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New Study Suggests Latest Omicron Sub-Variant Four Times More Vaccine-Resistant
A new study in the U.S. suggests that the latest Omicron sub-variant that is the most prevalent in the country, is four times more resistant to current vaccines.
The announcement by the Mayo Clinic on Friday, July 15 will be of concern to health authorities around the world who are banking on updated vaccines to protect their citizens from another pandemic.
The BA.5 Omicron sub-variant, which is considered “hyper contagious,” is more resistant to mRNA vaccines such as Pfizer and Moderna. Worryingly, the variant accounts for around two-thirds of all infections in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Head of the Mayo Clinic’s Vaccine Research Group Dr. Gregory Poland said: “Let me make a clear, clear point here that’s a little tough to hear: Whether you’ve been vaccinated, whether you’ve been previously infected, whether you’ve been previously infected and vaccinated, you have very little protection against BA.5 in terms of getting infected or having a mild-to-moderate infection.
EU Adds Severe Allergies as Side Effect of Novavax COVID Vaccine
The European Medicines Agency on Thursday identified severe allergic reactions as potential side effects of Novavax Inc.’s (NVAX.O) COVID-19 vaccine.
The vaccine was authorized by U.S. regulators on Wednesday, and its product label in the United States warns against administering the shot to people with a history of allergic reactions to any components of the shot.
Shares of Novavax fell 20.3% to $55.72 in morning trading, along with the broader market and other COVID-19 vaccine makers. Novavax shares are usually volatile.
The EMA said it would also update the product information for the vaccine to add unusual or decreased feeling in the skin as a new side effect.
25 Million Kids Missed Routine Vaccinations Because of COVID
About 25 million children worldwide have missed out on routine immunizations against common diseases like diptheria, largely because the coronavirus pandemic disrupted regular health services or triggered misinformation about vaccines, according to the U.N.
In a new report published Friday, the World Health Organization and UNICEF said their figures show 25 million children last year failed to get vaccinated against diptheria, tetanus and pertussis, a marker for childhood immunization coverage, continuing a downward trend that began in 2019.
Mr. Biden, Are We in a Public Health Emergency or Not?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continue to contradict themselves regarding COVID-19.
The Biden administration obviously still considers the COVID-19 pandemic a “public health emergency.” In June the FDA pushed forward with a series of aggressive COVID-19 vaccine administration actions under its emergency use authorization power.
First, the agency approved the emergency use of a novel vaccine, which was engineered for the original 2019 version of COVID. The Novavax vaccine received an emergency use recommendation from the FDA’s advisory committee despite having the same cardiovascular side effect concerns as the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
Indeed, the approval of these injections by the regulatory bodies responsible for our public health, based on the pharmaceutical companies’ own clinical trial data, demonstrates an appalling abandonment of basic drug approval norms.
Then, the FDA Advisory Committee approved emergency use for a primary series for the Pfizer and then Moderna vaccines for all children as young as 6 months old, despite children being at extremely low risk.
More Than a Third of U.S. Counties in COVID ‘Red’ Zone, According to CDC
More than a third of U.S. counties are in a COVID-19 “red” zone, indicating high levels of community transmission and hospitalization, while less than a quarter of counties are in the “green zone,” a marker of low community transmission and hospitalization levels, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control, as the new Omicron BA.5 variant continues to spread rapidly.
Roughly 35.5% of U.S. counties (1,143 counties total) have high community levels of COVID, up nearly 15% from the week before, while 40% of counties have medium community COVID community levels, a 2% increase from the week before, according to the CDC.
COVID deaths in the U.S. have remained low, however, hovering around 300 per day since April.
The Food and Drug Administration is asking pharmaceutical companies to target the new BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants in a retooled COVID booster shot drug companies hope will be available in October. But CDC experts are cautioning that high-risk individuals should not wait until the fall to get the updated shot, instead urging them to get a booster as soon as possible.
U.S. Monkeypox Cases Top 1K
Confirmed monkeypox and orthopoxvirus cases in the U.S. have surpassed the 1,000 mark.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are now 1,053 cases in 41 states and Puerto Rico.
Three states have more than 150 confirmed monkeypox cases including California, New York and Illinois.
Data from the agency shows cases worldwide now exceeding 11,000.
‘Unprecedented’ Spread of Monkeypox Spurs Call for Faster Response
The federal and state response to the escalating monkeypox outbreak is lacking access to enough vaccines, testing and treatments to keep up with the virus’ spread, infectious disease experts are warning.
Public health officials are racing to halt the spread before the disease becomes endemic in more countries. Cases are rising quickly — New York City, for example, has seen a tripling in patients over the past week.
Some experts say this outbreak echoes the start of the HIV epidemic that also first appeared in communities of men who have sex with men (MSM), but NIAID director Anthony Fauci says there are “fundamental differences” from that traumatic time when there was an unknown agent killing patients rapidly.
While this outbreak of monkeypox outside endemic countries is “unprecedented” in its rate of human-to-human spread, the virus for monkeypox has been identified, isn’t nearly as deadly and there are potential vaccines and treatments already in existence, Fauci tells Axios.
Don’t Use Luvox, Colchicine to Fight COVID, WHO Experts Say
U.S. News & World Report reported:
The antidepressant drug fluvoxamine (Luvox) and the gout drug colchicine are commonly used and inexpensive drugs that have received considerable interest as potential COVID-19 treatments.
However, there is insufficient evidence that either drug improves important outcomes for patients, according to a WHO report produced by a panel of experts and recently published online in The BMJ.
Cholera Found in Turtles at Wet Market in COVID Epicenter Wuhan
Wuhan detected cholera-causing bacteria in samples taken from softshell turtles at a food market, sparking comparisons among some Chinese social media users to the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Baishazhou wet market has been disinfected and shops related to the turtles closed for three days, according to a statement from local health authorities late on Thursday.
No cases of cholera have been found in people who came into contact with the animals, and the strain isn’t related to the case confirmed this week in a Wuhan University student, they said.
Cholera is a virulent illness that’s spread through contaminated food and water and causes acute diarrhea. China classifies it as a ‘Class A’ disease, the strongest designation and one shared by only the bubonic plague, with its detection spurring an emergency response from health officials.
U.K. Weekly COVID Infections Rise, Booster Jab Program Announced
An estimated 3.5 million people in Britain had COVID-19 in the latest week of available data, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Friday, up nearly 30% on the 2.7 million recorded in the previous week.
Separately, the government announced that a new COVID booster jab program would begin later this year.
The government said the vaccine booster program would begin in “early autumn” and be offered to people aged 50 and over, residents and staff at care homes, individuals in clinical risk groups, people who are immunosuppressed and frontline workers.
