Tag: Vaccine

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Health

For Biden, a New Virus Dilemma: Easy methods to Deal with a Looming Glut of Vaccine

For Biden, a New Virus Dilemma: How to Handle a Looming Glut of Vaccine

Although Johnson & Johnson has lagged behind the other manufacturers, its technology holds huge promise for mass production as it can deliver many more cans per lot.

Later this year, when Merck & Company is expected to begin manufacturing Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine, it could produce 100 million doses per month – or as many as Pfizer and Moderna combined deliver each month. The White House welcomed the Johnson & Johnson-Merck deal, but when production revs up, those cans may be tied for a growing surplus or for export.

One option is to ship the frozen vaccine, which is made at Merck’s overseas facility, where it can be bottled much cheaper. Of the $ 10 the federal government agreed to pay for a dose of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine, the drug substance itself only accounts for about 30 cents, federal officials said. The rest are the so-called fill-and-finish costs.

If AstraZeneca gets emergency clearance from US regulators, even more shots will be thrown into the mix. Officials expect around 50 million cans to be ready for delivery by May.

But Biden government officials are skeptical about AstraZeneca’s vaccine. It seems about as effective as Johnson & Johnson’s, but requires an extra shot, which means a more complicated rollout. Some health officials fear that introducing a fourth vaccine will only confuse people if enough doses are already in the pipeline to cover every adult who wants a shot.

On the other hand, if the government decides to donate the AstraZeneca cans without offering anything to their own citizens, other countries may conclude that the United States has no confidence in the safety or effectiveness of the vaccine.

“As we become more confident in the doses we have and the ability, or need or not, to increase them, we can make a more definitive statement about what role the AZ product will play in the US.” Dr. Fauci said in an interview this week, “but right now I think it’s too early to say anything.”

Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Benjamin Mueller and Matina Stevis-Gridneff contributed to the coverage. Kitty Bennett contributed to the research.

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Business

Do it’s essential put on masks after Covid vaccine? New NIH-backed research hopes to reply that

Do you need to wear masks after Covid vaccine? New NIH-backed study hopes to answer that

Nurses remove vaccination doses from a vial while Maryland residents receive their second dose of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine at the Cameron Grove Community Center in Bowie, Maryland on March 25, 2021.

Win McNamee | Getty Images

A new study, supported by the National Institutes of Health, aims to help doctors and officials figure out what people can and cannot do after vaccinating against the coronavirus, including whether they are still wearing masks and social Need to practice distancing.

The study, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the NIH, will test the ability of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine to prevent infection of the coronavirus, limit the amount of virus in the nose, and reduce transmission from vaccinated people to close contacts.

“We hope that in the next five months we will be able to answer the very important question of whether people who have been vaccinated will become infected asymptomatically and whether they will then pass the infection on to others,” said White House chief medical officer Dr. Anthony Fauci said at a press conference on Friday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stated that fully vaccinated individuals can congregate indoors with other fully vaccinated individuals and some unvaccinated individuals without precautions such as wearing masks or maintaining a distance. Vaccinated people should continue to mask and practice social distancing in public, according to the CDC’s initial guidelines.

Scientists still don’t know whether immunized people can get asymptomatic infections or act as carriers that transmit the virus to others. As more Americans get vaccinated, this NIH study aims to answer those questions.

The randomized, controlled trial will follow 12,000 college students aged 18 to 26 at more than 20 US universities over a period of five months. Preliminary study locations were opened on Thursday.

Study participants are randomly divided into two groups. Six thousand students are immediately vaccinated with Moderna’s two-shot vaccine 28 days apart. Six thousand will be vaccinated four months later as the first control group.

Students dab their noses daily to test for coronavirus infections, fill out electronic questionnaires, and take regular blood samples.

Around 25,000 people identified as “close contacts” among the participants will also take part in the study, providing nasal swabs and blood samples. The researchers will use the close contacts to measure the level of virus transmission from vaccinated people.

More than 133 million Covid vaccine doses were administered in the US on Thursday morning, according to the CDC.

President Joe Biden set a new goal of 200 million coronavirus vaccinations Thursday in his first 100 days in office.

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Health

EU steps up vaccine exports guidelines and pressures AstraZeneca over deliveries

EU steps up vaccine exports rules and pressures AstraZeneca over deliveries

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

Thierry Monasse | Getty Images News | Getty Images

LONDON – The European Union has tightened strict rules on the export of Covid vaccines while putting pressure on AstraZeneca to deliver more shots to the area.

It is because the sluggish introduction of vaccines in the region is under scrutiny, even as the EU continues to export millions of coronavirus shots abroad.

In order to gain a stronger negotiating position with pharmaceutical companies that fail to meet delivery targets, the bloc has expanded its strict rules on vaccine exports.

Before approving the delivery of Covid-19 shots, the EU will check whether the recipient country has any restrictions on vaccines or raw materials and whether it is in a better epidemiological situation.

“We want to make sure that Europe gets its fair share of vaccines. Because we have to explain to our citizens that companies that export their vaccines around the world are fully committed to their commitments and are not taking any risks.” Security of supply in the European Union, “said the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on Thursday.

We all know we could have been a lot faster if all the pharmaceutical companies had fulfilled their contracts.

Ursula von der Leyen

President of the European Commission

The data released on Thursday showed that the EU has exported 77 million cans of Covid shots to 33 countries around the world since December. At the same time, 88 million were delivered to EU countries, of which 62 million were managed. As such, the EU has exported more shots than it has previously given its citizens.

However, some EU countries have raised concerns about stricter export regulations, with countries like Belgium and the Netherlands wanting supply chains to remain open. There is a risk that stopping vaccine exports will trigger a trade war and other parts of the world – which produce the raw materials needed to make vaccines – stop shipping to Europe.

Pressure on AstraZeneca

The EU has also quarreled with the Swedish-UK drug maker over not firing as many Covid shots as the bloc expected.

The 27 nations waited for 90 million doses of this vaccine in the first quarter and 180 million in the second quarter of 2021. However, AstraZeneca said that due to manufacturing issues, only 30 million doses can be dispensed by the end of March and 70 million between April and June.

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The reduced delivery targets are a problem for EU countries, some of which wanted more of this vaccine as it is cheaper and easier to store than others. Further delivery delays to Europe could affect the broader rollout plans.

“We all know we could have been much faster if all pharmaceutical companies had fulfilled their contracts,” said von der Leyen on Thursday.

During a press conference, she added that AstraZeneca “needs to catch up, respect the treaty with European member states, before it can export vaccines again”.

The introduction of vaccines in the EU has posed a number of challenges from the start and the Commission, which has negotiated with drug manufacturers, has been criticized for taking too long to sign vaccination contracts.

Italy’s former Prime Minister Mario Monti told CNBC on Friday: “We shouldn’t be surprised that Europe has reacted quite well in terms of the monetary and financial response to the pandemic and so far not quite (so) in terms of procurement and in terms of the pandemic industrial response. “

He argued that while the EU countries have integrated their monetary policy and part of their fiscal responses, “there has never been a health union”.

Individual governments remain responsible for their own health policies, while areas such as international trade remain the primary responsibility of the European Commission.

A deal with the UK

The EU’s stricter export regulations could become a problem especially for the UK, which has received vaccines from the EU. The vaccination rate is higher than that of the block based on the number of first doses given.

European Commission figures show the UK has received 21 million doses of vaccine block-made – the highest share of EU exports yet. The UK has so far given its population 31 million doses of Covid-19 syringes, suggesting that around two-thirds of the vaccines used in the UK come from the EU.

“We discussed what else we can do to ensure a mutually beneficial relationship between the UK and the EU on Covid-19,” the two sides said in a joint statement on Wednesday.

“Given our interdependencies, we are working on specific steps that we can take in the short, medium and long term to create a win-win situation and expand the supply of vaccines to all of our citizens.”

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said at a press conference on Thursday that a vaccine deal between the EU and Great Britain could be announced on Saturday.

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Health

Trump former Covid vaccine chief Slaoui out at different firms after sexual harassment declare

Trump former Covid vaccine chief Slaoui out at other companies after sexual harassment claim

Moncef Slaoui, the former head of GlaxoSmithKlines’ vaccines division, listens as U.S. President Donald Trump makes remarks on coronavirus vaccine development in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC on May 15, 2020. The Trump administration, dubbed Operation Warp Speed, announces plans for a major effort to manufacture and market a coronavirus vaccine by the end of 2020.

Drew Angerer | Getty Images

Two other companies split the day after he was fired from a GlaxoSmithKline-controlled company on allegations of sexual harassment of Moncef Slaoui, the Trump administration’s former Covid vaccine chief.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals announced Thursday that the former head of Operation Warp Speed ​​has resigned as chief scientist with immediate effect. Vaccine developer Vaxcyte said in an SEC filing posted on its website Thursday that Slaoui had agreed to step down as chairman at the company’s request.

Slaoui was fired as chairman of Galvani Bioelectronics, a joint venture between GSK and Verily, on Wednesday after a woman sent GSK a letter saying he sexually molested her a few years ago while she worked there.

GSK said an investigation by an outside law firm “substantiated” its claims. Slaoui, 61, had spent 30 years at GSK overseeing vaccine development at this pharmaceutical giant. He was the chief scientist for the development of the US government’s Covid vaccines for Operation Warp Speed ​​under the former Trump administration.

“The Centessa management team and board of directors were concerned to hear about Dr. Slaoui yesterday’s news,” said Dr. Saurabh Saha, CEO of Centessa Pharmaceuticals, in a statement.

“Centessa is committed to promoting a culture of respect that is free from harassment and discrimination of any kind, and is unwaveringly committed to maintaining a work environment that reflects our strong values ​​as a company.”

Vaxcyte told CNBC in an email Thursday that the company was made aware of the sexual harassment allegations on Wednesday and immediately requested Slaoui to step down from the company’s board of directors.

“Vaxcyte is committed to the highest standards of business conduct and ethics, including a safe and inclusive workplace,” said the company.

GSK said Wednesday that Slaoui was fired one month after receiving a letter from the company “containing allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior by Dr. Slaoui against a GSK employee.”

According to GSK, Slaoui’s actions “constitute an abuse of his leadership position, violate company guidelines and contradict the strong values ​​that define GSK’s culture.

Slaoui Reuters reported from Massachusetts-based Centessa Pharmaceuticals in mid-February to advise on its drug development programs, which focus on areas such as hemophilia, cancer and kidney disease. Since 2017 he has been a partner at Medicxi, the investment firm Centessa founded.

That year, Slaoui joined Vaxcyte’s board of directors where he became chairman in May 2018.

Slaoui apologized on Wednesday following the allegations and said he was “deeply sorry”. He said he would be taking leave from other healthcare companies and a venture capital firm to focus on his family.

“I would also like to apologize to my wife and family for the pain this is causing,” Slaoui said in a statement. “I will work hard to recover from everyone who has affected this situation.”

– CNBC’s Dan Mangan contributed to this report.

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Politics

Biden units new Covid vaccine aim as coronavirus pandemic continues

Biden sets new Covid vaccine goal as coronavirus pandemic continues

US President-elect Joe Biden speaks during a press conference on January 15, 2021 at Biden’s interim headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, about his plan to give vaccines against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) to the US population.

Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

President Joe Biden announced a new goal Thursday of distributing 200 million Covid vaccine shots within his first 100 days in office.

“I know it’s ambitious – twice as much as our original goal – but no other country in the world has come close to what we’re doing,” Biden told reporters as he opened his first press conference as president.

“I think we can do it.”

As of Friday, there have been 100 million coronavirus vaccinations since Biden was inaugurated. That benchmark, which Biden set as his original goal on December 8, was met on his 59th day in office.

After a slower-than-expected rollout under former President Donald Trump, the rate of vaccination in the US has increased rapidly, receiving an average of 2.5 million doses per day over the past week.

If this vaccination rate is maintained, Biden’s 200 million dose target would be achieved in about five weeks or around April 23 – a full week before Biden would mark 100 days at the White House.

The federal government has signed a contract with Johnson & Johnson to supply 200 million cans. The first half of this order is expected by the end of June. Merck is helping make J & J’s Shot, which is a single-dose vaccine.

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The government has also signed contracts with drug makers Pfizer and Moderna for a total of 600 million doses.

That’s enough to vaccinate 300 million Americans, as both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two shots three to four weeks apart.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin last month approved the deployment of more than 1,000 active troops to support the dispensing of Covid-19 vaccines in the US to speed up the pace of vaccinations.

Correction: This story has been updated to take into account that, as of Friday, 100 million coronavirus vaccinations have been had since Biden was inaugurated.

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World News

California and Florida Put together to Give Vaccine Entry to All Adults

California and Florida Prepare to Give Vaccine Access to All Adults

United States governors accelerate coronavirus vaccine approval as new cases rise nationally, making vaccination efforts more urgent.

California will open vaccination eligibility to residents aged 50 or older on April 1 and expand it to residents 16 and over on April 15, state officials said Thursday, saying they could do so because of U.S. vaccine supplies increases federal government. And Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced that any state resident aged 40 or older would be eligible starting Monday, and that the minimum age would drop to 18 on April 5.

In Connecticut, one of the most vaccinated states in the country, Governor Ned Lamont said Thursday that all residents 16 and older would be eligible from April 1. New Hampshire will begin making footage available to residents aged 16 and over beginning April 2nd. and North Carolina on April 7th. In Rhode Island, Governor Dan McKee said the state is on track to make vaccines available to all residents 16 and older by April 19.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said the state will open vaccinations for people 40 years and older starting Monday and keep a mask mandate in place for at least another 30 days. And in Minnesota, Governor Tim Walz is expected to announce on Friday that all residents over the age of 16 will be eligible from March 30th.

Alaska, Mississippi, Utah, and West Virginia are the only states where all adults are now eligible to receive shots. However, many more have announced plans to upgrade eligibility on or before May 1, a goal that President Biden has set. Some local jurisdictions have also started vaccinating all adults.

The nation takes an average of 2.5 million vaccine doses a day. At this rate, around half of the country’s population would be at least partially vaccinated by mid-May.

California will also allow health care providers, at their own discretion, to immediately vaccinate family members of eligible individuals, even if the family members would otherwise not be eligible, Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement.

State officials said they expected California to receive 2.5 million doses per week in the first half of April and more than 3 million in the second half of the month, a significant increase from the current pace of about 1.8 million doses per week.

Mr Newsom has been under heavy pressure for weeks to accelerate the state’s vaccination efforts. Experts say its ability to fend off a recall campaign could depend on vaccinating millions of residents and lifting remaining restrictions so the state can be closer to normal when voters are asked to decide its fate.

The governor has repeatedly stated that short and unpredictable deliveries are responsible for a confusing and chaotic vaccination process that has left many poorer communities behind.

State officials abruptly announced earlier this month that 40 percent of the state’s new vaccine doses would go to communities at risk, but the move frustrated local Bay Area officials who had almost none of the prioritized communities.

Dr. Jeffrey V. Smith, the executive director of Santa Clara County, recently described the program as “a fake stock plan”. Mayor Vicente Sarmiento of Santa Ana, the seat of Orange County and home to many lower-income Latinos, praised the plan.

Florida, more than most states, has emphasized age rather than occupation or other risk factors in its approach to vaccine approval. The state initially focused on people 65 and older, then lowered the age limit to 50. By Wednesday, 24 percent of the total Florida population had received at least one shot, and 14 percent were fully vaccinated, according to a New York Times analysis of the centers for control data and disease prevention.

The number of new virus cases reported in Florida has been around 4,600 per day in the past few weeks, a figure that health officials say is still too high, although it has fallen significantly from a high earlier this year.

The state’s efforts to reopen its tourism industry have not been without problems. In Miami Beach, local officials have been overwhelmed by night owls who have ignored safety precautions like wearing masks and social distancing. It got so bad that the city imposed a curfew and sent police in riot gear to disperse the crowd.

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Health

Rutgers College to require Covid vaccine for college students returning to campus within the fall

Rutgers University to require Covid vaccine for students returning to campus in the fall

Rutgers University is requiring students to return to campus this fall to prove they have been vaccinated against Covid-19. This makes it one of the first institutions in the USA to commission the vaccinations.

Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway announced the change on Thursday, saying in a statement that the university plans to update its vaccination requirements for students on campus to include the Covid-19 vaccine.

Students must provide evidence that they have been fully vaccinated with any of the three shots currently approved in the US – Pfizer’s, Moderna’s, or Johnson & Johnson’s. However, students under the age of 18 are only eligible for the Pfizer shot. Pfizer’s is the only FDA-cleared vaccine for use in people aged 16 and over.

Students who are fully enrolled in online courses and who do not have access to on-campus facilities are said to be exempt from vaccination, as are those with medical or religious reasons that prohibit vaccination.

Many universities in the United States struggled to bring students back to their campuses during the pandemic, following various reopening plans. Some institutions have been forced to crack down on gatherings and off-campus events that have sparked outbreaks in the surrounding community.

“From the beginning of the pandemic, the safety of the wider Rutgers community was our shared responsibility. This has never been more true,” Holloway said in the statement. “The importance of having an effective vaccination program to keep our community safer for all cannot be overstated.”

Focuses on information

Dr. Preeti Malani, chief health officer and professor of medicine and infectious diseases at the University of Michigan, told CNBC that Rutgers was one of the first universities she knew will require Covid-19 vaccinations this fall.

Malani has worked closely with health officials from other Big 10 universities, including Rutgers, to steer the campus reopening amid the pandemic. At the moment, the University of Michigan has no plans to require admissions among returning students this fall, she said.

“We really focus on giving students good information and helping them sign up. We have no way of vaccinating people on campus, and that’s because there are lots of other people out there who are getting vaccinated properly have to now, “Malani told CNBC in a telephone interview.

“We are confident that as supply outgrows demand, we may be able to host some types of student-focused vaccination events,” she said.

Universities need other vaccines for students living on campus, such as meningitis, hepatitis, and measles, which experts say could likely extend to Covid-19. However, it could be difficult to keep track of who was vaccinated on campus, Malani said, especially at facilities with many overseas and international students.

“The [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] can provide guidance and say, for example, “You shouldn’t live in a dorm if you are not vaccinated”. I think there are a lot of people’s opinions on it at the moment, “said Malani.

“What we do know is that the news about vaccination is getting better and better and that this is not just a way to protect individuals but a way to protect the entire community,” she said.

Back to normal

Requiring students to get vaccinated against the disease will allow Rutgers to resume a wide range of activities and allow for an “accelerated return to normalcy before the pandemic,” the university said in its statement Thursday. The widespread vaccination enables the university to offer more face-to-face teaching as well as expanded dining and recreational opportunities.

The decision was based in part on President Joe Biden’s assessment that every American will have access to a vaccine by the end of May.

A number of states have announced that they will open vaccine licenses to all adults in the coming weeks before Biden meets the May 1 deadline for the state extension to all adult residents.

New Jersey officials have agreed to the New Brunswick-based university to begin administering vaccines to students and faculty as more doses become available. However, the university urges “all members of its community currently eligible to receive a vaccine not to wait” and to be vaccinated “as soon as possible” because the state has not yet provided supplies to the university.

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Health

Pfizer Begins Testing Its Vaccine in Younger Kids

Pfizer Begins Testing Its Vaccine in Young Children

Pfizer has started testing its Covid-19 vaccine in children under the age of 12. This is an important step in reducing the pandemic. The first participants in the study, a pair of 9-year-old twin girls, were vaccinated on Wednesday at Duke University in North Carolina.

Results of the study are expected in the second half of the year, and the company hopes to vaccinate younger children early next year, said Sharon Castillo, a spokeswoman for the drug company.

Moderna is also starting testing its vaccine in children aged six months to 12 years. Both companies have tested their vaccines in children 12 years and older and expect these results in the next few weeks.

AstraZeneca began testing its vaccine in children six months and older last month. Johnson & Johnson has announced plans to extend the vaccine trials to young children after assessing performance in older children.

Immunizing children will help schools reopen and end the pandemic, said Dr. Emily Erbelding, an infectious disease doctor at the National Institutes of Health who oversees the testing of Covid-19 vaccines in specific populations.

An estimated 80 percent of the population may need to be vaccinated for the United States to achieve herd immunity, the threshold above which the coronavirus can no longer infect people. Some adults may refuse to be vaccinated, while others may not produce a robust immune response.

Children under the age of 18 make up about 23 percent of the US population. Even if the vast majority of adults choose vaccines, “herd immunity may be difficult to achieve without vaccinating children,” said Dr. Erbelding.

Pfizer originally announced that it would wait for data from older children before starting trials of its vaccine in children under the age of 12. “We were encouraged, however, by the data from the group of 12-15 year olds,” said Ms. Castillo, who did not elaborate on results so far.

Scientists will test three doses of the Pfizer vaccine – 10, 20, and 30 micrograms – in 144 children. Each dose is assessed first in children aged 5 to 11 years, then in children aged 2 to 4 years, and finally in the youngest group aged six months to 2 years.

After determining the most effective dose, the company will test the vaccine on 4,500 children. Approximately two-thirds of the participants are randomly selected to receive two doses 21 days apart. The remainder received two placebo injections of saline solution. The researchers will study the children’s immune response in blood drawn seven days after the second dose.

Updated

March 25, 2021, 2:39 p.m. ET

“It sounds like a good plan, and it’s exciting to see another Covid-19 vaccine drive studies in children,” said Dr. Kristin Oliver, pediatrician and vaccine expert at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.

Dr. Oliver said that about half of the parents she sees in the office eagerly await vaccines and even volunteer their children for clinical trials, while the rest are skeptical because comparatively few children get seriously ill with coronavirus infection .

Both parent groups will benefit from knowing exactly how safe and effective the vaccines are in children, she said.

Children make up 13 percent of all reported cases in the United States. More than 3.3 million children tested positive for the virus, at least 13,000 were hospitalized and at least 260 died, noted Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, who represents the American Academy of Pediatrics on the Federal Advisory Board on Immunization Practices.

The figures do not fully capture the damage to the health of children. “We don’t know how a Covid infection will affect the long term,” said Dr. Maldonado.

Other vaccines have helped fight many terrible teething problems that can cause long-term complications. She added, “For some of us who have seen this, we don’t want to go back to that time.”

Children are often more responsive to vaccines than adults, and infants and young children in particular can have a high fever. All side effects are likely to appear soon after the shot, within the first week, and certainly within the first few weeks, experts have said.

Some vaccines are only tested on animals before being studied in children and must be carefully monitored for side effects.

“But that’s a little different because we’ve already had tens of millions of people with these vaccines,” said Dr. Maldonado. “So there is more confidence to give this vaccine to children.”

Some experts suggested that the Food and Drug Administration may need up to six months of safety data from studies in children before the Covid-19 vaccines are approved. However, a spokeswoman said the agency did not expect safety data to support approval of the vaccines for six months.

The Pfizer BioNTech vaccine is approved for children ages 16-18, and approval for that age group was based on just two months of safety data, she said.

Parents will want to know how the companies and the FDA plan to monitor and disclose the side effects of the vaccines and how long they will pursue study participants after the vaccines are approved, said Dr. Oliver.

“I think everyone has learned that,” she said. “The more transparent you can be, the better.”

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Health

Mississippi Will Take away ‘Deceptive’ Language About Covid-19 Vaccine

Mississippi Will Remove ‘Misleading’ Language About Covid-19 Vaccine

Bobby Wayne, a retired minister with prostate cancer and leukemia, had called health officials in his Mississippi county for a week to find out where to get the Covid-19 vaccine.

But when Mr. Wayne, 64, called the state helpline on Monday, he said an operator whose job it was to help residents schedule vaccination appointments had given him annoying and inaccurate information.

“That’s how she told me: They had no documentation that the vaccine was effective,” Wayne said. “And then she asked me if I still wanted to take it.”

When he said “yes” to her, the operator replied that there were no appointments available and that he should call again the next morning.

Recognition…Elizabeth Wayne

The confusion was the result of “miscommunication” about a misleading script that the hotline operators had received, according to the Ministry of Health.

The script referred to pregnant women, breastfeeding women and people with weakened immune systems.

It was asked, “Still want to be vaccinated with the understanding that no data are currently available on the safety or effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines, including the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine, in pregnant women, breastfeeding women or the immunocompromised?”

Most experts agree that the risks to pregnant women from Covid-19 are far greater than any theoretical harm from the vaccines. Doctors have said they believe the vaccines are safe for people with autoimmune diseases.

Liz Sharlot, a spokeswoman for the Mississippi Department of Health, said the script could be confusing “if read out of context.”

Updated

March 24, 2021, 9:11 p.m. ET

“We are replacing this confusing and misleading language,” she said in a statement

However, Ms. Sharlot said operators were never told that there was no documented evidence that the Moderna vaccine, or any other vaccine approved by the Food and Drug Administration, worked.

“Just the opposite is the case,” she said. “Both Moderna and Pfizer have high rates of effectiveness.”

Ms. Sharlot added, “I think the Lord misunderstood this.”

Mr. Wayne said he understood perfectly.

“I’m not confused at all,” he said. “I’m maybe 64 years old and disabled, but my brain is still working and so are my ears.”

Mr. Wayne said it was worrying to think that people asking for information about the vaccination might be discouraged by the very people who are supposed to help them get a shot.

“I wouldn’t want anyone else to go through this,” he said.

According to a New York Times database, Mississippi has given 22 percent of its population at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. Just over 12 percent of citizens are fully vaccinated.

Mr. Wayne’s daughter, Elizabeth Wayne, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, complained on Twitter about her father’s conversation with the state operator, calling it “violence.”

“It’s dangerous,” said Dr. Wayne. “There is therapy. There is a way to treat something and you make it harder for them to get access to that treatment, making it more likely that they will get sick. “

The Mississippi Free Press covered the story after Dr. Wayne wrote on Twitter about her father’s experience.

Dr. Thomas E. Dobbs III, the state health commissioner, responded to her post on Twitter and shared a link to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine that showed the Moderna vaccine, Covid-19, was 94.1 percent effective prevented and that “No safety concerns were identified. “

Dr. Wayne said she was pleased that the health department appeared to be taking her and her father’s concerns seriously.

“I think it was a really good example of the State Health Department trying to contact because they actually want to restore confidence,” she said.

Mr. Wayne said he got his shot Wednesday morning.

“I feel a lot better,” he said.

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Business

Hong Kong Suspends Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine Use Over Packaging Defects

Hong Kong Suspends Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine Use Over Packaging Defects

Hong Kong on Wednesday suspended use of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine after packaging defects ranging from cracked containers to loose caps were discovered in a batch of cans. This was a major blow to a city that was already struggling to vaccinate its seven million residents against Covid-19.

Health officials called the stop a precaution, saying that none of the broken vials had been administered to patients and that they had not identified any health risks. However, if the suspension continues, Chinese territory may not have had enough shots to protect its population as the coronavirus continues to spread. Hong Kong officials counted 7.5 million doses of the vaccine, which was developed by Pfizer in the US and BioNTech in Germany to meet their needs.

The discovery has also sparked a hunt for the source of the flaws, as well as questions whether there might be more out there. The cans were made in BioNTech’s factories in Germany, while a Chinese company called Fosun Pharma was responsible for the transport, storage and distribution of the recordings in Hong Kong.

“I’m confused about why this is being reported for the first time in Hong Kong and we haven’t heard about it anywhere else,” said Benjamin Cowling, head of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Hong Kong.

“Was there anything special about that particular batch? Presumably they were made in the same way as the other batches in Germany. “

In a statement on Wednesday, BioNTech said the batch in question had only been sent to Hong Kong and Macau, another nearby Chinese area. The company said it is investigating the root cause of the problem.

“At this point in time, we have no reason to believe that there is a safety risk to the population,” said BioNTech.

Fosun Pharma said BioNTech had identified problems with the lids within a batch of vaccines shipped to Hong Kong and Macau, where authorities have also suspended vaccine administration. Fosun Pharma shares fell 4.8 percent in Hong Kong trading on Wednesday.

Hong Kong’s vaccination campaign has already been plagued by public doubts. Vaccine bookings were down after reports were made that several people died after receiving the other vaccine Hong Kong uses, made by Sinovac, a Beijing-based company. Residents tried hard to book appointments for the BioNTech vaccine, which, according to official figures, had booked about twice as many as Sinovac in the past six days.

The Hong Kong government has not found a direct link between the shooting and the deaths. However, some people do not trust the government after mainland China officials tightened their control over the former British colony following anti-government protests in 2019.

In January, a poll of 2,733 residents found that only 39 percent of Hong Kong residents were willing to take a Covid-19 vaccine.

“There are some key risks here that further undermine confidence in the vaccines available,” said Karen Grépin, associate professor at the University of Hong Kong’s School of Public Health, who received the BioNTech shot on March 12.

Professor Grépin said many Hong Kong residents waited to see what the early stages of the rollout would be before deciding on a vaccine.

The suspension created uncertainty in the city’s clinics and doctor’s offices as vaccinations stalled.

Lindsay Eng, 36, was vaccinated at 9:11 a.m. on Wednesday. When she was sitting in the waiting area afterwards, she noticed that no more people were coming in. When she left the center, the staff put up a sign saying that the vaccination service had stopped. A lot of people who came to have their vaccinations were asked questions.

Ms. Eng said she was not particularly concerned for her own health but was more concerned that the incident would result in fewer people being vaccinated in Hong Kong.

“Just talking to the locals here is pretty clear that there are a lot of people who say, ‘Let’s wait and see,'” said Ms. Eng, who is from Toronto but has elderly family members in Hong Kong who hesitate Received vaccine.

Hong Kong officials had reached out to Fosun for answers after receiving reports from frontline workers and pharmacists about defective vials and packaging, Hong Kong health director Constance Chan said in a news conference on Wednesday. The defects were found before the doses were administered, she said, adding that workers carefully inspected containers and vials.

In total, the government received eight reports of cracked containers, 22 reports of leaks, 16 reports of loose closures, and 11 reports of stains or marks on the outside of bottles, said Dr. Chan.

The defective cans were part of a batch of 585,000 cans with the order number 210102, the Hong Kong government said on Wednesday, citing data from a subsidiary of Fosun in Hong Kong. So far, 150,200 people had received shots from this batch, according to the government.

Authorities said they would hold another batch of 758,000 doses of the BioNTech vaccine with catalog number 210104.

“This is a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of the vaccine continuously,” the Hong Kong government said in a statement.

According to Dr. Chan would work with Fosun to work with BioNTech to conduct factory site inspections in Germany.

Compared to the USA and Great Britain, Hong Kong has started its vaccination campaign only slowly. Just over 5 percent of Hong Kong’s 7.5 million residents have been vaccinated. The city has reported more than 11,000 cases and 204 deaths since the pandemic began, but it has just beaten back a new outbreak that resulted in hundreds of people being rounded up for quarantine.

It is unclear when concerns about the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine will be addressed or how quickly Hong Kong can make up the deficit. The city has also ordered 7.5 million doses of vaccine from Anglo-Swedish company AstraZeneca, which are expected to arrive in the second quarter. The company has not yet filed for approval of its vaccine in Hong Kong.

As quickly as the problem was resolved, confusion was created.

Ruby Callaghan Brown, 32, and her husband arrived at a vaccination center on the east side of Hong Kong Island at 7:45 a.m. on Wednesday. 15 minutes before opening. A staff member shooed her away, saying that all vaccinations had been stopped and that an announcement would come.

Then they read online that the center had reopened and returned. they were about to submit their records when they were told again that the vaccinations had been suspended.

They waited 45 minutes before leaving. “I thought I was just going to sit here until you change your mind,” she said.

Elsie Chen contributed to the research.