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Doctors Shrug off Patients With Rare Vaccine Disorders, Delaying Treatment
On November 4, 2020, Brianne Dressen walked into a clinic in West Jordan, Utah to take part in a clinical trial for AstraZeneca‘s COVID-19 vaccine. A few minutes after getting the shot, her arm began to tingle and her eyes felt “weird,” she says. Her symptoms soon got worse. She developed a fever and chills and her arm went numb. At one point she grew so sensitive to light and sound that she sought relief in a dark room wearing earmuffs.
By the time she got to the emergency room at the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City, the numbness had spread from her feet upward to her legs. She had lost the ability to walk and could no longer control her bladder and bowels. “It was really scary,” she says.
What followed was a long nightmare of seeking care for debilitating symptoms from doctors who, she says, were dismissive of her symptoms and dubious that a vaccine could be the cause. Although adverse effects from COVID-19 vaccines are rare, some of those who fall into that group say they have gotten short shrift by the medical establishment.
Many doctors, worried about spreading misinformation and contributing to vaccine hesitancy, have been reluctant to take complaints about severe vaccine side-effects seriously, according to some people who have suffered post-COVID-19 vaccine complications.
Fewer Than 1 in 5 U.S. Parents Say They’ll Get COVID Vaccines for Kids Under 5 as Soon as They Can, Survey Finds
U.S. children under 5 are getting closer to authorized COVID-19 vaccines, but most parents may be reluctant to actually get them when they become available, a new survey found.
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Vaccine Monitor survey, published Wednesday, only 18% of parents of children under 5 said they would vaccinate their child against COVID-19 as soon as a vaccine was available.
Nearly 40% of parents of young children said they would “wait and see” before vaccinating their child, 11% said they would get the vaccine only if required, and 27% said they would “definitely not” vaccinate their child against COVID-19.
More than half of parents in this age group said they “don’t have enough information about the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines for children in this age group,” compared with 34% of parents of children ages 5-11 and 25% of parents of children ages 12-17.
Moderna Q1 Profit Triples on Robust Vaccine Sales
COVID-19 vaccine sales helped Moderna triple its net income in a better-than-expected first quarter. The vaccine maker said Wednesday that revenue from its coronavirus preventive shots jumped to $5.92 billion, from $1.73 billion in last year’s quarter, when the vaccines were debuting in most markets.
More than 217 million doses of Moderna’s Spikevax vaccine have been administered in the U.S., where it is one of three approved options for adults. Pfizer’s Comrinaty shots are the most commonly used, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A vaccine from Johnson & Johnson ranks third.
Moderna also is seeking authorization for its shots to be used in adolescents and children, something dozens of other countries have already granted.
FDA Officials Say Annual COVID Shots May Be Needed in the Future
The United States might need to update its COVID-19 vaccines each year, according to a trio of top U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials, and “a new normal” may include an annual COVID-19 vaccine alongside a seasonal flu shot.
“Widespread vaccine- and infection-induced immunity, combined with the availability of effective therapeutics, could blunt the effects of future outbreaks. Nonetheless, it is time to accept that the presence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is the new normal. It will likely circulate globally for the foreseeable future, taking its place alongside other common respiratory viruses such as influenza.
And it likely will require similar annual consideration for vaccine composition updates,” Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research; Principal Deputy Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock; and new FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf wrote in a paper published in the medical journal JAMA on Monday.
Carnival Cruise Ship Passengers Say COVID Overwhelmed Ship
Passengers on a Carnival Cruise Ship that docked Tuesday in Seattle say more than 100 people aboard the ship tested positive for COVID-19 and the ship was overwhelmed.
Multiple people say they’re in quarantine at Seattle-area hotels after testing positive or being exposed to someone with COVID-19. Carnival Cruise Line would not confirm how many people tested positive, but said there were a number of positive cases, KING5 reported.
Passengers tell KING 5 they waited hours for meals, weren’t properly isolated and couldn’t get ahold of medical staff. Carnival said there were no serious health issues. The company’s website says guests are required to be fully vaccinated and tested before a trip. Some exemptions are accommodated with proper testing.
COVID Worsens Asthma in Children; Booster After Infection Not as Beneficial vs. Omicron
The following is a summary of some recent studies on COVID-19. They include research that warrants further study to corroborate the findings and that has yet to be certified by peer review.
Asthma in children may worsen after infection with the coronavirus, doctors warn.
Among people who were previously infected with the coronavirus, a third dose of an mRNA vaccine from Pfizer (PFE.N)/BioNTech (22UAy.DE) or Moderna (MRNA.O) may not boost their protection against the Omicron variant of the virus, according to new data.
A separate study from Canada, also posted on medRxiv ahead of peer review, similarly found that more than two vaccine doses “may be of marginal incremental value” for protecting previously-infected individuals against Omicron.
New Coronavirus Variants Emerge: BA.4, BA.5 Likely Reinfecting Omicron Survivors
A pair of new Omicron subvariants has emerged, raising the possibility that survivors of earlier Omicron strains can get reinfected.
BA.4 and BA.5 have gained increasing attention in South Africa as weekly coronavirus cases tripled in the last two weeks, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The rapid growth of BA.4 and BA.5 in South Africa has implications for a potential future surge in California and the U.S.
Until now, scientists had been reassured that people who survived the first Omicron variant over the winter, BA.1, were unlikely to be reinfected by the even more infectious subvariant BA.2, which is now dominant nationwide.
Pfizer Says Patients Who Relapse After COVID Pill Can Repeat Treatment
Pfizer Inc. executives said patients who suffer a relapse in COVID-19 symptoms after taking a full course of Paxlovid should take more of the treatment, though current U.S. guidelines limit use to five consecutive days.
“Paxlovid does what it has to do: it reduces the viral load,” Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla said in an interview. “Then your body is supposed to do the job.” But for unknown reasons, the CEO said, some patients aren’t able to clear the virus with the first course of treatment.
In cases where virus levels do rebound, Bourla said, “then you give a second course like you do with antibiotics, and that’s it.”
The Food and Drug Administration didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on how the antiviral should be prescribed to COVID-19 patients who experience a rebound in viral load. While Paxlovid is available under emergency use authorization, it hasn’t yet gained full approval. Prescribing directions suggest that the drug is “not authorized for use for longer than 5 consecutive days.”
Nose Spray Vaccines Could Quash COVID Virus Variants
The relentless evolution of the COVID-causing coronavirus has taken a bit of the shine off the vaccines developed during the first year of the pandemic. Versions of the virus that now dominate circulation — Omicron and its subvariants — are more transmissible and adept at evading the body’s immune defenses than their original form.
The current shots to the arm can still prevent serious illness, but their ability to ward off infection completely has been diminished. And part of the reason may be the location of the jabs, which some scientists now want to change.
To block infections entirely, scientists want to deliver inoculations to the site where the virus first makes contact: the nose. People could simply spray the vaccines up their nostrils at home, making the preparation much easier to administer.
After Another Strong Quarter, CVS Raises Outlook for 2022
COVID-19 vaccines and tests for the virus continue to boost CVS Health and the healthcare giant raised its annual forecast after yet another strong quarter.
The company said Wednesday that it administered more than 8 million COVID-19 vaccines in the first quarter. That represented a big drop from the over 20 million that it administered in the last quarter of 2021 when customers sought boosters and many children began getting shots.
CVS Health said it also administered more than six million tests in the first quarter, and its drugstores got a boost from customers buying additional test kits to take home as the Omicron surge of the virus peaked at the start of the quarter.
Hopes Rise for COVID Vaccine Patent Waiver After Key Countries Agree on Proposal
The World Trade Organization’s (WTO) most powerful members said on Tuesday that they had agreed on a proposed waiver on intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines in the hopes of speeding up rollouts worldwide.
The proposal from the so-called Quad (the European Union, India, South Africa and the United States) will still have to go to the full council, but China has indicated it is prepared to vote in favor. If passed, it could allow developing world countries to manufacture COVID vaccines without paying Pfizer, Moderna and other pharmaceutical companies licenses.
Valneva to Launch Trial for Booster Use of Its COVID Vaccine Candidate
French drugmaker Valneva (VLS.PA) said on Wednesday it will conduct a trial about the use of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate VLA2001 as a booster jab following an mRNA vaccination or natural infection.
The trial will be conducted in the Netherlands and results are expected in the third quarter of 2022, the statement said.
The VLA2001-307 trial will be the company’s first clinical trial to provide booster data following primary vaccination with an mRNA vaccine or natural COVID-19 infection.
