The public may require annual vaccines to protect against SARS-CoV-2, Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) CEO Albert Bourla said today. “It is extremely important to suppress the pool of people that can be susceptible to the virus,” Bourla said in a CNBC interview. While the details of Pfizer-BioNTech boosters are not yet clear, COVID-19 boosters will likely be based on […]
COVID-19 vaccines
EU won’t renew J&J, AstraZeneca vaccine contracts, report says
Reports from Italy claim that the European Union Commission won’t renew COVID-19 vaccine contracts next year with AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson. According to Reuters, Italian outlet La Stampa reported that sources from the Italian health ministry have said the commission does not want to pursue contract renewals with those two companies once those encompassing the current year expire, […]
EMA begins investigation of J&J COVID-19 vaccine’s blood clotting potential
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced that it is beginning a review of blood clots appearing in a handful of recipients of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. EMA recently concluded that blood clots associated with low blood platelet levels were a “very rare” side effect of Vaxzevria, the vaccine from AstraZeneca. Four recipients of […]
Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine shipments plunge
Johnson & Johnson will cut COVID-19 vaccine shipments by 86% in the coming week, according to CDC projections. The week of April 5, the company shipped nearly 5 million doses. Next week, that figure could fall to approximately 700,000. The company anticipates that it can eventually deliver up to 8 million doses weekly, assuming FDA authorizes […]
No clear link between COVID-19 vaccines and sudden hearing loss
Sudden onset sensorineural hearing loss — sometimes referred to as sudden deafness — occurs in anywhere from 11 to 77 per 100,000 people per year in the U.S. There have been a handful of case reports of COVID-19 patients having such hearing loss, including a report in BMJ. But as more COVID-19 vaccines become available, […]
39-year old Utah woman dies after getting second dose of COVID-19 vaccine
Researchers have not found causal links between COVID-19 vaccination and deaths, but a handful of post-vaccine deaths are making headlines. One such case is the death of Kassidi Kurrill, a 39-year-old resident of Ogden, Utah, who recently passed away four days after receiving the second dose of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. Before her death, Kurrill complained […]
How intranasal vaccines can confer immunity where it matters
The COVID-19 vaccine landscape is gradually becoming more diverse. And it could grow more so, as several companies work on intranasal vaccines. Intranasal vaccines offer potential advantages over traditional intramuscular vaccines. They can stimulate immunoglobulin A production, which can avert infection, as a recent Scientific American article noted. Get the full story from our sister site, […]
Report: Biden to announce partnership for Merck to make J&J’s COVID-19 vaccine
President Joe Biden is reportedly set to announce a partnership in which Merck (NYSE:MRK) will make Johnson & Johnson’s (NYSE:JNJ) recently approved COVID-19 vaccine. The Washington Post reported that the agreement between the two competitors will boost the supply of the single-dose vaccine from J&J’s Janssen subsidiary, which received FDA emergency use authorization last week. Get the full story at […]
4 things to keep in mind as COVID-19 vaccination efforts scale
In the early days of the pandemic, hopes were high that a vaccine could return society to normalcy. But now that FDA has authorized two vaccines, much of the general public is waiting for them to become broadly available. Some 4.5% of the U.S. population has been fully vaccinated as of Feb. 17, according to […]