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Nursing Homes Charging Ahead to Administer COVID Vaccine Booster Shots
Nursing home and assisted living facilities are preparing to roll out COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for their residents and staff, while grappling with an acute labor shortage that’s likely to get worse as a federal vaccine mandate takes effect.
Expressing “how grateful we are that the Biden administration prioritized nursing homes,” Janet Snipes, executive director at Holly Heights Nursing Center in Denver, Colorado, told CBS MoneyWatch that the facility is now working to get individuals’ consent for the boosters. “We’re not completely finished, but we haven’t had anyone decline.”
Pfizer/BioNTech Submit Initial Data on COVID Vaccine for People Ages 5 to 11 to FDA, but Aren’t Seeking EUA Yet
Pfizer and BioNTech said Tuesday they have submitted COVID-19 vaccine data on children ages 5 to 11 to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for initial review, but are not yet seeking emergency use authorization.
A formal submission to request EUA for the vaccine is expected to follow in the coming weeks, the companies said in a statement.
Sanofi Drops Plans for Messenger RNA Vaccine Against Virus
French drugmaker Sanofi said Tuesday it was shelving plans for a COVID-19 vaccine based on messenger RNA despite positive results from early stage testing.
The Paris-based company said it will continue to develop another vaccine candidate that is already undergoing late stage human trials. That vaccine, developed jointly with Britain’s GlaxoSmithKline, is based on the characteristic spike protein of the virus that causes COVID-19.
Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID Vaccine Appears Effective Against SARS-CoV-2 Mu Variant
Researchers in Japan have conducted a study showing that the vaccine developed by Pfizer-BioNTech to protect against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) seems to be adequately effective against the B.1.621 (Mu) variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).
The Mu variant, which has been classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a variant of interest, has recently triggered concerns after reports indicated that it exhibits increased immune escape capabilities compared with other variants of concern and interest.
4 Charts Show Why Moderna Vaccine Recipients May Not Need Boosters as Much as People Who Got Pfizer’s Vaccine
Emerging evidence suggests that people on #TeamModerna may not need a booster as much as others.
Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released data sets from hospitals around the country. That data is starting to indicate that people who got Moderna‘s vaccine are less likely to be hospitalized than people who got Pfizer‘s or Johnson & Johnson‘s.
NIAID Issues New Awards to Fund ‘Pan-Coronavirus’ Vaccines
The National Institutes of Health reported:
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded approximately $36.3 million to three academic institutions to conduct research to develop vaccines to protect against multiple types of coronaviruses and viral variants. The awards are intended to fuel vaccine research for a diverse family of coronaviruses, with a primary focus on potential pandemic-causing coronaviruses, such as SARS-CoV-2.
Said NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., “These new awards are designed to look ahead and prepare for the next generation of coronaviruses with pandemic potential.”
COVID: Fully Vaccinated Patients No Longer Need to Test or Isolate Before Elective Procedures, Hospitals Are Told
Fully vaccinated patients no longer need to have a polymerase chain reaction COVID-19 test or to isolate before elective procedures, as long as they have a negative lateral flow test on the day, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has told hospitals.
The recommendation is one of three changes hospitals have been told they can make to the management of COVID-19 infection, prevention, and control measures. They can also reduce physical distancing from two metres to one, and readopt standard rather than enhanced cleaning procedures in low risk areas such as planned or scheduled elective care.
Japan to Lift All Coronavirus Emergency Steps Nationwide
Japan’s government announced Tuesday that the coronavirus state of emergency will end this week to help rejuvenate the economy as infections slow.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said the emergency will end Thursday and virus restrictions will be eased gradually “in order to resume daily lives despite the presence of the virus.” He said the government will create more temporary COVID-19 treatment facilities and continue vaccinations to prepare for any future resurgence.
