Covid News Watch
Britain OKs Moderna Vaccine for Ages 12 and Up + More
Britain OKs Moderna Vaccine for Ages 12 and Up
Britain’s medical agency has approved the Moderna coronavirus vaccine for use in children ages 12 and over.
It is the second COVID-19 shot authorized in the U.K. for those The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency said Tuesday that it is up to the government’s vaccination advisers whether children in this age group should be given the Moderna shot.between ages 12 to 17, after the Pfizer vaccine.
More Protection: U.S. Likely to Authorize COVID Booster Shots
The Associated Press reported:
As early as this week, U.S. health authorities are expected to recommend an extra dose of the vaccine for all Americans eight months after they get their second shot, according to two people who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.
That means the biggest vaccination drive in U.S. history is about to get even more extensive.
The move is being driven by both the highly contagious variant and preliminary evidence that the vaccine’s protective effect starts dropping within months.
Researchers May Have Discovered Root Cause of Long COVID Syndrome
New evidence shows that patients with Long COVID syndrome continue to have higher measures of blood clotting, which may help explain their persistent symptoms, such as reduced physical fitness and fatigue.
The study, led by researchers from RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, is published in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis.
Previous work by the same group studied the dangerous clotting observed in patients with severe acute COVID-19. However, far less is known about Long COVID syndrome, where symptoms can last weeks to months after the initial infection has resolved and is estimated to affect millions of people worldwide.
Employers Want You to Get Vaccinated. This One Is Offering A $1,000 Bonus.
In mid-July, David Bronner of Dr. Bronner’s soaps looked at the vaccination rate among his workers. It had reached 60% — not bad, Bronner says, but not high enough given the rapid spread of the Delta variant.
Bronner is CEO of Dr. Bronner’s, the natural soap company known for its counterculture roots and the ramblings covering its labels in tiny print.
He was reluctant to impose a vaccine mandate on his 300 employees.
“We don’t want to create bad vibes and ill will,” he says.
Instead, he came up with an incentive he believes is too good to turn down: a $1,000 bonus for getting vaccinated.
‘Tainted’ Blood? COVID Vaccine Skeptics Request Transfusions Only From Unvaccinated Donors
The nation’s roiling tensions over vaccination against COVID-19 have spilled into an unexpected arena: lifesaving blood transfusions.
With nearly 60% of the eligible U.S. population fully vaccinated, most of the nation’s blood supply is now coming from donors who have been inoculated, experts said. That’s led some patients who are skeptical of the shots to demand transfusions only from the unvaccinated, an option blood centers insist is neither medically sound nor operationally feasible.
“We are definitely aware of patients who have refused blood products from vaccinated donors,” said Dr. Julie Katz Karp, who directs the blood bank and transfusion medicine program at Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals in Philadelphia.
Fully Vaccinated Southwest Airlines Flight Attendant, 36, Dies From COVID + More
Southwest Airlines Flight Attendant, 36, Dies From COVID-19
Maurice “Reggie” Shepperson, a native New Yorker whose brightly colored pants earned him the nickname Skittles during training in 2014, tested positive for the coronavirus in early July and had been fighting it in a hospital for a month, according to Marcia Hildreth, a Southwest flight attendant who called him her best friend.
He was on a ventilator and died early Tuesday, his mother, Dawn Shepperson, told USA TODAY. A nurse told her it was from COVID-19.
Shepperson, 36, was fully vaccinated, his mother and Hildreth said. He loved to fly and took every precaution, wearing a mask, constantly washing his hands, sanitizing surfaces and wiping everything down in hotel rooms, Hildreth said.
Singapore Teen Who Had Heart Attack After Vaccine Dose To Receive $225,000
The 16-year-old teenager who suffered a heart attack six days after receiving his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine will be eligible for a one-time financial assistance of $225,000.
This will be provided under Singapore’s Vaccine Injury Financial Assistance Programme (VIFAP), said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Monday (16 August) in a press statement.
Breakthrough COVID-19 Infections After Vaccination Can Lead to Long-Haul Symptoms, Israeli Study Shows
Nearly 3% of medical workers in a new Israeli study contracted COVID-19 even though they were vaccinated, and 19% of them still had symptoms six weeks later.
Although the vaccines were never expected to be perfect, the findings raise questions about their protection and suggest that even vaccinated people could experience long-term symptoms such as such as fatigue, brain fog and shortness of breath.
Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, said he finds it concerning – though not conclusive – that people had lingering symptoms weeks after getting sick.
Study Suggests Lambda Variant Could Evade COVID-19 Vaccine Protection
While the Delta variant ravages much of the U.S., driving up cases and hospitalizations mostly among the unvaccinated, another variant known as Lambda is devastating parts of South America, and scientists now worry it could neutralize or evade antibodies generated by vaccines.
In a not-yet-peer-reviewed study published on July 28 on bioRxiv by researchers in Japan, researchers said the Lambda variant currently driving cases in 26 countries — including Chile, Peru, Argentina and Ecuador — is proving to contain as much viral material as the delta variant, thanks to a similar mutation.
U.S. Mulls COVID Vaccine Boosters for Elderly as Early as Fall
The Associated Press reported:
Warning of tough days ahead with surging COVID-19 infections, the director of the National Institutes of Health said Sunday the U.S. could decide in the next couple weeks whether to offer coronavirus booster shots to Americans this fall.
Among the first to receive them could be health care workers, nursing home residents and other older Americans.
Dr. Francis Collins also pleaded anew for unvaccinated people to get their shots, calling them “sitting ducks” for a Delta variant that is ravaging the country and showing little sign of letting up.
Link Between Wildfires and COVID Cases Established
Thousands of COVID-19 cases and deaths in California, Oregon, and Washington between March and December 2020 may be attributable to increases in fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5) from wildfire smoke, according to a new study co-authored by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
The study is the first to quantify the degree to which increases in PM2.5 pollution during the wildfires contributed to excess COVID-19 cases and deaths in the U.S. It will be published online Friday in Science Advances.
One Family’s Tragedy From a Breakthrough COVID Case: ‘It Is Very Imperative That We Still Mask Up’
As the Delta variant sweeps across the country, research shows it is extremely rare for people to get COVID-19 after receiving a vaccine – so-called “breakthrough cases” – leading to hospitalization or death.
According to the CDC, 99.9 percent of Americans who have been vaccinated do not get seriously sick if they contract COVID; breakthrough cases make up less than 1% of all COVID cases. Of the more than 168 million Americans who have been fully vaccinated, 1,587 have died of COVID; that’s about 0.0009% of all vaccinated people.
While it is extremely rare for a vaccinated person to die of COVID, for the families of those who are part of that rare group, it’s devastating.
How Do Vaccinated People Spread Delta? What the Science Says
When early field data showed that vaccinating people cuts transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, researchers were cautiously optimistic. But they warned that many of those studies, although promising, took place before the fast-spreading Delta variant proliferated worldwide.
Now, reports from various countries seem to confirm what scientists feared after the variant tore through India with alarming speed in April and May: Delta is more likely than other variants to spread through vaccinated people.
Data from COVID-19 tests in the United States, the United Kingdom and Singapore are showing that vaccinated people who become infected with Delta SARS-CoV-2 can carry as much virus in their nose as do unvaccinated people. This means that despite the protection offered by vaccines, a proportion of vaccinated people can pass on Delta, possibly aiding its rise.
Europe Eyes Arthritis Drug for COVID-19 Cases
U.S. News & World Report reported:
The European Medicines Agency has started an accelerated review process to determine if a common arthritis drug might help people hospitalized with severe COVID-19, months after the drug was granted an emergency use authorization in the U.S.
In a statement Monday, the EU drug regulator said it was assessing an application to extend the use of tocilizumab for adults suffering from severe coronavirus in the hospital, who were already being treated with other steroids or required extra oxygen, including via a ventilator. Tocilizumab is an anti-inflammatory drug currently used to treat adults and children with severe arthritis.
As Interest in COVID-19 Vaccines Waned, Thousands of Doses Went to Waste in Missouri
The Kansas City Star reported:
Missouri vaccine providers have thrown away more than 81,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccinations, according to data from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
The reasons vary. Initially, vaccines tended to go to waste as a result of handling issues, broken syringes or vials that ended up with unused doses at the end of the day.
In recent weeks, some providers said that a drop-off in people looking to get vaccinated resulted in doses that expired or couldn’t be used after they thawed too long in anticipation of demand for shots that didn’t materialize.
Pfizer CEO to Public: Just Trust Us on COVID Booster + More
Pfizer CEO to Public: Just Trust Us on the COVID Booster
“We are confident in this vaccine and the third dose, but you have to remember the vaccine efficacy study is still going on, so we need all the evidence to back up that,” Jerica Pitts, Pfizer’s director of global media relations, said Monday.
The financial stakes are enormous: Pfizer announced in July that it expects $33.5 billion in COVID-19 vaccine revenue this year.
Meanwhile, Pfizer recently said that if a third dose couldn’t combat the Delta or other variants, the drugmaker is poised to come up with a “tailor-made” vaccine within 100 days.
All of this has sown a sense of confusion about what exactly will work, and when.
Pfzer, Moderna COVID Vaccines Face New Safety Probe in Europe Over Possible Link to Skin Condition, 2 Kidney Disorder
Compared to the problems encountered by makers of adenovirus COVID-19 vaccines, it’s been a relative cakewalk for the overwhelmingly successful mRNA vaccines produced by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.
But on Wednesday, Europe’s drug regulator revealed that it is investigating a possible link between mRNA vaccines and new conditions reported by a few recipients of the shots.
The European Medicines Agency is trying to determine if the mRNA shots can trigger an allergic skin reaction called erythema multiforme or two kidney disorders. It has requested additional data from Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna.
Pfizer, Moderna Seen Reaping Billions From COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Market
Drugmakers Pfizer Inc, BioNTech and Moderna Inc are expected to reap billions of dollars from COVID-19 booster shots in a market that could rival the $6 billion in annual sales for flu vaccines for years to come, analysts and healthcare investors say.
For several months, the companies have said they expect that fully inoculated people will need an extra dose of their vaccines to maintain protection over time and to fend off new coronavirus variants.
Now a growing list of governments, including Chile, Germany and Israel, have decided to offer booster doses to older citizens or people with weak immune systems in the face of the fast-spreading Delta variant.
Pfzer, Moderna COVID Vaccines Face New Safety Probe in Europe Over Possible Link to Skin Condition, 2 Kidney Disorders
Compared to the problems encountered by makers of adenovirus COVID-19 vaccines, it’s been a relative cakewalk for the overwhelmingly successful mRNA vaccines produced by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.
But on Wednesday, Europe’s drug regulator revealed that it is investigating a possible link between mRNA vaccines and new conditions reported by a few recipients of the shots.
The European Medicines Agency is trying to determine if the mRNA shots can trigger an allergic skin reaction called erythema multiforme or two kidney disorders. It has requested additional data from Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna.
Mayo Clinic: COVID Breakthrough Risk May Be Much Lower With Moderna Than
The risk of suffering a breakthrough COVID-19 infection with the Delta variant after being fully vaccinated with the Moderna vaccine may be much lower than the risk for those who received the Pfizer vaccine, according to a new Mayo Clinic study that is awaiting a full review.
The study found that in July in Florida, where COVID cases are at an all-time high and the Delta variant is prevalent, the risk of a breakthrough case was 60% lower for Moderna recipients as compared to Pfizer recipients.
Similarly, in Minnesota last month, the authors found that the Moderna vaccine (also known as mRNA-1273) was 76% effective at preventing infection, but the Pfizer vaccine (known as BNT162b2) was 42% effective.
Deadly Lambda Variant Could Be Neutralizing Vaccines, New Study Says
In a July 28 report appearing on bioRxiv, where the study awaits peer review prior to getting published, researchers in Japan are sounding the alarm on the C.37 variant, dubbed Lambda. And it’s proven just as virulent as Delta thanks to a similar mutation making them even more contagious.
The strain has been contained in 26 countries, including substantial outbreaks in Chile, Peru, Argentina and Ecuador.
“Notably, the vaccination rate in Chile is relatively high; the percentage of the people who received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine was [about] 60%,” the authors write.
Moderna Is Ready to Spend Billions in COVID-19 Cash, and the Famed Biotech Has Sights Set on Gene Editing
Moderna has found a direction to volley their mountain of COVID-19 vaccine cash: gene editing.
Executives revealed during a second-quarter earnings call Thursday that Moderna is ready to “expand our horizons” with external technologies or products. Read: They’re ready to start buying.
Plenty of speculation has built up around Moderna’s dealmaking strategy as the biotech pulled in billions with its COVID-19 vaccine. The shot, which the company now aims to market as Spikevax, is expected to bring in about $20 billion this year based on existing orders.
Moderna is interested in new opportunities in nucleic acid technologies, gene therapy, gene editing and mRNA, CEO Stéphane Bancel said during the conference call. The company — which literally trades under the symbol MRNA — is also interested in new delivery technologies that could expand its existing mRNA work.
Why Herd Immunity From COVID Is ‘Mythical’ With Delta Variant + More
Here’s Why Herd Immunity From COVID Is ‘Mythical’ With the Delta Variant
Achieving herd immunity with COVID vaccines when the highly infectious Delta variant is spreading is “not a possibility,” a leading epidemiologist said.
Experts agree on several reasons why such a goal — where overall immunity in a population is reached and the spread of the virus is stopped — is not likely.
Sir Andrew Pollard, head of the Oxford Vaccine Group, told British lawmakers Tuesday that as Covid vaccines did not stop the spread of the virus entirely — with vaccinated people still able to be infected and transmit the virus — the idea of achieving herd immunity was “mythical.”
Heart Inflammation More Common After COVID Vaccines Than CDC Claims, New Research Shows
U.S. public health officials claim cases of myocarditis and pericarditis following COVID vaccination are rare — but new research published online in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) shows they may happen more often than reported.
Post-vaccine myocarditis and pericarditis also appear to represent two “distinct syndromes,” Dr. George Diaz, with the Providence Regional Medical Center Everett, told Medscape Cardiology.
Diaz and colleagues reviewed 2,000,287 electronic medical records (EMR) of people who received at least one COVID vaccination.
The records, obtained from 40 hospitals in Washington, Oregon, Montana and California, showed 20 people had vaccine-related myocarditis (1.0 per 100,000) and 37 had pericarditis (1.8 per 100,000).
We’ve Never Seen Vaccine Injuries on This Scale — Why Are Regulatory Agencies Hiding COVID Vaccine Safety Data?
A few months before the first COVID-19 vaccines received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) in late 2020, a global vaccine safety expert cautioned the rushed circumstances made it essential to “get [safety monitoring] right” by “intensively” and “robustly” scrutinizing adverse events following the experimental rollout.
As this expert stated, “Deploying any new vaccine based on data from expedited clinical trials into a population without a functioning safety monitoring system in place is reckless and irresponsible given the tools that are available.”
Moreover, she added, any investments needed to beef up safety monitoring would be “inexpensive in comparison” to the massive funding allocated to COVID-19 vaccine development and scale-up.
Rising Kids’ Hospital Admissions Stir Alarm Ahead of School Year
Growing numbers of pediatric hospital admissions are stirring alarm as respiratory illnesses coincide and younger children remain ineligible to receive COVID-19 vaccines amid the start of the school year.
Hospital admissions among kids have seen an approximate four-fold increase over the last month, federal data suggests.
Third COVID Vaccine Booster Shot For Immunocompromised People Expected to Be Approved by FDA
The FDA is expected to authorize a booster shot Thursday for immunocompromised people for whom two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine might not be enough protection, according to CBS News.
“It is imminent that we will be giving it to immune compromised,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the president’s chief medical adviser, told CBS This Morning.
The third dose would be for people who received the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines.
This Week’ With Mary + Polly: ‘Healthy Babies Don’t Just Die’ + More
This week, Mary Holland, Children’s Health Defense (CHD) president, and Polly Tommey, co-producer of “Vaxxed,” cover the latest COVID headlines, including a physician’s push for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to speed up full approval of COVID vaccines, and the FDA’s plan to expedite its timetable to approve Pfizer’s COVID vaccine.
Also on tap this week is the Pentagon’s decision to require all military troops to get vaccinated for COVID by Sept. 15 or sooner, and United Airlines’ move to mandate COVID shots for all its American employees by October.
Wuhan Lab Worker Bat Infection a Probable COVID Origin Theory — WHO Official
COVID potentially started when a Wuhan laboratory researcher got infected by a bat, according to World Health Organization (WHO) official Peter Embarek.
Embarek, who led the WHO’s COVID origins investigation mission to China earlier this year, has now told Danish news broadcaster TV 2 that the bat infection scenario is a probable theory.
Embarek said: “An employee who was infected in the field by taking samples falls under one of the probable hypotheses.”
As U.S. Battles Delta Variant, Tens of Thousands of Vaccine Doses Are Set To Expire
As the Delta variant continues to drive the nation’s latest coronavirus surge, tens of thousands of vaccines are set to expire in the coming weeks — with several states already reporting thousands of “wasted” doses.
While the full extent of COVID-19 vaccine waste in the U.S. remains unknown due to data reporting disparities between the states, research by ABC News reveals that several states have thousands of vaccines expiring as soon as next week, and tens of thousands more expiring by the end of August.
‘Act Now’ on Global Vaccines To Stop More Dangerous Variants, Experts Warn Biden
The Washington Post via The Seattle Times reported:
More than 175 public health experts, scientists and activists on Tuesday demanded that President Joe Biden take urgent steps to confront the global spread of the coronavirus, warning that without immediate action to inoculate the rest of the world, newer variants are likely to emerge — including ones that may evade vaccines’ protection.
“We urge you to act now,” the experts wrote in a joint letter to senior White House officials Tuesday and shared with The Washington Post. “Announcing within the next 30 days an ambitious global vaccine manufacturing program is the only way to control this pandemic, protect the precious gains made to date, and build vaccine infrastructure for the future.”
Teen Boys Are 14 Times More Likely to Experience Rare Heart Inflammation After Receiving the COVID-19 Vaccine Than Girls
Teenage boys are much more likely to experience a rare form of heart inflammation after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine compared to girls, a new study finds.
Doctors at Boston Children’s Hospital studied a small group of patients under age 19 who had myocarditis after receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
Among 15 patients in the study, 14 were boys.
