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People Inside Moderna Are Afraid’: As Anti-Vaccine Climate Intensifies, the Company Has Much to Lose
Dwight Morrow was thrilled to land a job at Moderna in June 2023 after its blockbuster COVID-19 vaccine had turned the once-obscure Cambridge biotech into a household name. Morrow, a molecular and cellular biologist, said he was among about 600 people hired by the company over two weeks during a period of explosive growth.
As executive director of biological science, he led two-dozen scientists focused on the microscopic fatty spheres that Moderna used to deliver messenger RNA into human cells to produce vaccines and experimental drugs.
But after Moderna and the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer helped tame the pandemic with rival mRNA vaccines, both firms struggled to persuade people to get booster shots. Last December, with Moderna burning through cash and its second approved product, a shot for respiratory syncytial virus, generating disappointing sales, Morrow was laid off.
Vaccine Makers Face Fresh Uncertainty After Firing of CDC Panel
Prior to Monday, vaccine makers were already under intense pressure. Since new leadership has taken over U.S. public health agencies, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced stricter guidelines surrounding the use of COVID-19 shots and called for more rigorous testing for the vaccines in development.
Companies such as Novavax and Moderna have faced regulatory delays and are now tasked with new testing requirements. In the meantime, Kennedy, a prominent vaccine skeptic, has expressed lukewarm support for proven shots like the measles vaccine and vocalized fringe theories about vaccine safety.
The abrupt firing of the 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, adds more uncertainty. The panel, comprised of a group of independent public health experts, meets several times a year to review data and vote on vaccine recommendations to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director. Its guidance ensures which vaccines insurers are required to cover without defraying costs to patients.
ACIP recommendations also determine which shots are part of the Vaccines for Children Program, which provides to shots for families who may not be able to afford them.
How Close Are We to Getting a Vaccine for Lyme Disease?
Diana Moser has, to the best of her knowledge, not contracted Lyme disease, a welcome status quo that might be credited to the tick-repellant clothing she wears in the yard of her East LaHave, N.S., home, or to the insect spray she squirts on herself, or to just plain-old luck.
Or, it’s possible the good fortune is due to what some are hoping is a “game changer” in the fight against the disease, which is caused by tick-borne bacteria and, if left untreated, can lead to severe heart, joint and nervous system symptoms. Moser is one of dozens of people in Nova Scotia, and more than 9,000 in the eastern U.S., Eastern Canada and parts of Europe, who are taking part in clinical trials for a vaccine against Lyme infection.
“I think it’s incredibly important to have,” she said of a vaccine, noting she knows at least four people who have contracted Lyme disease, including one who has had it multiple times. “It’s such a tricky disease, like when you get Lyme, so many things can happen. It causes joint pain, it causes inflammation. It really affects your system in a deep and abiding way.”
COVID-19 Infection and Some COVID-19 Vaccines Tied to Risk of Neurological Disorder
Pharma Manufacturing News reported:
The research, published in Vaccine, reinforces the importance of continuous vaccine safety monitoring and highlights key differences in risk associated with different vaccine types. Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is a rare but serious neurological condition that can cause progressive limb weakness and eventual paralysis, with an annual incidence of 1 to 4 cases per 100,000 people worldwide. It has been linked to various infections, including Campylobacter jejuni, Zika virus, influenza, and SARS-CoV-2.
The study used advanced epidemiological methods and healthcare data from over 230 million people across 20 global sites within the Global Vaccine Data Network, including the Vaccine monitoring Collaboration for Europe, of which the Drug Safety Research Unit is an active member.
People infected with SARS-CoV-2 were around three times more likely to develop GBS within six weeks of infection compared to other times, suggesting that infection with this virus increases the risk of GBS. An increased risk was also observed following adenoviral vector vaccines (AstraZeneca, Janssen/Johnson & Johnson), but not after mRNA vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna) or inactivated vaccines (Coronavac/Sinovac).
Why a Covid-19 Vaccine Could Soon Cost as Much as $150—even if You’re Insured
If you’re planning on getting a COVID-19 booster this fall, you could be faced with a hefty bill — even if you have insurance. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced in May that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) no longer recommends a COVID-19 vaccine for healthy children and pregnant people.
Kennedy shared the announcement on the social media platform, X, in a video alongside Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, and Dr. Marty Makary, the commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “Last year, the Biden administration urged healthy children to get yet another Covid shot, despite the lack of any clinical data to support the repeat booster strategy in children,” Kennedy said in the video. He did not share scientific evidence to support the need for changes to COVID-19 vaccine recommendations.
A representative from the CDC was noticeably missing from the announcement. The agency currently has no acting director, and late last week, RFK Jr. dismissed all 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices.
BioNTech Buys mRNA, Courtroom Rival CureVac in All-Stock Deal
CureVac was a leading candidate to develop the first COVID-19 vaccine, launching rumors, later denied, that the U.S. government might even buy the company or its research. But while BioNTech and fellow mRNA drugmaker Moderna succeeded in making vaccines that saved millions of lives and earned billions of dollars in revenue, CureVac fell short. Its initial project wasn’t effective enough at preventing sickness, prompting it to scrap development.
A year later, CureVac sued BioNTech, claiming it infringed four patents. CureVac has since changed course, selling off most rights to influenza and COVID-19 vaccines to partner GSK and focusing on cancer instead.
But its legal spat with BioNTech has lingered. The European Patent Office had upheld two CureVac patents, and a trial in a Dusseldorf regional court was set on July 1 to determine if BioNTech had infringed on them. A separate trial in the U.S. was scheduled to begin Sept. 8 in Virginia.
