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‘My Body Was Burning’: Suffering Since COVID Shots, Gatineau Man Desperate for Relief

CBC reported:

A Gatineau, Que., man who developed a severe skin condition after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine says he’s ready to give up on Canada’s healthcare system and seek treatment abroad.

Mohammed Tisir Otahbachi, 29, received his first dose of the Moderna vaccine on July 15, 2021, at a Walmart pharmacy in Gatineau. Ten days later, small acne-like blisters appeared on his right hand. Otahbachi, who goes by his middle name, told CBC he had never experienced any kind of skin problem before. He tried a topical cream suggested by a pharmacist, but it didn’t work.

While serious complications from COVID-19 vaccines are rare, Otahbachi had a sneaking suspicion his shot might have had something to do with the rash. Nevertheless, he was eager to receive his second dose and returned to the same pharmacy for another Moderna jab on Aug. 13, 2021. “Two days after that, like 48 hours later, almost the whole of my body — my hands, arms, my legs, even my back — it was [hit with] the same thing, and it started burning a little bit. There was some pain,” Otahbachi recalled. “I recognized there is something happening on my body because of the vaccine.”

“I couldn’t work because my body was burning. I was not able to touch anything, even the water,” said Otahbachi, who was reduced to washing with baby wipes. Throughout his ordeal, Otahbachi noticed something else: none of the doctors he had consulted appeared willing to acknowledge any possible link between his vaccination the previous summer and the sudden onset of his skin condition.

Moderna Meets Forecast With $18.4 Billion in COVID Vaccine Sales in 2022

Reuters reported:

Moderna Inc. (MRNA.O) said on Monday it generated about $18.4 billion in COVID-19 vaccine sales in 2022, meeting its forecast of $18 billion-$19 billion for the year.

The company also forecast minimum COVID-19 vaccine sales of about $5 billion in 2023, compared with its previous forecast of $4.5 billion to $5.5 billion in November.

The COVID vaccine maker continues to expect additional contracts for 2023, it said.

Breaking: Researcher Claims mRNA COVID Vaccines Can Increase Serious Adverse Events; Calls for It to Be Withdrawn From the Market

Times of India reported:

Joseph Fraiman, an emergency physician and a clinical scientist from Louisiana, claims that the messenger RNA COVID-19 vaccine can increase serious adverse events in people, including sudden cardiac deaths.

In a video that surfaced online, Fraiman, who was a lead author of the peer-reviewed research that re-analyzed Pfizer & Moderna trials for mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, says, “We found the vaccine increases serious adverse events at a rate of one in 800. At the time of the publication, my co-authors and I did not believe our single study warranted the withdrawal of mRNA vaccines from the market. However, since its publication, new pieces of evidence have come to light and this has caused me to reevaluate my position.”

Referring to another study and drawing similarities with his own research, he shares, “An article published in the BMJ regarding the FDA’s own observational surveillance data from messenger RNA was associated with multiple of the exact same serious adverse events identified in our original study.” However, the researcher adds the FDA has failed to inform the public of these findings.

“Together this information calls into question if the vaccine’s benefits outweigh the harm. I believe the mRNA vaccines need to be withdrawn from the market until new randomized control trials can clearly demonstrate the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the serious harm we now know vaccines are causing,” he adds.

Omicron XBB.1.5 Is Rising in U.S. Though Revised CDC Data Shows Slower Increase Than Previously Reported

CNBC reported:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday revised downward its estimate of how much the Omicron XBB.1.5 subvariant is circulating across the U.S., though it continues to spread at a faster pace than other versions of COVID-19.

XBB.1.5 made up 27.6% of sequenced COVID cases nationally for the week ending Jan. 7 compared with 18.3% for the week ending Dec. 31. The CDC previously reported that XBB.1.5 made up about 41% of sequenced cases for the week ending Dec. 31, more than any other variant.

Although the agency has revised its estimate downward, XBB.1.5 remains the only Omicron subvariant showing significant growth in the U.S. right now. It is second only to Omicron BQ.1.1, which currently makes up 34% of sequenced COVID cases in the U.S.

XBB.1.5 makes up more than 70% of sequenced cases in the northeastern U.S., which is often a bellwether for the rest of the country. Scientists at Columbia University, in a recent study, noted that variants in the XBB family pose a serious threat to the Omicron boosters.

AstraZeneca’s Preventative COVID Treatment Likely Not Effective Against XBB.1.5: FDA

The Hill reported:

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Friday that AstraZeneca’s preventative monoclonal antibody treatment for COVID-19 is likely ineffective against the XBB.1.5 Omicron subvariant due to its similarity to other mutations of the virus that are also not neutralized by the treatment.

In a statement, the FDA said it “does not anticipate that Evusheld will neutralize XBB.1.5.”

Evusheld is a combination of two monoclonal antibodies that has been authorized as pre-exposure prophylaxis to prevent COVID-19 infections in those who are moderately to severely immunocompromised.

The FDA advised healthcare providers to inform their patients of the increased risk of COVID-19 infection due to variants that are not neutralized by Evusheld.

Ocugen-Bharat Biotech COVID Vaccine Meets Main Goals in U.S. Trial

Reuters reported:

Ocugen Inc. (OCGN.O) said on Monday the COVID-19 vaccine developed by its Indian partner Bharat Biotech International Ltd. met the main goals of a trial in the United States.

The vaccine, sold under the brand name Covaxin, showed an immune response in individuals who had not received a COVID vaccine previously as well as those vaccinated with mRNA vaccines by Pfizer Inc. (PFE.N) and Moderna Inc. (MRNA.O), meeting its main goals, Ocugen said.

Covaxin is not cleared for use in any age group in the United States, but is one of the two most widely used COVID vaccines in India and has received an emergency use listing from the World Health Organization (WHO).

China’s COVID Wave Threatens Another Snarl of U.S. Medical Supply Chain

NBC News reported:

As COVID infections surge across China, the U.S. again risks falling short of medical supplies as that country struggles to keep factories running and goods flowing out of its ports.

U.S. hospitals, healthcare companies and federal officials worked to lessen their dependence on China for medical goods after the first wave of COVID infections in 2020 laid bare the major role China plays in manufacturing such crucial items as masks, latex gloves and surgical gowns, along with the key drugs and components in many medical devices.

Healthcare executives and supply chain analysts warn the impact of China’s latest COVID wave could take months to work its way through the supply chain and much will depend on the trajectory of the pandemic in the coming weeks, something officials in the U.S. have limited insight into given the lack of data from China.

The U.S. imported $3.2 billion in drugs and active pharmaceutical ingredients directly from China in 2020, including antibiotics, antidepressants, birth control pills and drugs for chemotherapy, according to a 2021 supply chain analysis by the White House.

Omicron COVID Booster Cuts Hospitalization in Over 65s, Israeli Study Finds

Reuters reported:

The Omicron-adapted COVID-19 vaccine booster developed by Pfizer Inc. (PFE.N) and BioNTech SE (22UAy.DE) sharply reduced hospitalizations among older patients, Israeli researchers said on Monday, in some of the first evidence of the jab’s real-world effectiveness.

The study by researchers from healthcare provider Clalit, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Sapir College has not yet been peer-reviewed.

It found an 81% reduction in hospitalizations among people aged 65 and older who had received the booster against those who had previously received at least two COVID vaccinations, but not the Omicron-adapted shot.

While the bivalent vaccine targets the original strain and its BA.4/BA.5 Omicron subvariant, scientists have been closely watching another Omicron subvariant, XBB.1.5, which has been rapidly spreading in the United States.

Chinese-Made mRNA Vaccine Starts Trial Production

Reuters reported:

China’s CanSino Biologics Inc (6185.HK) has entered the “test production phase” for its COVID-19 mRNA booster vaccine, the company said in a post on its social media account late on Thursday.

The vaccine, known as CS-2034, targets new Omicron variants of the virus, which are responsible for the vast majority of infections that have swept across China since the country began dismantling strict COVID curbs last month.

Until now, China has relied on nine domestically-developed COVID vaccines approved for use, including inactivated vaccines, but none have been adapted to target the highly-transmissible Omicron variant and its offshoots that are currently in circulation.

The CanSino booster vaccine is one of China’s first home-grown potential vaccines based on mRNA technology similar to that employed in vaccines produced internationally by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.

First Vaccine for Honeybees Approved

The Hill reported:

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved its first-ever vaccine for honeybees. The vaccine, developed by Dalan Animal Health, Inc., aims to protect the species from American Foulbrood disease Paenibacillus larvae.

Bees play a crucial role in agriculture thanks to their important work as crop pollinators. The FDA estimates bee pollination accounts for around $15 billion in added crop value.

The company plans to administer the vaccine on a limited basis to commercial beekeepers and hopes to make it available for purchase in the United States this year.

The approval follows positive results of a randomized clinical trial published in Oct. 2022, which showed the vaccine protects against American Foulbrood through a process called transgenerational immune priming. In this process, maternal organisms transfer pathogen immunity to the next generation.

FDA Approves 2nd Alzheimer’s Drug, Despite Safety Concerns

U.S. News & World Report reported:

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved a second Alzheimer’s drug, lecanemab, despite reports of rare brain bleeds linked to the use of the drug in some patients.

Lecanemab, made by Eisai and marketed by Biogen as Leqembi, will be only the second Alzheimer’s drug to receive the FDA’s blessing in the past 18 months; the agency’s speedy approval of the drug Aduhelm in June 2021 generated controversy in the medical community over its lack of effectiveness, brain bleed concerns and hefty price tag.

But Alzheimer’s experts said the story is somewhat different with Leqembi. “Unlike Aduhelm, which had an incomplete data set and where clinical trial data failed to demonstrate a definitive slowing in cognitive decline, lecanemab showed a statistically significant slowing in cognitive and functional decline, as well as reduction of brain amyloid levels, and downstream beneficial effects on other markers of neurodegeneration,” Dr. Sarah Kremen, who leads the Alzheimer’s Disease Clinical Trials Program at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, said in a statement.

Leqembi has been linked to two deaths from brain bleeds among people who used it in trials.