Tag Archives: COVID Vaccine

Politico Europe reports: The BioNTech/Pfizer coronavirus vaccine should grant protection against both the South African and British variants, according to an article published in Nature Medicine Monday. The researchers tested the blood sera of participants who had been given the vaccine against virus samples that were genetically modified to resemble the variants, finding that the antibodies responded to these viruses. …

ABC News reports: A British official says the country is not considering issuing so-called “immunity passports” for those who have been given the coronavirus vaccine but they could ask their doctor for written proof of their vaccine status if they need to travel. Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi said Sunday that vaccine passports would be discriminatory and officials did not want …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Board members of a Rhode Island medical system were invited to get vaccinated, regardless of their age or occupations. Judges and their staff received vaccines ahead of schedule at a Nevada medical center. And a SoulCycle fitness instructor in New York got a shot after saying she was an educator. While millions of Americans await …

Reuters reports: U.S. retailers and pharmacies like Walgreens and CVS Health are preparing for a fresh round of “bot” attacks by scalpers hoping to snap up COVID-19 vaccine appointments as they did hoarding Sony PlayStation 5s and Nike sneakers. For over a decade, the retail industry has battled so-called “scalper bots,” programmed to cut digital lines and snap up limited-supply …

The New York Times reports: New York State will begin allowing people with some chronic health conditions that put them at greater risk of severe illness from the coronavirus to receive a vaccine on Feb. 15, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said on Friday. The governor did not provide any details on which conditions, or comorbidities, would qualify people to be …

The Associated Press reports: Johnson & Johnson asked U.S. regulators late Thursday to clear the world’s first single-dose COVID-19 vaccine, an easier-to-use option that could boost scarce supplies. J&J’s vaccine was safe and offered strong protection against moderate to severe COVID-19, according to preliminary results from a massive international study. It didn’t appear quite as strong as two-dose competitors made …

The Washington Post reports: British scientists have launched a study to determine whether mixing coronavirus vaccine doses produces a sufficient response to protect people from infection. The current approach involves the use of two shots of the same vaccine over several weeks. In the trial, participants will receive one shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine followed by a second dose from …

ABC News reports: Denmark’s government said Wednesday it is joining forces with businesses to develop a digital passport that would show whether people have been vaccinated against the coronavirus, allowing them to travel and help ease restrictions on public life. Finance Minister Morten Boedskov told a news conference that “in three, four months, a digital corona passport will be ready …

The Washington Post reports: Researchers at Oxford University released new results from their vaccine, which is being manufactured by British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca, showing it gives 76 percent protection for three months after just one dose. Testing also reveals that those vaccinated are much less likely to transmit the disease, which will help stem the continuing spread of the virus. The …

The New York Times reports: Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York said on Tuesday that local governments could begin to provide coronavirus vaccines to restaurant workers, just one day after he dismissed a debate over expanding vaccine eligibility as “a cheap, insincere discussion.” Taxi drivers and residents at facilities for the developmentally disabled can also be vaccinated, he said. …

Politico reports: The Biden administration said Tuesday it will begin distributing a limited number of Covid-19 vaccine doses directly to retail pharmacies across the nation. Many pharmacies are already administering vaccine doses that have been allocated to states. Under the new program, the federal government would ship doses directly to pharmacies. The new pharmacy initiative — which is aimed at …

Politico Europe reports: The Russian-developed Sputnik V vaccine is 91.6 percent effective in protecting against symptomatic COVID-19 — on par with the currently approved Western jabs, according to a peer-reviewed study published in The Lancet Tuesday. The data is from a Phase 3 study, with almost 20,000 participants across a number of hospitals and clinics in Russia taking part in …

Via press release from the Better Business Bureau: You got your COVID-19 inoculation, and you are excited to share the good news and encourage others to do the same. You take a selfie holding your vaccination card and post it to Facebook, Instagram, or another social media platform. Unfortunately, your card has your full name and birthday on it, as …

ABC News reports: The White House COVID-19 Response team and federal public health officials are slated to hold a press briefing on Monday to discuss the government’s response to the raging pandemic. Participants in the 11 a.m. ET briefing include Dr. Anthony Fauci, Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, Andy Slavitt, Senior Advisor to the White House COVID-19 Response Team, and Dr. Rochelle …

Page Six reports: Olivia Newton-John said she has no plans yet to get the COVID-19 vaccine, despite being eligible in her home state of California, where they’re being offered to older adults. When asked if she’d get the shot, the 72-year-old actress said, “Not at this point, no,” Australia’s Herald Sun newspaper reported. Newton-John didn’t elaborate on her decision, but …

The Daily Beast reports: The Wisconsin pharmacist who intentionally sabotaged hundreds of doses of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine because he thought COVID-19 was a hoax, also believes the earth is flat and the sky is actually a “shield put up by the Government to prevent individuals from seeing God.” That’s according to a newly-unsealed FBI search warrant application obtained by …

NBC News reports: The Federal Emergency Management Agency is deploying or supporting vaccination efforts in at least 11 states after President Joe Biden ordered the government to get on a war footing in his mission to vaccinate 300 million Americans by summer’s end. The states are Arizona, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, …

STAT News reports: Top Trump officials actively lobbied Congress to deny state governments any extra funding for the Covid-19 vaccine rollout last fall — despite frantic warnings from state officials that they didn’t have the money they needed to ramp up a massive vaccination operation. The push, described to STAT by congressional aides in both parties and openly acknowledged by …

Reuters reports: A man has been charged after a suspicious package was sent to a factory in Wales that produces AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine resulting in a temporary suspension of manufacturing, British police said on Saturday. The Wockhardt plant in Wrexham provides so-called fill-and-finish capacity for AstraZeneca’s British supply chain, which is the final manufacturing step of putting vaccines into vials …

Boston’s NBC News affiliate reports: Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., has tested positive for COVID-19, his office announced Friday. Lynch was tested for coronavirus after a staff member in his office tested positive earlier in the week. The congressman received his positive test Friday afternoon. A statement from Pfizer said that it can take seven days for protection from the second …