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COVID Cases Falling in Five Least Vaccinated States + More
COVID Cases Are Falling in the Five Least Vaccinated States
The five U.S. states that have the lowest percentages of their populations fully vaccinated are seeing a fall in COVID case numbers.
According to data from the New York Times, West Virginia, Idaho, Wyoming, Alabama and Mississippi have all seen their average daily cases fall over the last two weeks.
Wyoming and Alabama, both of which are 46% fully vaccinated, saw their case numbers drop by 48% and 41%, respectively. Wyoming now has a daily case average of 144, while Alabama has 300. Wyoming has seen its hospitalizations fall in that time by 22%, but Alabama’s has risen by 1%.
Scientists Find Clues to What Triggers Rare Blood Clots in AstraZeneca COVID Vaccine
Scientists say they have identified clues to what triggered blood clots in rare cases of people who took AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine.
The very rare but sometimes deadly clots led to pauses in the vaccine’s rollout last year in Europe, and had public health experts worried it could fuel hesitancy, even as they stressed that the benefits of the vaccine far outweighed any risks.
The blood clot cases reported after some Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine injections have divided regulators over how and whether to administer them, with France, Britain and Canada limiting use of the shot in younger people, while Denmark and Norway stopped administering it altogether.
Second U.S. Omicron COVID Case Reported, in Minnesota Resident Who Had Traveled to New York City
Minnesota public health authorities confirmed Thursday what appears to be the second U.S. case of the Omicron COVID variant in a resident who recently returned from New York City, the state’s department of health said.
The man, who was fully vaccinated and has since recovered, traveled to New York City to attend the Anime NYC 2021 convention at the Javits Center from Nov. 19-21, the department said in a statement.
The first Omicron case was confirmed in California by U.S. officials Wednesday in a person who recently returned to San Francisco from a trip to South Africa.
Moderna Says Omicron Booster Could Be Ready by March, But Fauci Says Not to Wait
Moderna President Stephen Hoge said Wednesday COVID-19 booster shots targeting the Omicron variant could be ready to present for U.S. authorization by March, though both he and federal infectious disease point man Dr. Anthony Fauci said they believe current vaccines will be effective against the new strain, with Fauci advising the public to get a booster now.
Fauci said Wednesday it is too early to tell whether the Omicron variant is more deadly than the Delta variant.
South Africa Sees Rise in COVID Reinfections From Omicron, Mild Symptoms — Scientist
South Africa is seeing an increase in COVID-19 reinfections due to the Omicron variant but symptoms for reinfected patients and those infected after vaccination appear to be mild, a scientist studying the outbreak of the new strain said.
“Previous infection used to protect against Delta but now with Omicron that doesn’t seem to be the case,” said Anne von Gottberg, microbiologist at South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases.
Von Gottberg said the travel bans imposed by many countries on passengers from South Africa were having a negative impact on the logistics of scientific research into Omicron.
President Biden to Make At-Home Rapid Tests Free in New COVID Plan
President Joe Biden announced a plan Thursday for a winter coronavirus strategy that includes making at-home rapid tests free, extending the mask requirement on public transit and requiring more stringent testing protocols for all international travelers.
The latest plan does not include more aggressive measures like requiring testing for domestic flights or mandating testing for passengers after their arrival in the U.S.
The Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Labor and Treasury Department will put out guidance by Jan. 15 to determine exactly how many tests will be covered and at what frequency, the plan said, and it will not retroactively cover tests already purchased.
COVID: FDA Expert Panel Recommends Authorizing Molnupiravir But Also Voices Concerns
An advisory panel of experts has voted by 13 to 10 to recommend that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration should grant an emergency authorisation to Merck’s molnupiravir (Lagevrio), an antiviral for the outpatient treatment of COVID-19. If the regulator follows the recommendation molnupiravir could be authorised within days.
The FDA has generally followed its panels’ recommendations in the past, but the vote on molnupiravir was unusual for its narrow margin and the many reservations expressed by panellists who voted to recommend the drug. The nine hour meeting was broadcast live on YouTube.
GlaxoSmithKline Says Tests Indicate Antibody Drug Works Against Omicron
Laboratory analysis of the antibody-based COVID-19 therapy GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L) (GSK) is developing with U.S. partner Vir (VIR.O) has indicated the drug is effective against the new Omicron variant, the British drugmaker said on Thursday.
A GSK statement said that lab tests and a study on hamsters have demonstrated the sotrovimab antibody cocktail works against viruses that were bio-engineered to carry a number of hallmark mutations of the Omicron variant.
The two companies have been engineering so-called pseudoviruses that feature major coronavirus mutations across all suspicious variants that have emerged so far, and have run lab tests on their vulnerability to sotrovimab treatment.
Moderna Could Be Sued Over Vaccines as Court Upholds Arbutus Patents
Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) could face a patent infringement lawsuit over its COVID-19 vaccine after a federal appeals court on Wednesday rejected its challenge to patents belonging to Arbutus Biopharma Corp (ABUS.O).
Arbutus shares nearly doubled following the ruling, up 95% at $6.25. Moderna shares were off more than 10% at $316.43.
Dutch Say 14 Air Passengers From South Africa With Omicron Were Vaccinated
Dutch health authorities on Thursday said most of the 62 people who tested positive for COVID-19 after arriving on two flights from South Africa last week had been vaccinated, lending weight to a call for pre-flight testing regardless of vaccination status.
In addition, all 14 passengers who were later found to have been infected with the Omicron variant were vaccinated, health officials said on Thursday.
EU Drug Regulator Starts Reviewing New Coronavirus Vaccine
The European Union drug regulator said Thursday it has started a rolling review of a new coronavirus vaccine made by French startup Valneva, the first step toward giving the vaccine the green light to be used in the 27-nation EU.
Approval by the European Medicines Agency would add another vaccine to the EU’s armory against COVID-19 as the bloc ramps up administering booster shots and some countries are preparing to deliver shots of Pfizer’s vaccine to children ages 5 to 11.
Last month, the EU’s executive commission approved a contract with Valneva for member nations to buy almost 27 million doses in 2022. The contract also included the possibility to adapt the vaccine to new variants of the coronavirus and to purchase up to 33 million more doses in 2023.
New Data on the Link Between COVID Vaccines and Myopericarditis + More
New Data on the Link Between COVID Vaccines and Myopericarditis
Cardiovascular Business reported:
COVID-19 vaccines may be associated with a heightened risk of myopericarditis among men, according to a new analysis published in the American Journal of Cardiology.
“A number of case reports and series have recently been published describing patients who experienced myocarditis after receiving the COVID-19 vaccination,” wrote first author Rosemary Farahmand, MD, of Harvard Medical School, and colleagues.
Hoping to gain a better understanding of these relationships, Farahmand et al. tracked data from more than 268,000 adults who received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in the state of Massachusetts from August 2020 to May 2021. The study’s control group was made up of 235,000 of the same patients — from 2018 and 2019, well before they had received any doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Omicron Variant Identified in U.S.: First Case of COVID Linked to New Variant Found in California
The first U.S. case of COVID-19 linked to the new Omicron variant has been identified in California in a traveler who returned from South Africa on Nov. 22, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday.
The patient, who was fully vaccinated, tested positive on Nov. 29, officials said. The individual has mild symptoms that are improving and is in self-quarantine. Genetic sequencing was performed by the University of California at San Francisco and confirmed by the CDC.
One of the Biggest Questions About Omicron Was Just Answered. It’s Bad News for Stocks.
One of investors’ most pressing questions on Omicron, the new COVID-19 variant, got a preliminary answer on Tuesday. It’s a scary development for stocks. The emergence of Omicron, a heavily mutated version of the virus that is expected to be more contagious than other variants, has roiled the stock market.
The S&P 500 has fallen more than 2% from the record high it hit in late November, just before Friday’s news that the variant was found in South Africa. This could be just the beginning of the selling, as investors now have key information they were hungry for.
An RBC survey published Monday found that investors were most concerned about how severe, or mild, infections caused by the Omicron variant might be. That isn’t known yet, but data on the question that ranks second — how effective vaccines and antiviral drugs will be against the variant — has begun to emerge.
Massachusetts Coronavirus Breakthrough Cases Spike 6,610 During Thanksgiving Week
More than 6,600 fully vaccinated people in the Bay State tested positive for coronavirus during the week of Thanksgiving, a daily average of about 944 people as breakthrough infections continue to surge.
The count of 6,610 breakthrough cases last week was a bit down from the tally of 6,917 breakthrough infections in the prior week. Testing during Thanksgiving week was significantly lower.
Young Americans Are Really Down on Democracy and Reeling From the Pandemic
Young Americans are down on democracy, reeling from the impact of the pandemic and not particularly happy with President Biden.
Those are the takeaways from a new Harvard Institute of Politics poll released this morning. The Early 202 has a sneak peek at the fresh numbers, which reveal some startling data about the mental health of young Americans as COVID-19 threatens to upend our winter once again.
Fifty percent of young Americans say the coronavirus has changed them, with 61% of women saying they have changed versus 40% of men. Overall, 51% say the pandemic has negatively impacted their lives.
Southern Africa Is Not a Hotbed of Variants — It’s Just Very Good at Sequencing and Spotting Them
Last week, scientists in South Africa put the world on notice. Omicron is here.
The variant, B.1.1.529, was identified first on Nov. 11, among foreign diplomats who had traveled to Botswana. Then, it was found again by a team of scientists in South Africa on Nov. 14, and they alerted world health leaders.
The reality is that southern Africa is a top international powerhouse of COVID-19 surveillance in large part because the continent stood up innovative systems for tracking viral diseases and genetic mutations well before the coronavirus hit, tracing and surveilling diseases including HIV, Ebola, and tuberculosis.
FDA Panel Narrowly Backs Merck’s COVID Pill — Questions About Efficacy, Safety Were Chief Among Concerns, Regardless of How Members Voted
A divided FDA advisory panel voted 13-10 to recommend the oral antiviral molnupiravir for emergency use authorization (EUA) for adults at high risk of progressing to severe COVID-19 on Tuesday.
While votes at the Antimicrobial Drugs Advisory Committee (AMDAC) were largely split, similar questions were raised on both sides of the vote about modest efficacy, especially in light of other available treatments.
Very few committee members offered strong “yes” or “no” votes, as most were in the middle. Ultimately, the positive votes felt that despite a number of questions, the benefits of the drug outweighed the risk.
How HIV Research Paved the Way for the COVID mRNA Vaccines
Every Dec. 1, the world commemorates those who have died from an AIDS-related illness. Known as World AIDS Day, it serves as a reminder that there has been an ongoing pandemic for the past 40 years, pre-dating COVID.
The COVID vaccines were sequenced, developed and approved in the U.S. in record time, but that would not have been possible without decades of work by HIV researchers.
Massachusetts Deploying COVID Antibody Treatment Units
Massachusetts is deploying three mobile units to administer monoclonal antibody treatment to high-risk individuals who have been exposed to or have COVID-19, Gov. Charlie Baker said Tuesday.
The clinics have the capacity to treat up to 500 patients per week with therapies that can help reduce the severity of the disease and keep COVID-19-positive individuals from being hospitalized.
1,500 Unhoused LA Residents Died on the Streets During Pandemic, Report Reveals
Nearly 1,500 unhoused people are estimated to have died on the streets of Los Angeles during the pandemic, according to a new report that raises alarms about authorities’ handling of a worsening humanitarian crisis.
Ananya Roy, director of the UCLA Luskin Institute on Inequality and Democracy, which produced the report, said the young age of death was particularly disturbing.
“When people are passing away outdoors and on the sidewalks, that is a failure of the state,” said Chloe Rosenstock, co-author of the report and an organizer with Street Watch LA, an advocacy group for the unhoused.
From Books to Boots, Supply Chain Issues Are Hitting Local Retailers This Holiday Season
What’s on your shopping list this holiday season? If it’s a pair of winter boots, the latest bestselling book, or a bottle of expensive champagne, you might be out of luck.
Global supply chain issues have officially hit home here in Traverse City. Here’s what The Ticker is hearing from four local retailers about how they’re navigating it all, their hardest-to-get products right now, and what advice they have for shoppers.
COVID Has ‘Radically Altered’ Mobility
The U.N. migration agency says the coronavirus pandemic appears to have accelerated “hostile rhetoric” against migrants in the world and “radically altered” mobility, projecting in a new report that travel and other COVID-19-fighting restrictions could dampen migration worldwide as long as they remain.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered immobility worldwide to an extent unseen in recent history, slowing the pace of human mobility and migration,” said Ugochi Daniels, the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) deputy director-general for operations, at a meeting of its member states.
“The pandemic is estimated to have negatively impacted the total growth of international migrants by 2 million.”
World Agrees to Negotiate a Global ‘Pandemic Treaty’ to Fight the Next Outbreak
Less than a week after the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus was reported to the World Health Organization, global leaders on Wednesday agreed to start negotiations to create an international agreement to prevent and deal with future pandemics — which some have dubbed a “pandemic treaty.”
“I welcome the decision you have adopted today, to establish an intergovernmental negotiating body to draft and negotiate a WHO convention, agreement or other international instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response,” WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
Mexico to Reverse Course, Give COVID Booster Shots
Mexican officials have reversed their previous position against giving coronavirus booster shots and said Tuesday they are studying a plan to administer third doses to people over 60.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s administration has long resisted adopting measures like mandatory face masks, mass testing and travel restrictions that have been used in many other countries.
Assistant Health Secretary Hugo López-Gatell had said as recently as August that there was no scientific evidence to justify giving booster shots, and suggested they were part of a campaign by vaccine manufacturers to increase sales. The government also long resisted vaccinating minors, but recently relented and began administering shots to youths between 15 and 17 years of age.
Pfizer Set to Request Authorization for COVID Booster for 16- and 17-Year-Olds
Pfizer Set to Request Authorization for Coronavirus Booster for 16- and 17-Year-Olds
As President Biden exhorts Americans to get coronavirus vaccines and booster shots to strengthen protections against the Delta and Omicron variants, another age group might soon become eligible for the boosters: 16- and 17-year-olds.
Pfizer and its partner BioNTech are expected to ask the Food and Drug Administration in the coming days to authorize its booster shot for that age group, according to two people familiar with the situation.
The move to expand eligibility among teens comes as the White House is grappling with the Omicron variant that has captured the world’s attention.
Slovenia Set to Ban Janssen Vaccine After Woman’s Death
Slovenia said on Tuesday it may ban Johnson & Johnson‘s (JNJ.N) Janssen COVID-19 vaccine except when people request it, after concluding a young woman’s death was linked to the shot.
Slovenia temporarily suspended the Janssen vaccine, one of several it was using, after the death of the woman whom a neurologist said at the time had developed blood clots and bleeding in the brain. read more
“A commission established to examine the case of the death unanimously concluded that the tragic outcome was related to the vaccine,” commission member Zoran Simonovic was quoted as saying.
Researchers Review COVID Database, Make a Huge Discovery When They Exclude Vaccinated People
A new study touts the power of natural immunity to fight off the worst effects of the coronavirus. The researchers, who reported their results last week in the New England Journal of Medicine, examined 353,326 COVID-19 patients in the Arabian Peninsula nation of Qatar who were infected anywhere between Feb. 28, 2020, and Apr. 28, 2021.
The research excluded about 87,500 people who were vaccinated over the time span of the study. “In earlier studies, we assessed the efficacy of previous natural infection as protection against reinfection with SARS-CoV-2 as being 85% or greater,” the researchers, from Qatar’s National Study Group for COVID-19 Epidemiology, wrote.
“Accordingly, for a person who has already had a primary infection, the risk of having a severe reinfection is only approximately 1% of the risk of a previously uninfected person having a severe primary infection.”
All Vaccinated Adults Should Get a COVID Booster Shot Because of the Omicron Variant, CDC Says
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) strengthened recommendations for booster doses of coronavirus vaccine Monday, saying all adults should get boosted 6 months after the second dose of Pfizer/BioNTech’s or Moderna’s vaccine or 2 months after the single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
It’s a slight but significant tweak to the wording of guidance issued earlier this month when the CDC endorsed an expanded emergency use authorization for boosters from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
New Omicron Variant Could Spell End for COVID Pandemic — Top Russian Scientist
A new mutant strain of COVID-19 that has sparked fears for vaccine resistance, caused flight cancellations, and sent the stock market plummeting could actually help bring the pandemic to an end, a Russian virologist has claimed.
In an interview published on Monday in Moscow tabloid KP, Anatoly Altshtein, a virologist at the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, which pioneered Russia’s Sputnik V jab, said that there it is still not clear how deadly or infectious the new Omicron variant might be.
“Right now there are reasons to think that the Omicron variant could be less pathogenic,” he went on, meaning less able to cause harmful infection.
Biden Says He Will Direct FDA, CDC to Use ‘Fastest Process Available’ to Clear COVID Vaccines Targeting Omicron
President Joe Biden said Monday he is directing federal agencies to be prepared to move as quickly as possible to approve additional vaccines or boosters tailored to shield against the new Omicron coronavirus variant.
The White House is also directing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to use the “fastest process available without cutting any corners” to approve those potential vaccines and get them on the market, Biden said.
A New COVID Vaccine Wasn’t Needed for Beta or Delta. What About Omicron?
Drugmakers are racing to develop new vaccines intended to target the Omicron variant, a coronavirus strain that has mutations that suggest it could evade immunity provided by vaccination or natural infection.
Moderna Chief Medical Officer Dr. Paul Burton said in an interview on NBC News Now’s “Hallie Jackson Now” on Monday that the company has already started work on a version of its vaccine to address the new variant.
Pfizer and BioNTech said they could develop an Omicron-specific vaccine within 6 weeks and ship initial batches within 100 days if needed. Johnson & Johnson also said it is pursuing a modified vaccine and will progress it as needed.
Panel Weighs Safety, Effectiveness of Merck’s COVID Pill
Government health advisers on Tuesday weighed the benefits and risks of a closely watched drug from Merck that could soon become the first U.S.-authorized pill for patients to take at home to treat COVID-19.
The Food and Drug Administration asked its outside experts whether the agency should authorize the pill, weighing new information that it is less effective than first reported and may cause birth defects. A vote was expected Tuesday afternoon. The panel’s recommendations aren’t binding but often guide FDA decisions.
Another question is whether pregnant women or women of child-bearing age should avoid the drug. FDA scientists said Tuesday that company studies in rats showed the drug caused toxicity and birth defects in the skeleton, eyes and kidneys.
Pfizer CEO Is ‘Very Confident’ the Company’s Oral COVID Pill Will Be Effective Against the New Variant
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said he believes his company’s COVID-19 oral treatment will work in patients diagnosed with the Omicron variant.
“I’m very, very confident that this drug works for all known mutations, including the Omicron one,” Bourla said on CNBC’s Squawk Box. “But we are working on other drugs for the eventual case that maybe a resistance is developed.”
Bourla said that Pfizer designed the pill to work regardless of the virus’s mutation.
U.S. Tracking of Virus Variants Has Improved After Slow Start
After a slow start, the United States has improved its surveillance system for tracking new coronavirus variants such as Omicron, boosting its capacity by tens of thousands of samples per week since early this year.
Viruses mutate constantly. To find and track new versions of the coronavirus, scientists analyze the genetic makeup of a portion of samples that test positive.
It’s a global effort, but until recently the U.S. was contributing very little. With uncoordinated and scattershot testing, the U.S. was sequencing fewer than 1% of positive specimens earlier this year. Now, it is running those tests on 5% to 10% of samples.
Regeneron’s COVID Antibody Drug May Be Less Effective Against Omicron
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc’s COVID-19 antibody drug could be less effective against Omicron, it said on Tuesday, adding to fears about the efficacy of existing treatments after Moderna‘s top boss raised similar concerns about the company’s vaccine.
Based on its study of Omicron’s individual mutations, “there may be reduced neutralization activity of both vaccine-induced and monoclonal antibody conveyed immunity”, Regeneron (REGN.O) said, adding that the analysis included its COVID-19 antibody cocktail, REGEN-COV.
COVID Cases Surge in Five Most-Vaccinated States + More
COVID Cases Are Surging in the Five Most-Vaccinated States
The five most-vaccinated states in the United States — Vermont, Rhode Island, Maine, Connecticut and Massachusetts — are all experiencing surges in new COVID-19 cases, as the Biden administration urges people over 50 to get their booster jabs.
Vermont, which is the most-vaccinated state, with 73% of its population fully jabbed, saw an 18% rise in new daily COVID cases over the last 14 days before Nov. 24, according to New York Times data.
NY Awards First Round of Vax Scholarships for Kids 5 to 11
Ten preteens from around New York have won the first round of state college scholarships for 5-to-11-year-olds who get vaccinated against COVID-19, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Saturday.
The youths’ names were drawn by lottery after their parents or guardians entered them in the “Vaccinate, Educate, Graduate” contest. It’s open to children 5 to 11 who get their first vaccine dose by Dec. 19. Weekly drawings will continue through Dec. 20.
Winners get tuition, room and board for an associate’s or bachelor’s degree program at a New York State or New York City public university, plus money for books and supplies.
People With the Omicron Variant Have ‘Extremely Mild’ Symptoms and Haven’t Had to Be Hospitalized yet, Says the South African Doctor Who First Reported It
The South African doctor who first reported the Omicron variant has said that symptoms were so far “extremely mild” and that nobody has been hospitalized with it yet.
Dr. Angelique Coetzee, a private practitioner and chair of the South African Medical Association, told the BBC‘s “The Andrew Marr Show” on Sunday that the Omicron patients she had seen had reported feeling “extremely fatigued” with body aches and a headache.
She also said the patients did not have a cough or lose their smell or taste, which are typical symptoms of COVID-19. She hadn’t admitted anyone with the Omicron variant to the hospital yet.
‘It’s Coming’: NY Declares State of Emergency Ahead of Potential Omicron Spike
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has declared a state of emergency ahead of potential COVID-19 spikes this winter due to the already-circulating Delta and newly-identified Omicron variants of coronavirus.
The declaration, which goes into effect on Dec. 3, will allow the state to acquire pandemic-fighting supplies, increase hospital capacity and fight potential staffing shortages. It would also allow the state Health Department to limit non-essential and non-urgent procedures at hospitals.
Dr. Fauci Says the U.S. Could Experience a Fifth Wave in COVID Infections as Health Officials Warn About Spread of Omicron
Dr. Anthony Fauci warned that the U.S. might enter a fifth COVID-19 wave as the threat of the new Omicron variant looms.
“We certainly have the potential to go into a fifth wave,” Fauci, the nation’s topmost COVID-19 expert, told CBS News’ “Face the Nation.”
“And the fifth wave, or the magnitude of any increase, if you want to call it that it will turn into a wave, will really be dependent upon what we do in the next few weeks to a couple of months.”
Moderna CMO Says Omicron Variant May Elude Current Vaccines
Moderna‘s chief medical officer has said he suspects the Omicron variant of the coronavirus may elude current vaccines.
If that is proven true, a reformulated vaccine could be available early in 2022, Paul Burton said during an appearance on the BBC‘s The Andrew Marr Show on Sunday.
“We should know about the ability of the current vaccine to provide protection in the next couple of weeks, but the remarkable thing about the mRNA vaccines, Moderna platform is that we can move very fast,” he said.
Pfizer Testing Its Vaccine Against New COVID Strain
Pfizer said Friday that it can produce a COVID-19 vaccine for the new virus strain identified in South Africa in “approximately 100 days,” subject to government regulatory approval.
The pharmaceutical firm said in a statement to CBS MoneyWatch that its researchers are now conducting tests to see if the company’s existing vaccine is effective against the variant, dubbed “Omicron” by the World Health Organization.
Amid Omicron Variant Concerns, Hochul Mandates Booster Availability at All NY Nursing Homes
New York nursing homes will be required to make booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine available to all residents, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Sunday.
While the Omicron variant has not yet been identified in the United States, Dr. Anthony Fauci on Saturday said he “would not be surprised” if the strain was already in the country.
Pfizer CEO Confident COVID Treatment Pill Will Be Effective Against Omicron Variant
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said on Monday that he expects the company’s COVID-19 treatment pill to be effective against the Omicron variant of the virus that causes COVID-19.
“The good news when it comes to our treatment, it was designed with that in mind, it was designed with the fact that most mutations are coming in the spikes,” Bourla told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
Pfizer submitted its application earlier this month to the Food and Drug Administration to authorize the pill, Paxlovid, for emergency use.
NIH Director Francis Collins Says There’s ‘Reason to Be Pretty Optimistic’ Vaccines Will Be Effective Against the Omicron Variant
There is “reason to be pretty optimistic” that the available COVID-19 vaccines will be effective against the new Omicron variant of the virus, National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins said Monday.
“All of the other variants that have emerged during this COVID-19 pandemic have shown response to the vaccine, including Delta,” Collins said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
Collins also said there’s “reason to be optimistic” that COVID-19 antiviral pills — which have not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration — would work against Omicron.
Miss Universe Contestant in Israel Has COVID
Organizers of next month’s Miss Universe pageant say one of the contestants has tested positive for COVID-19.
It was not immediately clear if she had tested positive for the newly detected Omicron variant. Israeli authorities have said they will go ahead with holding the pageant in the southern city of Eilat in December despite the rapidly spreading new variant.
It said she was fully vaccinated and tested prior to departure.