Category: Health

Categories
Health

San Diego Zoo Apes Get an Experimental Covid Vaccine

San Diego Zoo Apes Get an Experimental Covid Vaccine

The San Diego Zoo gave nine monkeys an experimental coronavirus vaccine developed by Zoetis, a large veterinary drug company.

In January, a group of gorillas in the zoo’s Safari Park tested positive for the virus. Everyone is recovering, but the Zoo asked Zoetis for help vaccinating other monkeys. The company provided an experimental vaccine that was originally developed for pets and is now being tested in mink.

Nadine Lamberski, conservation officer and animal health officer at San Diego Zoo Global, said the zoo vaccinated four orangutans and five bonobos with the experimental vaccine, which is not intended for use in humans. Among the orangutans vaccinated was a monkey named Karen, who made history when she became the first orangutan to undergo open heart surgery in 1994.

Dr. Lamberski said a gorilla in the zoo should also be vaccinated, but the gorillas in the wildlife park had a lower priority because they had already tested positive for infections and had recovered. She said she would vaccinate the gorillas in the wildlife park when the zoo received more doses of the vaccine.

Mahesh Kumar, senior vice president of global biologics at Zoetis, said the company is increasing production, largely due to the pursuit of a license for a mink vaccine, and will provide more doses to San Diego and other zoos if possible. “We have already received a number of inquiries,” he said.

Infection in monkeys is a major concern for zoos and conservationists. They are easily susceptible to human respiratory infections and the common cold virus has caused fatal outbreaks in chimpanzees in Africa. Genomic research has shown chimpanzees, gorillas and other monkeys are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that caused the pandemic. Laboratory researchers use some monkeys, like macaques, to test drugs and vaccines and develop new therapies for the virus.

Updated

March 5, 2021, 8:37 a.m. ET

Scientists are concerned not only about the threat the virus poses to great apes and other animals, but also about the potential of the virus to enter a wildlife population that could become a permanent reservoir and emerge at a later date around the world Re-infecting people.

Infections with mink farms have caused the greatest horror so far. When Danish mink farms were destroyed by the virus, which can kill mink as well as humans, a mutated form of the virus emerged from the mink and re-infected people. This variant has shown resistance to some antibodies in laboratory studies, suggesting that vaccines may be less effective against them.

According to the World Health Organization, this virus variant has not been found in humans since November. However, other variants have emerged in people in several countries, proving that the virus can become more contagious and, in some cases, affect the effectiveness of some vaccines.

Denmark killed up to 17 million minks, wiping out its mink farming industry. Thousands of minks have died in the United States, and one wild mink tested positive for the virus.

Although many animals, including dogs, domestic cats, and big cats in zoos, have been infected with the virus through natural spread and others have been infected in laboratory experiments, scientists say widespread testing has found the virus in no animal in any animal other than the one mink .

National Geographic first reported on vaccinating the monkeys at the San Diego Zoo.

Categories
Health

Will I would like proof of vaccine to journey overseas?

Will I need proof of vaccine to travel abroad?

As the adoption of vaccinations gains momentum around the world, attention is now turning to vaccines of a different kind: vaccination records.

Last week, the International Air Transport Association announced the launch of its new digital passport as a “way forward” for the resumption of quarantine-free international travel.

The app, which is being tested by 30 airlines, enables governments and airlines to collect, access and share encrypted information related to the passengers’ Covid-19 test and vaccination status before departure.

The International Chamber of Commerce and the World Economic Forum have developed similar apps – ICC AOKpass and CommonPass – that travelers can use to electronically document their medical status. Countries like Denmark and Sweden are introducing their own health passports, and even tech giants want to join.

What are digital health passes and will they allow a return to heaven this year?

What is a vaccination certificate?

A vaccination card, also known as a digital health card, is digital documentation that a person has been vaccinated against a virus, in this case Covid.

Stored on a phone or digital wallet, the data is usually presented as a QR code and can also indicate whether a person has tested negative for a virus.

Digital health passports are tested to validate people’s Covid-19 test and vaccination status.

Maskot | Getty Images

Such documentation is not unprecedented. For decades, people traveling to certain countries have had to show physical “yellow cards” as proof of vaccination against diseases such as cholera, yellow fever and rubella.

However, this is the first time the industry has advocated an electronic alternative to improve auditability and bypass some of the delays caused by paper peers.

“Imagine the scene when 180,000 people present a piece of paper that needs review and validation,” said Mike Tansey, general manager at Accenture, referring to the number of daily passengers at Changi Airport in Singapore prior to Covid.

Do we need digital health passes to travel?

Tansey, who leads Accenture’s APAC Travel and Hospitality division, has worked with several major airlines on their digital health passport strategies, including three in the US and several in the Asia-Pacific region.

He told CNBC’s Global Traveler that these plans have “accelerated” since the vaccine was launched, and the need for such IDs is clear to him.

The obvious answer is yes we do.

Mike Tansey

General Manager, Travel and Hospitality, Accenture

“The obvious answer is’ yes,” Tansey said when asked if we would need digital health cards to resume the trip.

He called debates a “red herring”.

“Governments may not say you have to have one, but the effects of not will be so ridiculous that travel isn’t worth it,” he said, referring to extensive testing and “draconian” quarantines.

What are the security concerns?

Tansey is not alone. Other experts agree that digital health passes are the fastest, most effective way to resume international travel.

Jase Ramsey, professor of management at Florida Gulf Coast University’s Lutgert College of Business, agreed that the likelihood of adoption was “very high”. However, he noted that concerns about security and personal information could make consumers less willing to use digital health passports than their physical alternatives.

“As with any app that stores health records, there are privacy and fraud concerns,” said Ramsey.

Vaccination records electronically store medical information that is displayed as a QR code.

da-kuk | E + | Getty Images

Accredify is a Singapore-based document accreditation firm whose technology is used as part of the Singapore government mandated Covid-19 pre-travel health screening. It is claimed that the appeal of digital accreditation systems – like its own, which is based on the blockchain – is that they are tamper-proof and therefore cannot be forged.

“Medical documents that are privately and securely stored in the app are only accessible to users, so they can decide who and when to share their medical records with,” a spokesman said via email.

Traveler resistance can be overrated. A recent study by travel news website The Vacationer found that 73.6% of Americans surveyed would use a Covid health pass or app so airlines and border agencies can check their vaccination status and test results.

What are the challenges for health passports?

The success of digital health passports depends on the effectiveness of vaccines. Little is known about whether vaccines prevent the spread of Covid, although research is currently being carried out.

The World Health Organization has urged caution with health cards and urged the authorities and tour operators not to introduce proof of vaccination as a condition for international travel.

The effectiveness of vaccines in preventing transmission is not yet clear and global vaccine supplies are limited.

speaker

World health organization

“This is because the effectiveness of vaccines in preventing transmission is not yet clear and global vaccine supplies are limited,” said a WHO spokesman.

Coordinating the various existing and pending vaccination records in the market and ensuring that users’ certifications are linked to verified and approved medical facilities will prove to be a major challenge.

“For vaccine passports to be an internationally practical tool, there must be a standardized platform that crosses all borders – like the current passport system,” said Dr. Harry Severance, Assistant Professor at Duke University School of Medicine.

WHO works with agencies such as the International Air Transport Association and the International Civil Aviation Organization to develop standards for digital vaccination cards. It added that its position on health passports “will evolve as the evidence for existing and new Covid-19 vaccines is updated”.

What about the social impact?

Add to this, of course, the social, legal and political implications of a system based on unequal global access to vaccines and technology.

According to the WHO, around 3.6 billion people worldwide cannot access the Internet and more than 1.1 billion cannot officially prove their identity. For many, paper IDs remain essential.

Access to vaccinations is still far from fair around the world

Luis Alvarez | DigitalVision | Getty Images

“People from different countries, regions or communities may not have access to vaccines or Covid-19 tests,” said Dr. Sharona Hoffman, a bioethics professor at Case Western Reserve University’s School of Medicine, noting that low-income countries may not get vaccinations until 2023 or beyond. “Policies that prevent them from traveling or using other services could be discriminatory and exacerbate socio-economic disparities.”

Such systems could also set a precedent for other groups that are also eager to reopen, such as B. Restaurants and Event Venues. In fact, Israel has already created a “green passport” to give vaccinated citizens access to public venues.

This week, some US states decided to lift mask mandates, which could exacerbate this problem.

“As one community moves in this direction, many, many more will follow. As decisions like this are made across the country, you may find that ‘carding’ vaccines becomes the standard,” Severance said.

What could this mean for the future of travel?

Ultimately, resumption of international travel will depend as much on countries’ willingness to reopen as it does on existing travel verification technology.

In the Asia-Pacific region, where borders remain largely closed to tourists, governments may lean towards bilateral agreements or “travel bubbles” with select neighbors before opening further, Accenture’s Tansey said.

An internationally recognized system of health passports … will potentially enable us to survive an impending pandemic.

Harry Severance

Duke University School of Medicine

“The The reality … is that we are six months away from meaningful air travel, “he said.” Agreements are only made with one or two locations at a time. “

However, with much of the technology in place and society moving towards an increasingly digitized future, today’s developments in digital health passports could better prepare the travel industry – and society – for potential turmoil.

“As we evolve into an internationally recognized system of monitoring health passports (or) etc, it will be a facet of a downstream preparedness system that may allow us to survive an impending pandemic that may have worse dynamics than Covid- 19. ” “said Severance.

Categories
Health

China topics some vacationers to anal swabs, angering international governments.

China subjects some travelers to anal swabs, angering foreign governments.

China is requiring some travelers arriving from overseas to receive an invasive anal swab test as part of its coronavirus containment measures, which has outraged and shocked several foreign governments.

Japanese officials said Monday they had formally asked China to exclude Japanese citizens from the test, adding that some who received it complained of “psychological distress”. And the US State Department most recently said it registered a protest with the Chinese government after some of its diplomats were forced to undergo anal swabs, despite Chinese officials denying it.

It is not clear how many such swabs have been administered or who is subject to them. Chinese state media have acknowledged that some arrivals in cities like Beijing and Shanghai are required for the tests, although reports said requirements may vary depending on whether travelers were rated as high-risk.

Chinese experts have suggested that traces of the virus could survive longer in the anus than in the respiratory tract, and that samples of the former could prevent false negative results. China has put some of the toughest containment measures in the world, including blocking most foreign arrivals, and has largely suppressed the epidemic.

Lu Hongzhou, an infectious disease specialist at Fudan University in Shanghai, told the state-controlled tabloid Global Times that nasal or throat swabs could cause “nasty reactions” that could result in below-average samples. He admitted that stool samples could replace anal swabs to avoid similar discomfort.

Other experts – including in China – have questioned the need for anal testing. The Global Times quoted another expert, Yang Zhanqiu, as saying that nasal and throat swabs are still most effective because the virus is transmitted through the airways.

Benjamin Cowling, professor of public health at the University of Hong Kong, said in an interview that even if someone tested positive on an anal swab but not a breath swab, he or she probably wouldn’t be very contagious.

“The value of detecting people with the virus is in stopping transmission,” said Professor Cowling. “If someone has an infection but is not contagious to anyone, we didn’t have to recognize that person.”

A spokesman for China’s foreign ministry said this week the government will make “science-based adjustments” to its containment policies.

Professor Cowling said he did not know what the scientific rationale for the existing policy was. “I suppose there is some evidence leading to this decision, but I haven’t seen that evidence,” he said.

Categories
Health

Altria asks FDA to unfold the phrase that nicotine does not trigger most cancers

Altria asks FDA to spread the word that nicotine doesn't cause cancer

A Marlboro cigarette.

Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Marlboro’s parent, Altria, has asked the Food and Drug Administration to help spread the word that nicotine doesn’t cause cancer.

CNBC received a copy of a letter Altria sent to the FDA on Thursday asking the agency to spread the word about nicotine as part of a proposed publicity campaign about the risks of tobacco use.

“We received the letter and we will respond directly to the company,” FDA spokeswoman Alison Hunt told CNBC in an email.

Altria was not immediately available to comment on the matter.

In the February 25 letter signed by Paige C. Magness, senior vice president of Regulatory Affairs, Altria cited government studies on misperceptions about nicotine. It was said that eliminating such misperceptions would help traditional smokers switch to non-flammable methods of using nicotine, which may be less risky than products containing smoke.

Bloomberg News first reported the letter Thursday.

While the vast majority of Altria’s revenue comes from the sale of cigarettes and cigars, the company is also involved in vaping firm Juul and the nicotine pouch brand On! Involves and markets IQOS, a smokeless tobacco product that heats tobacco instead of burning it in the United States

There are at least 60 carcinogens in cigarette smoke, but these newer products deliver nicotine without the smoke.

As the regulator of Altria, the FDA can determine what claims it can make of its products. The FDA has allowed Altria to market IQOS in a way that would reduce the exposure of users to harmful chemicals than cigarette smoke.

Nicotine is the addicting ingredient to tobacco and it can have other negative health effects. In its report, Bloomberg said studies have shown that nicotine can affect brain development and birth outcomes, and in large doses acts as an agricultural poison.

Categories
Health

Ivermectin Does Not Alleviate Delicate Covid-19 Signs, Research Finds

Ivermectin Does Not Alleviate Mild Covid-19 Symptoms, Study Finds

Ivermectin, a controversial anti-parasitic drug that has been touted as a potential Covid-19 treatment, doesn’t speed recovery in people with mild illnesses. This is the result of a randomized controlled trial published in the journal JAMA on Thursday.

Ivermectin is typically used to treat parasitic worms in both humans and animals, but the scientific evidence of its effectiveness against the coronavirus is thin. Some studies have shown that the drug can prevent several different viruses from replicating in cells. And last year, researchers in Australia found that high doses of ivermectin suppressed SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, in cell cultures.

Such findings had driven the use of the drug against Covid-19, especially in Latin America.

“Ivermectin is currently used extensively,” said Dr. Eduardo López-Medina, doctor and researcher at the Center for Pediatric Infectious Diseases in Cali, Colombia, who led the new study. “In many countries in the Americas and other parts of the world, this is part of national guidelines for treating Covid.”

But the drug has also been shown to be divisive. While some scientists see potential, others suspect that effective inhibition of the coronavirus may require extremely high, potentially unsafe doses. Health officials have also feared that people desperate for coronavirus treatments might be taking versions of the drug formulated for pets. (It’s often used to prevent heartworms in dogs.)

“There have been many conflicting views on these, sometimes extremely conflicting views,” said Dr. Carlos Chaccour, a researcher at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health who was not involved in the new study. “I think it’s become another hydroxychloroquine.”

Updated

March 4, 2021, 9:28 p.m. ET

But neither the proponents nor the critics had much rigorous data to support their views. There are few well-controlled studies on the drug’s effectiveness against Covid-19, although more are expected in the coming months. The National Institutes of Health treatment guidelines indicate that there is insufficient evidence to recommend “for or against” the use of the drug in Covid-19 patients.

In the new study, Dr. López-Medina and his colleagues happened to add more than 400 people who had recently developed mild Covid-19 symptoms to receive five-day treatment with ivermectin or a placebo. They found that Covid-19 symptoms lasted an average of about 10 days in people who received the drug, compared to 12 days in those who received the placebo, a statistically insignificant difference.

The new study adds much-needed clinical data to the debate over the drug’s use to treat Covid-19, said Dr. Regina Rabinovich, a global health researcher at the TH Chan School of Public Health at Harvard who was not involved in the study.

However, she noted that the study was relatively small and didn’t answer the most pressing clinical question of whether ivermectin can prevent serious illness or death. “Duration of symptoms may not be the most important clinical or health parameter,” she said.

The researchers found that seven patients in the placebo group got worse after entering the study compared to four in the ivermectin group, but the numbers were too small to draw any meaningful conclusion.

“There was a little signal there and it would be interesting to see whether or not this signal we saw is real,” said Dr. López Medina. “But that would have to be answered in a larger process.”

Dr. López-Medina also pointed out that the study population was relatively young and healthy, with an average age of 37 and few underlying diseases that can make Covid-19 more dangerous.

Larger studies currently in progress could provide more definitive answers, said Dr. Rabinovich, who stated that she was “completely neutral” about the potential benefits of ivermectin. “I only want data because there is such a mess in the field.”

Categories
Health

Democrats push FDA to manage poisonous metals in child meals

Democrats push FDA to regulate toxic metals in baby food

Democrats urge FDA to regulate toxic metals in baby food after research finds high levels.

Chris Tobin | DigitalVision | Getty Images

Top Democrats are urging the FDA to regulate toxic metals in baby formula after a Congressional investigation found metals like arsenic, lead, and cadmium to be found in far higher amounts than permitted in bottled water and other products.

Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. And Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill. As well as the representatives Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill. And Tony Cardenas, D-Calif., Told CNBC that they are asking regulators to limit the levels of toxic heavy metals in baby food.

The Food and Drug Administration does not currently set limits for heavy metals in baby food, particularly for arsenic in rice grain. The agency regulates other toxins in consumer products such as lead, arsenic, and cadmium in bottled water.

The four Democrats said Thursday they had drafted laws that would tighten regulations on baby food safety and sent them to FDA staff for technical review. However, lawmakers want the FDA to use their existing regulator to take immediate action.

“Through our legislation and FDA regulations, we will ensure that the baby foods we put on the market are safe and that our children are safe,” Krishnamoorthi said in a statement. “I am proud to work with my colleagues, along with the FDA, stakeholders and health professionals across the country, to develop major reforms.”

An FDA spokeswoman said the agency takes exposure to toxic metals in food “extremely seriously” and that the agency is reviewing the results of the Congressional investigation. She added that “The FDA has not commented on whether it has received requests for technical assistance regarding the legislation, but we would look forward to working with Congress on the matter.”

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., During the House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing titled Protecting the Timely Delivery of Mail, Medicines and Postal Ballots on Monday, Aug. 24, 2020, in the Rayburn House office building.

Tom Williams | CQ Appeal, Inc. | Getty Images

A subcommittee of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, chaired by Krishnamoorthi, released the results of its 15-month investigation in February. It used data from four companies – Nurture, Hain Celestial Group, Beech-Nut Nutrition, and Gerber, a unit of Nestle – that responded to the subcommittee’s requests for information on testing guidelines and test results for their products.

The research found that “baby food companies weren’t looking for parents and young children the way we all expected – instead they knowingly sold us tainted products,” said Krishnamoorthi.

Hain said at the time that the investigation “did not reflect our current practices,” adding that the company’s internal standards “meet or exceed current federal guidelines.”

Gemma Hart, a spokeswoman for Nurture, told the New York Times at the time that their products were safe and that the metals were only present in “trace amounts”. Beech-Nut said Thursday that the company is “committed to continuously improving its internal standards and testing processes as technology and knowledge evolve.” Dana Stambaugh, a spokeswoman for Gerber, said the company is taking steps to minimize metals in its products.

Three other baby food companies – Walmart, Sprout Organic Foods, and Campbell Soup – did not provide all of the information requested. At the time the investigation was published, Campbell said its products were safe and cited the lack of FDA standards for heavy metals in baby food.

A Walmart representative told Reuters at the time that private label product suppliers must meet their own specifications, “which for baby and toddler foods means the levels must meet or fall below the limits set by the FDA.”

Sprout did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

“Like parents across America, I was horrified to learn that trusted baby food brands knowingly sell products that are high in toxic lead, arsenic, mercury and cadmium,” Rep. Cardenas said Thursday. “I urge the FDA to use their existing agencies to take immediate regulatory action.

The investigation found that heavy metals are naturally found in some grains and vegetables, but added that levels can be increased if manufacturers add other tainted ingredients to baby food. According to the report, companies rarely test their products for contamination before sending them to stores.

“It is unacceptable that, despite parents’ efforts to protect their children, some leading baby formula manufacturers have launched products that expose children to dangerous toxins,” Klobuchar said in a statement. “This legislation will protect children and ensure a healthy start by holding manufacturers accountable for removing toxins from infant and toddler foods.”

Categories
Health

One and Executed: Why Folks Are Looking forward to Johnson & Johnson’s Vaccine

One and Done: Why People Are Eager for Johnson & Johnson’s Vaccine

In North Dakota, health officials this week are sending their first Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccines to pharmacies and emergency clinics where people who don’t necessarily have a regular doctor can get the only push. In Missouri, cans are dispensed to community health centers and rural hospitals. And in North Carolina, health care providers use it to vaccinate meat packers, farm and food workers.

Ever since Johnson & Johnson revealed data showing that its vaccine, while very protective, had a slightly lower rate of effectiveness than the first shots made by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, health officials have feared that the new shot might be considered by some Americans as the could be considered worse choice.

But the early days of the rollout suggest something else: some people are excited to get it because they want the convenience of a single shot. And public health officials are excited about how much faster they can distribute a single shot, especially in vulnerable communities that may otherwise not have access to a vaccine.

“This is a potential breakthrough,” said Dr. Joseph Kanter, the chief health officer in Louisiana. With its first allotted doses, the state is hosting a dozen large Johnson & Johnson vaccination events in community centers and other public places, modeled on flu vaccines.

As Johnson & Johnson’s production grows over the next several months, Dr. Kanter, the shot would allow his state to cut the staff and surgery costs associated with the second dose: “The J&J vaccine brings a lot to the table.”

In terms of how well it prevents serious illness, hospitalizations, and deaths, the Johnson & Johnson shot is comparable to that of Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech. And while there is a lower overall effectiveness rate in the U.S. – 72 percent compared to around 95 percent in the others – experts say comparing these numbers is problematic because the companies’ studies were conducted at different times in different locations.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine can also be stored at normal refrigerated temperatures for three months – ideal for distribution in non-medical locations such as stadiums and convention centers.

“There are circumstances when this will be a really good, or perhaps the best, option,” said Dr. Matthew Daley, senior investigator at Kaiser Permanente Colorado’s Institute for Health Research and member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Independent Vaccine Advisory Board.

Only four million cans have been shipped this week, and the company’s production delays mean it will be at least a month before the states receive significant shipments. Because of this loophole, state officials are treating the first wave of doses as a moment to test different ways it can be used.

Patrick Allen, the director of the Oregon Health Authority, said the first doses in the state went to various facilities “to see if we could learn from their use.” This included mass vaccination sites in the Portland area, adult nursing homes, and pharmacies not included in the federal government’s pharmacy program. Health officials will evaluate the success of each of these locations to develop a plan for the larger shipments.

Many state health officials said they were focused on getting the vaccine to people who may be harder to reach for a second dose, such as the homeless or about to be released from prison. In North Carolina, this category includes the state’s mobile farming communities with three- or four-week working seasons. Mandy Cohen, the state’s health secretary, said large meat packers in the state such as Smithfield and Tyson Foods were interested in Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine and had consulted with their department.

And because the vaccine tends to have fewer side effects than the other options, it appeals to people who don’t want to risk missing a work day to recover from chills or a fever. She said, “There are a lot of people who are. For example,” I’m much more interested now that you tell me I only need to get one shot instead of two. “

“I don’t think it’s an inferior vaccine, so I’m taking it for myself,” said Ms. Cohen, who was supposed to get the shot from Johnson & Johnson on Friday.

The vaccine has caused a stir in small, independent pharmacies. Steve Hoffart, the owner of Magnolia Pharmacy in Magnolia, Texas, a small town outside of Houston, has received calls and emails from residents waiting to arrive this week. He hopes to hold a Johnson & Johnson teacher event on March 13th. Schools in the area struggled to find replacement teachers during the pandemic, and a vaccine that doesn’t require a second visit and more free time has been a significant development. he said.

Tim and Joyce Staab, who live in Chillicothe, Ohio, a town about 20,000 hours’ drive from Columbus, were two of the first Americans to receive the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Both had general vaccination appointments scheduled for later in the week. But then they learned on Wednesday that an independent pharmacy near them had received 100 doses of Johnson & Johnson’s shot. Ms. Staab, 68, hesitates with needles and liked the one-and-do approach.

Mr Staab, 67, said he thought the vaccine would be a better choice for healthcare providers like the pharmacy where he got it. “You don’t have the resources, I don’t think, to deal with really hard-to-store vaccines,” he said.

States were able to adjust and craft distribution plans, in part because the federal government did not issue guidelines on where and to whom the vaccine should go.

That winter, as the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine approached, federal officials involved in vaccine distribution pushed for a more centralized use of the shot, either at large stadiums or at mass vaccination sites, which operated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency or only at pharmacies, according to officials familiar with these discussions. However, the White House preferred to allow states to tailor their own plans, as they had for the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines.

While health professionals are excited about the potential public health benefits of the new vaccine, some also fear that once vaccines run out, public interest will wane. When some people have a choice of brands, they may reject Johnson & Johnson’s, viewing it as an inferior choice.

In the mid-Atlantic black churches, Darrell J. Gaskin, professor of health policy at Johns Hopkins University and pastor, and Rupali Limaye, scientist at the university studying vaccine reluctance, have advised and reassured hundreds of people pastors and parishioners in Africa Methodist Episcopal Zion Churches in virtual presentations highlighting the safety of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and the prevention of major Covid-19 and death, including among the black volunteers at the company’s trial.

Dr. Gaskin said it was vital for officials to highlight the benefits of the vaccine at the beginning of its distribution so that people “don’t feel like there’s a luxury vaccine and then the non-luxury vaccine”.

“We are facing differences when it comes to Covid,” said Dr. Limaye. “How do we reduce differences? We bring out a product that contains a dose and is stable. “

One of the members of the Church of Dr. Gaskin, Patricia Cooper, a teacher in Washington, DC, said President Donald J. Trump’s efforts to get a vaccine approved last year and the “Emergency Use Approval” label suggested that the federal government could I’ve rushed reviews of vaccines and made them nervous about their safety. But she said she was eager to get a vaccine, particularly from Johnson & Johnson.

“This one is more appealing to me,” she said. “Who likes to get stuck more than once?”

But Oregon health officer Mr. Allen warned that a more specific use could lead to skepticism about its quality.

“When you start getting a little too cute, when you specifically target its use, you may feed the distrust of, ‘Well why am I getting this vaccine? And I’m in that particular population and people who aren’t in that particular population aren’t getting this vaccine, ”he said.

Federal health officials have promised a way to crack down on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which may be used in unequal ways. Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, chair of the Biden administration’s new Health Justice Task Force, told a press conference at the White House this week that the vaccine distribution “should be evenly distributed among communities.”

“We’ll be tracking biometrics like zip code and social vulnerability to see where the vaccines are going,” she said. “And if certain vaccines are consistently delivered to certain communities, we can intervene.”

Some state officials believe pairing the new and old vaccines can help show that they are equally important.

Mr Allen said Oregon has similar sales plans for Johnson & Johnson and Moderna because both vaccines can be refrigerated for short term. The state treats the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine as the vaccine with “special considerations” as it has stricter shipping requirements and large packs of vials that are better suited for mass vaccination sites, he said.

Managing Johnson & Johnson and Moderna vaccines in a similar manner would help “avoid equity issues and potential concerns based on perceived differences between vaccines, some of which are real and some of which are not”.

Categories
Health

Italy blocks shipments of AstraZeneca Covid vaccine

Italy blocks shipments of AstraZeneca Covid vaccine

Vial of AstraZeneca vaccine against coronavirus (COVID-19) on the first day of a mass vaccination by police and fire departments at the Wanda Metropolitan Stadium.

Marcos del Mazo | LightRocket | Getty Images

LONDON – The European Union intervened in the supply of coronavirus vaccines for the first time. Italy reportedly blocked delivery of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine to Australia on Thursday.

Reuters, citing two sources, reported that the British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca had asked Rome for permission to ship around 250,000 doses from its plant in Anagni, Italy. However, the Italian government refused. The Financial Times also reported the same story.

An AstraZeneca spokesman declined to comment when contacted by CNBC. A spokesman for the EU or the Italian Foreign Ministry was not immediately available to comment.

In January, the European Union temporarily controlled exports of vaccines made within the bloc after AstraZeneca and other supply problems were spat at. The EU has been under pressure from what critics are calling the slow adoption of Covid vaccines.

The European Commission, the body that runs the sales contracts, has been accused of not securing enough vaccines and the region’s medical agency has been criticized for taking too long to approve vaccinations that have given the go-ahead elsewhere have received.

The controls will last until the end of March and give EU member states the power to refuse to authorize exports if vaccine manufacturers fail to comply with contracts.

In January, AstraZeneca announced that it would deliver far fewer cans to the EU than originally expected in the spring due to production problems at its plants in the Netherlands and Belgium. Then on January 31, it announced it would dispose of an additional 9 million doses in the first quarter to make up for the deficit.

Categories
Health

Her Eyelid Drooped and She Saved Getting Weaker. What Was Going On?

Her Eyelid Drooped and She Kept Getting Weaker. What Was Going On?

Three weeks later when she returned to her doctor, the patient still had not received the test. And now she had a new problem: her mouth felt weak. It was difficult to talk; Her voice was different. At the end of a short conversation, their words were reduced to whispers. She couldn’t smile and she couldn’t swallow. Sometimes when she drank water it came from her nose rather than her throat. It was strange. And scary.

Chen wasn’t there so she saw a colleague, Dr. Abhirami Janani Raveendran, who was also an intern. Raveendran had never seen MG either, but knew it could affect the muscles of the mouth and throat. She asked the patient to have a blood test and sent Keung a message informing him of the patient’s troublesome new symptoms and the possible diagnosis.

When Keung saw the news, he was alarmed. He agreed that these symptoms made myasthenia gravis a likely diagnosis. And a dangerous one: patients with MG can lose strength in the muscles of the throat and diaphragm and become too tired to breathe. He called the patient. He noticed that her voice was nasal and thin – signs of muscle weakness. She said she had no difficulty breathing, but Keung knew that could change. So he told her to go to the hospital immediately. He frightened her. He wanted it.

After the patient received Keung’s urgent call, her daughter drove her to the emergency room at Yale New Haven Hospital and she was placed in the kneeling unit. This is the section for patients who are not sick enough to need the intensive care unit but may get to this point shortly. A technician would come in every few hours to measure the strength of her breathing. If it got too low, she would have to go to intensive care and maybe land on a breathing apparatus.

Keung wasn’t sure if the patient had myasthenia. Her eyelid was always droopy, her vision always double. With MG, he would expect these symptoms to worsen after using the muscle and improve after resting. And MG usually affected the muscles closest to the body. He would expect her shoulders to be weak, not her hands. Despite his uncertainty, he decided to start treatment for MG. He didn’t want to risk her getting any weaker. She was given high-dose steroids and intravenous immunoglobulins to suppress the parts of the immune system that attack the connection between her nerves and muscles.

The next day, Keung did a test that showed if the patient had MG. In the repeated nerve stimulation test, a tiny electrode is placed over the muscle, in this case the abductor digiti minimi, the muscle that moves the little finger. A series of small (and uncomfortable) shocks are delivered in rapid succession, causing the muscle to contract. In someone with normal nerves and muscles, every identical shock results in identical muscle contraction. In this patient, however, the first shocks produced weak contractions, and then they became even weaker. This charge is characteristic of MG. The blood test that Chen asked her to do was done at the hospital. It was positive. She had myasthenia gravis.

Categories
Health

Insurers launch program to get 2 million American seniors vaccinated

Insurers launch program to get 2 million American seniors vaccinated

Residents await to receive a Pfizer-BioNtech Covid-19 vaccine at The Palace, an independent residential community for senior citizens, on January 12, 2021 in Coral Gables in Miami, Florida, USA.

Eva Marie Uzcategui Trinkl | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

More than a dozen health insurers are starting a pilot program to vaccinate 2 million American seniors as quickly as possible, President Joe Biden’s senior advisor for the Covid-19 pandemic announced on Wednesday.

The pilot program – Vaccine Community Connecters – is designed to educate seniors about the vaccines, schedule admissions, and arrange transportation, advisor Andy Slavitt told reporters.

Insurers will also talk about “efficacy, safety and the value of vaccinating vaccines,” said Slavitt, who served in the Obama administration. He added that insurers could deploy mobile vans in the communities most in need. The White House is working with America’s Health Insurance Plans and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association on the initiative.

“Vaccines save lives, and health insurers have worked hard to break the barriers between Americans and COVID-19 vaccines,” said Matt Eyles, CEO of America’s Health Insurance Plans, a trading group that represents Aetna, Cigna and CVS Health.

“We will continue to work on this commitment with all levels of government and every organization that shares our goal until we jointly defeat the COVID-19 crisis.”

The announcement comes as the Biden government works to increase supplies of Covid-19 vaccines and reach the majority of Americans as soon as possible. Around 51.8 million out of around 331 million Americans have received at least their first dose of a Covid vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And 26.2 million of those people have already had their second shot, which is roughly 10% of the total US adult population, according to the CDC.

The risk of developing serious illness with Covid increases with age, with older adults at the highest risk, according to the CDC.

Insurers will work with federal, state and local officials to deliver vaccines to underserved communities and will work closely with other vaccination partners, including pharmacies.

The trade group said some communities are best served by mobile clinics, voice assistance, or a combination of interventions. Others will benefit from health insurers that work directly with ridesharing to provide transportation, the group said.

This isn’t the first senior-tailored vaccination program the federal government has touted. In October, the Department of Health and Human Services announced a contract with CVS Health and Walgreens to deliver coronavirus vaccines to the elderly and workers in long-term care facilities.