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Covid News Watch
Rare Hyper-Inflammatory Syndrome Reported in Teens After COVID Vaccination + More
A Rare Hyper-Inflammatory Syndrome Has Been Reported in Teens After COVID Vaccination. Why Experts Aren’t Worried.
As federal regulators continue to investigate the COVID-19 vaccine in children under 5, a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified cases of a potentially dangerous but quite rare hyper-inflammatory condition in vaccinated adolescents.
Researchers at the agency studied cases of multi-system inflammatory syndrome — an immune overreaction associated with COVID-19 infection — in vaccinated young people age 12 to 20 from Dec. 14, 2020, to Aug. 31, 2021.
They found 21 reports of MIS-C in those who received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the study published Tuesday in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health. Six showed no evidence of prior coronavirus infection, and everyone in the study received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
CDC Says Waiting Longer Between Pfizer, Moderna Doses May Reduce Rare Myocarditis Risk for Younger Men
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said this week that younger males should consider waiting longer between doses of Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccines to reduce a rare risk of heart inflammation.
The CDC said males ages 12- to 39-years-old should consider waiting eight weeks between the first and second doses of their primary COVID vaccination series. Public health authorities in Canada found the risk of myocarditis in men ages 18- to 24-years-old was lower when they waited eight weeks for the second dose of Moderna or Pfizer.
Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle that can result in serious health problems, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.
Very Small Blood Clot Risk After First AstraZeneca COVID Shot — UK Studies
A large study into rare blood clots linked with AstraZeneca‘s (AZN.L) COVID-19 vaccine found between just one and three cases per million, and only after the first dose, shedding fresh light on the side effects from the shot.
Researchers have sought to analyze any link between COVID-19 vaccines and rare blood clots in the brain, arteries or veins — sometimes accompanied by low platelets, reports of which led many nations last year to pause use of the AstraZeneca shot, which was developed with Oxford University.
Sanofi and GSK Seek Approval for COVID Vaccine
The French and British drugmakers Sanofi and GSK are ready to seek approval from regulators for their COVID-19 vaccine after reporting positive results from late-stage clinical trials.
The firms are hoping to catch up with rivals after falling far behind in the race to develop COVID-19 shots. Their product was delayed by an early dosing error during trials, initially disappointing results in older people and other issues. It will be available as a two-dose vaccine and as a booster.
The companies will now file for approval from regulators, including the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency, while a rolling review with the UK regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, is already under way.
10 Cases of Serious Adverse Events Reported in Children Aged 5 to 11 After COVID Vaccine Jab: HSA
Ten cases of serious adverse events have been reported in children aged 5 to 11 who have taken their COVID-19 vaccine as of end-January, said the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) on Wednesday (Feb. 23).
These reports included seizures, appendicitis, drop in blood pressure, allergic reaction, abnormal renal function and swelling of small blood vessels, said HSA. So far, no cases of myocarditis or pericarditis have been reported in this age group.
The COVID-19 vaccination program was rolled out to children aged 5 to 11 on Dec. 27 and the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty dose is the only approved vaccine for this age group.
French Number 1 Gael Monfils Blames Adverse Reaction to COVID Booster for His Recent Withdrawals, With 35-Year-Old Citing ‘Health Glitch’ as Compatriot Jeremy Chardy Also Struggles After Getting Vaccinated Last Summer
Gael Monfils has revealed his withdrawal from recent tournaments is due to a probable adverse reaction to his third dose of coronavirus vaccine.
The Frenchman has not played since a one-sided loss to Swede Mikael Ymer in Montpellier three weeks ago and will not represent his country in Davis Cup next week. Monfils, 35, is hoping he will be able to return for the Masters tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami next month.
He is the second French player to be forced off court after a suspected adverse reaction to a coronavirus vaccine. Jeremy Chardy, now ranked 138, has not played a match since the U.S. Open last summer.
COVID Cases in the U.S. Have Dropped More Than 90% Since Reaching a Pandemic Peak in January
The number of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. has plummeted by more than 90% since reaching a peak in January, data shows, lending support to officials’ views that the country is moving towards a point where the pandemic ceases to be “a crisis“.
January’s record case numbers were driven by the highly infectious Omicron variant, which was first detected in the country on Dec. 1. But the relatively fewer hospitalizations and deaths compared to cases support the assessment that Omicron — while more contagious than previous variants — causes less severe illness.
Biden to Extend U.S. National Emergency Due to COVID Health Risk
President Joe Biden said on Friday the U.S. national emergency declared in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic will be extended beyond March 1 due to the ongoing risk to public health posed by the coronavirus.
“There remains a need to continue this national emergency,” Biden said in a letter on Friday to the speaker of the House of Representatives and the president of the Senate.
Biden’s step to extend the emergency comes even as a slew of local leaders in the United States are dialing back pandemic restrictions as the Omicron wave ebbs.
Moderna Begins Late-Stage Study of RSV Vaccine Using mRNA Technology
Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) said on Tuesday it had begun a late-stage study of its vaccine for Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) based on the same technology used to develop its COVID-19 shots.
The only approved product using messenger RNA (mRNA) is COVID-19 vaccine, but Moderna and rival Pfizer (PFE.N) are rushing to tap the potential of the technology to target diseases such as shingles and cancer.
Moderna is developing a vaccine for flu using mRNA technology and said on Friday it would develop three more shots, including one for viral infection shingles.
Chemical in COVID Test Kits Can Cause Sickness if Ingested, Experts Say. What to Know.
While at-home COVID-19 tests are considered safe and effective when used properly, a chemical found in some popular kits is leading to an increase in calls to poison control centers.
Sodium azide is potentially deadly in large amounts, but only small quantities are present in testing kits — enough to cause low blood pressure, heart palpitations, headache and dizziness if ingested, or burning and irritation to exposed skin, experts say.
South Korea Approves Pfizer’s COVID Vaccine for Ages 5 to 11
South Korean health officials on Wednesday approved Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11, expanding the country’s immunization program in the face of a massive Omicron outbreak that is driving up hospitalizations and deaths.
In a long-awaited announcement, the Ministry of Drug and Food Safety said it approved the Pfizer vaccine as the country’s first shot to be used for children aged 5 to 11. The KDCA said it will announce a vaccine rollout plan for this age group in March.
Cambodia Vaccinating Ages 3 and 4 to Fight Omicron Outbreak
Cambodia began vaccinating 3- and 4-year-olds with Chinese-made Sinovac shots Wednesday after finding young children accounting for many new infections.
Prime Minister Hun Sen endorsed the vaccination plan for younger children last week after health officials found at least 25% of newly reported infections involved children under age 5.
Africa CDC to Ask World to Pause COVID Vaccine Donations
The Africa CDC will ask that all COVID-19 vaccine donations be paused until the third or fourth quarter of this year, the director of the agency told POLITICO.
John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said the primary challenge for vaccinating the continent is no longer supply shortages but logistics challenges and vaccine hesitancy — leading the agency and the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust to seek the delay.
CDC Isn’t Publishing Large Portions of the COVID Data It Collects + More
CDC Isn’t Publishing Large Portions of the COVID Data It Collects
The New York Times via Yahoo!News reported:
For more than a year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has collected data on hospitalizations for COVID-19 in the United States and broken it down by age, race and vaccination status. But it has not made most of the information public.
When the CDC published the first significant data two weeks ago on the effectiveness of boosters in adults younger than 65, it left out the numbers for a huge portion of that population: 18- to 49-year-olds, the group the data showed was least likely to benefit from extra shots, because the first two doses already left them well-protected.
Two full years into the pandemic, the agency leading the country’s response to the public health emergency has published only a tiny fraction of the data it has collected, several people familiar with the data said.
Studies Show Many People May Not Need a Fourth COVID Booster for Several Months, or Even Years
John Wherry, director of the Institute for Immunology at the University of Pennsylvania, told the New York Times that scientists are “starting to see diminishing returns on the number of additional doses,” noting that a fourth vaccination may be unnecessary to protect against death and serious illness for the average adult.
The NYTimes also cited at least four studies that found that the immune system — using specialized T cells produced by the vaccines or after an infection — is capable of remembering and attacking the virus after several months and may even be able to do so for many years.
It’s not impossible to imagine this outcome since scientists have already observed this exact response in individuals infected with the SARS coronavirus.
In the case of SARS, a study found that individuals exposed to the virus during the 2003 outbreak still carried T cells that could remember and target the virus more than 17 years later. Health officials believe this may also be the case with COVID-19.
U.S. Virus Cases, Hospitalizations Continue Steady Decline
Average daily COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are continuing to fall in the U.S., an indicator that the Omicron variant’s hold is weakening across the country.
In New York, the number of cases went down by more than 50% over the last two weeks.
“I think what’s influencing the decline, of course, is that Omicron is starting to run out of people to infect,” said Dr. Thomas Russo, professor and infectious disease chief at the University of Buffalo’s Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University’s School of Medicine said Sunday that the downturn in case numbers and hospitalizations is encouraging. He agreed that it likely has a lot to do with herd immunity.
A Fourth COVID Shot Might Be Recommended This Fall, as Officials ‘Continually’ Look at Emerging Data
As the world approaches the second anniversary of the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic by the World Health Organization, on March 11, more nations are rolling out — or are discussing the possibility of — fourth doses of coronavirus vaccine for their most vulnerable.
In the United States, leading public health officials say they are “very carefully” monitoring if or when fourth doses might be needed.
FDA spokesperson Alison Hunt confirmed that although Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, has noted that there is still much uncertainty as to how the pandemic may further evolve, he also has said it is possible that a fourth dose might be recommended as we move into fall.
New COVID Vaccine Could Appeal to Some Religious Skeptics
COVID-19 vaccine developed by Maryland biotech firm Novavax was authorized for use in Canada yesterday after already being approved by the European Union and the World Health Organization.
Given the way in which the shot is made, there is the belief that Novavax’s shot could find popularity among those who have resisted other vaccines due to their religious beliefs.
Novavax announced on Jan. 31 that it had submitted a request to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use authorization for its Nuvaxovid (NVX-CoV2373) COVID-19 vaccine. The company has reported it does not use any human fetal-derived cell lines for Nuvaxovid, which has been a sticking point for many people who object to vaccinations.
Experts Warn ‘Not to Get Too Cocky’ as U.S. Contemplates Life After COVID
As some U.S. companies begin asking people to return to the office and governors lift mask mandates, talk has emerged of life after the COVID-19 pandemic in America.
But infectious disease experts aren’t quite ready to declare that it’s safe for individuals, rather than governments and health officials, to determine whether precautions such as masking indoors are necessary.
“I think it’s probably reasonable not to get too cocky at this point,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “I welcome the decline in cases that we are seeing in the U.S. and a number of other countries, and I think you can both celebrate the sunshine while also keeping an umbrella close by for the possibility that rain could occur.”
Top English Medic Warns New COVID Variants Could Be More Resistant to Vaccines
England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty warned on Monday there will be new COVID-19 variants and said some of them could be more resistant to vaccines.
Earlier, Britain said it would end all coronavirus restrictions in England including mandatory self-isolation for people with COVID-19 and free testing, drawing skepticism from some scientists and political opponents.
South Korea Says Omicron COVID Variant 75% Less Likely to Kill Than Delta Strain
People infected with the Omicron coronavirus variant are nearly 75% less likely to develop serious illness or die than those who contract the Delta variant, real world data released on Monday by South Korea’s health authorities showed.
A study by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) of some 67,200 infections confirmed since December showed the Omicron variant’s severity and death rates averaged 0.38% and 0.18%, respectively, compared with 1.4% and 0.7% for the Delta cases.
FDA to Allow Export of AstraZeneca COVID Vaccine Lots Made at Emergent Plant
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday it had found four batches of AstraZeneca Plc’s (AZN.L) COVID-19 vaccine manufactured at the troubled Emergent BioSolutions (EBS.N) facility that were fit to be shipped outside the United States.
Last year, the FDA halted operations at the plant, which was producing vaccines for AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N), following a discovery that one vaccine was contaminated with material used in the other.
Bill Gates Says COVID Risks Have ‘Dramatically Reduced’ but Another Pandemic Is Coming + More
Bill Gates Says COVID Risks Have ‘Dramatically Reduced’ but Another Pandemic Is Coming
Bill Gates said Friday that the risks of severe disease from COVID-19 have “dramatically reduced” but another pandemic is all but certain.
Speaking to CNBC’s Hadley Gamble at Germany’s annual Munich Security Conference, Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said that a potential new pandemic would likely stem from a different pathogen to that of the coronavirus family. But he added that advances in medical technology should help the world do a better job of fighting it — if investments are made now.
Two years into the coronavirus pandemic, Gates said the worst effects have faded as huge swathes of the global population have gained some level of immunity. Its severity has also waned with the latest Omicron variant. However, Gates said that in many places that was due to virus itself, which creates a level of immunity, and has “done a better job of getting out to the world population than we have with vaccines.”
He added that the world should move faster in the future to develop and distribute vaccines, calling on governments to invest now.
2,044 Fully Vaccinated Indiana Residents Died of COVID; 329,000 Breakthrough Cases Recorded
International Business Times reported:
More than 2,000 fully vaccinated residents in Indiana have now died of COVID-19 despite a decline in new coronavirus cases in the state.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, health officials in Indiana have registered a total of 2,044 breakthrough COVID-19 deaths. At least 86% of these occurred in residents aged 65 and older, with an average age of 78. The number of deaths represents 0.056% of all vaccinated people in the state.
As of Thursday, health officials have also recorded 329,167 breakthrough infections and 3,858 hospitalizations with COVID-19 among the vaccinated. The figures represent 8.961% and 0.105% of all fully vaccinated individuals across Indiana, respectively, data from the Health Department showed.
A Test to Determine COVID Immunity Could Reshape U.S. Policy
Two years into the COVID pandemic, and we still don’t have a way to determine for sure whether the immunity you gain from either an infection or the vaccine is sufficient to protect from reinfection or from serious illness. We call it a correlate of protection. We can still only guess.
It is also clear that previous infection with COVID provides a valuable source of immunity against reinfection, but this protection doesn’t last forever and doesn’t always protect us against the immuno-evasive Omicron variant.
A new study from Qatar just published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that previous infection provided 60% protection against Omicron with substantial protection against hospitalization, but we haven’t seen the same pattern here in the U.S.
As a country, our approach has been too narrow and rigid. On the one hand, we don’t acknowledge that recent infection provides protection, the way Israel does. On the other hand, we narrowly stick to the view that the vaccine provides complete protection when it does no such thing, especially against Omicron.
Arkansas County Praises Doctor Who Gave Inmates Ivermectin
A northwest Arkansas county issued a resolution praising the doctor at its jail who faces a lawsuit from inmates who say they were unknowingly prescribed ivermectin to treat COVID-19, despite warnings from health officials about the anti-parasitic drug.
The Washington County Quorum Court voted 9-4 Thursday night in favor of the resolution praising Dr. Robert Karas for his work treating inmates with COVID-19 at the county jail. The panel also rejected, by a 10-4 vote, a separate resolution supporting the principle of informed consent for medical treatments.
Karas is scheduled to appear in April before the state Medical Board, which has been investigating complaints against him over the drug’s use at the jail. Karas has said he began giving inmates ivermectin in November 2020. He told a Medical Board investigator that 254 inmates were treated with the drug.
Exclusive: Former Harvard Prof. Martin Kulldorff: ‘Science and Public Health Are Broken’
Dr. Martin Kulldorff is one of the most qualified public health pandemic experts in the United States. To the narrative-shapers, he’s a pariah.
As a prominent epidemiologist and statistician, Kulldorff has worked on detecting and monitoring infectious disease outbreaks for two decades. His methods are widely used around the world and by almost every state health department in the United States, as well as by hundreds of people at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“For some reason, a public official narrative was established, and you weren’t allowed to question it — which, of course, is very detrimental, both to the pandemic and how to deal with the pandemic, because you have to have a vibrant discussion to figure out how best to deal with these things,” he told The Epoch Times.
Improperly Stored COVID Doses Called Isolated Incident
The improper storage of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine at a New Haven clinic, which led to hundreds of people being told to get another jab, is an isolated incident of miscommunication, according to an internal review.
New Haven Health Director Maritza Bond said there was a lack of communication as to who was responsible for checking when the vaccine should have been moved from a freezer to a refrigerator, WTNH-TV reported. Bond said approximately 2,900 doses had been left in the freezer too long and 656 were administered to 625 people.
Bond said the 625 people who received the vaccine were cross-referenced with a state database and none have been identified as having contracted COVID-19. The database does not include the results of rapid at-home tests.
Estimated 73% of U.S. Now Immune to Omicron: Is That Enough?
The Omicron wave that assaulted the United States this winter also bolstered its defenses, leaving enough protection against the coronavirus that future spikes will likely require much less — if any — dramatic disruption to society.
Millions of individual Americans’ immune systems now recognize the virus and are primed to fight it off if they encounter Omicron, or even another variant.
About half of eligible Americans have received booster shots, there have been nearly 80 million confirmed infections overall and many more infections have never been reported. One influential model uses those factors and others to estimate that 73% of Americans are, for now, immune to Omicron, the dominant variant, and that could rise to 80% by mid-March.
Quebec to Offer Third Dose of COVID Vaccine to Teenagers
Quebecers aged 12 to 17 will be able to get a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine starting this weekend.
The Health Ministry announced the decision Friday based on new advice from the province’s immunization committee. “Note that the booster dose should be administered three months or more after the last dose of vaccine received against COVID-19,” the ministry said in a statement.
The committee recommends teenagers who are at higher risk of complications from the virus get the third dose. It will also be made available to anyone older than 12 if they wish to get a booster shot.
Africa May Have Been Hit Harder by COVID Than Anyone Knew
It’s one of the enduring mysteries of COVID-19: Why didn’t the pandemic hit low-income African nations as hard as wealthy countries in North America and Europe?
There is no simple answer to that question. But this week, two new studies added to our understanding of it. One suggested that the number of COVID-19 cases may be vastly undercounted across the continent; another found good evidence that the number of deaths in at least one country could be significantly undercounted.
Neither study necessarily changes our current big picture understanding of the pandemic — that wealthy countries often saw worse outcomes than developing nations.
Six African Countries to Begin Making mRNA Vaccines as Part of WHO Scheme
Six African countries — Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia — will be the first on the continent to receive the technology needed to produce their own mRNA vaccines from a scheme headed by the World Health Organization.
The announcement comes in the same week that BioNTech, which produces the Pfizer vaccine for COVID-19 — itself an mRNA vaccine — announced it planned to deliver factory facilities built out of shipping containers to several African countries to allow the Pfizer vaccine to be produced on the continent.
2,222 Fully Vaccinated Massachusetts Residents Have Died of COVID + More
2,222 Fully Vaccinated Massachusetts Residents Have Died of COVID
International Business Times reported:
More than 2,000 fully vaccinated residents in Massachusetts have died of COVID-19 since vaccinations began in 2020, state data showed.
Approximately 2,222 vaccinated individuals have died from breakthrough COVID-19 since health officials began rolling out vaccine shots in the state on Dec. 14, 2020. Of the total deaths, 190 occured between Feb. 5 and Feb. 12, 2022.
The latest report also showed that a total of 440,888 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the state despite being fully vaccinated. At least 6,494 were reported between Feb. 5 and 12. The total number of cases now represents 8.4% of Massachusetts’ vaccinated population.
Fauci Says Future Requirement for Additional COVID Boosters Being Monitored
White House chief medical adviser and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci on Wednesday said that future requirements for additional boosters or shots are being monitored, just days after he suggested that annual COVID-19 booster shots may not be needed for every American.
“The potential future requirement for an additional boost or a fourth shot for mRNA or a third shot for J&J is being very carefully monitored in real time. And recommendations, if needed, will be updated according to the data as it evolves,” Fauci said during a press briefing by the White House COVID-19 response team.
His comments came just days after he suggested that annual booster shots may not be needed for every American, the Financial Times reported.
Teen Traveled to Philly to Get Vaccinated Against His Parents’ Wishes
High school junior Nicolas Montero and his parents are separated by a widening political and cultural rift: His parents are a part of a small but vocal minority who oppose COVID-19 vaccinations and have refused to let him get the shots.
The impasse eventually led to an act of quiet defiance: Nicolas traveled to Philadelphia, where a little-known regulation permits children 11 and older to be vaccinated without parental consent.
Not all states require parental consent for vaccination. Alabama allows teenagers 14 and up to consent to their own medical care, including inoculations. In Oregon, the age is 15; Rhode Island and South Carolina allow 16-year-olds to get COVID shots on their own. In Delaware, you need to be only 12 to get vaccines related to sexually transmitted infections.
California lawmakers are considering a bill to let children 12 and up give consent for FDA-approved vaccines, which they can currently do only for immunizations against some STIs. San Francisco already lets kids who are at least 12 consent to the COVID-19 shot.
South Carolina Doctors Can Prescribe Ivermectin, Hydroxychloroquine for COVID, AG Says
South Carolina doctors can prescribe Ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine and other off-label drugs for COVID-19, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said Friday.
Sen. Shane Martin and Rep. Bill Taylor requested an opinion from Wilson on whether or not South Carolina law allows doctors to prescribe those drugs. Wilson said in general, doctors can provide “off-label” medications as long as the patient is informed and consents to it, according to a news release.
Wilson also added that “state law strongly protects the medical judgment of the physician in this circumstance. It is clear that an attending physician possesses especially broad discretion to prescribe what he or she deems the appropriate medication in a given situation.”
The U.S. Is Getting Closer to a Time When COVID Is ‘No Longer a Crisis,’ a White House Official Says
U.S. health officials are indicating the country is nearing a time when COVID-19 is “no longer a crisis,” as one put it.
Speaking at a press briefing Wednesday, Jeff Zients, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, said: “We’ve been clear that, as a country, we’re making strong progress toward moving to a time when COVID is no longer a crisis.”
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Omicron cases were declining. “We are all cautiously optimistic about the trajectory we are on,” she said.
The optimistic predictions from the CDC align with those from Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel, who said Wednesday that it was “reasonable” to consider the COVID-19 pandemic almost over, citing a belief that the coronavirus was most likely to evolve to be less virulent than Omicron.
Pregnant During COVID, Women Struggle to Reconcile Conflicting Advice
Ashley Mink, a physician assistant in Dayton, Ohio, became eligible for her COVID-19 vaccination in December 2020. Pregnant with her third child at the time, she had kept a close eye on the vaccine trials and knew that pregnant women hadn’t been included in them — a concern she took to her obstetrician.
“You’re not supposed to eat turkey lunch meat,” Mink said of her feelings at the time, “but you’re recommending that I get a vaccine that hasn’t been studied yet.”
But even after her OB’s suggestion, Mink still didn’t get the shot.
Pfizer and BioNTech Omicron-Targeted Vaccine Delayed — BioNTech CEO
Delivery of Pfizer (PFE.N) and BioNTech SE’s vaccine to combat the Omicron COVID-19 variant was delayed by several weeks due to a slower-than expected data gathering process, BionTech Chief Executive Ugur Sahin told Germany’s Bild on Thursday.
Once the vaccine is ready, the company would assess whether it was still needed, Sahin said.
“If the wave ends, that does not mean it can’t begin again,” he told Bild in a video interview, adding that BioNTech was in a position to continue creating new vaccines as variants emerged if needed.
Moderna Eyes COVID Booster by August, Not Clear yet if Omicron-Specific Needed
An Omicron-specific booster could be ready by August, the CEO of U.S. biotech firm Moderna (MRNA.O) told Reuters, but the firm is still gathering clinical data to determine whether that vaccine would offer better protection than a new dose of the existing jab.
Last month Moderna began clinical trials for a booster dose specifically designed to target Omicron but initial results from studies in monkeys show the Omicron-specific shot may not offer stronger protection than a new dose of the existing vaccine.
Moderna chief executive Stephane Bancel said in an interview the company aimed to have a booster ready by August 2022, before next autumn when he said more vulnerable people may need it.
COVID Data Will Not Be Published Over Concerns It’s Misrepresented by Anti-Vaxxers
Public Health Scotland will stop publishing data on COVID deaths and hospitalizations by vaccination status — over concerns it is misrepresented by anti-vaxx campaigners.
The public health watchdog announced the change in policy in its most recent COVID statistical report, saying the frequency and content of the data would be reviewed. Instead, officials will focus on publishing more robust and complex vaccine effectiveness data.
The report published on Wednesday will be the last weekly publication to include the data on infection rates among the vaccinated and unvaccinated.
Canada Approves Novavax’s COVID Vaccine for Adults
Canada on Thursday approved Novavax Inc’s (NVAX.O) COVID-19 vaccine for people aged 18 years and older, making it the fifth such shot to be cleared for use in the country.
The vaccine‘s safety and effectiveness in people younger than 18 years have not yet been established, Health Canada said in a statement.
Novavax’s recombinant protein vaccine, Nuvaxovid, uses a more established technology than mRNA, the novel method behind the two most commonly used COVID-19 vaccines – from Pfizer-BioNTech (PFE.N) and Moderna (MRNA.O).
Moderna Patent Application Raises Fears for Africa COVID Vaccine Hub
Moderna Inc. has applied for patents in South Africa relating to its COVID-19 vaccine, prompting fears the company could eventually seek to prevent a new African vaccine manufacturing hub from making its own version of the mRNA shot.
Moderna (MRNA.O) spokesperson Colleen Hussey confirmed it had filed for patents “related to both the COVID-19 vaccine and Moderna’s platform technology” in South Africa and elsewhere, after a group of 60 Africa-based charities raised concerns about them, but said the move would not block vaccine distribution in Africa.