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Covid News Watch
12-Year-Old Suffers Life-Threatening Pericarditis After COVID Jab, Mother Calls for Better Vaccine Risk Advisory + More
Mother Calls for Better Risk Advisory Around mRNA COVID Vaccines for Kids
An Australian mother is calling for better advice for parents and for long-term health studies on mRNA COVID-19 vaccines after her 12-year-old son was hospitalized with life-threatening pericarditis within hours of getting the jab.
Nat’s eldest son, whose name The Epoch Times is not disclosing to protect his privacy, was a “happy, healthy” 12-year-old prior to being injected with Moderna’s pediatric COVID-19 vaccine, commonly known as Spikevax. But now, he has chosen to isolate himself from his friends and has been on strict rest to keep his heart rate down.
Nat said that she chose to vaccinate her son despite being hesitant about the immunization due to the lack of research on the long-term health risks associated with the mRNA vaccines, believing she was doing the right thing.
But within seven hours of vaccinating her eldest son, he was unable to sit or lie down without severe chest pain and complained of breathing difficulties. Nat rushed him to the hospital where the doctors confirmed the boy had an adverse reaction to the vaccine.
Moderna Says Its Low-Dose COVID Shots Work for Kids Under 6
Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine works in babies, toddlers and preschoolers, the company announced Wednesday — a development that could pave the way for the littlest kids to be vaccinated by summer if regulators agree.
Moderna said in the coming weeks it would ask regulators in the U.S. and Europe to authorize two small-dose shots for youngsters under 6. The company also is seeking to have larger doses cleared for older children and teens in the U.S.
Moderna says early study results show tots develop high levels of virus-fighting antibodies from shots containing a quarter of the dose given to adults.
But that key antibody finding isn’t the whole story. COVID-19 vaccines aren’t as effective against the super-contagious Omicron mutant — in people of any age — and Moderna’s study found the same trend.
WHO: COVID Cases Rise for 2nd Straight Week, Deaths Fall
The number of new coronavirus cases globally increased by 7% in the last week, driven by rising infections in the Western Pacific, even as reported deaths from COVID-19 fell, the World Health Organization said.
There were more than 12 million new weekly cases and just under 33,000 deaths, a 23% decline in mortality, according to the U.N. health agency’s report on the pandemic issued late Tuesday.
In recent weeks, numerous countries including Britain, France, Italy and Germany have relaxed many of their public health measures against COVID-19, even as numbers have continued inching upward. More than 85% of virus sequences shared with one of the world’s largest platforms are of the BA.2 subvariant of Omicron, the WHO said.
BA.2 Variant Takes Hold in U.S. as New York Cases Start to Climb
More than a third of last week’s U.S. COVID-19 cases were caused by the Omicron BA.2 subvariant, a notable increase from a week earlier when the strain was estimated to account for just under one in four cases, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The fast-growing lineage of the coronavirus is most common in New England and in the New York region, where it accounted for more than half of all new infections, according to agency projections.
While COVID cases have continued to drop nationally, New York City saw infections rise about 33% to 924 for the week ending March 19, according to a separate tally of cases from the agency — well below levels during the winter Omicron surge. BA.2 isn’t believed to be more dangerous than other strains, though there are indications that it is more infectious.
Americans Want to Return to Normal. But Also They Don’t.
Recent opinion surveys give mixed messages about how Americans perceive the current state of the pandemic, and what they think we should do about it. In a February Washington Post/ABC News poll, for example, 58 percent of Americans said that controlling the spread of the coronavirus is more important than loosening restrictions on normal activities. In a Yahoo News/YouGov poll conducted the same week, 51 percent said we need to learn to live with COVID-19 and get back to normal.
These are two of several examples that show Americans have seemingly conflicting views about the pandemic. A natural question to ask is why — is it the polls or the American people who are confused? And what do Americans really think?
White House Officials Say U.S. Has Exhausted Funds to Buy Potential Fourth Vaccine Dose for All Americans
The Biden administration lacks the funds to purchase a potential fourth coronavirus vaccine dose for everyone, even as other countries place their own orders and potentially move ahead of the United States in line, administration officials said Monday.
Federal officials have secured enough doses to cover a fourth shot for Americans age 65 and older as well as the initial regimen for children under 5, should regulators determine those shots are necessary, said three officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to detail funding decisions.
Federal regulators and health officials have not yet determined whether a fourth shot is needed, and some experts question whether the extra dose will be necessary to boost protection for the entire population.
How Protected Are We Against COVID? Scientists Search for a Test to Measure Immunity
Millions of Americans — not just those with weakened immune systems — are wondering about their protection after a winter of booster shots and Omicron infections. As mask mandates are lifted and restrictions removed in a step toward normalcy, a test to measure immunity would be a powerful tool to measure individual risk.
Dr. Dorry Segev, professor of surgery at New York University Langone Health, advocates using tests that measure antibodies as a way to check immune protection in people who are immunocompromised.
About 95% of Americans 16 and older have antibodies against COVID-19 as of December, the most recent date that data is available, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that use information from blood donors.
But it’s one thing to measure antibody levels. It’s another to measure how much they protect you against COVID-19.
Hillary Clinton Tests Positive for COVID, Pushes Vaccines
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced late Tuesday afternoon that she had tested positive for COVID-19. She noted that her symptoms were mild, a fact that she attributed to the vaccine, and she encouraged everyone else to make sure that they got the vaccine and available booster shots as well. She then asked for some movie recommendations to keep her entertained while she rode out the illness.
Clinton is just the most recent in a string of high-profile Democrats who have tested positive for the virus.
Novavax Says Its COVID Vaccine Gets India Authorization for Teens
Novavax Inc (NVAX.O) said on Tuesday its COVID-19 vaccine has got emergency-use authorization from the Drugs Controller General of India for children aged 12 to 17 years.
The authorization is a global first for the age group for the vaccine, which is manufactured and marketed in India by the Serum Institute of India under the brand name Covovax.
Novavax last month said its vaccine was 80% effective against COVID-19 in a late-stage trial testing the shot in 2,247 teens aged 12 to 17 years.
COVID Vaccine Maker Moderna Flags Japan Ambition With Sumo Sponsorship
Moderna Inc. (MRNA.O) is sponsoring sumo flags in its first such promotion in Japan, as the COVID-19 vaccine maker seeks to wrestle market share from compatriot Pfizer Inc. (PFE.N).
The U.S. firm’s introduction to the broader Japanese public was set back after some of its doses last year were found to be contaminated, although it has clawed back market share since with the help of a government-endorsed programme.
Now, as the government plans a fourth-dose vaccination program, Moderna is looking to sumo to boost its public appeal as it seeks to expand beyond COVID-19 shots.
Mexico Sticking to Plan to Package Russian COVID Vaccine
Mexico is sticking to its plan to package domestically the Russian COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V because health matters are separate from political conflicts, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Tuesday.
“We’re going to continue with our plan, commitments made are kept,” said the president, who has ruled out imposing economic sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. Russia calls the incursion a special military operation.
‘We Have Essentially Turned a Blind Eye to Our Own Children for Decades’ + More
‘We Have Essentially Turned a Blind Eye to Our Own Children for Decades’
We are deep in the grip of a children’s mental health crisis. That’s one belief that everyone in our deeply divided country seems to share. The headlines have been terrible: “8-Year-Olds in Despair.” “Their Tank is Empty.” “No Way to Grow Up.” Parents are frustrated, terrified — and increasingly angry.
Those with the loudest voices and the biggest platforms all appear to agree: The children’s mental health crisis is a consequence of COVID-era political decisions — the child-sacrificing outcome of too-rigid social distancing, too-lengthy school closures and too much mask-wearing. “The pandemic’s disruptions have led to lost learning, social isolation and widespread mental health problems for children,” the New York Times’s David Leonhardt summed up back in January in a much-quoted newsletter. “Many American children are in crisis — as a result of pandemic restrictions rather than the virus itself.”
There is a huge body of research that consistently and unambiguously shows that children’s mental health in the United States was already really bad before the pandemic.
Moderna Expands COVID Vaccines to Treat Related Illnesses
Moderna said Tuesday that it would expand its COVID-19 vaccine to treat related illnesses. The biotech company announced the extension of its “mRNA pipeline” with two development programs that build on the company’s experience with the “Spikevax” vaccine.
The programs include a combination respiratory vaccine candidate and a new initiative against all four of the endemic human coronaviruses (HCoV). The respiratory combination vaccine program will be launched to target the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the influenza virus and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
The new combination respiratory vaccine candidate (mRNA-1230) is envisioned as an annual booster targeting the diseases. In addition, Moderna explained the need for a program to develop a vaccine candidate (mRNA-1287) against endemic human coronaviruses.
Fewer Than Half of Adults Boosted Against COVID Ahead of FDA Vaccine Talk
FDA officials are due to meet next month to discuss the future of the COVID-19 booster dose rollout just as U.S. uptake has waned.
The Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee will meet on April 6 to “discuss considerations for use of COVID-19 vaccine booster doses and the process for COVID-19 vaccine strain selection to address current and emerging variants,” according to the meeting description on the FDA‘s advisory committee calendar.
Less than half of the adult U.S. population have received a booster vaccine to help protect them against COVID-19. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 48 percent of the population aged 18 or above have had a booster shot. The amount of people getting vaccinated in the U.S. has slowed to a crawl after an initial surge through the first half of 2021 that saw more than half the country get fully vaccinated.
Man a ‘Prisoner’ With 7-Month COVID Infection Treated With Vaccine in First
Researchers have used a COVID vaccine to treat a patient suffering from the virus, rather than for just preventing infection, for the first time.
The team of U.K.-based clinicians from the Immunodeficiency Centre for Wales and scientists from Cardiff University used two doses of the Pfizer vaccine to treat Ian Lester, a 37-year-old dispensing optician from Pontypridd, Wales, to clear the virus from his body.
Lester, who suffers from a rare genetic immunodeficiency-causing condition called Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome, tested positive for COVID for a period seven-and-a-half months after he caught the virus.
The case is detailed in a case study published in the Journal of Clinical Immunology with researchers saying that the vaccine successfully kick-started Lester’s immune system to clear the virus. They hope that the approach can now be used to treat other COVID sufferers with compromised immune systems.
Italian Study Shows Ventilation Can Cut School COVID Cases by 82%
An Italian study published on Tuesday suggests that efficient ventilation systems can reduce the transmission of COVID-19 in schools by more than 80%.
An experiment overseen by the Hume foundation think-tank compared coronavirus contagion in 10,441 classrooms in Italy’s central Marche region.
COVID infections were steeply lower in the 316 classrooms that had mechanical ventilation systems, with the reduction in cases more marked according to the strength of the systems.
Could the COVID Vaccine Become a Yearly Shot? Some Experts Think So.
Some scientists think we might be rolling up our sleeves each year not just for flu shots but for COVID-19 jabs too.
Public health experts aren’t quite clear on what the future holds for COVID-19 vaccines — but some say it’s looking more and more like these shots could be needed on a yearly basis, similar to how flu shots are recommended each fall.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee is scheduled to meet April 6 to discuss the need for COVID-19 vaccine booster doses in the future, including how often they might be needed — if at all.
The FDA said Monday that representatives from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health also will participate in the meeting.
3 Reasons You Probably Don’t Need a 4th COVID Shot Any Time Soon, According to Experts
Both Pfizer and Moderna are asking the U.S. government to give the go-ahead for fourth doses of their COVID-19 vaccines.
However, independent infectious disease experts, including some who advise the FDA on vaccines, told Insider that the move to give people in the U.S. fourth shots might not be the most prudent idea, for at least three key reasons.
Here’s a quick look at the latest research, and independent expert opinions on whether fourth doses are right for you.
CDC Reports Fewer COVID Pediatric Deaths After Data Correction
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 966,575 deaths from COVID-19 on Friday after it corrected the data earlier in the week, which reduced the death tallies in all age groups, including children.
The health agency, in a statement to Reuters, said it made adjustments to its COVID Data Tracker’s mortality data on March 14 because its algorithm was accidentally counting deaths that were not COVID-19-related.
The adjustment resulted in the removal of 72,277 deaths previously reported across 26 states, including 416 pediatric deaths, CDC said. The reduction cut the CDC’s estimate of deaths in children by 24% to 1,341 as of March 18.
Omicron Subvariant BA.2: Health Officials Call It ‘Variant of Concern’
The subvariant Omicron BA.2 has health officials’ attention, just as COVID restrictions have eased up. It has been classified as a “variant of concern,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). This variant is also called “stealth” Omicron because its genetic mutations could make it difficult to distinguish from the Delta variant using PCR tests as compared to the original version of Omicron, according to the American Medical Association.
WHO said in a recent statement “initial data suggest that BA.2 appears inherently more transmissible than BA.1, which currently remains the most common Omicron sublineage reported.”
Dr. Fred Davis, associate chair of emergency medicine at Northwell Health on Long Island, New York, who is an emergency physician who treated patients throughout the pandemic, said, “Symptoms are consistent with the previous Omicron variant, which have been milder symptoms than the original COVID. They consist of fever, headaches and muscle aches that typically last a few days.”
Alcohol-Related Deaths Spiked During the Pandemic, a Study Shows
The New York Times via Yahoo!News reported:
A new study reports that the number of Americans who died of alcohol-related causes increased precipitously during the first year of the pandemic, as routines were disrupted, support networks frayed and treatment was delayed.
The startling report comes amid a growing realization that COVID-19’s toll extends beyond the number of lives claimed directly by the disease to the excess deaths caused by illnesses left untreated and a surge in drug overdoses, as well as to social costs such as educational setbacks and the loss of parents and caregivers.
Numerous reports have suggested that Americans drank more to cope with the stress of the pandemic. Binge drinking increased, as did emergency room visits for alcohol withdrawal. But the new report found that the number of alcohol-related deaths, including from liver disease and accidents, soared, rising to 99,017 in 2020 from 78,927 in 2019 — an increase of 25% in the number of deaths in one year.
A New COVID Wave May Be Coming. Most Americans Shouldn’t Worry.
In the coming weeks, the United States could see another wave of COVID-19 infections driven by a subvariant of the Omicron strain, known as BA.2. While the federal government needs to do much more to prepare for this potential surge, most Americans should not be worried.
There are three factors that determine the level of concern about new variants. First, is it more contagious? Here, BA.2 raises red flags. Analyses from Britain suggest its growth rate is 80 percent faster than the original Omicron variant, meaning it will likely displace existing strains and become dominant.
Two other factors provide reassurance despite BA.2’s transmissibility. One is that it does not cause more severe disease as compared to the original Omicron strain, known as BA.1, which is a milder variant than some previous strains such as Delta. The other is that BA.2 is not so substantially different from BA.1 that it escapes immunity from vaccines or prior infection.
Pfizer to Supply 4 Million COVID Antiviral Treatments to Poorer Nations Through UNICEF
Pfizer will supply up to 4 million courses of its oral COVID-19 treatment to dozens of poorer nations under an agreement with the United Nations Children’s Fund, the company announced Tuesday.
Pfizer expects to start supplying the antiviral pills, Paxlovid, to UNICEF beginning next month and will continue to do so through the end of the year, according to the company. Low-income nations will receive the pills at a not-for-profit price, while upper-middle-income nations will pay more under a tiered pricing system, according to Pfizer.
The company would not disclose the financial terms of the agreement when asked by CNBC.
Pfizer CEO Pushes Yearly COVID Shots. Not So Fast, Experts Say. + More
Pfizer CEO Pushes Yearly Shots for COVID. Not So Fast, Experts Say.
When Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said March 13 that all Americans would need a second booster shot, it struck many COVID experts as a self-serving remark without scientific merit. It also set off spasms of doubt over the country’s objectives in its fight against the coronavirus.
The decision on how often and widely to vaccinate against COVID-19 is part science, part policy, and part politics. Ultimately it depends on the goals of vaccination at a time when it’s becoming clear that neither vaccines nor other measures can entirely stop the viral spread.
The vaccines’ protection against COVID infection generally wanes within several months in all age groups. But experts disagree on whether frequent boosters, especially for younger people, can do anything about that. Two or three vaccinations protect most people from serious disease — but do relatively little to prevent infection, which is generally mild or asymptomatic, after three or four months.
Dr. Fauci Hints He May Retire Soon as Rand Paul Works to Get Him Fired
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S.’s top infectious disease expert, says he “can’t stay at this job forever,” alluding to his retirement as he increasingly becomes the target of Republican lawmakers seeking to reduce his authority.
Fauci made the remarks Friday on ABC‘s Start Here podcast, signaling he was considering stepping down from the once relatively obscure position after becoming a household name during the COVID-19 pandemic. The doctor’s newfound notoriety came with conservative detractors who argue that pandemic restrictions advocated by Fauci have gone too far. Recently, they’ve intensified their attacks on Fauci.
Earlier this week Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky introduced legislation that would divide Fauci’s position, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), into three separate jobs. Paul’s press release said his amendment would “ensure that ineffective, unscientific lockdowns and mandates are never foisted on the American people ever again.”
Judge Bars DC From Vaccinating Children Without Parental Consent
A federal judge barred the District of Columbia from enforcing a law that allowed minors to be vaccinated without their parents’ knowledge after parents said the legislation violates religious liberty.
In 2020, D.C. passed the Minor Consent to Vaccinations Amendments Act (MCA), which allows children as young as 11 to get vaccines without their parents’ knowledge if a doctor determines that they are capable of informed consent.
In July, two lawsuits took aim at the law. On Friday, a judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said he would grant preliminary injunctions in both cases blocking the law as he dismissed the city’s arguments defending it.
Where the U.S. Stands on COVID Vaccines for Children Under 5
A month after the US Food and Drug Administration delayed key steps toward authorizing COVID-19 vaccines for children under 5, many parents are more eager for the shots than ever. Dr. Daniel Leonard, a pediatric hospitalist who is working on the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine trial for these kids, said people are driving in from several states away to take part.
Experts say the wait for a vaccine may not be much longer.
Moderna has said that it expects to report trial data in children 2 to 5 years of age in March, and it may seek sign off from the FDA “if the data is supportive and subject to regulatory consultation.” Moderna‘s COVID-19 vaccine is currently authorized in the U.S. only for adults.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said Sunday that he expects to have a vaccine for children 6 months to 4 years old “potentially in May, if it works.”
FDA Advisory Panel to Discuss Additional COVID Booster Shots in April
A Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel will meet April 6 to discuss COVID-19 vaccine booster doses, the agency announced Monday.
The meeting comes amid a renewed debate about who might need booster shots, and the broader goals of the U.S. vaccination campaign. There’s clear evidence that the vaccines’ protection against infection wanes after several months across all age groups. Still, many health experts have questioned the effectiveness of repeat booster shots in younger healthy people.
FDA said the advisory panel will not be discussing any specific applications and no vote is planned. The meeting is aimed at addressing the possibility of variant-specific vaccines, as well as the timing and populations for COVID-19 vaccine booster doses in the coming months.
Not Everyone Needs a Second COVID Booster — Fourth Doses Should Target Those at Risk for Severe Breakthrough Infections
Last week, both Pfizer and Moderna applied for emergency use authorization (EUA) of additional booster doses — in essence, fourth doses — of their COVID-19 vaccines. The companies cite waning protection and believe fourth doses are needed.
While Pfizer has asked for an EUA focused on those above 65 years old, Moderna is seeking one applicable to all adults. It is critical, as we debate COVID-19 vaccine clinical guidance, to be explicit about the goals we are trying to achieve.
Shifting the spectrum of illness to the mild side, to the outpatient side, has become an achievable goal with the medical countermeasures — antivirals, monoclonal antibodies and vaccines — we now have on hand.
With this endpoint in mind, it becomes clear that COVID-19 vaccine booster doses should be targeted to protect those at risk for severe breakthrough infections.
The COVID Vaccine Market Is Getting Crowded — as Demand Begins to Wane
With two new players — Novavax and a Sanofi-GSK partnership — making or about to make their way into the already crowded global COVID vaccine market, the prospects for those still struggling to prove their vaccines are protective are becoming ever slimmer.
It doesn’t help that demand is contracting.
“We think there’s likely going to be long-term ongoing demand for COVID vaccines, for boosters at least,” said Matt Linley, analytics director for Airfinity, a London-based health analytics company that has been closely tracking COVID vaccine development, regulation, sales and usage. “But it will be a lot smaller than it is. We believe it’s kind of peaked.”
Fauci Says U.S. Unlikely to See Surge From New COVID Variant
Chief White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci said on Sunday that he does not think the U.S. will see another surge in COVID-19 cases due to the spread of a new Omicron variant, even though cases are rising in Europe and Asia due to the strain.
Fauci said while appearing on ABC’s “This Week” that the new Omicron strain is about 50 to 60 percent more transmissible than the first Omicron strain, adding that it could take over as the dominant strain in the U.S.
However, he noted that the strain does not appear to cause more severe illness or evade immune responses from vaccination or prior infection.
Workplaces Are in Denial Over How Much Americans Have Changed
Nearly six months before COVID-19, the Yale historian Frank Snowden wrote a book about epidemics and pandemics. What he found was that these periods of suffering reshape not just how societies function, but also how humans want to spend their limited time on Earth.
Two years and a pandemic later, Snowden said COVID-19 has challenged another set of beliefs: how America is supposed to work.
It’s clear that company leaders still want the old version of the all-American work ethic that was dependent on hustle culture and productivity. But I can’t help but wonder whether that’s incompatible with who we’ve become — and, more importantly, the realities of the world in which we live.
Many of us have drastically changed. It’s not just our attitudes toward work and life, but also that our bodies are reacting differently to trauma, stress and even love.
I’m a COVID Nurse. I’m Burned out, My Colleagues Are Coming in Sick, and Some Days, I Just Want to Quit.
I’m a second-year nurse at a Phoenix-area hospital, and I’m finishing my first year in the COVID-19 unit. Despite CDC guidelines advising COVID-positive individuals to quarantine for five days after a positive test, I’m seeing other nurses going back to work within just a few days. That means there are COVID-positive nurses taking care of COVID-positive patients.
My sick colleagues are coming back to work at different times depending on their situation. I was able to get time off specifically for COVID-19 when I was sick, but others weren’t given that option. Then, if they can’t use their paid time off or don’t know about the COVID-19 time off policy — like if one person is having a baby and they don’t want to use up their PTO — they’ll come back before day five.
AstraZeneca COVID Drug Neutralizes Omicron Sub-Variants in Lab Study
AstraZeneca (AZN.L) said on Monday its antibody-based cocktail to prevent and treat COVID-19 retained neutralizing activity against Omicron coronavirus variants, including the highly contagious BA.2 sub-variant, in an independent lab study.
This is the first data looking at the impact of AstraZeneca’s Evusheld treatment on “cousins” of the Omicron variant following a recent global spike in cases. The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker said in December that another lab study found that Evusheld retained neutralizing activity against Omicron.
Data from the latest study by Washington University in the United States showed the therapy reduced the amount of virus detected in samples — viral load — of all tested Omicron sub-variants in mice lungs, AstraZeneca said. The study has yet to be peer reviewed.
Doctors Finding Hurdles to Using Pills to Treat COVID
High-risk COVID-19 patients now have new treatments they can take at home to stay out of the hospital — if doctors get the pills to them fast enough. Health systems around the country are rushing out same-day prescription deliveries. Some clinics have started testing and treating patients in one visit, an initiative that President Joe Biden’s administration recently touted.
The goal is to get patients started on either Pfizer’s Paxlovid tablets or Merck’s molnupiravir capsules within five days of symptoms appearing. That can prevent people with big health risks from growing sicker and filling up hospitals if another surge develops.
But the tight deadline has highlighted several challenges. Some patients are delaying testing, thinking they just had a cold. Others have been unwilling or unable to try the new drugs.
In Five Days, 86,000 Children Given First Dose of Corbevax Jab in Maharashtra
Around 86,000 children from the 12 to 14 age group have received the first dose of the Corbevax vaccine so far in the state, CoWIN data showed on Sunday.
The Corbevax drive started five days ago, on Wednesday, March 16.
Suryakant Devkar, the chief immunisation officer of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), said Corbevax is currently being offered at some 30 vaccination sites in Pune city.
Corbevax is a two-dose vaccine schedule given 28 days apart.
Moderna, Pfizer Push for 4th Doses Despite Only Minor Benefits in Study + More
Moderna, Pfizer Push for 4th Doses Despite Only Minor Benefits in Study
Both Pfizer and Moderna are asking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to allow adults to receive a second COVID-19 booster, as a study downplaying its effectiveness is released.
On Thursday, Moderna announced it has submitted a request to the FDA to allow for an amendment to the emergency use authorization, so those aged 18 and over can receive a fourth shot.
The move follows on from Pfizer and BioNTech, who sought a similar emergency authorization for a second booster shot of their vaccine for adults aged 65 and older.
The requests arrive as a study conducted at the Sheba Medical Centre in Tel Aviv, Israel, found that Israeli healthcare workers who received a fourth shot at the height of the spread of the Omicron variant only received marginally more protection than those who received just three.
Fauci Says Officials Need More Than $22.5 Billion for COVID Response
President Biden’s chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci said in an interview aired on Thursday that officials need more than the $22.5 billion that the White House originally requested from Congress for the COVID-19 response.
“We will not be able to do the kind of research to address the inevitable next variant if we don’t get the funding that we’re talking about,” Fauci said.
This comes after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other Democratic leaders huddled with Fauci and other administration health officials on Thursday.
Speaking to reporters shortly afterward, Pelosi said that the White House should be seeking $45 billion in new COVID-19 aid instead of the $22.5 billion it had asked for, saying the previous ask would have been used up in only a few months.
‘This Is Just the Start’: Research Into COVID Opens Doors to Understanding Other Diseases and Conditions
The billions of dollars invested in COVID vaccines and COVID-19 research so far are expected to yield medical and scientific dividends for decades, helping doctors battle influenza, cancer, cystic fibrosis, and far more diseases.
Building on the success of mRNA vaccines for COVID, scientists hope to create mRNA-based vaccines against a host of pathogens, including influenza, Zika, rabies, HIV, and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, which hospitalizes 3 million children under age 5 each year worldwide.
Pfizer and Moderna worked on mRNA vaccines for cancer long before they developed COVID shots. Researchers are now running dozens of clinical trials of therapeutic mRNA vaccines for pancreatic cancer, colorectal cancer, and melanoma, which frequently responds well to immunotherapy.
COVID Cases Predicted to Rise in Coming Weeks Because of New BA.2 Variant
Experts fear that COVID-19 cases in the United States will rise in the next few weeks as the new BA.2 variant continues to spread.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows BA.2, which is a subvariant of Omicron, has been tripling in prevalence every two weeks.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said given the growing prevalence of BA.2, he expects cases will increase within the next month. Fauci added that he believes BA.2 will become the dominant variant in the country, surpassing the original Omicron variant.
Why Some Americans Haven’t Gotten COVID yet and Why It’s Not Inevitable They Ever Will: Experts
Public health experts said it’s not inevitable Americans who have not gotten COVID yet eventually will, and that there are several reasons people have been able to avoid infection so far, including certain behaviors such as being serious about masking and social distancing, vaccination rates and maybe even genetics.
Although there has not yet been a clearly identified gene, Dr. Stuart Ray, a professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University, said it’s feasible some people are genetically less susceptible to COVID.
The experts said they don’t believe that infection with COVID-19 is inevitable or at least inevitable for everyone.
The New White House COVID Coordinator Is Great on TV. Is That What America’s Pandemic Response Needs Now?
When it comes to discussing the White House’s pandemic response on TV, there’s nobody as qualified as Ashish Jha.
Whether he’s on “Sesame Street” or Fox News, the Brown University public health school dean is a pitch-perfect pandemic adviser: clear, affable, and panic-averse. But the scope of his next job — steering the sprawling federal pandemic response — has some experts wondering whether someone with so little experience in government, policy or logistics can rise to the task.
Jha’s selection marks a distinct shift from the White House’s outgoing COVID-19 coordinator, Jeff Zients, a longtime government official and corporate executive who has no background or formal training in medicine or science.
How Should the World Respond to the Next Pandemic?
Last November, having alerted the world to the new and highly transmissible Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, South Africa-based scientist Tulio de Oliveira saw that country hit with travel bans.
Two years into this pandemic, as the World Health Organization (WHO) mulls the tricky question of when to call it over and some countries, including the UK, pre-empt that decision, the world’s attention is turning to the future.
How do we improve our response to the next pandemic?
There are two main challenges: improving the surveillance of pathogens and ensuring vaccine equity.
America’s Flu-Shot Problem Is Also Its Next COVID-Shot Problem
COVID-19 is not the flu, and no one knows for sure exactly how often we’ll have to immunize ourselves against it. But it seems inevitable that someday, the entire American public will be asked to sign up for shots again — perhaps quite soon, perhaps every fall, as some vaccine makers would like.
We have just one template for this: the flu shot. And expecting even similar levels of so-so uptake may be optimistic. “I’m guessing that flu-vaccine coverage is going to be a ceiling,” says Alison Buttenheim, a behavioral scientist at the University of Pennsylvania. “I just don’t think we’ll have 70% of U.S. adults saying, Oh, an annual COVID shot? Sure.”
Canadian Pfizer Partner Sues to Head off Patent Lawsuit Over COVID Vaccine
The biotech company that makes mRNA-delivery technology for Pfizer‘s COVID-19 vaccine sued Arbutus Biopharma Corp (ABUS.O) in Manhattan federal court on Friday, seeking to head off claims that the vaccine infringes Arbutus’ patents.
Canada-based Acuitas Therapeutics Inc said Arbutus and partner Genevant Sciences have threatened to sue for potentially billions of dollars in “unjustified royalties” over the vaccine Pfizer developed with Germany’s BioNTech SE.
Acuitas asked the court to find that the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine does not infringe Arbutus patents and that several Arbutus patents are invalid.
Isolated and Vulnerable Amid the COVID Crisis, Some of Hong Kong’s Elderly Are Taking Their Own Lives
The three people who took their own lives on the same day last week in Hong Kong used different methods. One hanged herself with a cotton rope in the cubicle of a public toilet. The other two jumped to their deaths.
But they had something in common: Police records show they were over 70, and all three recently tested positive for the coronavirus, according to local media reports.
Their cases are examples of the acute mental crisis afflicting Hong Kong as it battles one of the worst COVID outbreaks in the world, more than two years into the pandemic. Depression stemming from isolation and a sense of hopelessness has hit especially hard for the elderly population, a group that has the lowest vaccination rate in Hong Kong and makes up a disproportionate part of the more than 4,900 COVID deaths in the city since the start of this most recent outbreak.
COVID Resurgence Across UK With Infections in Over-70s at Record High
A resurgence of COVID cases is underway across the UK, with infections in the over-70s at a record high, official figures have shown.
Based on random swab tests taken in the community, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates that almost 5%, or 1,544,600 people, in England had COVID in the week ending 12 March, and 3.5% of people in the oldest age group. Infections also reached a record high in Scotland, with one in 14 testing positive.
The increase in infections is being driven by the more transmissible Omicron BA.2 variant, which has become the dominant strain across the UK. It transmits more readily than the original BA.1 strain but there is good cross-immunity between the two variants.
Prof James Naismith, a director at the Rosalind Franklin Institute at the University of Oxford, noted the higher prevalence in Scotland than England — despite its more stringent rules, including a continued mask mandate in shops and on transport.