Medicine

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 …

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, …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

The Washington Post reports: The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday limited the recommended use of a controversial new Alzheimer’s drug to patients with mild cognitive impairment or early dementia from the disease — a major change from the original label that included everyone with the illness. The revised label clarifies that the drug, called Aduhelm, is intended for patients …

CNN reports: Covid-19 vaccines saved hundreds of thousands of lives and prevented more than a million hospitalizations in the United States, according to new estimates from researchers at Yale University and the Commonwealth Fund. The researchers compared actual trends in Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths against a modeled trajectory of what those trends would have been if there had been …

NBC News reports: Pfizer is about to seek U.S. authorization for a third dose of its Covid-19 vaccine, saying Thursday that another shot within 12 months could dramatically boost immunity and maybe help ward off the latest worrisome coronavirus mutant. Research from multiple countries shows the Pfizer shot and other widely used Covid-19 vaccines offer strong protection against the highly …

ABC News reports: Essential workers who helped New York City through the COVID-19 pandemic are being honored Wednesday with a parade up Broadway, a celebration of flying paper and floats that’s been used to fete returning soldiers, astronauts and championship sports teams in the past. “We’ve got a lot to appreciate, because we’re well underway in our recovery. We’ve got …

The Washington Post reports: Nearly 15 million people — or more than one in 10 of those eligible in the United States — have missed their second dose of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC data shows that as of June 16, nearly 11 percent of people who had sufficient time to get …

Axios reports: Adult deaths from COVID-19 are “at this point entirely preventable” thanks to vaccines, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said during a White House coronavirus briefing on Tuesday. Why it matters: Deaths from the virus have dramatically decreased since their peak in early 2021, but the U.S. is still currently reporting an average of more …

The New York Times reports: The U.S. government spent more than $18 billion last year funding drugmakers to make a Covid vaccine, an effort that lead to at least five highly effective shots in record time. Now it’s pouring more than $3 billion on a neglected area of research: developing pills to fight the virus early in the course of …