Tag: Covid

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Excessive Hopes for Johnson & Johnson’s Covid Vaccine Have Fizzled within the U.S.

High Hopes for Johnson & Johnson’s Covid Vaccine Have Fizzled in the U.S.

But manufacturing problems at a factory in Baltimore run by Emergent BioSolutions, Johnson & Johnson’s subcontractor, have had serious consequences for the vaccine. Because of a major production mishap that resulted in a two-month shutdown in operations, Johnson & Johnson has essentially been forced to sit out the brunt of the pandemic in the United States while Pfizer and Moderna, the other federally authorized vaccine makers, provided almost all the nation’s vaccine stock.

Johnson & Johnson has had to throw out the equivalent of 75 million doses, and the regulatory authorities in Canada, South Africa and the European Union also decided to pull back millions more doses made at the Baltimore plant. The company has been able to deliver only one-fourth of the 100 million doses it promised the federal government by the end of this month.

Dr. Anne Zink, Alaska’s chief medical officer, said that in her state, Johnson & Johnson’s shot had become a victim of its own timing. By late February, when it was authorized by the Food and Drug Administration, Alaska had figured out how to get two-dose vaccines to remote areas, leaving the one-shot regimen less crucial than she had initially imagined.

Dr. Clay Marsh, West Virginia’s Covid-19 czar, said that the pause and Johnson & Johnson’s later authorization — more than two months after Pfizer’s and Moderna’s — deprived it of a “halo effect.” By the time West Virginia had an ample supply of all three vaccines, he said, “people started to get this concept that maybe there’s something better about being immunized with Pfizer and Moderna.”

The Johnson & Johnson shot had also suffered from a “social network effect,” said Andrew C. Anderson, a professor of public health at Tulane University who researches vaccine hesitancy. Most Americans who were inoculated in the early months of the vaccine campaign received Moderna and Pfizer shots, and so their friends and family were less likely to deviate and accept a different brand.

In Louisiana, hospitals in the New Orleans area have started offering the Johnson & Johnson shot to people on their way out of the emergency room; the thinking is that people will be more likely to accept the vaccine when a doctor who has treated them asks them to take it. And in Arkansas, where only a third of the population is fully vaccinated, state officials are offering Johnson & Johnson doses to agriculture, manufacturing, wastewater and poultry workers, with gift certificates for hunting and fishing licenses as a reward.

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U.S. officers push for extra Covid vaccinations as delta variant features

U.S. officials push for more Covid vaccinations as delta variant gains

Travelers view Covid-19 results after being tested at JFK International Airport in New York on December 22, 2020.

Hit by Betancur | AFP | Getty Images

Federal health officials continue to urge more Americans to get vaccinated as the Delta variant accounts for a larger proportion of new cases in the United States.

“You need to get vaccinated to be protected from Covid-19, the Delta variant and any other variant that might come on the way,” said Jeffrey Zients, White House coordinator of the coronavirus response, Thursday.

The variant, first discovered by scientists in India, has now spread to more than 80 countries and accounts for more than 10% of new cases in the US, up from 6% last week.

“If you are vaccinated, you are protected, and if not, the threat of variants is real and growing,” said US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy in the briefing on Thursday after explaining that the Delta variant “is significantly more transferable and can be more dangerous than previous variants.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently identified the Delta variant as a variant of concern “based on increasing evidence that the Delta variant spreads more easily and compared to other variants, including B.1.1.7 (Alpha) causing more severe cases. “

New cases and deaths are falling dramatically in the United States thanks to generally successful vaccination campaigns in many states. Some parts of the country are still seeing spikes in cases and hospital admissions.

“We see that communities with the highest vaccination rates have lower new cases and hospital admissions, and communities with the lowest vaccination rates have higher new cases and hospital admissions,” Zients said.

In the UK, the Delta variant recently became the dominant strain there, outperforming its native alpha variant, which was first discovered in the country last fall. The Delta variant now accounts for more than 60% of new cases in the UK

Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden, said last week that “we cannot allow this to happen in the United States” when he urged more people, especially young adults, to be vaccinated.

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New Covid research hints at long-term lack of mind tissue, Dr. Scott Gottlieb warns

U.S. potentially facing ‘perpetual infection’ of Covid, says Gottlieb

Dr. Scott Gottlieb warned on Thursday of the potential for long-term brain loss related to Covid, citing a new study from the UK.

“In short, the study suggests that there could be long-term loss of brain tissue from Covid, and that would have some long-term consequences,” said the former FDA chief and CNBC employee.

“You could compensate for that over time, so the symptoms of it may go away, but you will never get the tissue back if the virus actually destroys it,” said Gottlieb, serving on the board of Covid vaccine maker Pfizer.

The UK study looked at brain imaging before and after coronavirus infection, specifically looking at the potential effects on the nervous system.

Gottlieb told CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith” that the destruction of brain tissue could explain why Covid patients have lost their sense of smell.

“The decrease in the amount of cortical tissue happened by chance in regions of the brain that are near the places responsible for the odor,” he said. “What it suggests is that the odor, the loss of smell, is just an effect of a more primary process that is going on, and that process is actually the shrinking of the cortical tissue.”

Disclosure: Scott Gottlieb is a CNBC employee and a member of the board of directors of Pfizer, genetic testing startup Tempus, health technology company Aetion Inc., and biotechnology company Illumina.

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Covid outbreak forces lockdown at U.S. Embassy in Kabul

Covid outbreak forces lockdown at U.S. Embassy in Kabul

A US Marine stands guard outside the US embassy December 21, 2001 in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Paula Bronstein | Getty Images

WASHINGTON – The U.S. embassy in Kabul was locked down Thursday as Covid cases rise in Afghanistan, pushing the country’s fragile health system to its limits.

At the embassy, ​​114 employees tested positive for the coronavirus and are currently in isolation, one person has died and several people have been medically evacuated.

“The resources of the intensive care unit of the military hospital are running at full capacity, which is forcing our health units to create temporary Covid-19 wards to care for oxygen-dependent patients. 95% of our cases are people who are not or not fully vaccinated.” The embassy wrote in a statement.

With immediate effect, the embassy said, employees would be restricted to their quarters, except to fetch food from restaurants or to exercise or relax in the open air alone.

“Individuals can walk, run, or relax outdoors without a mask provided they are ALONE, which means they are at least 6 meters away from others. Any further need requires a mask, ”the statement went on, adding that face-to-face meetings indoors are prohibited unless“ absolutely ”. business critical. “

People who do not adhere to the guidelines could be removed from the post “on the next available flight,” the embassy added.

“The restrictions will continue until the chain of transmission is broken,” the statement said.

Afghan hospitals are quickly running out of medical equipment and other resources as infection cases increased 2,400% in the past month, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said Thursday.

Last week the US embassy in Kabul shut down all consular visa services to deal with an “intense third wave of Covid-19 cases” that may hamper visa status for thousands of Afghans who have supported the US military through the conflict .

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Thursday raised concerns about whether the backlog of more than 10,000 Afghan translators and their families would be cleared before remaining US troops withdraw from the war-weary country.

Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Forces Committee during a hearing on the Pentagon’s budget proposal that “planning is underway” to protect Afghans who have served alongside US and NATO forces.

The country’s senior military officer added that the U.S. military would be able to accommodate any request as the State Department is running the thorough visa process for eligible Afghans.

On Tuesday, the Pentagon said it had passed the center of its Herculean task of withdrawing troops and equipment from Afghanistan.

The US military has removed approximately 611 loads of material that were flown out of the country by large cargo planes, according to an update from US Central Command.

The flight crew assigned to Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, carry their equipment into a C-17 Globemaster III assigned to Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina on April 27, 2021.

Staff Sgt. Kylee Gardner | U.S. Air Force photo

Approximately 14,000 pieces of equipment that will not be handed over to the Afghan military have been turned over to the Defense Logistics Agency for destruction. The US officially handed over six facilities to the Afghan military.

In April, Biden announced a full withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan by September 11th, which would end America’s longest war.

Biden’s withdrawal deadline breaks with a proposed deadline that the Trump administration negotiated with the Taliban last year. Accordingly, all foreign armed forces should have left Afghanistan by May 1st.

The removal of approximately 3,000 US soldiers coincides with the 20th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks that spurred America’s entry into protracted wars in the Middle East and Central Asia.

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Journey.com, AirAsia and Oyo on tourism restoration from Covid

Trip.com, AirAsia and Oyo on tourism recovery from Covid

Ramping up vaccination rates for Covid-19 will help boost the recovery in the travel and tourism industry, a panel of experts told CNBC.

Vaccination is the only comprehensive way to fight the impact of the coronavirus, Ritesh Agarwal, CEO and founder of Indian budget hotel chain start-up Oyo, told Nancy Hungerford during the virtual CNBC Evolve Global Summit on Wednesday.

Global travel and tourism took a massive hit last year and many airlines are still struggling to stay afloat. The coronavirus pandemic shut down borders and suspended most international travel. With vaccination rates picking up, especially in the West, many countries are slowly opening up their economies and borders.

“I believe travel is here to stay. Domestic travel will lead the recovery but vaccination is the only comprehensive and conclusive way of resolution,” Agarwal said.

Oyo, a SoftBank-backed start-up, saw its daily bookings for the summer season more than double in Europe where the vaccination rate is relatively high, according to the CEO.

Travelers tend to book rooms in hotels where the staff have been inoculated, he said, adding that Oyo provides certificates to show their staff have been vaccinated, Agarwal said.

Asia’s vaccination drive

Where vaccination rates are concerned, some of the more populous countries in Asia have comparatively fallen behind their counterparts in Europe and the United States.

Information collated by scientific online publication, Our World In Data, showed that as of June 15, 40% of North Americans have received at least one dose of Covid vaccine and 36% in Europe. In comparison, only 21% received at least one shot in Asia, though the pace of vaccination is picking up in the region.

AirAsia chief executive Tony Fernandes said he remains very optimistic about vaccination rates, especially in Southeast Asia.

“The distribution is there, the demand is there, and now supply is becoming consistent,” he said, adding that he expects most Southeast Asian countries to reach a vaccination rate of 60% for a first dose by September.

I believe travel is here to stay. Domestic travel will lead the recovery but vaccination is the only comprehensive and conclusive way of resolution.

Ritesh Agarwal

CEO and founder, Oyo

But he is less upbeat about the possibility of an internationally recognized vaccine passport — a digital app on a smartphone that can access an individual’s health data to confirm if they have been vaccinated against Covid-19.

Support for digital health passports is split. Critics point to concerns over how secure a person’s data will be, as third-party apps will be communicating with databases containing sensitive personal health information.  

What the travel industry needs, however, is consistency around regulation, according to the budget airline boss.

Passengers crowd at Wuhan Railway Station on the first day of the Dragon Boat Festival holiday on June 12, 2021 in Wuhan, Hubei Province of China.

Zhao Jun | Visual China Group | Getty Images

“If you have got two vaccines, you don’t need to quarantine. That seems to vary country to country,” he said. Nations should also accept all vaccines that have been approved by the World Health Organization, Fernandes added.

Major trends among travelers

Domestic travel is already picking up in countries like China that have brought the pandemic under relatively good control. Cases have remained comparatively low while the vaccination rate climbed.

Millions of people rushed to travel last month during a five-day Labor Day holiday in the country as bookings for hotels, car rentals and other travel soared.

Jane Sun, CEO of Chinese travel booking site Trip.com, said that she is looking forward to a strong rebound for domestic travel in China. “We have seen strong pent-up demand through the data of our search volume,” she said.

Sun explained there are three trends being observed among those who are traveling again since the start of the pandemic.

First, they are booking more with hotels, airlines and local operators who are providing masks, hand sanitizers and other safety measures. Second, people are now traveling in much smaller groups. Finally, they are choosing packages with flexibility, that allow them to change, cancel or postpone their trips.

AirAsia’s Fernandes agreed that the current situation required operators, including the low-cost carriers, to adapt and offer more flexibility to travelers — even if it may not be a sound business decision.

“There’s too much uncertainty,” he said, adding that the airline may bring back some of its older, more strict policies once there is more certainty in travel.

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New York carry most Covid restrictions with 70% of adults vaccinated with one shot

New York lift most Covid restrictions with 70% of adults vaccinated with one shot

Masked people walk Times Square in New York City on May 19, 2021.

John Smith | Corbis News | Getty Images

New York will lift most of its Covid-19 restrictions now that 70% of all adults in the state have been vaccinated with at least one dose, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Tuesday.

Cuomo said all government-imposed restrictions on commercial businesses, social facilities, sports and recreational events, construction, manufacturing and retail introduced since March 2020 will be lifted “with immediate effect.”

“We can live again. Shops can open because government mandates are gone, restrictions on social gatherings, capacity restrictions, health checks, cleaning and disinfection protocols, “he said. “Think about June 15th. Think about today because it is the day New York was resurrected.”

Residents and visitors are still required to wear masks in some settings such as hospitals, public transportation and schools according to guidelines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, he said, but all other state-mandated Covid restrictions will be lifted across New York. The state will allow schools and camps to decide whether masks are required for children during outdoor activities.

While New York, which was an early epicenter of the global outbreak last March and April, recorded more than 2 million cases and nearly 53,000 Covid deaths, it now has one of the lowest rates of positivity in the United States.

On Sunday, the state’s seven-day positivity rate was 0.41%, up from a high of 7.9% on Jan. 4. Every region of the state has a positivity rate of less than 1%.

Cuomo emphasized that 70% is a great milestone and a sign that the state is fine, but it’s not the finish line. “We want to celebrate, but we want to remember what we are celebrating,” said Cuomo on Monday. “We come around the last corner.”

More than 11.1 million residents of the state have been vaccinated with at least one vaccination, and about 9.8 million are fully vaccinated, according to the state.

The state has administered more shots per capita than any other large state in the country, according to the CDC.

New York suffered widespread closings of its bars and restaurants due to pandemic lockdowns. Many restaurants and bars in New York City did not survive. The restaurant industry employs nearly 1 million people in the state, which is 9% of total employment in the state.

Before the pandemic, the unemployment rate in New York state was 3.9%. That number skyrocketed to 16.2% during the worst of the pandemic in April 2020. About a year later, the unemployment rate was 8.2% in April.

Cuomo said the state will lift capacity restrictions, social distancing, hygiene protocols, health exams, some contact tracing, and more.

President Joe Biden’s goal is to have 70% of adults in the United States vaccinated with at least one vaccine by July 4th.

The Empire State Building and all other state assets will glow blue and gold to celebrate the milestone vaccination rate.

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CureVac’s Covid Vaccine Carried out Badly in Trial, In Half As a result of Variants

CureVac’s Covid Vaccine Performed Badly in Trial, In Part Due to Variants

German company CureVac on Wednesday delivered disappointing preliminary results from a clinical trial of its Covid-19 vaccine, tarnishing hopes of meeting the world’s great needs.

The study, which included 40,000 volunteers in Latin America and Europe, estimated that CureVac’s mRNA vaccine was only 47 percent effective, one of the lowest ever reported by any Covid vaccine manufacturer. The study will continue as researchers monitor volunteers for new cases of Covid, with a final analysis expected in two to three weeks.

“We’re going into full swing for the last reading,” said Franz-Werner Haas, CEO of CureVac, in an interview. “We are still planning to submit the permit.”

CureVac plans to first apply to the European Medicines Agency for approval. The European Union reached an agreement last year to purchase 405 million doses of the vaccine if the agency approves it.

However, independent experts said it would be difficult for CureVac to recover. Natalie Dean, a biostatistician at the University of Florida, said the vaccine’s effectiveness could improve somewhat by the end of the study. However, since most of the data are already available, the vaccine is unlikely to offer high protection. “It’s not going to change dramatically,” she said.

And with such a low rate of efficacy – far less than the roughly 95 percent of competing mRNA vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna – the results aren’t a good sign that CureVac’s vaccines will be adopted.

“It’s pretty devastating for them,” said Jacob Kirkegaard, a vaccine supply expert at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a Washington think tank.

The news was disappointing to experts who had hoped the company could provide vaccines to low- and middle-income countries that don’t have nearly enough. CureVac had several advantages over the other mRNA vaccines, such as the month-long shelf life in the refrigerator. In addition, CureVac’s vaccine uses fewer mRNA molecules per injection compared to its competitors, reducing its cost.

The study results published on Wednesday were based on data from 135 volunteers suffering from Covid. An independent panel compared the number of people who had received a placebo with those who had received the vaccine. Although the vaccine appeared to offer some protection, the statistical difference between the two groups was not great, giving an effectiveness rate of 47 percent.

In comparison, annual flu vaccinations can be 40 to 60 percent effective. Both the World Health Organization and the Food and Drug Administration set a threshold of 50 percent effectiveness for considering Covid vaccines for emergency approval. If CureVac ended up staying at 47 percent, it wouldn’t meet that standard.

The results surprised the scientists. CureVac’s recordings have shown promising results in animal studies and early clinical studies.

“This is a bit of a head scratch,” said Dr. Dean.

Dr. Haas blamed the disappointing results on the high number of virus variants in the countries where the vaccine was tested. Of 124 of the Covid-19 cases that the company’s scientists have genetically sequenced, only one was caused by the original version of the coronavirus.

More than half of the cases were caused by variants that have been shown to be more transmissible or can make vaccines less effective. CureVac volunteers have also been infected by variants that have yet to be carefully investigated. Lambda, which has dominated Peru for the past few weeks, made up 21 percent of the samples.

Dr. Haas said the results should serve as a wake-up call to the threat that new variants can pose to vaccine effectiveness. “It’s a new Covid reality, that’s for sure,” he said.

Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech were tested last year before variants emerged, which could partly explain their much higher rates of effectiveness. However, studies have shown that their effectiveness in practice falls only moderately in view of variants.

Dr. Kirkegaard predicted that it would be challenging for CureVac to compete with others Covid vaccine under development, manufactured by Novavax. Novavax reported Monday that its non-frozen vaccine was 90 percent effective in a study in the United States and Mexico.

“I suspect that it will be difficult for them to really get a significant market for developing countries,” said Dr. Kirkegaard.

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WHO says delta Covid variant has now unfold to 80 nations and it retains mutating

WHO says delta Covid variant has now spread to 80 countries and it keeps mutating

A mobile Covid-19 vaccination centre outside Bolton Town Hall, Bolton, where case numbers of the Delta variant first identified in India have been relatively high.

Peter Byrne | PA Images | Getty Images

The delta Covid variant, first detected in India, has now spread to more than 80 countries and it continues to mutate as it spreads across the globe, World Health Organization officials said Wednesday.

The variant now makes up 10% of all new cases in the United States, up from 6% last week. Studies have shown the variant is even more transmissible than other variants. WHO officials said some reports have found that it also causes more severe symptoms, but more research is needed to confirm those conclusions.

The WHO is also tracking recent reports of a “delta plus” variant. “What I think this means is that there is an additional mutation that has been identified,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s Covid-19 technical lead. “In some of the delta variants we’ve seen one less mutation or one deletion instead of an additional, so we’re looking at all of it.”

The United Kingdom recently saw the delta variant become the dominant strain there, surpassing its native alpha variant, which was first detected in the country last fall. The delta variant now makes up more than 60% of new cases in the U.K.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical advisor to the president, said last week that “we cannot let that happen in the United States,” as he pushed to get more people vaccinated, especially young adults.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designated the delta variant as a variant of concern in the U.S. on Tuesday. The WHO designated the delta variant as a variant of concern in early May.

The WHO on Tuesday also added another Covid mutation, the lambda variant, to its list of variants of interest. The agency is monitoring more than 50 different Covid variants, but not all become enough of a public health threat to make the WHO’s formal watchlist. The lambda variant has multiple mutations in the spike protein that could have an impact on its transmissibility, but more studies are needed to fully understand the mutations, Van Kerkhove said.

The lambda variant has been detected by scientists in South America, including in Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Argentina, thanks to increased genomic surveillance.

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Covid Vaccine Card: What You Have to Know

Covid Vaccine Card: What You Need to Know

“Customers began seeking out ways to protect their Covid-19 vaccine record cards, knowing they will likely be important to have on hand in the future,” Craig Grayson, vice president of print and marketing services for Staples, said in an email. “Leveraging our existing capabilities in store felt like a natural way to provide a free solution.”

People can also get their completed vaccine cards laminated for free at Office Depot and OfficeMax stores nationwide using the code 52516714 through July 25.

Dr. Ikediobi also recommends keeping the card in a safe place, as you would your passport, rather than carrying it around. “It does not necessarily need to be on your person at all times,” she said.

In some cases, yes. Border entry requirements are set by governments, not by airlines or by the International Air Transport Association, the trade association for the world’s airlines. Some destinations and cruise lines have started requiring that travelers be fully vaccinated before they travel. As of March 26, fully vaccinated Americans who can present proof of vaccination can visit Iceland, for example, and avoid border measures such as testing and quarantining, the country’s government said.

The cruise line Royal Caribbean is requiring passengers and crew members 16 or older to be vaccinated in order to board its ships. Virgin Voyages, Crystal Cruises and others are requiring guests to be vaccinated as well. These companies will restart cruise operations this spring and summer.

For the moment, airlines are not requiring vaccinations for travel, but some international destinations are requiring vaccination for entry. The idea has been much talked about in the industry. In an interview with NBC Nightly News, Ed Bastian, the chief executive officer of Delta Air Lines, said that proof of vaccination will likely eventually be required on international flights, but whether that is paper proof or a digital vaccine passport, is unclear.

Perry Flint, a spokesman for the I.A.T.A., said that the agency does not support a mandatory vaccine requirement for air travel because it “risks discriminating against those markets where vaccines may take longer to become widely available” or against those “who are not able to get vaccinated for medical reasons, or who are unwilling to do so owing to ethical or other concerns.”

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Nepal’s second Covid wave is now below management: Prime minister

Nepal's second Covid wave is now under control: Prime minister

Nepal’s second wave of Covid infections is subsiding – but the country needs more vaccines to deal with the pandemic, Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli told CNBC.

“The wave is under control and is going back,” he told Street Signs Asia on Monday. He said there had been a 75% decrease in cases.

Nepal reported 2,049 infections on Monday, up from a record of more than 9,000 new cases per day in mid-May.

“It was like a crisis, a very serious crisis … when the wave started,” Oli said, noting that infections and deaths increased and Nepal faced a shortage of hospital beds, medical equipment and facilities. He described the rise as “highly contagious and deadly”.

I think we can tentatively complete the vaccination process within this year.

Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli

Prime Minister, Nepal

Nepalese billionaire Binod Chaudhary told CNBC in May that the country had underestimated the intensity of the second wave of coronavirus.

“Little by little, we have taken very serious measures and taken serious steps to contain and control the pandemic,” said the Prime Minister.

Nepal has also received generous support from vaccine manufacturers, philanthropic organizations and other governments, he added.

Vaccination campaign

Oli said Nepal hopes to vaccinate its entire population by the end of 2021 if there are enough vaccines.

“Our population is only 30 million and of them we (some people) have already vaccinated,” he said.

Just over 8% of people in the country have received at least one dose of vaccine, according to Our World in Data. Nepal has received vaccines donated by India, China and Covax, a global alliance dedicated to delivering vaccines to poorer countries.

The prime minister said Nepal is also trying to secure millions of cans from countries like the US, UK and China.

“We speak very seriously with China and hope that we can get more vaccines,” said Oli. “Within this year, I think we can tentatively complete the vaccination process.”