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Martha Stewart Stars in a ‘Kill COVID’ Spot for Pfizer
Pfizer’s new COVID-19 booster ad starring Martha Stewart is both rather odd and strangely compelling to watch in a definitive departure from its previous conservative vaccine commercials.
The 30-second spot, “Unwelcome Guest,” features Stewart in her beautifully perfect kitchen calmly sharpening a massive Samurai sword. As sparks fly, she says, “You know that unwelcome guest everyone wishes would leave already? That’s COVID-19.” She expands on how the new updated Pfizer shot protects against the so-called Omicron variant. She then effortlessly lops the top off a poor unsuspecting pineapple and drops it in the garbage.
The whole vibe of the spot is “Kill Bill” meets “Top Chef.” Stewart is both charming and vaguely menacing throughout. (Is the threat aimed at anti-vaxxers?) Luckily, the direction is clean and beautiful, so all these disparate themes somehow work — at least entertainment-wise.
Still, the goal of the spot, which is unbranded other than a Pfizer/BioNTech name flash at the end, is to get folks boosted, so it sends the viewer to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccines.gov site.
Texas Legislators Introduce Bill to Examine Long-Term Health Effects, Including Death, From COVID Vaccines
Today, Texas State Senator Drew Springer (SD30) and Representative Dustin Burrows (HD83) filed a bill instructing the Texas Department of Health and Human Services to study adverse reactions, including death, and the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines.
“No one knows the long-term health implications of the COVID-19 vaccine. Simply put, Texans have the right to know the facts so they can make an informed decision about COVID-19 vaccines. The federal government won’t tell us, so Texas will lead the way in researching this issue,” said Representative Burrows.
The study must consider the immediate adverse reactions Texans have experienced from taking the various COVID-19 vaccines, the long-term adverse reactions Texans have encountered from taking the various COVID-19 vaccines, any misrepresentations about the effectiveness or dangers of taking the vaccine by its manufacturers or any governmental agency, and any concealment of information about the effectiveness or dangers of taking of the vaccine by its manufacturers or any governmental agency.
Doctor Calls for Withdrawal of Pfizer, Moderna COVID Vaccines Following New Research
An American doctor is joining the calls for the withdrawal of the messenger RNA COVID-19 vaccines, pointing to new research that highlights a connection between the shots and adverse events.
Dr. Joseph Fraiman, a doctor based in Louisiana who also conducts research on COVID-19 and other health issues, says it’s time to halt the administration of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines until new clinical trials prove the benefits from the vaccines outweigh the harms.
The new research, including a reanalysis of the trials for the vaccines, raise concerns about whether the benefits from the vaccines outweigh the harms, according to the doctor. “The only thing that can answer that question is going to be a randomized trial,” he added.
Omicron Sub-Variant XBB.1.5 Accounts for 43% of U.S. COVID Cases — CDC
The fast-spreading Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 is estimated to account for 43% of the COVID-19 cases in the United States for the week ended Jan. 14, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed on Friday.
The sub-variant accounted for about 30% of cases in the first week of January, higher than the 27.6% the CDC estimated last week.
The ‘Gryphon’ Family of COVID Variants Is Spreading Globally — but Their Bark May Be a Lot Worse Than Their Bite
You may remember the XBB variant that took Singapore by storm last fall — one of the most immune-evasive yet. Dubbed “Gryphon” by the Canadian biology professor Ryan Gregory — who has a lot more names like it for other variants — after the mythical amalgamation of eagle and lion, it’s less of a global player than it was then.
Now its descendants are battling for dominance throughout the world. Experts are keeping a close eye in particular on (the also Gregory-monikered) “Kraken” XBB.1.5, due to its ability to grow at a breakneck pace.
A recent report out of India offers some comfort, however. Of 85 patients with XBB variants surveyed in Maharashtra, India, during the latter half of 2022, most (88%) were symptomatic, but the majority of them (79%) were able to cope with infection at home, versus in a hospital. The study (which has not yet been peer-reviewed) also had good news about survival and symptoms.
The vast majority of the patients (96%) survived, with only three deaths among the group, according to the study, published Jan. 6 on Yale University-affiliated preprint repository medRxiv. XBB COVID variants are causing “mild disease in India,” the authors wrote, referring to the XBB variant itself, as well as offspring variants like XBB.1, XBB.2, XBB.3, and XBB.5.
Maine CDC Head Who Led COVID Response Leaves for Fed Post
Dr. Nirav Shah, the director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention who became the face of the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, is leaving for a high-ranking post in federal disease control, officials said Thursday.
Shah, who has been with the state since 2019, has been appointed principal deputy director at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and will take over that role in March, Democratic Gov. Janet Mills said. Shah will be second in the CDC’s hierarchy under Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky.
Study: St. Louis Children’s Hospital Saw 52% Increase in Firearm Injuries During Pandemic
St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported:
Children seen at one of the St. Louis region’s busiest pediatric hospitals suffered a significant increase in firearm injuries and deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recent study by the University of Missouri School of Medicine in Columbia.
The study looked at pediatric patients cared for at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Researchers compared the firearm injury rates during the five years before the start of the pandemic to rates from March 2020 through March 2022.
The monthly injury rate from firearms (including both fatal and non-fatal injuries) increased by nearly 52% during the pandemic, the study found. Firearm deaths increased by 29%.
The University of Missouri study may also be the first study to show potential correlations between pediatric firearms injuries and surges in COVID-19, Bernardin said.
California Attorney General Sues Drugmakers Over Inflated Insulin Prices
California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Thursday sued the six major companies that dominate the U.S. insulin market, ratcheting up the state’s assault on a profitable industry for artificially jacking up prices and making the indispensable drug less accessible for diabetes patients.
The 47-page civil complaint alleges three pharmaceutical companies that control the insulin market — Eli Lilly and Co., Sanofi and Novo Nordisk — are violating California law by unfairly and illegally driving up the cost of the drug. It also targets three distribution middlemen known as pharmacy benefit managers: CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, and OptumRx.
In the lawsuit, Bonta argued that prices have skyrocketed and that some patients have been forced to ration their medicine or forgo buying insulin altogether. The attorney general said a vial of insulin, which diabetics rely on to control blood sugar, cost $25 a couple of decades ago but now costs about $300.
Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo Applies for Approval of mRNA COVID Vaccine
Daiichi Sankyo Co (4568.T) said on Friday it submitted its mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine for regulatory approval in Japan.
Approval would give Japan a home-grown mRNA vaccine of the type that has made up the bulk of its COVID inoculations so far. The vaccine known as DS-5670 is being proposed as a booster shot, Daiichi Sankyo said in a statement.
Japan has relied mainly on imports of shots developed by U.S. drugmakers Pfizer Inc. (PFE.N) and Moderna Inc. (MRNA.O).
