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COVID Vaccination Likely Cause of Man’s Acquired Hemophilia A
Hemophilia News Today reported:
COVID-19 vaccines, because they work to stimulate the immune system, may be an emerging cause of autoimmune conditions like acquired hemophilia A, according to a case report. “This report aims to highlight the risk of … [acquired hemophilia A] following an immune stimulus, thus improving our knowledge regarding possible vaccination-related adverse events,” the researchers wrote.
The case, involving a man who developed the bleeding condition after receiving the vaccine and was initially treated improperly, also highlights the importance of educating physicians about this potential side effect. The case report, “Acquired hemophilia A following COVID-19 vaccination — The importance of prompt diagnosis: A case report,” was published in the journal Transfusion and Apheresis Science.
Researchers reported a case of acquired hemophilia A following COVID-19 vaccination in a 71-year-old-man admitted to their hospital in Italy. The man had previously been admitted to another emergency center with symptoms of arm pain and swelling associated with limited movement and petechiae (tiny spots of bleeding under the skin). He sought help eight days after a second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
Fauci Says He Should Have Been ‘More Careful’ on Pandemic Messaging: ‘No One’s Perfect’
Chief White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci on Tuesday said he should have been “much more careful” in his messaging on COVID-19 early on in the pandemic, including doing a better job of conveying the uncertainty present at that time.
Fauci, who will be stepping down from government work in December, reflected on the first months of the coronavirus outbreak while speaking at a seminar hosted by the University of Southern California’s Center for Health Journalism. The longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases spoke with Washington Post national health reporter Dan Diamond.
“When I go back in the early months, I probably should have tried to be much, much more careful in getting the message to repeat — the uncertainty of what we’re going through,” Fauci said.
Diamond asked Fauci if he would sit for investigations next year if he was called by a Republican-controlled committee. “Of course, I have no problem. I am a big believer in oversight, and I have testified before Congress literally hundreds of times,” Fauci responded.
‘Like Copying a Louis Vuitton Handbag’: Big Pharma Hits out at Africa’s Replica COVID Vaccine
When news broke that scientists had developed an effective vaccine against COVID, Emile Hendricks was living in a deprived suburb of Cape Town and studying for a degree in biotechnology.
He thought he and his community would not have access to such a vaccine, or at the very least would be at the back of the queue. He was right. By mid-April 2021, more than 32 million people in the U.K. had received the first dose of a COVID vaccine, compared with just 300,000 in South Africa, where the rollout was plagued by problems.
Two years later, Hendricks is a research technologist at Afrigen Biologics and Vaccines, a Cape Town pharmaceutical company, and part of a team that has successfully reproduced small quantities of Moderna’s mRNA COVID vaccine as part of a plan backed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to develop vaccines in the global south.
Its freedom to operate is also under threat. Moderna has filed several patents in South Africa and has refused to cooperate and share technology with the hub in Africa, likening the replica vaccine to a “copy of a Louis Vuitton handbag.” In addition, Moderna is suing fellow mRNA vaccine manufacturers Pfizer and BioNTech, which has raised fears that it could enforce patents against the hub regarding any future vaccines it may develop for illnesses other than COVID.
Another COVID Variant Could Emerge This Winter, Fauci Says
NIAID director Anthony Fauci said Tuesday that “we should not be surprised” if a new COVID-19 variant emerges this winter. Driving the news: “We should anticipate that we very well may get another variant that would emerge that would elude the immune response that we’ve gotten from infection and/or from vaccination,” Fauci said during an event with the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism.
Fauci said we’re currently moving “in the right direction.” But, but, but: “We are entering into the winter months, where no matter what the respiratory disease is, there’s always a risk of an uptick.”
What he’s saying: Fauci, who has been Biden‘s chief medical adviser and is retiring from government service later this year, was cautious when asked if he thinks an end of the pandemic is in sight. “I think it would be a bit cavalier to all of a sudden say we’re completely through with it,” he said.
The big picture: COVID-19 cases have been trending downward in recent months. But winter will push more people inside. Meanwhile, scientists have been tracking three new sub-variants in recent weeks.
Here’s What Might Happen the Second — or Third — Time You Get COVID, Experts Say: ‘There’s No Guarantee’
As the weather grows colder, you may find yourself experiencing a second — or even third — round of COVID infection. That prompts a few questions: Will getting COVID again be similar to my previous experience? Will it be any different than last time? Will my symptoms be more or less severe?
The answer to all of them, experts say: It’s complicated. It depends on how long it’s been since you last had COVID, your risk of severe disease and how long it’s been since you were last vaccinated — if you’re vaccinated at all.
“With reinfection, it’s kind of all over the map,” Dr. Gabe Kelen, chair of emergency medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, tells CNBC Make It. “By and large, it seems milder. But there’s no guarantee.”
If you recover from a COVID infection, you’ll emerge with antibodies in your system that “keep a lookout for a future infection,” says Dr. Roy Gulick, chief of infectious diseases at Weill Cornell Medicine. Not all of them will help your body fight the next infection, but the ones that do can decrease the amount or severity of your symptoms.
Pfizer COVID Vaccine Clears Japan Panel for Use With Young Children
A Japanese health ministry panel on Wednesday recommended approving Pfizer Inc.’s (PFE.N) COVID-19 vaccine for children as young as six months old.
Japan in January expanded the use of the vaccine to those as young as five years old. Last month, health authorities started dispensing Pfizer and Moderna Inc. (MRNA.O) booster shots that target the Omicron variant of the virus.
The panel also recommended approval of a version of the Pfizer vaccine that protects against the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of Omicron. Moderna said earlier on Wednesday it was seeking Japanese approval of its own subvariant shot.
AstraZeneca’s Evusheld Loses Potency Against New Omicron Subvariant, FDA Warns
With the coronavirus rapidly evolving, there is little longevity for finely tuned antibodies. It was that way for successful but short-lived treatments from Regeneron, GSK and Eli Lilly. Now, for AstraZeneca’s Evusheld, the lights may be turning red.
Monday, amid reports that the antibody combo is ineffective against the latest subvariant of Omicron, BA.4.6, the FDA has updated its fact sheet for Evusheld, saying it can increase the risk of COVID-19 infection for variants that the product does not neutralize.
With BA.4.6 spreading in the U.S. and beginning to take hold in Europe, Evusheld’s days as an option for prevention of infection could be numbered.
The BA.5 subvariant is still the dominant version of the coronavirus globally, accounting for 85% of current infections, an AstraZeneca spokesman pointed out. The company also adds that BA.4.6 represents just 6.2% of infections around the world and is “growing slowly.”
Most Americans Don’t Plan to Get a Flu Shot This Season — Lots of Them Say They’ll Mask to Avoid Germs Instead
Only 49% of U.S. adults plan to get their flu shot this flu season, according to a survey conducted by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID). Even 1 in 5 of those who are at higher risk for influenza-related complications say they won’t get vaccinated.
Instead, more U.S. adults are gravitating towards masking as a form of protection against the flu. A higher percentage of Americans (58%) plan to mask at least sometimes this flu season than intend to get vaccinated.
Here are some of the top reasons adults gave for not getting vaccinated this season: 41% think flu shots don’t work very well, 39% are concerned about the vaccine’s side effects, 28% say they never get the flu, 24% are concerned about getting the flu from the shot and 20% do not think influenza is a serious illness.
The altered approach this flu season may be partly due to the timing of the Omicron-specific booster and people’s concerns with getting both the updated COVID booster and the flu shot. Just 32% of U.S. adults are very confident that it is safe to receive the vaccines at the same time, the survey shows.
Health Officials Warn Severe Flu Season Is Coming, Urge Vaccinations
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging everyone 6 months and older to also get their flu shot. Public health officials are worried about a false sense of security after two milder flu seasons due to COVID precautions.
Australia, which experiences winter ahead of the U.S., just had its worst flu season in five years.
Less than half of U.S. adults plan to get a flu shot this year and just a third feel safe getting a flu shot and COVID-19 vaccine at the same time, according to a National Foundation for Infectious Diseases survey.
