Medicine

Pfizer Asks FDA To Approve Vax For Children 5 To 11

NBC News reports: Pfizer-BioNTech requested Tuesday that the Food and Drug Administration clear its Covid-19 vaccine for use in children ages 5 to 11. The FDA is expected to take at least several weeks to analyze data collected in a trial that included more than 2,000 children before it would grant emergency use authorization. While the Pfizer vaccine has been …

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Pfizer Begins Study Of Oral COVID-19 Preventive

Reuters reports: Pfizer Inc said on Monday it has started a mid-to-late-stage study testing its investigational oral antiviral drug for the prevention of COVID-19 infection among those who have been exposed to the virus.  The company and its rivals, including Merck & Co Inc and Roche Holding AG, have been racing to develop the first antiviral pill for COVID-19. Pfizer …

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Federal Court Upholds Hospital System’s Vax Mandate

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports: A federal judge in Covington on Friday said St. Elizabeth Healthcare can require its more than 10,000 employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. In a 20-page decision, U.S. District Judge David Bunning said he would abide by a 1905 U.S. Supreme Court decision, which upheld a Massachusetts smallpox vaccination law. “Actual liberty for all of us …

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Study: J&J Booster Produces Strong Immune Response

The Associated Press reports: Johnson & Johnson released data showing that a booster dose to its one-shot coronavirus vaccine provides a strong immune response months after people receive a first dose. J&J said in statement Tuesday that it ran two early studies in people previously given its vaccine and found that a second dose produced an increased antibody response in …

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Anti-Smoking Drug Chantix Recalled Over Cancer Risk

USA Today reports: Pfizer is voluntarily recalling all lots of its popular anti-smoking drug Chantix for high levels of nitrosamine, which can increase the risk of cancer. According to the notice posted on the Food and Drug Administration website, the recall is for all lots of 0.5 mg and 1 mg varenicline tablets. The recall notice says that long-term ingestion …

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STUDY: Pfizer Vax Is Highly Effective In Children 5-11

The New York Times reports: The Pfizer-BioNtech coronavirus vaccine has been shown to be safe and highly effective in young children aged 5 to 11 years, the companies announced early Monday morning. The news should help ease months of anxiety among parents and teachers about when children, and their close contacts, might be shielded from the coronavirus. The need is …

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FDA Neutral On Whether Boosters Necessary For All

The Washington Post reports: A highly-anticipated Food and Drug Administration review of evidence on whether a booster shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine is widely necessary struck a noncommittal tone Wednesday, setting the stage for a potentially fractious debate among expert advisers to the agency this week. Pfizer and government officials have relied heavily on data from Israel in making …

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Pfizer To Seek Vax Approval For Children Over Five

The Guardian reports: The German company BioNTech, which developed the Pfizer vaccine, expects to seek approval from regulators for Covid jabs suited for younger children as early as mid-October, its founders have said. “Already over the next few weeks we will file the results of our trial in five- to 11-year-olds with regulators across the world and will request approval …

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POLL: 76% Of Vaccinated Want The Booster Shot

Reuters reports: As the United States gears up for a COVID-19 vaccine booster campaign, most vaccinated Americans want the additional dose, a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll found, largely driven by concern over the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus. The national survey, conducted Aug. 27-30, found that among those adults who received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, …

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At Least 15M Vax Doses Wasted In US Since March

NBC News reports: Pharmacies and state governments in the United States have thrown away at least 15.1 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines since March 1, according to government data obtained by NBC News. Four national pharmacy chains reported more than 1 million wasted doses each, according to data released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in response …

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STUDY: J&J Booster Produces 9X Antibody Response

Via press release from Johnson & Johnson: In anticipation of the potential need for boosters, the Company conducted two Phase 1/2a studies in individuals previously vaccinated with its single-shot vaccine. New interim data from these studies demonstrate that a booster dose of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine generated a rapid and robust increase in spike-binding antibodies, nine-fold higher than …

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75 Florida Doctors Stage Symbolic Walkout To Protest Flood Of Unvaxxed Patients In Their Hospital [VIDEO]

West Palm Beach’s ABC News affiliate reports: Dozens of South Florida doctors staged a walkout on Monday to protest the number of unvaccinated COVID-19 patients flooding their hospital in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Just before sunrise, about 75 doctors stepped outside their hospitals and offices to stand together and encourage the community to get vaccinated. “The vaccine still remains the …

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Dem ICU Doctor Launches Bid For Tennessee Governor

The Hill reports: Jason Martin, an intensive care unit doctor, is set to announce his candidacy for Tennessee governor on Monday, saying he hopes to take his experience on the frontlines of the pandemic to the governor’s mansion in a state still grappling with the spread of COVID-19. Martin, a Democrat who works at community hospitals across Tennessee, says the …

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STUDY: Pfizer Booster Shot Strongly Protects Seniors

The Washington Post reports: Fresh data out of Israel is providing encouraging news about the effectiveness of coronavirus boosters in seniors. A study by the Israeli Health Ministry found that a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine provided four times as much protection against infection as two doses in people 60 and older. The level of protection was five to …

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Boosters To Be Recommended 8 Months After 2nd Dose

NBC News reports: Federal health officials and medical experts are expected to recommend that most people in the U.S. who are eligible for Covid-19 vaccinations should get booster shots eight months after their second doses, according to two sources familiar with the discussions. The guidance, which would apply only to the two-shot Pfizer and Moderna regimens, could go into effect …

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New Study Finds Pfizer Vax 88% Effective Against Delta

The Hill reports: Two doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine are 88 percent effective against the delta variant, according to a new study. The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday from researchers at Public Health England, offers reassurance about the effectiveness of the vaccines against the delta variant. The 88 percent effectiveness against the delta …

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FDA Gives Pfizer Vax Priority Review For Full Approval

CNN reports: Pfizer and BioNTech said Friday that the US Food and Drug Administration has granted priority review designation to their application for full approval of their Covid-19 vaccine, and an FDA official said the decision will come “soon”. The FDA official told CNN on Friday that a decision on full approval is likely to come within two months. The …

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Pfizer To Pay $345 Million In EpiPen Anti-Trust Lawsuit

Reuters reports: Pfizer Inc has agreed to pay $345 million to resolve claims by consumers who claim they overpaid for EpiPens due to anti-competitive and unfair practices by the drugmaker and the company that markets the emergency allergy treatment, Mylan. The proposed class action settlement was disclosed in a filing in federal court in Kansas City, Kansas. The deal, which …

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Major Hospitals Won’t Carry New Alzheimer’s Med

Reuters reports: The rollout of Biogen Inc’s Alzheimer’s drug is hitting new roadblocks as some large hospitals decide not to use it and many health insurers await coverage terms from Medicare, the U.S. health plan for people aged 65 and older, before setting their own policies. Cleveland Clinic, one of the country’s best-known health systems, and New York’s Mount Sinai …

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NIH: Life Expectancy For Treated HIV Now Near Normal

Changing America reports: Since the HIV/AIDS pandemic exploded in the 1970s, no cure has been developed for the 1.2 million Americans living with the human immunodeficiency virus. But with today’s medical care, their life expectancy could be the same as any other American, according to a new study. Mortality rates for those entering HIV care dropped “dramatically” between 1999 and …

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