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Moderna Booster Vaccine Singled Out for Chronic Hives — Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria More Frequent When Compared With Pfizer’s mRNA Vaccine
The monovalent Moderna COVID-19 booster vaccine may be associated with an elevated risk for new-onset chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU), or hives lasting more than 6 weeks, according to a Swiss study.
Among people who got an mRNA COVID vaccine booster and had new-onset hives reported to local allergists, 90% had vaccination precede CSU in the canton of Vaud during the study period, as did 81% of patients in the nationwide cohort, reported Yannick Daniel Muller, MD, Ph.D., of the University of Lausanne in Switzerland, and coauthors.
The reason behind the possible association is unclear, and warrants further study, according to the study authors. “As a potential contributing mechanism warranting further investigations, our group previously showed that the Moderna vaccine had a greater association with positive skin and basophil activation tests results compared with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine,” wrote Muller and coauthors.
Merck COVID Drug Linked to New Virus Mutations, Study Says
Merck & Co.’s COVID-19 pill is giving rise to new mutations of the virus in some patients, according to a study that underscores the risk of trying to intentionally alter the pathogen’s genetic code. Some researchers worry the drug may create more contagious or health-threatening variations of COVID, which has killed more than 6.8 million people globally over the past three years.
Mutations linked to the use of Merck’s pill, Lagevrio, have been identified in viral samples taken from dozens of patients, according to a preprint study from researchers in the U.S. and at the Francis Crick Institute, Imperial College London and other U.K. institutions.
Researchers found Lagevrio-induced mutations in small patient clusters, indicating the new versions were spreading among them. While the biggest group they found with similar mutations was 21 people, that may not fully represent the true scope of the problem as viral samples of many patients aren’t analyzed, according to Ryan Hisner, an independent researcher from Indiana who helped write the paper.
The risk of drug-linked mutations is too great to continue using Merck’s drug, Hisner said. The U.S. should explore authorizing drugs used in other countries to control COVID, like Xocova from Japan-based Shionogi & Co., and discontinue the use of Lagevrio, said Michael Lin, a Stanford University antiviral drug researcher who said he consulted with the authors but wasn’t involved in the study.
Pfizer Accused of ‘Obscene’ COVID Profits After Posting Record Revenues
Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has been accused of making an “obscene profit” from the coronavirus pandemic after it posted record revenue of more than $100 billion for 2022, a rise of 23% on the previous year.
The company’s COVID products Comirnaty, an mRNA vaccine and Paxlovid, an oral antiviral, accounted for over $56.7 billion of the company’s worldwide revenue. Sales of the two drugs in the U.S. alone accounted for around $19.3 billion, its January 31 financial results revealed, with the company having an estimated market share of 64 percent for the vaccine in America.
Pfizer‘s net income after expenses was almost $31.4 billion, of which $11 billion will be going directly to shareholders in the form of dividends and share buybacks, it stated. The company said in its financial statement that growth was “driven primarily” by global sales of Paxlovid and a “strong” increase in sales of Comirnaty in “developed markets.”
“Pfizer has made an obscene profit from the pandemic,” Mohga Kamal-Yanni, policy co-lead at the People’s Vaccine Alliance, told Newsweek. “History is littered with egregious examples of pharmaceutical companies exploiting crises for profit, but none have been as lucrative as the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Inside the Secret Government Meeting on COVID Natural Immunity
Four of the highest-ranking U.S. health officials — including Dr. Anthony Fauci — met in secret to discuss whether or not naturally immune people should be exempt from getting COVID-19 vaccines, The Epoch Times can reveal.
The officials brought in four outside experts to discuss whether the protection gained after recovering from COVID-19 — known as natural immunity — should count as one or more vaccine doses.
“There was interest in several people in the administration in hearing basically the opinions of four immunologists in terms of what we thought about … natural infection as contributing to protection against moderate to severe disease, and to what extent that should influence dosing,” Dr. Paul Offit, one of the experts, told The Epoch Times. Offit and another expert took the position that the naturally immune need fewer doses. The other two experts argued natural immunity shouldn’t count as anything.
The discussion did not lead to a change in U.S. vaccination policy, which has never acknowledged post-infection protection. Fauci and the other U.S. officials who heard from the experts have repeatedly downplayed that protection, claiming that it is inferior to vaccine-bestowed immunity. Most studies on the subject indicate the opposite.
U.S. FDA Removes COVID Test Requirements for Pfizer, Merck Pills
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday removed the need for a positive test for COVID-19 treatments from Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and Merck & Co Inc (MRK.N).
Pfizer’s Paxlovid and Merck’s Lagevrio pills were given emergency use authorizations in Dec. 2021 for patients with mild-to-moderate COVID who tested positive for the virus, and who were at risk of progressing to severe COVID.
Still, the FDA said the patients should have a current diagnosis of mild-to-moderate COVID infection.
The health regulator said individuals with recent known exposure with signs and symptoms may be diagnosed by their healthcare providers with COVID even if they have a negative test result.
DC Boss James Gunn Shrugs off ‘Shazam’ Star Zachary Levi’s Anti-Pfizer Tweet
DC boss James Gunn has addressed a controversial tweet from Zachary Levi that called into question the “Shazam!” star’s position on vaccines.
On Saturday, Levi tweeted “Hardcore agree” in response to someone who asked whether people consider pharmaceutical company Pfizer “a real danger to the world.” Levi’s tweet has since ignited a debate as to whether the onscreen superhero is against corruption in the pharmaceutical industry or Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine.
“Actors and filmmakers that I work with are going to say things that I agree with and things that I don’t agree with,” Gunn said Monday during a press event on the Warner Bros. studio lot, according to Variety.
Shortly after raising eyebrows with his anti-Pfizer stance, Levi tweeted a link to a 2009 press release from the Department of Justice announcing that the United States government had reached a $2.3-billion settlement with Pfizer “to resolve criminal and civil liability arising from the illegal promotion of certain pharmaceutical products.”
‘Wouldn’t Do Anything Different’: Dr. Peter McCullough Unbowed After Winning Legal Case
A district judge vindicated Texas cardiologist and outspoken COVID vaccine critic Dr. Peter McCullough on Wednesday, dismissing a lawsuit filed against him approximately two years ago by his former employer Baylor Scott and White Health system.
McCullough, dubbed a prominent purveyor of COVID misinformation by his detractors, was sued by the health system two years ago for allegedly violating a separation agreement and bringing the Baylor Scott and White Health name into the media. Associate Judge Tahira Khan Merritt of the Judicial District Court Dallas County dismissed the suit with prejudice.
“This is a strong victory for freedom of speech and fair balanced publication and media presentation of clinical data as it has emerged over the course of the pandemic crisis,” McCullough told The Daily Wire. “My analyses and conclusions have been accurate, consistent, and have always been my own, not those of any institution.”
Baylor accused McCullough in the $1 million lawsuit of “reputational harm,” stating that McCullough gave several media interviews and was published in journals that mentioned Baylor as an affiliate even though he had parted ways with the employer.
Draft WHO Pandemic Deal Pushes for Equity to Avoid COVID ‘Failure’ Repeat
Governments may have to reserve drugs and vaccines for the World Health Organization to distribute in poorer countries to avoid a repeat of the “catastrophic failure” during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an early draft of a global pandemic agreement.
One of the most concrete proposals in the draft accord reviewed by Reuters on Wednesday includes a measure to reserve 20% of any tests, vaccines or treatments developed for use in poorer countries. The draft also looks set to continue a long-running argument by calling for intellectual property rights to be waived during pandemics, which advocates say would allow for wider access to life-saving drugs and vaccines more quickly.
The pharmaceutical industry is against the move. The draft also retains earlier provisions that could see pharmaceutical companies made to release details of any public contracts for vaccines and treatments during such global health emergencies.
The agreement, which is commonly known as the pandemic treaty, has been drawn up by WHO member states and will now go through a lengthy negotiating process before being finalized.
The Funding Cliff for Student Mental Health
Public school districts that received a windfall of COVID relief funds for mental health services are confronting a new dilemma: How to sustain counseling, screenings, teletherapy and other programs when the money runs out.
Why it matters: The youth mental health crisis is not getting better, and schools are increasingly being pressed into service as first responders amid rising rates of suicidal ideation, overdoses and gun violence.
The big picture: Advocates, researchers and administrators told Axios the schools will be hard-pressed to retain qualified mental health personnel after the funding expires at the end of fiscal 2024.
House Passes Bill to End Coronavirus-Era Telework Policies for Executive Agencies
The House on Wednesday passed a bill that would force executive agencies to end teleworking policies implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, ordering the entities to revert back to plans in place in 2019. Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the sponsor of the bill, called the measure “urgent.”
“The federal workforce needs to get back to work. Federal agencies are falling short on their missions. They are not carrying out their duties; they are failing the American people,” he said.
The number of government employees teleworking increased rapidly amid the pandemic. According to a CBS News review of data and reports from the Office Of Personnel Management (OPM), the number of government employees who teleworked increased from roughly 483,000 in 2018 to more than 1 million by 2021.
