in the United States — just under 1% of the population.
In some years, deaths exceed projections, for instance in a bad flu year. These extra deaths are characterized as “excess deaths.”
In February, the CDC reported it attributed 376,504 deaths in 2020 to COVID-19. Each death is regrettable, but to put that number in perspective, the COVID deaths in 2020 were actually lower than the 401,000 excess deaths in 2017 — a bad flu year.
This finding mirrors excess death data from other countries, where excess deaths were also higher in 2017 than in 2020.
Bill Maher, 8 N.Y. Yankees Test Positive for COVID After Being Fully Vaccinated
Bill Maher and eight Yankees players this week joined the ranks of COVID breakthrough cases — people who tested positive for the virus despite being fully vaccinated.
A tweet from the official “Real Time with Bill Maher” account announced the 65-year-old comedian tested positive for COVID. The political humorist said he “feels fine” but decided to halt the taping of his talk show “Real Time with Bill Maher” on Friday.
No other staff or crew members on the program have tested positive, the outlet reports.
What We Know — And May Never Know — About COVID Vaccines
Is the COVID vaccine safe? Has it been thoroughly tested? What are the long-term side effects? Is it even effective?
According to the video below, “COVID Vaccine Secrets,” the government, the media and even celebrities tell us we must all get the vaccine, that it’s the only way to stay safe from COVID-19.
But missing from those conversations is an open and honest discussion about the potential health risks of the vaccine. How many people have died or been injured after getting the vaccine? And why is it making some people sick? Is it because of the vaccine’s ingredients?
Ohio Offers $1 Million Lottery, 4-Year College Scholarships to Entice More People to Get Vaccinated — Incentive or Coercion?
As demand for COVID vaccines among adults falls short of public health officials’ goals, more and more states and businesses are rolling out incentives to counter “vaccine hesitancy.”
This week, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine raised the stakes to a whole new level when he announced Ohio will give five people $1 million each, plus another five people four-year college scholarships in a lottery scheme designed to persuade young Ohioans to get the COVID vaccine.
Some Ohio lawmakers criticized DeWine’s plan, saying there were better ways to spend the state’s COVID relief funds. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said he wasn’t sure the plan was legal, but even if it is, “just because a thing may be legally done does not mean it should be done.”
Mary Holland, Children’s Health Defense president and general counsel, agreed with Yost, though for reasons having nothing to do with state budgets.
Latino and Black Californians Less Likely to Have Received COVID-19 Vaccine
Only about one-third of Latino and Black Californians have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while majorities of white and Asian American Pacific Islander Californians have, according to a Times analysis.
The Times analysis found that 33% of Latino residents and 34% of Black residents of the state have received at least one dose of vaccine. By contrast, 50% of white residents, 46% of Native American residents and 60% of Asian American Pacific Islander residents have received a dose.
Novel Coronavirus Really Is Seasonal, Study Suggests
Warm temperatures and tropical climates may really help reduce the spread of COVID-19, a new study suggests.
The study found that places with warm temperatures and long hours of sunlight — such as countries close to the equator and those experiencing summer — had a lower rate of COVID-19 cases, compared with countries farther away from the equator and those experiencing colder weather.
The findings held even after the researchers took into account other factors that could affect both the spread of COVID-19 and the number of reported cases, such as a country’s level of urbanization and the intensity of COVID-19 testing.
Quebec, New Brunswick Stop Offering First Doses of AstraZeneca Vaccine
The Canadian provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick will no longer offer first doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, but will offer second doses using current supplies and future deliveries, the provinces said on Thursday.
Most provinces made similar announcements on Monday and Tuesday, mainly citing concerns about supply, though officials in Ontario, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick said the move was also based on a rise in the incidence of rare blood clots linked to first doses of the vaccine.
Vaccine Hesitancy Rose in EU After Pause in AstraZeneca Shots
Vaccine hesitancy increased in the European Union after the suspension of AstraZeneca Plc’s vaccine, with more than a third of adults in the bloc indicating they were unlikely to get immunized from COVID-19.
After several EU countries suspended use of Astra’s shot in mid March, 34% of respondents to an online survey by Eurofound said they were hesitant to take the vaccine. Before the pause, 25% said they were “rather unlikely” or “very unlikely” to get it.
Nurses, Nonprofits, Others Take Vaccine to Homebound People
As interest in mass coronavirus vaccination sites dwindles nationwide, providers are ramping up efforts to find and reach millions of people in the U.S. who cannot leave their homes or who need help with transportation. The process is slow and requires careful planning, but advocates say getting vaccinated is critical for people who are constantly exposed to visiting aides — and that they should have been a focus sooner.
While the effort is happening in many states, experts say California has one of the most robust programs. Last week, state officials announced residents could go online or call a number to request a ride or an at-home vaccination. So far, there have been more than 5,000 requests for help, said state public health spokeswoman Sami Gallegos.
Delay in Giving Second Jabs of Pfizer Vaccine Improves Immunity
The UK’s decision to delay second doses of coronavirus vaccines has received fresh support from research on the over-80s which found that giving the Pfizer/BioNTech booster after 12 weeks rather than three produced a much stronger antibody response.
A study led by the University of Birmingham in collaboration with Public Health England found that antibodies against the virus were three-and-a-half times higher in those who had the second shot after 12 weeks compared with those who had it after a three-week interval.
Sayer Ji’s Full NPR Cross-Interview [VIDEO] + NPR’s Article Reveals Deep Bias & Conflicts of Interest
This is an exclusive cross-interview recorded on May 5, 2021, featuring Geoff Brumfiel, the NPR reporter who wrote the recent somewhat denigrating piece about me.
Brumfiel and I agreed to ask a number of questions of one another, to be recorded and shared with the public in order to provide the full context of the written piece. Below is a detailed description of the context that led to this conversation.
NPR’s “health news” section is literally called SHOTS. Yes, literally, as in vaccines. Look no further than the logo under their general banner of “health news” to see where their loyalties appear to lie.
COVID Vaccines May Not Protect People With Immune Disorders + More
COVID Vaccines May Not Protect People With Immune Disorders. NIH Trial Seeks Answers.
Millions of Americans have immune disorders or autoimmune diseases — such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis or Crohn’s disease — that require them to take immune-suppressing treatments for life. Because people with compromised immune systems were largely excluded from the COVID-19 vaccine trials in the U.S. and globally, it’s unknown how much protection they get from vaccination.
A recent study by researchers at Johns Hopkins University found that only half of organ transplant recipients developed antibodies after two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine.
CDC Says It’s Ok to Get a COVID-19 Vaccine Alongside Other Vaccines
A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expert said Wednesday that it’s OK to give the coronavirus vaccine alongside other vaccinations, a major boon for children and teenagers behind on their regular inoculations.
Doctors and other clinicians were previously advised to avoid giving coronavirus vaccine within two weeks of any other vaccine. But Dr. Kate Woodworth of the CDC’s birth defects division said Wednesday that advice has now changed, saying there is substantial data on the safety of the vaccines.
Get Vaccinated in Ohio and Get a Shot at $1 Million, Gov. Mike DeWine Announces
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Wednesday announced a novel incentive program for people in his state to get vaccinated — a $1 million lottery.
DeWine, a Republican, said only people who’ve gotten the vaccine will be eligible to win the prize, which will be paid for by federal coronavirus funds.
“Two weeks from tonight on May 26th, we will announce a winner of a separate drawing for adults who have received at least their first dose of the vaccine. This announcement will occur each Wednesday for five weeks, and the winner each Wednesday will receive one million dollars,”DeWine said in a series of tweets.
‘Plausible’ Link Between J&J Vaccine and Blood Clots, CDC Says After Confirming 28 Cases, Including 3 Deaths
Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Wednesday they see a “plausible causal association” between the Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine and potentially life-threatening blood clot disorders after identifying 28 cases — including three deaths — among people who received the vaccine.
Dr. Tom Shimabukuro, deputy director of the CDC’s immunization safety office, presented the new cases at a Wednesday meeting of CDC panel advisers, The New York Times reported.
Tens of Thousands of Lives Could Have Been Saved if Research on COVID Treatments Hadn’t Been Suppressed, Doctors and Economists Say
Since the first days of the declared coronavirus pandemic, doctors faithful to their Hippocratic Oath have been searching for — and identifying — effective COVID-19 treatments.
In mid-November, Dr. Peter McCullough, vice chief of internal medicine at Baylor University Medical Center, and three other experts outlined safe and available treatments for the Senate’s influential Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee.
University of Wisconsin critical care specialist Dr. Pierre Kory followed up with more discussion of viable COVID treatments at a Dec. 8 appearance before the same committee.
However, as Children’s Health Defense Chairman Robert F. Kennedy Jr. observed during a March 2021 conversation with McCullough, “we’ve seen this very strange conflict … that many of those treatments that could save lives, instead of being promoted and investigated and studied by the health authorities, are instead being sabotaged and made … inaccessible.”
Tennessee Woman Partially Paralyzed After Rare Reaction to COVID Vaccine Walks Again
Brandy Parker-McFadden walks with a purpose.
“My biggest motivation was to get home to my kids and my husband,” Parker-McFadden said.
Each small, slow step is a part of the story of the Nashville woman’s journey that started nearly four weeks ago when doctors say Parker-McFadden had an extremely rare reaction to Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine that left her unable to move her legs. The therapy team wasn’t sure if she’d walk again.
Americans as Young as 12 Begin to Get Vaccinated Against COVID-19 After FDA’s Authorization
Some vaccine sites began to inoculate 12-to-15-year-olds against COVID-19 on Tuesday morning, a day after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized Pfizer’s vaccine for the age group.
Jacob Laney, 14, was in line at a Decatur, Georgia, vaccine site early Tuesday in hopes of getting the vaccine …
The shots are somewhat premature, as doctors are technically not supposed to start administering the vaccine to this age group until the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends they do so.
WATCH: Dr. Walensky Encourages Youth to Ask for Vaccine
The director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is “encouraging children to ask for the vaccine” after regulators on Monday expanded the use of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to children as young as 12 …
“I would encourage all parents to get their children vaccinated,” said Dr. Rochelle Walensky during a Senate hearing on Tuesday.
“I have a 16 year old myself and I can tell you he wanted to get the vaccine. He wants his life back. These kids want to go back to school. They want to go back to the things they love.”
Despite FDA Approval, Some Schools Say They Won’t Mandate COVID Vaccinations
Now that Pfizer’s COVID vaccine has been approved for children ages 12 to 15, more schools may be able to reopen fully in person this fall.
Yet the question remains whether schools will require students to get vaccinated.
“It’s always better to reinforce positive behavior rather than mandate,” said Bob Bollinger, a professor of infectious diseases at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and inventor of the emocha Health app. “But we have a precedent of requiring vaccinations to go to school.”
Yankees Dealing With COVID-19 Issues as Seven Members of Traveling Party Test Positive
The New York Yankees have had seven members of their traveling party test positive for COVID-19, according to manager Aaron Boone’s pregame comments on Wednesday. Three of the seven positive tests came from coaches and the other four are support staff members. All seven members had previously been vaccinated, and six of the cases are considered asymptomatic in nature, Boone noted. The Yankees had previously had two coaches and one support staff member test positive for COVID-19 ahead of their series opener against the Rays in St. Petersburg on Tuesday.
Here’s What a Moderna Executive Said About the Possibility of a COVID-19 Booster Shot
The Boston Globe via MSN reported:
Moderna’s chief executive on Wednesday discussed the biotech’s progress in developing a booster shot against COVID-19 variants, saying the company hopes to have authorization from the Food and Drug Administration on one of three booster strategies by the end of the summer or early fall.
Speaking from the company’s Norwood facility during a press briefing with Governor Charlie Baker, Stéphane Bancel said Moderna is working on three different options for a single-dose booster shot against variants of concern: the current vaccine, a new variant-specific vaccine, and a 50/50 mix of the two.
Merck, GSK and Pfizer Vaccines Get a Boost as CDC Lifts Two-Week Restriction on Pandemic Shots
As revenues for several Big Pharma players slumped to start the year, execs blamed part of the problem on the accelerating COVID-19 vaccine rollout. The CDC had recommended people don’t get another shot within two weeks of their COVID-19 vaccine, hitting sales for key products.
Now, the CDC is doing away with that suggestion entirely in an effort to boost routine immunizations among teens. The move could spell financial rewards for leading vaccine companies such as Merck, GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer.
During the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meeting on Wednesday, experts endorsed the COVID-19 shot from Pfizer and BioNTech in adolescents aged 12 to 15 and additionally tossed out the agency’s two-week restriction on administering other vaccines.
CDC’s Slow, Cautious Messaging on COVID-19 Seems Out of Step With the Moment, Public Health Experts Say
Nearly a year ago, amid concerns about how to prevent transmission of the virus causing COVID-19, scientists were beginning to conclude that rigorous disinfection of surfaces — say, fogging them or deep-cleaning with bleach — was overkill.
Academics were warning that the risk of so-called fomite transmission was wildly overblown. In the fall, research from Israel and Italy found that the virus couldn’t even be cultured from surfaces in hospital infectious disease units. By February of this year, the editorial board of Nature was openly urging the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to update its guidelines.
The CDC did so — last month.
More Frequent Side-Effects Reported Mixing Pfizer and Oxford COVID Jabs, Study Suggests
Administering one dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine followed by one of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine (or vice versa) induces a higher frequency of mild to moderate side-effects compared with standard two doses of either vaccine, initial data from a key UK trial suggests.
The Oxford-led Com-Cov study is exploring the safety and efficacy of mixed-dose schedules given that they are being considered in several countries – including the UK – to fortify vaccine rollout programmes that are dependent on unstable vaccine supplies.