Tag: Covid 19 vaccine

Hospital Workers’ Vaccine Rates: The Good, the Bad, and the Unknown

Editor’s note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape’s Coronavirus Resource Center. Houston Healthcare did the typical things to promote COVID-19 vaccination among its hospital workers, including stressing the importance and safety of getting a shot. But the Warner Robins-based system’s successful vaccine effort had a personal dimension as well. The deaths of

Moderna Vaccine Transmission Prevention Study to Include Young Adults

(Reuters) – U.S. scientists are expanding a government-funded study that aims to directly answer the question of whether Moderna Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine curbs the spread of SARS-CoV-2. The study, backed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), was launched in March to determine if Moderna’s vaccine can prevent coronavirus infection, limit the amount of virus

Cuba Says Abdala Vaccine 92.28% Effective Against Coronavirus

HAVANA (Reuters) – Cuba said on Monday its three-shot Abdala vaccine against the coronavirus had proved 92.28% effective in last-stage clinical trials. The announcement came just days after the government said another homegrown vaccine, Soberana 2, had proved 62% effective following just two of its three doses. “Hit by the pandemic, our scientists at the

Australia Seeks Domestic Capability to Produce mRNA Vaccines

CANBERRA (Reuters) – Australia has invited proposals from pharmaceutical firms to establish domestic manufacturing of mRNA vaccines, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said, as Canberra seeks to strengthen the nation’s ability to respond to future pandemics. Earlier this month, the government announced it was in talks with Moderna to establish mRNA vaccine production, and on Friday

Overwhelmed India Running Short of COVID-19 Vaccines

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI (Reuters) – Several states in India have run out of vaccines against COVID-19, exacerbating a dire second wave of infections that has left hospitals and morgues overflowing while families scramble for increasingly scarce medicines and oxygen. “Come back to us. How will we live without you?” wailed Aanchal Sharma and her mother-in-law over

Small Clinics, Practices Key to COVID Vaccine Success: Officials

Editor’s note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape’s Coronavirus Resource Center. Primary care physicians and providers in small offices and clinics are going to be key to ensuring that the remaining half of the nation receives a COVID-19 vaccination, state health officials said Wednesday, and the federal government will soon start shipping smaller

CureVac’s COVID-19 Vaccine Attracts Rising Interest

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – German biotech firm CureVac said it has seen the number of requests for its experimental COVID-19 vaccine increase over the past few days, as concerns over rare side effects have hit some other coronavirus shots. A CureVac spokesman said on Thursday that requests have been coming in from various quarters, including governments

Australia Reports Second AstraZeneca Blood Clot Case

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia said on Tuesday a second person had been diagnosed with a blood clot after receiving the AstraZeneca Plc vaccine but there had been no rise in inoculation cancellations as authorities try to steady a bungled immunisation campaign. This week Australia abandoned a goal of vaccinating all of its nearly 26 million

Child Vaccinations Likely Needed to Reach Herd Immunity

Editor’s note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape’s Coronavirus Resource Center. The United States probably won’t reach herd immunity until children are vaccinated, Anthony Fauci, MD, said. “We don’t really know what that magical point of herd immunity is, but we do know that if we get the overwhelming population vaccinated, we’re

Fauci Says US Must Stick to Two-Shot Strategy for COVID Vaccines

(Reuters) – The United States must stick to a two-dose strategy for the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, top U.S. infectious disease official Anthony Fauci told the Washington Post newspaper. Fauci said that delaying a second dose to inoculate more Americans creates risks. He warned that shifting to a single-dose strategy for the vaccines could

EU Considers Switch to COVID-19 Vaccine Emergency Approvals

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission said on Tuesday that it was considering emergency approvals for COVID-19 vaccines as a faster alternative to more rigorous conditional marketing authorisations which have been used so far. The move would mark a big shift in approach to vaccine approvals, as it would entail using a procedure that the

Spain: One Vaccine Dose to Under 55-Year-Olds Who Had COVID

MADRID (Reuters) – Spain will give a single vaccine dose to under 55-year-olds who have already been infected with COVID-19, the Health Ministry announced on Friday in the latest update of its national inoculation strategy. “The duration of protective immunity to the virus after natural infection is unknown but studies show that administering a single

White House: COVID-19 Numbers Take a ‘Concerning Shift’

Feb. 26, 2021 — After several weeks of declining, COVID-19 numbers are back on the rise and new variants continue to emerge, according to White House officials — just as states begin to lift restrictions and open doors to restaurants and businesses. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, reported during a Friday COVID-19 briefing that coronavirus cases and

EU Mulls Vaccination Passports to Resurrect Tourism After COVID-19

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union leaders will agree on Thursday to work on certificates of vaccination for EU citizens who have had an anti-COVID shot, with southern EU countries that depend heavily on tourism desperate to rescue this summer’s holiday season. Lockdowns to slow the pandemic caused the deepest ever economic recession in the 27-nation