Updates
FDA Scientists Endorse Moderna Covid-19 Vaccine, As Documents Provide New Hints On Efficacy-STAT
Scientists at the Food and Drug Administration endorsed the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Moderna as safe and efficacious on Tuesday, one day after the first doses of a competing vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech were delivered across the United States. The FDA reviewers said that the two-dose vaccine “was highly effective” in preventing symptomatic Covid-19 from occurring “at least 14 days after the receipt of the second dose.” STAT, … Continue Reading
December 14, 2020
Arab Nations First To Approve Chinese COVID Vaccine — Despite Lack Of Public Data-Nature
Two Arab nations have become the first countries to approve a Chinese COVID-19 vaccine, a significant boost for China’s plans to roll out its vaccines worldwide. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) approved a vaccine developed by Chinese state-owned Sinopharm on 9 December, and Bahrain followed days later. But researchers say a lack of public data on the safety and efficacy of the vaccine could hinder the company’s plans to distribute the vaccine in a range of other countries. Nature, … Continue Reading
December 14, 2020
Single-Patient Study Adds To Debate Over Gilead's Remdesivir For COVID-19-Reuters
A single-patient study conducted by British scientists has found that Gilead’s antiviral drug remdesivir could be highly effective against COVID-19, raising questions about previous studies that found it had no impact on death rates from the disease. Published in the journal Nature Communications, the study describes how doctors who gave the drug to a patient with both COVID-19 and a rare immune disorder saw a marked improvement in his symptoms and the disappearance of the virus. Reuters, … Continue Reading
December 14, 2020
$1.44B Needed For 2021 Venezuela Response-Devex
The International Organization for Migration and the United Nations Refugee Agency on Thursday launched a $1.44 billion appeal to meet the needs of Venezuelan refugees and migrants and host communities in 2021. As COVID-19 has badly battered Latin America and the Caribbean, the number of Venezuelans in need has increased while appeals have remained underfunded. Many refugees and migrants rely on informal employment that has disappeared during the pandemic, leaving them unable to pay rent, … Continue Reading
December 14, 2020
The Coronavirus At 1: A Year Into The Pandemic, What Scientists Know About How It Spreads, Infects, And Sickens-STAT
The coronavirus behind the pandemic presents some vexing dualities. It’s dangerous enough that it dispatches patients to hospitals in droves and has killed more than 1.6 million people, but mild enough that most people shrug it off. It blocks one arm of the immune system from responding as it takes hold, but lures other parts into dangerous hyperdrive. It homes in on cells high up in the airway — think the nose and throat — but also burrows deeper into the lungs, maximizing infectiousness … Continue Reading
December 14, 2020
'Healing Is Coming': U.S. Starts Vaccinating People Against COVID-19-NPR
The first people in the U.S. are receiving vaccination shots against COVID-19 on Monday, as U.S. health workers started administering the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. The first widely publicized vaccination took place in New York City, shortly after 9 a.m. ET. The event was live-streamed and promoted by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who said, "The vaccine only works if the American people take it." NPR, … Continue Reading
December 11, 2020
Retailers Urge Shoppers To Buy Early Amid Shipping Crunch-The Associated Press
A number of retailers, including J.C. Penney, Lowe’s and Kohl’s, are telling shoppers they need to place their online orders soon or else pay expedited shipping fees if they want to get their packages delivered in time for the holidays. The earlier-than-usual deadlines come as more people turn to online shopping during the pandemic, creating a logjam for shipping companies as well as delivery delays. For some retailers, like H&M and Lego, the deadlines have passed. The Associated Press, … Continue Reading
December 11, 2020
Canada Forecasts Show Coronavirus Spreading Rapidly, More Action Needed - Health Officials-Reuters
Longer-range forecasts show a second wave of the coronavirus is still spreading rapidly through Canada and all the major provinces need to do more, federal health authorities said on Friday. Many of the 10 provinces have reimposed some restrictions on businesses and limited gatherings as numbers continue to spike. Reuters, … Continue Reading
December 11, 2020
Hill Leaders Press Forward On Covid Relief Talks-Politico
Congressional leaders are making a last-ditch attempt to cobble together a stimulus deal before Congress adjourns for the year, hoping to quickly reach agreement on a relief package that’s eluded them for months. Committee leaders in both chambers have begun negotiating noncontroversial aspects of the relief package, including small business funding, according to three senior aides familiar with the talks. Politico, … Continue Reading
December 11, 2020
The Timeline For Covid-19 Vaccine Distribution Keeps Slipping. Experts Say It Will Change Again-STAT
When Bruce Y. Lee was helping the U.S. government model delivery plans for H1N1 influenza vaccines, he came to expect one constant: The schedule would always change. “We’d constantly have to update the models as new production numbers came out,” said Lee, a professor at CUNY Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy, who developed computational models to guide the national response to the H1N1 flu pandemic in 2009. “That just became accepted.” The shifting timelines are already … Continue Reading
December 11, 2020
FDA Panel Recommends COVID-19 Vaccine For Emergency Use-NPR
In a 17-4 vote, with one abstention, a panel of advisers to the Food and Drug Administration recommended Thursday that the COVID-19 vaccine being developed by Pfizer and BioNTech be authorized for emergency use during the coronavirus pandemic. The vote in favor of the vaccine was taken to answer the agency's question: Do the benefits of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine outweigh its risks for use in people age 16 and older? The agency typically follows the advice of its expert advisers. … Continue Reading
December 10, 2020
Trump Virus Coordinator Birx Seeks Role In Biden Government-The Associated Press
When Dr. Deborah Birx was brought into President Donald Trump’s orbit to help fight the coronavirus pandemic, she had a sterling reputation as a former U.S. Army physician, a globally recognized AIDS researcher and a rare Obama administration holdover. Less than 10 months later, as Trump’s time in office nears its end, the White House coronavirus task force coordinator’s reputation is frayed. And after serving every president since Ronald Reagan, her future in the incoming Joe Biden … Continue Reading
December 10, 2020
World Bank Hopes To Help Get Vaccines To 1 Billion People, Malpass Says-Devex
Providing fair and equitable access to vaccines will be key to managing the health and economic repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, World Bank President David Malpass told Devex in an interview at Devex World. Speaking about the efforts of the bank until now and plans for the months to come, Malpass said the focus will be to provide vaccines to people who don’t have any other way to get them. Devex, … Continue Reading
December 10, 2020
Uber Asks U.S. States To Prioritize Its Drivers For COVID-19 Vaccine-Reuters
Uber Technologies Inc on Thursday sent letters to the governors of all U.S. states, asking for its ride-hail and food delivery drivers to get early access to COVID-19 vaccines as essential workers. The company also said it will send a letter to U.S. President-elect Joe Biden. The letters come less than a week after Uber sent a similar letter to a committee of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reuters, … Continue Reading
December 10, 2020
Covid-19 Surge Could Lead To Another Drop In Patient Visits, Doctors Fear — And More Missed Pediatric Cancers-STAT
Nothing prepares a parent for a child’s cancer diagnosis. Even more unthinkable is wondering if the cancer could have been caught sooner. When the coronavirus pandemic exploded in March, people in many states were urged to stay home — and they did. Primary care offices closed, gradually converting to telehealth if they could. In-person office visits for both children and adults fell off a cliff, dropping by as much as 60% in April by some estimates, while what-if questions about possible harms … Continue Reading
December 10, 2020
U.S. Government May Find It Hard To Get More Doses Of Pfizer's COVID-19 Vaccine-NPR
With Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine poised for Food and Drug Administration authorization for emergency use, there's speculation about when the United States will buy another batch of doses — and whether the Trump administration already missed its chance. Although a Pfizer board member says the government declined to buy more doses beyond the initial 100 million agreed upon in July, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told PBS Newshour that this is inaccurate. NPR, … Continue Reading
December 09, 2020
New White House Offer Adds $600 Checks To COVID-19 Relief-The Associated Press
The Trump administration is back in the middle of Capitol Hill’s confusing COVID-19 negotiations, offering a $916 billion package to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that would send a $600 direct payment to most Americans but eliminate a $300-per-week unemployment benefit favored by a bipartisan group of Senate negotiators. The Associated Press, … Continue Reading
December 09, 2020
Health Canada Approves Pfizer And BioNTech's COVID-19 Vaccine-Reuters
Health Canada on Wednesday approved the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE, clearing the way for shots to be delivered and administered across the country. The nation’s first coronavirus vaccine green light comes under a new interim order system that allows for accelerated approval very similar to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s emergency use authorizations. Reuters, … Continue Reading
December 09, 2020
Oxford COVID Vaccine Paper Highlights Lingering Unknowns About Results-Nature
The first formally published results from a large clinical trial of a COVID-19 vaccine — which scientists hope could be among the cheapest and easiest to distribute around the world — suggest that the vaccine is safe and effective. But the data also highlight a number of lingering unknowns, including questions about the most effective dosing regimen and how well it works in older adults. Nature, … Continue Reading
December 09, 2020
The Man Behind Africa's COVID-19 Response-Devex
Last December, John Nkengasong, director at the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, watched events unfolding in China with concern — long before the rest of the world had turned its attention to what was then just a mysterious outbreak of atypical pneumonia. “I remember being in the United States during the Christmas break and reading these stories about Wuhan and getting worried that this was going to hit us,” he said. Weeks later, when there were still only 200 known cases of … Continue Reading