Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 28th Nov 2022
View this newsletter in fullChina's Central Bank Takes Action as Record Covid-19 Outbreak Hits Economy
China’s central bank moved to backstop growth by boosting lending to households and businesses, as the world’s second-largest economy struggles with its biggest Covid-19 outbreak since the pandemic began. Economists said the shift in policy will likely have limited impact, as repeated lockdowns, a continuing real-estate crunch and fading demand for Chinese exports mean appetite for loans is weak.
Still, the move—telegraphed earlier in the week by China’s State Council, which acts as its cabinet—nonetheless underlines the darkening outlook for growth as authorities tighten restrictions across the country to stamp out record infections.
25th Nov 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Novavax ends COVID vaccine sale agreement with Gavi
Novavax Inc said on Monday it had delivered a written notice to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, terminating with immediate effect an agreement for the sale of the company's COVID-19 vaccine to low- and middle-income countries. The company cited Gavi's failure to procure the 350 million doses it had agreed to buy in May last year for the COVAX facility.
The COVAX facility is a joint program between Gavi, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations for the equitable distribution of COVID vaccines in poorer countries.
22nd Nov 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 21st Nov 2022
View this newsletter in fullOver two thirds of first-wave Covid infections led to long Covid, finds study
Over two-thirds of non-hospitalised patients infected with Covid in the first wave of the pandemic developed long Covid, according to a new study. In the first study to directly compare patients who were hospitalised or well enough to remain at home, researchers found fatigue to be the most long-lasting and prevalent symptom.
The study of more than 650 patients in Spain found that 59.7% of hospitalised patients and 67.5% of non-hospitalised patients had at least one post-Covid-19 symptom two years later.
20th Nov 2022 - Pulse
Guernsey's Covid autumn booster programme to end in December
Eligible islanders in Guernsey have until 21 December to have their Covid autumn booster. Those entitled to a vaccine include people over 50, frontline health workers, and anyone who is clinically at risk. Anyone eligible but yet to receive an invite will be sent a letter between now and the end of the month. This gives them around four weeks to make an appointment before the programme ends. If Covid or another illness stops someone from getting the jab before that date, temporary clinics will cater for them in the new year.
20th Nov 2022 - ITV News
World Leaders Sign Declaration to Introduce COVID Vaccine Passports
While the details are scant at this stage, the statement says this will be done under the framework of the International Health Regulations to “facilitate seamless international travel, interoperability, and recognizing digital solutions and non-digital solutions, including proof of vaccinations.” Indonesia’s Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said that a Digital Health Certificate using World Health Organization standards would be introduced during the next World Health Assembly in Geneva, in May next year. “If you have been vaccinated or tested properly, you can move around. So for the next pandemic, instead of stopping the movement of people 100%, you can still provide some movement of the people,” Mr Sadikin said.
Surprisingly, this news has not really grabbed the attention of mainstream media, despite its very serious implications for freedom of personal choice and freedom of movement.
20th Nov 2022 - Sydney Criminal Lawyers
FEMA grants $5 million to National Guard for COVID work at Holyoke Soldiers Home
FEMA will grant the Massachusetts National Guard more than $5 million for the cost of providing medical staff and setting up temporary hospitals to handle COVID patients between March and September 2020. That includes, according to a Federal Emergency Management Agency news release Friday, the Guard’s response to the Holyoke Soldiers Home where a COVID outbreak in early 2020 cost 84 elderly veterans their lives. It was the largest outbreak of its kind in the country.
The guard also planned, coordinated, and performed large scale mobile COVID-19 sample collection; and to provide care at long-term care facilities, rest homes, and assisted living facilities and warehoused and distributed personal protective equipment.
19th Nov 2022 - Stars and Stripes
Novavax Nuvaxovid COVID-19 Vaccine Receives Expanded Authorization in Canada as a Booster in Adults
Novavax Inc. today announced that Health Canada has granted expanded authorization for Nuvaxovid™ (COVID-19 Vaccine (Recombinant protein, Adjuvanted)) (NVX-CoV2373) for active immunization to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) as a homologous booster in adults aged 18 and older.
"Canadians now have access to our protein-based Nuvaxovid COVID-19 vaccine as an adult booster," said Stanley C. Erck, President and Chief Executive Officer, Novavax. "With the winter months upon us, it's important to have options for vaccination to help protect against COVID-19."
19th Nov 2022 - BioSpace
Big Pharma may have to reveal government deals in WHO's draft pandemic rules
Pharmaceutical companies could be made to disclose prices and deals agreed for any products they make to fight future global health emergencies, under new rules that would govern a World Health Organization-backed pandemic accord reviewed by Reuters. A draft version of the WHO accord, which is being negotiated by the U.N. health agency's 194 member countries, calls for it to be compulsory for companies to reveal the terms of any public procurement contracts.
18th Nov 2022 - Reuters
China Unveils 20 Measures to Guide Easing of Xi Jinping's Covid Zero Policy
China is relying on 20 key parameters to guide officials on the ground as it eases the contentious Covid Zero policy. Released on Friday, the measures detail what officials should be doing on everything from quarantine to testing, representing a sweeping pullback of the country’s punishing pandemic playbook.
13th Nov 2022 - Bloomberg
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 14th Nov 2022
View this newsletter in fullChina to ‘Unswervingly’ Keep to Covid Zero Policy, Dashing Hopes
China will “unswervingly” adhere to its current Covid controls as the country faces increasingly serious outbreaks, health officials said, damping hopes that Beijing will ease its stringent policies that have put cities and factories under prolonged lockdowns. “Previous practices have proved that our prevention and control plans and a series of strategic measures are completely correct,” Hu Xiang, an official at National Health Commission’s disease prevention and control bureau, said at a briefing Saturday. “The policies are also the most economical and effective.”
8th Nov 2022 - Bloomberg
China's Xi, out of COVID bubble, faces changed world at G-20
After a lengthy absence from major international gatherings, Chinese leader Xi Jinping is leaving his country’s COVID-19 bubble and venturing abroad next week into a dramatically changed world marked by rising confrontation. Xi will attend the G-20 meeting of industrial and emerging market nations in Indonesia followed by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Thailand. He will meet individually with other leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday in their first in-person talks since Biden took office in January 2021. The Chinese leader has relied mainly on speeches by video to deliver China’s message at the U.N. and other forums since 2020. The period has seen a sharp deterioration in China’s relations with the West over the COVID-19 pandemic, a crackdown on civil rights in Hong Kong, military threats against Taiwan and Beijing’s tacit support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
13th Nov 2022 - The Associated Press
WHO reports 90% drop in global COVID-19 deaths since February
The head of the World Health Organization said Wednesday that there has been a 90% drop in global COVID-19 deaths since February, which he called a "cause for optimism" but still urged "caution" amid the ongoing pandemic. "Just over 9,400 COVID-19 deaths were reported to WHO last week -- almost 90% less than in February of this year, when weekly deaths topped 75,000," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a virtual press briefing from the U.N. agency's Geneva headquarters. "We have come a long way, and this is definitely cause for optimism, but we continue to call on all governments, communities and individuals to remain vigilant," he added. "Almost 10,000 deaths a week is 10,000 too many, for a disease that can be prevented and treated."
13th Nov 2022 - ABC News
AstraZeneca drops submission to US regulators for Covid-19 vaccine approval
AstraZeneca has abandoned its submission for US regulatory approval for the Covid-19 vaccine it developed with Oxford university, almost two years after it was initially approved in the UK and Europe. Pascal Soriot, AstraZeneca’s chief executive, said the company had decided to focus its regulatory team’s efforts on areas with larger unmet medical need, pointing to 19 regulatory approvals since the last earnings call. “We have decided to withdraw application in the United States simply because the US marketplace is well supplied and in fact, the demand for vaccine in the US and elsewhere in the world is declining,” he said.
13th Nov 2022 - Financial Times
China Eases Zero-Covid Rules as Economic Toll and Frustrations Mount
China eased pandemic controls on Friday, as the country’s leaders seek to lessen the pain of a stringent zero-Covid policy that has exacted a heavy economic toll and stoked rising public resentment. The newly appointed Politburo Standing Committee of the nation’s top leaders, in one of its first major decisions, set out new rules to “optimize and adjust” the policy to minimize its impact on economic growth and people’s lives, as well as further open the country’s borders to foreign visitors, according to a release Friday by the National Health Commission. The new guidance shortened the mandatory quarantine time for inbound travelers and for those identified as close contacts, but notably didn’t declare an end to policies intended to completely vanquish Covid, insisting that the country “firmly stick to the dynamic zero-Covid policy.”
11th Nov 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Sanofi, GSK score late win with EU COVID booster approval
Sanofi said on Thursday it won European Union approval for its COVID-19 vaccine booster, jointly made with British partner GSK, after a drawn-out development effort that saw the pair fall behind now-dominant vaccine suppliers. The shot with the brand name VidPrevtyn Beta can be given to people who have already had a primary course of vaccination from other approved shots, the French drugmaker and the European Medicines Agency said in separate statements.
11th Nov 2022 - Reuters
U.S. COVID public health emergency to stay in place
The United States will keep in place the public health emergency status of the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing millions of Americans to still receive free tests, vaccines and treatments, two Biden administration officials said on Friday. The possibility of a winter surge in COVID cases and the need for more time to transition out of the public health emergency to a private market were two factors that contributed to the decision not to end the emergency status in January, one of the officials said.
11th Nov 2022 - Reuters
U.S. Supreme Court's Sotomayor rejects challenge to N.Y. COVID vaccine mandate
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Thursday rejected a bid to prevent New York City from enforcing its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for municipal workers against a group teachers, firefighters and others who challenged the policy. The justice denied an emergency request, received by the court on Nov. 4, to block the policy by individual municipal workers, as well as a group called New Yorkers For Religious Liberty, while their appeal of lower court decisions siding with the city proceeds.
10th Nov 2022 - Reuters
European regulator recommends Pfizer's Omicron booster for children
Pfizer Inc and its partner BioNTech said on Thursday the EU health regulator has recommended authorising the use of their bivalent COVID-19 shot as a booster in children aged 5 through 11. The Omicron-tailored vaccine is already authorised by the European Commission for individuals aged 12 years and above. The updated bivalent booster shot targets the original coronavirus strain as well as the BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants of Omicron.
10th Nov 2022 - Reuters
UK approves Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID booster targeting Omicron BA.4/5
Britain's health regulator on Wednesday approved the country's first two-pronged COVID-19 booster targeting the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants and the original coronavirus strain. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said the vaccine from Pfizer and partner BioNTech was approved for use as a booster in people 12 years and older after it was found to meet safety, quality and effectiveness standards.
9th Nov 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 7th Nov 2022
View this newsletter in fullChinese officials signal no change to 'zero-COVID' policy
Chinese health officials are giving no indication of any relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions following several days of speculation that the government was considering changes to a “zero-COVID” approach that has stymied economic growth and disrupted daily life
5th Nov 2022 - The Independent
Sweden against giving EU-approved COVID jab to under-30s
The EU-approved COVID-19 vaccine Nuvaxovid should not be administered to people aged 30, and below due to increased health risks posed by it, the Swedish Public Health Agency announced this week. Nuvaxovid was the fifth COVID-19 vaccine to be approved by the EU. After initially approving the vaccine for people aged 18 and over, the Public Health Agency announced on Tuesday that the vaccine presented a danger for people aged 30 and below as it increases the risk of heart muscle inflammation and pericarditis – more commonly known as heart muscle inflammation and pericardial effusion – even though the risk remains “very low”. “We are monitoring the situation closely and awaiting more data. But anyone who is younger and has recently been vaccinated with Nuvaxovid need not be concerned.
5th Nov 2022 - EURACTIV
China Agrees to Approve BioNTech's Covid-19 Vaccine for Foreigners, German Chancellor Says
China agreed to approve BioNTech SE’s Covid-19 vaccines for foreign residents, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in Beijing on Friday, in what would mark the first approval of an mRNA vaccine for Covid-19 for use in China. Mr. Scholz and Chinese leader Xi Jinping also discussed a pathway for approving the BioNTech vaccine for the broader population in China, Mr. Scholz said in a news conference, suggesting that regulators at the European Medicines Agency would be involved.
“There will be an acceleration of the approval process; that’s been promised to me,” Mr. Scholz told German journalists in a question-and-answer session afterward. He said that Europe would speed up applications made by Chinese companies.
5th Nov 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Covid inquiry promises to cover key Welsh issues
The UK Covid public inquiry will do all it can to ensure all issues the people of Wales want covered are investigated, its chair has said.Baroness Hallett made the pledge as it was revealed the inquiry will hold public hearings in Wales next autumn.
2nd Nov 2022 - BBC News on MSN.com
Covid: Boris Johnson WhatsApp messages requested by inquiry
The Covid public inquiry has asked to see Boris Johnson's WhatsApp messages during his time as prime minister as part of its probe into decision-making. Counsel for the inquiry, Hugo Keith KC, said the messages had been requested alongside thousands of other documents. He said a major focus of this part of the inquiry was understanding how the "momentous" decisions to impose lockdowns and restrictions were taken. The revelations came as he set out the details of how this module will work. The inquiry is being broken down into different sections - or modules as they are being called.
2nd Nov 2022 - BBC News
Vaxzevria receives full Marketing Authorisation in the EU for the prevention of COVID-19
AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, Vaxzevria (ChAdOx1-S [Recombinant]), has been granted full Marketing Authorisation (MA) in the European Union (EU). Vaxzevria was originally granted a conditional Marketing Authorisation (cMA) due to the urgency of the COVID-19 pandemic. As there continues to be sufficient evidence of safety and efficacy confirming the benefits of Vaxzevria, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has now granted a full MA. This decision follows positive recommendation for a full MA by The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the EMA. The MA covers the use of Vaxzevria in both a primary vaccination series, and as both a heterologous (with an approved mRNA COVID-19 vaccine) or homologous (all the same vaccine) third dose booster. Iskra Reic, Executive Vice President, Vaccines and Immune Therapies, AstraZeneca, said: “The move from conditional to full marketing authorisation for Vaxzevria is an important confirmation by the EMA of the safety and efficacy of Vaxzevria, demonstrating that the benefits continue to outweigh the potential risks. Vaxzevria is estimated to have helped save over six million lives in the first year of vaccination, which reflects the strength of the evidence showing Vaxzevria’s protection against severe disease and death caused by COVID-19.”
2nd Nov 2022 - AstraZeneca
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 31st Oct 2022
View this newsletter in fullChina's 'Zero-COVID' Policy: An Economic Nightmare for Thailand
What will make or break the Thai economy, however, is the speed and extent of China’s economic reopening. Thailand is, after all, heavily reliant on China in all dimensions: exports and imports, tourism, and investment. Needless to say, Thailand is extremely vulnerable to the CCP’s sudden lockdown orders. Shanghai, for instance, accounts for 27 percent of Chinese exports to Thailand, and when the city was undergoing a strict two-month lockdown earlier this year, many Thai companies pretty much ran out of the materials necessary for the production of electric appliances such as air conditioners and cables. Similarly, the export of Thai durians – now one of Thailand’s top exported products – to China was temporarily stopped back in April after the Chinese border inspectors detected traces of COVID-19.
29th Oct 2022 - The Diplomat
EU regulator recommends adding heavy periods to side effects of mRNA COVID shots
A European Medicines Agency (EMA) committee on Friday recommended adding heavy menstrual bleeding to the list of side effect of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines made by Moderna (MRNA.O), as well as Pfizer and its partner BioNTech. Reports of heavy periods - bleeding characterised by increased volume and/or duration that interferes with the quality of life - have been observed during clinical trials, from cases in the real world and in medical literature, the EMA said.
28th Oct 2022 - Reuters
U.S. government to test Pfizer's Paxlovid for long COVID
The U.S. National Institutes of Health's $1 billion RECOVER Initiative has picked Pfizer Inc's antiviral drug Paxlovid as the first treatment it will study in patients with long COVID, organizers of the study said on Thursday. The complex medical condition involves more than 200 symptoms ranging from exhaustion and cognitive impairment to pain, fever and heart palpitations that can last for months and even years following a COVID-19 infection.
28th Oct 2022 - Reuters
Two new Covid strains designated by UK health agency
Two new strains of Covid have been designated, the UK Health and Security Agency (UKHSA) has said. The strains, labelled BQ.1 and XBB, are Omicron variants, have not been designated as variants of concern, meaning they are not thought to be at particular risk of accelerating the spread of the illness. However, studies being conducted at the University of Oxford on behalf of the UKHSA showed "significant reductions" in "neutralisation against several of the newly emergent variants". This could lead to waning immunity among the population, which could in turn "fuel future waves of SARS-CoV-2 infection," the agency said in a statement to ITV News,
28th Oct 2022 - ITV News
Pfizer COVID vaccine price hike to boost revenue for years, rivals may follow
Pfizer's plan to as much as quadruple U.S. prices for its COVID-19 vaccine next year is beyond Wall Street's expectations and will spur its revenue for years despite weaker than anticipated demand for the new booster shot so far, analysts said.
The drugmaker, which developed and sells the vaccine with Germany's BioNTech, said on Thursday evening that it is targeting a range of $110 to $130 a dose for the vaccine once the United States moves to a commercial market next year.
23rd Oct 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 24th Oct 2022
View this newsletter in fullSpain Drops COVID-19 Vaccine, Test Requirement For Entry — What To Know
Spain dropped all COVID-19-related entry rules on Friday, becoming one of the last European countries to do so. Going forward, Spain will no longer require travellers from outside the European Union to show proof of vaccination, a negative test, or proof of recovery to enter, according to the government. That puts Spain in line with nearly every other country in Europe that has dropped pandemic-era travel restrictions.
22nd Oct 2022 - Travel + Leisure India
U.S. CDC advisers approve adding COVID shots to vaccine schedules
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisory committee on vaccines on Thursday approved adding COVID-19 vaccines to the agency's recommended immunization schedules for both children and adults. The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted unanimously to add the vaccines to the schedules, which contain recommendations to physicians on which shots their patients should receive and when. Several committee members stressed that they were not setting a requirement for anyone to receive the shots.
The CDC has recommended that Americans over 6 months of age should receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
21st Oct 2022 - Reuters
Trump Aides Interfered With CDC Over Covid for Political Gain, House Says
The CDC bowed to the Trump administration’s demands to change the editorial process of its weekly scientific journal after warnings from then health secretary Alex Azar to “get in line,” a House investigation found. The pressure faced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to change the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report‘s procedures was one of several instances of political interference by former President Donald Trump’s aides that the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis identified in a report released Monday. The report was provided to Bloomberg Law ahead of the official release.
20th Oct 2022 - Bloomberg
FDA Authorizes Novavax Covid-19 Shot as Booster for Adults
The Food and Drug Administration granted emergency authorization to Novavax Inc.’s Covid-19 shot as a booster for adults. The shot targets the original strain of the virus, whereas the updated booster shots from Moderna Inc. and Pfizer Inc. and its partner BioNTech SE, authorized in August by the FDA, target both the original strain and newer Omicron strains. The Novavax shot also uses a protein platform, whereas the other two companies’ boosters use messenger RNA, a newer technology. The Novavax booster was authorized on Wednesday for adults who received a primary series of vaccines at least six months prior and who don’t want or can’t access or might have medical reasons to avoid the dual-target booster shots from Pfizer or Moderna.
19th Oct 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Pfizer (PFE) Says Omicron Booster Vaccine Lifts Antibodies Against New Variants
Pfizer Inc. and its German vaccine partner said their booster tailored to the latest omicron variants raised more antibodies against the dominant strains of Covid-19 when compared with the original shot designed to fight the form of the virus.
Blood from 80 volunteers collected seven days after the booster shot showed an increase in neutralizing antibodies against the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants in a study, Pfizer and BioNTech SE said in a statement Thursday. The vaccines were authorized without data showing their performance in humans. Pfizer and BioNTech plan to release additional data in coming weeks measuring immune responses one month following administration of the new bivalent booster.
16th Oct 2022 - Bloomberg
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 17th Oct 2022
View this newsletter in fullBiden Administration Renews Covid-19's Emergency Status
The Biden administration extended the Covid-19 pandemic’s status as a public health emergency for another 90 days, preserving measures such as expanded Medicaid and higher payments to hospitals. The decision follows comments President Biden made in September describing the pandemic as over. Some Republican lawmakers said afterward that the administration should wind down its pandemic response and the emergency designation. The extension of the public-health emergency on Thursday was expected by officials and lawmakers from both parties. The administration has told states it would give them 60 days notice before letting the public-health emergency expire. Some state leaders have said recently that they hadn’t gotten any such heads-up.
14th Oct 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Europe likely entering another COVID wave, says WHO and ECDC
Another wave of COVID-19 infections may have begun in Europe as cases begin to tick up across the region, the World Health Organization and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said on Wednesday. "Although we are not where we were one year ago, it is clear that the COVID-19 pandemic is still not over," WHO's Europe director, Hans Kluge, and ECDC's director, Andrea Ammon, said in a joint statement.
12th Oct 2022 - Reuters.com
Swiss drugs regulator approves one of Pfizer's COVID-19 booster shots
Swiss drugs regulator Swissmedic said on Monday it had temporarily approved Pfizer's COVID-19 booster shot targeting the original and BA.1 Omicron coronavirus variants. Swissmedic added that the data currently available to it was not yet sufficient to make a decision on Pfizer's bivalent booster vaccine targeting the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron variants.
10th Oct 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 10th Oct 2022
View this newsletter in fullScrapping Covid rules too early - Australian medical chief
National cabinet has agreed to dump the five-day isolation period for positive cases, with the changes to take effect on October 14. Australian Medical Association president Steve Robson told AAP it was too early to ease the protections. "All the signs are that we're looking at another wave of Covid," he said.
"We're coming out of one of the biggest waves of Covid yet and it has absolutely crushed hospital workforce and left us with a massive logjam and backlog in hospitals at the moment that has to be dealt with.
8th Oct 2022 - 1News
Zero-Covid: How Xi's flagship policy is spoiling his party
The idea was to have China in stable and tip-top shape when thousands of delegates gather in Beijing to usher in a historic third term in power for Xi Jinping.
However, the coronavirus is not playing nicely. In recent weeks, tens of millions of people have again been confined to their homes in lockdowns across 60 towns and cities and this is bringing political pressure on the man who has become the most powerful Chinese figure since the first Communist-era leader Mao Zedong. The government's ongoing "Dynamic zero-Covid" strategy is inextricably linked to Mr Xi. Its success is his success. Its failure? Well, it would be a brave person who tried to pin it on him.
8th Oct 2022 - bbc.co.uk
Canada authorises Pfizer's Omicron retooled booster
Canada on Friday authorised updated COVID-19 booster shots from Pfizer Inc and its partner BioNTech SE (22UAy.DE) that target the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, according to the government's website. Pfizer and BioNTech said in a joint statement the companies will make "significant volumes of the vaccine available in the coming days". The booster shot, which has been authorised for people 12 years and older, is the second to get clearance from Health Canada after Moderna Inc's (MRNA.O) modified booster last month.
8th Oct 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 3rd Oct 2022
View this newsletter in fullFirst on CNN: US government to provide $266 million to build community, public health work force
The US government is awarding more than $266 million from the American Rescue Plan to expand the nation’s community and public health work force, officials will announce Friday. The plan’s overall investment in community health, outreach and health education workers – totaling more than $1.1 billion – is one of its “crown jewels,” said Gene Sperling, coordinator of the American Rescue Plan and a senior adviser to President Joe Biden. The funding comes as some public and community health workers have faced intense workloads, backlash and burnout during the Covid-19 pandemic and throughout other overlapping health emergencies, including record-high drug overdose deaths, the monkeypox outbreak and the re-emergence of polio.
2nd Oct 2022 - CNN
Australia’s Covid vaccine review recommends expansion of Novavax eligibility amid fears of Moderna shortfall
Australia’s vaccination advisory body is investigating whether to expand the availability of the Novavax Covid jab, amid concerns tens of millions of doses could be wasted due to recommendations it not be used as a general booster shot. It comes as a review of Australia’s Covid vaccine procurement found the former Coalition government’s actions were “consistent with other high-income countries”, but warned of a potential shortfall in Moderna unless the Labor government orders more supply. The review, by respected public servant Prof Jane Halton, said Australia had not reached what she called “Covid-stable”, where regular ebbs and flows of the virus could be predicted
30th Sep 2022 - The Guardian
AWcorna: China Walvax mRNA Covid Vaccine Gets First Approval, in Indonesia
A Chinese-developed mRNA Covid vaccine got its first ever emergency use authorization from Indonesian authorities, a tentative step in China’s efforts to gain ground on Western inoculations widely used around the world. The shot, named AWcorna, was co-developed by Walvax Biotechnology Co, Suzhou Abogen Biosciences Co. and the Chinese military and has been cleared for use in people aged 18 and older, Walvax said in a statement. The halal-certified vaccine can be used as either a primary or booster dose, it said.
30th Sep 2022 - Bloomberg
Canada to remove all COVID travel restrictions from Oct 1
Canada will drop all COVID-19 restrictions for travelers from Oct. 1, including vaccination and masking requirements for flights and trains, the government said on Monday. The move is likely to boost the Canadian travel industry, already booming after months of lull during the pandemic. Canadian carriers were also pressing for an end to mask mandates on flights, citing thousands of incidents of non-compliance this year alone.
27th Sep 2022 - Reuters
U.S. FDA clears additional lots of Moderna's Covid booster amid shortage
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Monday it has authorized an additional five batches of Moderna Inc's updated Covid booster shots made at a Catalent facility in Indiana, after it deemed them safe for use. Last week, the health regulator had allowed use of ten batches of Moderna's updated booster shots made at the Bloomington, Indiana facility, owned by a unit of Catalent Inc, which is currently not a part of the company's emergency use authorization.
27th Sep 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 26th Sep 2022
View this newsletter in fullPM agrees to lift pandemic border measures, source says
The federal government has decided to drop the vaccination requirement for people entering Canada, end random COVID-19 testing at airports and make the use of the ArriveCan app optional by the end of this month, a senior government source told CBC News. Earlier this week, sources told CBC that Ottawa was leaning toward ending the measures but a final decision hadn't been made because it was awaiting the approval of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The current COVID-19 Emergency Order-in-Council relating to border measures was set to expire on Sept. 30. The government had the option of extending the measures. The government is expected to make an official announcement on Monday, the source said.
24th Sep 2022 - CBC News
US Seeks to Secure Medical Supply Chain in Covid-19 Fight
The Biden administration will help set up a clearinghouse of medical supplies with other nations to fight Covid-19, and will expand a “test-to-treat” program in 10 countries to distribute therapeutic drugs, a senior State Department official said.
Countries that back the Global Action Plan on Covid-19 will pledge to create a mechanism to secure and distribute the goods -- such as masks and oxygen -- and raw materials required to combat a pandemic, according to the official, who asked not to be identified discussing plans that still aren’t public.
24th Sep 2022 - Bloomberg
Japan to Restore Visa-Free Travel From Oct. 11 as Covid Pandemic Recedes
Japan will abolish a slew of Covid border controls from Oct. 11, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in New York, in a move that looks set to revive the tourism industry. Individual visitors will be allowed to enter, and Japan will reinstate visa waivers, Kishida said at a news conference Thursday morning in New York. The cap on daily arrivals in Japan will also be ended, he said. Later in the day, at the New York Stock Exchange, Kishida said Japan “will relax border control measures to be on par with the US,” spurring applause from the audience.
23rd Sep 2022 - Bloomberg
Pfizer to supply up to 6 mln COVID pill courses for lower income countries
Pfizer Inc said on Thursday it would supply up to 6 million courses of its COVID-19 antiviral treatment to NGO Global Fund for low- and middle-income countries that seeks to address worldwide disparities in COVID response. The company said Paxlovid treatment courses will be available for procurement through Global Fund's COVID-19 Response Mechanism to 132 low- and middle-income countries this year, subject to local regulatory clearances.
23rd Sep 2022 - Reuters
U.S. delivers over 25 mln COVID boosters; Moderna's shot in limited supply
The United States government has sent out over 25 million of the updated COVID-19 booster shots, mostly from Pfizer/BioNTech, as production of the Moderna shot continues to ramp up, a federal health agency said on Tuesday. Some U.S. pharmacies like CVS Health and Walgreens Boots Alliance also reported on Tuesday that government supply of Moderna's updated shot remains limited, causing appointments for the product to vary across the country.
20th Sep 2022 - Reuters
AstraZeneca's Evusheld Gets EU Nod to Help Prevent Severe Covid
The European Union has recommended the use of AstraZeneca Plc’s Evusheld for treating Covid-19, and given the nod to another drug co-developed with Sanofi for preventing respiratory infection from a common virus in young children. Astra’s antibody cocktail Evusheld had already got the green light from authorities across the world to prevent Covid-19 for people with weakened immune systems. Now, it also has a positive recommendation from an expert panel under the European Medicines Agency for the drug to treat adults and adolescents at risk of progressing to severe Covid.
19th Sep 2022 - Bloomberg
Moderna Gives WHO's mRNA Hub Some Help, Pfizer Snubs Request
Moderna Inc. has allowed its Covid-19 vaccine to be used in a World Health Organization effort to develop mRNA shots that would increase production and access for poor countries. Afrigen Biologics & Vaccines, a South African biotechnology company working with the WHO, has used the Moderna vaccine in comparison studies in mice to test the effectiveness of its own shots, said Petro Terblanche, Afrigen’s managing director.
19th Sep 2022 - Bloomberg
Singapore approves Moderna's first bivalent Covid-19 booster jab
The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) on Wednesday granted interim authorisation for the use of Moderna's Spikevax bivalent Covid-19 vaccine, which targets both the original Sars-CoV-2 strain and the Omicron BA.1 variant. The bivalent vaccine has been authorised for use as a booster for people aged 18 and above who have already received their primary series vaccination. HSA did not say when the new vaccine will be made available here. However, in a media release, Moderna said it is working with HSA and the Government to make its bivalent vaccine “available to people in Singapore during September”.
16th Sep 2022 - The Straits Times
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 18th Sep 2022
View this newsletter in fullReflecting on the implementation of genomic surveillance for COVID-19 and beyond in the African Region
WHO Regional Office for Africa (AFRO) convened a meeting of COVID-19 epidemiology focal points from ministries of health of selected high-risk countries in Brazzaville (Republic of the Congo) which took place between 10 to 13 August 2022. The aim was to discuss initiatives aimed at improving the quality and effectiveness of COVID-19 surveillance, including genomic surveillance. The Regional Virologist at WHO AFRO set the scene: "Currently, 40 out of the 47 Member States (85%) in the African Region have in-country capabilities for genomic sequencing and 46 Member States (98%) are sharing their genetic sequence data through a publicly accessible database. The Region has established a coordinated mechanism to sustain and strengthen these gains and has set up three centres of excellence for genomic surveillance, developed standardized guidance documents, offered capacity building for Ministries of Health’s personnel and set up laboratory infrastructure for routine pathogen genomic surveillance, including wastewater surveillance."
18th Sep 2022 - World Health Organization
EU regulator backs wider use of AstraZeneca COVID therapy
Europe's medicines regulator has backed using AstraZeneca's preventative COVID-19 therapy as a treatment for the disease and also endorsed another medicine as preventative option for another common virus. The regulator's recommendations are usually followed by the European Commission when it takes a final decision on drug approvals. AstraZeneca said on Friday the European Medicines Agency (EMA) had backed Evusheld as a treatment for adults and adolescents with COVID who do not need supplemental oxygen and who are at increased risk of their disease worsening.
17th Sep 2022 - Reuters
UK Covid-19 inquiry delayed by two weeks to respect national mourning period
The UK Covid-19 inquiry has been delayed by two weeks out of respect for the national mourning period following the Queen’s death, officials have said. The inquiry, which will investigate decisions made by Boris Johnson’s government during the pandemic, was due to begin on September 20, but has been postponed until October 4. It will begin with a preliminary hearing, which will outline how the inquiry will develop and what it will investigate. During this hearing, inquiry chair Baroness Heather Hallett will hold a short period of silence to commemorate the impact of the pandemic on people’s lives.
16th Sep 2022 - Evening Standard
Singapore grants interim authorisation for first bivalent COVID-19 booster vaccine
The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) on Wednesday (Sep 14) granted interim authorisation for the first bivalent COVID-19 booster vaccine in the country. The Spikevax Bivalent Original/Omicron COVID-19 jab by Moderna comprises two components that target the original SARS-CoV-2 strain and the Omicron BA.1 variant respectively.
16th Sep 2022 - CNA
'Untrustworthy and ineffective': Panel blasts governments' covid response
In a 45-page editorial, the Lancet Covid-19 Commission warned that many governments proved “untrustworthy and ineffective” as the pandemic tore across the world, citing examples such as richer nations hoarding vaccine doses and failing to fund global response efforts, and politicians such as former U.S. president Donald Trump and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro playing down the virus’s risks, even as hundreds of thousands of their citizens died of it. “What we saw — rather than a cooperative global strategy — was basically each country on its own,” Jeffrey Sachs, a Columbia University economist who chaired the commission, told reporters in a briefing convened by the respected medical journal.
15th Sep 2022 - The Washington Post
WHO Saying Pandemic End in Sight Falls Flat in Covid Zero China
Article repots that the World Health Organization chief’s comment that the end of the pandemic is within reach sparked lively online debate -- and some censorship -- in China, the only major country still trying to stop the spread of the virus. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday that “we have never been in a better position to end the pandemic. We are not there yet, but the end is in sight.” China Newsweek and popular online media outlet Guancha.cn reported on Tedros’s remark and shared videos on social media platform Weibo, but those were removed in the afternoon. A hashtag on Tedros’s comments that gathered some 4.5 million views also appeared to have been removed, and Chinese media disabled the comment function on Weibo posts sharing the news.
15th Sep 2022 - Bloomberg
Nigeria Strikes Deal with Serum Institute of India
Nigeria will start building a vaccine plant by end of the year after signing a contract manufacturing agreement with the Serum Institute of India for local production of the jabs, the country’s health minister said. The country struck the deal with the world’s biggest vaccine manufacturer on Wednesday, Health Minister Osagie Ehanire said at a briefing in the capital, Abuja. The plant should be producing routine vaccines -- initially against polio, measles and yellow fever, among others -- by 2028, he added.
14th Sep 2022 - Bloomberg
Malaysia to purchase updated COVID-19 vaccines tailored for new variants: Khairy
The Malaysian government will procure new COVID-19 vaccines which are tailored to fight new strains of the virus, said Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin. The vaccines will be administered free of charge to high-risk groups such as the elderly and those with serious comorbidities, the Malaysian media quoted Mr Khairy as saying on Tuesday. "A decision on this procurement will be announced later along with the vaccines for children under five," he said at a press conference after launching the Record Breaking COVID-19 Vaccination Report: Public-Private Partnership, according to Bernama.
14th Sep 2022 - Channel NewsAsia Singapore
Japan Approves Pfizer, Moderna Covid Omicron Vaccine Boosters for Use
Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc.’s Covid-19 vaccines targeting the omicron variant were approved by Japan’s health ministry late Monday, paving the way for them to be rolled out in the world’s third-largest health-care market. The ministry endorsed the shots shortly after an expert panel advised deploying the boosters. Pfizer’s omicron booster can be administered to Japanese aged 12 and over, the panel advised, while Moderna’s should be limited to those 18 and above. Japan is the latest country to sign off on the targeted boosters following similar approvals by the US, UK and Australia in the past couple of months.
12th Sep 2022 - Bloomberg
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 12th Sep 2022
View this newsletter in fullAnger at plans to roll back Covid vaccines to under-11s in England
The decision to reduce the number of children who are offered Covid jabs has prompted outcry from parent groups and academics. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said children who had not turned five by the end of last month would not be offered a vaccination, in line with advice published by the UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) in February 2022. UKHSA said the offer of Covid jabs to healthy five to 11-year-olds was always meant to be temporary. UKHSA’s Green Book, which provides information on the vaccine rollout for public health professionals, states: “This one-off programme applies to those aged 5 to 11 years, including those who turn five years of age before the end of August 2022.
10th Sep 2022 - The Guardian
Kim Jong Un suggests N.Korea may begin COVID vaccinations
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has suggested that the isolated country could begin COVID-19 vaccinations in November, state media reported on Friday. In a speech on Thursday to the North Korean national assembly, Kim cited World Health Organization warnings that the winter could see a resurgence in coronavirus infections. “Therefore, along with responsible vaccination, we should recommend that all residents wear masks to protect their health from November," he said, without elaborating.
9th Sep 2022 - Reuters
US Orders 100 Million COVID Tests, White House Says More Needed
The United States will boost its stockpile of at-home COVID-19 tests, ordering more than 100 million tests from domestic manufacturers, the White House said on Thursday, but warned it was a short-term solution. President Joe Biden's administration has repeatedly and unsuccessfully asked Congress for more pandemic money. It said last week it would request $22.4 billion in emergency funding for COVID-19 relief ahead of a potential case surge in autumn. "The administration is acting, within its limited funding, to increase the supply of at-home COVID-19 tests in the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) by purchasing over 100 million additional at-home, rapid tests from domestic manufacturers," the White House said in a statement.
8th Sep 2022 - VOA News
U.S. Plans Shift to Annual Covid Shots as New Boosters Roll Out
U.S. health authorities plan to recommend that people get Covid-19 boosters once a year, starting with the new shots now rolling out, a shift from their current practice of issuing new advice every several months. The annual cadence would be similar to that of flu shots, White House officials said, though elderly people and those with weakened immune systems may need more frequent inoculations. A shift to annual Covid-19 boosters would be a departure from current practice and comes after many people in the U.S. have ignored calls to get a first or second booster, partly due to fatigue with repeat inoculations.
6th Sep 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Pfizer/Biontech Covid-19 Booster Approved by UK Medicines Regulator
An updated Covid-19 booster vaccine has been approved for use in the UK. The second "bivalent" vaccine, made by Pfizer/BioNTech, targets two coronavirus variants and has been approved for use by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in those aged 12 and above. The regulator confirmed on Saturday that the vaccine had met its standards of safety, quality and effectiveness. The vaccine targets both the original strain of coronavirus and the Omicron variant that emerged at the end of 2021, and follows a similar booster from Moderna which was approved in August.
5th Sep 2022 - Bloomberg
World's First Covid Vaccine You Inhale Is Approved in China
China became the first country to approve a needle-free, inhaled version of a Covid-19 vaccine made by Tianjin-based CanSino Biologics Inc., pushing the company’s shares up as much as 14.5% Monday morning in Hong Kong. China’s National Medical Products Administration approved CanSino’s Ad5-nCoV for emergency use as a booster vaccine, the company said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Sunday. The vaccine is a new version of CanSino’s one-shot Covid drug, the first in the world to undergo human testing in March 2020 and which has been used in China, Mexico, Pakistan, Malaysia and Hungary after being rolled out in February 2021.
5th Sep 2022 - Bloomberg
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 5th Sep 2022
View this newsletter in fullCanSino's inhaled COVID-19 vaccine gets emergency use approval in China
China's CanSino Biologics Inc said on Sunday that its recently developed COVID-19 vaccine has been approved by the country's drug regulator for emergency use as a booster, potentially benefiting its business.
4th Sep 2022 - Reuters
Livzon Pharma's COVID-19 vaccine gets emergency use approval in China
China granted emergency use authorisation to Livzon Pharmaceutical Group Inc's COVID-19 vaccine as a booster, the company said on Friday, one of just two new products against the disease the country has cleared in more than a year. Livzon's vaccine, based on the original coronavirus, if rolled out to the general public would widen booster options for China's 1.4 billion population, of which 90% have been vaccinated and nearly 60% have received a booster dose.
2nd Sep 2022 - Reuters
EMA panel backs COVID-19 vaccines targeting Omicron BA.1
The EMA’s human medicines committee (CHMP) has recommended authorisation of two COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech that include sequences coding for Omicron spike protein as booster shots. The European Commission said it will move ahead with an accelerated authorisation of the bivalent shots, which include mRNA for the wild-type SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, as well as the original BA.1 subvariant of Omicron, in a divergence from the approach taken by the authorities in the US. The FDA has just authorised vaccines from the two companies that will specifically target the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of Omicron, which have now displaced the earlier forms and, for now, are expected to remain dominant through the coming autumn and winter.
2nd Sep 2022 - Pharmaphorum
CDC vaccine advisers vote to recommend updated Covid-19 boosters
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, signed off Thursday on the recommendation of the agency's independent vaccine advisers in favor of updated Covid-19 vaccine boosters from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna. The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted 13 to 1 earlier in the day to recommend updated mRNA boosters for Americans this fall.
2nd Sep 2022 - CNN
Taiwan approves Omicron-targeted Moderna COVID vaccine
Taiwan on Friday approved the use of Moderna Inc's Omicron-targeted COVID-19 vaccine as a booster shot for people aged 18 and over. The Taiwan Food and Drug Administration said it gave approval after an overall assessment of the vaccine's effectiveness and safety as well as the "urgent domestic public health needs". The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday authorised updated Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna booster shots that target the dominant BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants of the virus.
2nd Sep 2022 - Reuters
North Korea COVID rules put pressure on women providing food - U.N. expert
North Korean women and girls face increased pressure in providing food for their families and the state under coronavirus measures even as closed border hamper market activity and push up prices, a U.N. expert said on Friday. Elizabeth Salmon, the new U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, expressed concern about the "disproportionate impact" of the isolated country's COVID-19 rules on women and girls as she wrapped up her first visit to South Korea since taking office last month.
2nd Sep 2022 - Reuters
Denmark expects winter without COVID restrictions - health minister
Denmark is preparing to go through the coming winter without any coronavirus restrictions even with an expected rise in infections, Health Minister Magnus Heunicke said on Friday. The Nordic country expects to be able to avoid lockdown measures due to new improved booster vaccines, greater immunity in the population and being able to better track the spread of the virus through measures such as waste-water testing.
2nd Sep 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 2nd Sep 2022
View this newsletter in fullEU drug agency recommends approval of Covid vaccine boosters for Omicron
The European Union's drug regulator on Thursday backed two separate Covid-19 vaccine boosters updated to target the Omicron variant and developed by Moderna and the team of Pfizer and BioNTech. Europe is preparing to roll out shots ahead of an anticipated rise in infections this winter. The new so-called bivalent shots combat the BA.1 version of Omicron and the original virus first detected in China. The recommendation is to authorise the vaccines for people aged 12 years and above who have received at least primary vaccination against Covid-19, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said.
1st Sep 2022 - France24
Covid-19 booster available in NI in mid-September
Covid-19 booster vaccination programme in Northern Ireland is due to start on Monday 19 September. Care home residents and staff will be among the first to be offered the vaccine.. Many of those receiving the latest booster will get a new vaccine from Moderna,
1st Sep 2022 - BBC News
UK downgrades Covid-19 alert level amid falling cases
The UK’s Covid-19 alert level has been downgraded to level 2, meaning the virus is in “general circulation” but healthcare pressures and transmission are “declining or stable”. The chief medical officers of the UK nations and the national medical director of the NHS in England have jointly recommended that the Covid alert level be moved down from level 3 amid falling cases. They said the Covid-19 wave of the Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 was “subsiding”. Rates of Covid have decreased as have the number of severe cases needing hospital care, they added. However, they said further Covid surges were “likely” as they urged people to take up the offer of vaccination. The autumn booster campaign is due to start within days.
1st Sep 2022 - The Guardian
Ontario's top doctor drops COVID-19 isolation requirements, expands booster eligibility to kids 5 to 11
Ontario is dropping the mandatory five-day isolation period for those who test positive for COVID-19, the province's top doctor announced Wednesday. The move is part of the province's broader plan to prepare for the fall respiratory illness season, and comes just as Ontario wastewater data is showing a slight uptick in the amount of COVID-19 in the province. Dr. Kieran Moore said the COVID-19 pandemic has moved out of a "crisis phase" and become something that will require long-term management. The seventh wave has crested, he said, but the virus "remains in the community" and Public Health Ontario expects to see an increase in transmission as more people gather inside during the cooler fall months.
1st Sep 2022 - CBC.ca
UK's COVID-19 inquiry starts work
The public inquiry into the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic has started its work in a process that will lead to key government ministers, officials and scientific advisors giving evidence in public. The inquiry will begin to take evidence from witnesses, which are likely to include former health minister Matt Hancock and outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson, early next year, The latest stage of the inquiry’s investigations, known as Module 2, will focus on decisions and announcements made by the UK government between early January and late March 2020 at the start of the pandemic. The Johnson government earned a mixed report card during the pandemic. After being slow to introduce lockdown measures to curb the spread of the first wave of the virus and struggling with shortages of ventilators and personal protective equipment, leading to one of Europe’s highest death tolls, the government then earned praise for the speed of its vaccine rollout programme.
1st Sep 2022 - EURACTIV
FDA authorizes Moderna and Pfizer's updated COVID-19 booster shots
The US regulator has granted emergency authorization for Pfizer-BioNTech’s and Moderna’s Covid booster shots that target the highly contagious BA.5 omicron subvariant.
1st Sep 2022 - BioPharma-Reporter
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 1st Sep 2022
View this newsletter in fullOmicron Booster Shots Cleared by FDA to Fight Latest Covid Variants
Covid-19 boosters from Moderna Inc. and the partnership of Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE that are tailored to the latest omicron variants got US regulatory clearance, a move toward additional protection as concern grows about potential new waves in the fall and winter. The emergency use authorization is for use of a dose of Moderna’s shot in adults 18 and older, while Pfizer’s can be used in people 12 and older, the Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday in a statement. The booster must be given at least two months after recipients’ latest Covid shot.
1st Sep 2022 - Bloomberg
Covid-19 inquiry to examine NI Executive's response to pandemic
Article reports that the UK Covid-19 Inquiry has begun examining the Northern Ireland Executive's decision-making in response to the Covid-19 pandemic between early January 2020 and May 2022. It will examine the decision-making of key groups and individuals within the government in Northern Ireland. This will include the first and deputy first ministers and other ministers. Particular attention will be paid to early January 2020 and the start of the first national lockdown in March
A preliminary hearing will be held in the autumn.
31st Aug 2022 - BBC News
Hungary must act to get EU COVID-19 funds, says Czech minister
Hungary must take action on changing its rule of law before it can receive any European Union recovery funds, the EU affairs chief of the Czech government, which holds the bloc's rotating presidency, said in an interview on Tuesday. Hungary and Poland both have yet to receive billions of euros of post-COVID EU recovery funds as the governments have not met Brussels' demands on respecting the rule of law.
30th Aug 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 31st Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullU.S. plans to move COVID vaccines, treatments to private markets in 2023
The U.S. government expects its supply of COVID-19 vaccines and antiviral treatments to run out over the next year and is preparing for them to be sold via the commercial market, the Department of Health and Human Services said on Tuesday. President Joe Biden's administration expects to run out of federal funding for buying and distributing COVID-19 vaccines by January, although it has already bought over 170 million doses for a booster campaign later this year, according to a blog post written by Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Dawn O'Connell.
30th Aug 2022 - Reuters
Japan OKs third Pfizer shot for children and AstraZeneca COVID treatment
The health ministry on Tuesday approved a third dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children between the ages of 5 and 11, after an expert panel gave the plan the green light the day before. It is hoped the move will help prevent children in that age group from getting infected with the coronavirus and developing severe symptoms, as the nation continues to see high levels of cases driven by the highly infectious BA.5 omicron subvariant. The booster shot will be available to such children five months or more after they have received their second dose. The health ministry said the panel has judged that the booster shot is safe enough for children in the age group. Side effects reported in clinical trials include fatigue and soreness around the site of the shot, as well as fever, but most people have recovered having had only minor or moderate reactions, the ministry said.
30th Aug 2022 - The Japan Times
MHRA Grants Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine Expanded Conditional Marketing Authorization
Novavax announced on Aug. 26, 2022 that the company’s COVID-19 vaccine, Nuvaxovid, was granted expanded conditional marketing authorization by the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. This authorization allows for the use of the vaccine in adolescents aged 12 to 17. According to a company press release, the authorization is based on data from the Phase III PREVENT-19 trial of 2,247 adolescents aged 12 through 17 years across 73 sites in the United States. The trial reached its primary effectiveness endpoint and demonstrated 80% clinical effectiveness. "As we start to prepare for a potential fall surge, we are pleased to offer the first protein-based COVID-19 vaccine to adolescents aged 12 through 17 in the UK," said Stanley C. Erck, president and CEO, Novavax, in the release.
30th Aug 2022 - BioPharm International
AstraZeneca gains first approval for Evusheld as COVID-19 treatment
AstraZeneca's long-acting antibody combination Evusheld has been approved in Japan for both prevention (pre-exposure prophylaxis) and treatment of symptomatic disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection: marking the first global marketing approval of Evusheld as a treatment for COVID-19.
30th Aug 2022 - BioPharma-Reporter.com
U.S. Supreme Court's Sotomayor keeps New York City COVID vaccine mandate
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Monday declined to block New York City from enforcing its mandate that all municipal workers be vaccinated against COVID-19, rebuffing a police detective who challenged the public health policy. The liberal justice denied Detective Anthony Marciano's request for a stay of the vaccination requirement while an appeal over his claims continue in a lower court. A federal judge threw out Marciano's case in March.
30th Aug 2022 - Reuters
Swiss drugs regulator approves first bivalent Covid-19 booster
Swiss drugs regulator Swissmedic said on Monday that it has approved the first bivalent Covid-19 booster vaccine in the country. Moderna's Spikevax vaccine, which contains mRNA against two coronavirus variants, is authorized for anyone 18 years or older, said Swissmedic.
30th Aug 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 30th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullBritain approves Novavax COVID shot for 12-17 year-olds
Britain's medicines regulator on Friday approved Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine for children aged between 12 and 17 years. The mRNA vaccines made by Moderna as well as the partnership between Pfizer-BioNTech are also cleared for use by this age group, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said. Britain in February cleared Novavax's two-dose vaccine, Nuvaxovid, for use in adults.
26th Aug 2022 - Reuters UK
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 26th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullUK leadership candidate Sunak attacks COVID lockdown response
Former finance minister Rishi Sunak, one of two candidates vying to be Britain's next premier, criticised the way outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson handled the COVID-19 pandemic, saying it had been a mistake to "empower" scientists and that the downsides of lockdowns were suppressed.
25th Aug 2022 - Reuters UK
Covid-19 booster vaccine now available for over-50s in Ireland
The second Covid-19 booster jab is now available for all people aged over 50 in Ireland. The HSE confirmed that appointments can now be made by anyone within the age bracket online. The jabs are provided at participating pharmacies,
25th Aug 2022 - MSN.com
Thai FDA approves Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 6 months -5 years
COVID-19 vaccine in vials with maroon caps, developed by Pfizer, are now approved for use in children aged 6 months to 5 years, with 3 injections of 3µg per dose. The vaccine is 80.3% effective at preventing COVID-19. Secretary-General of Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) Dr. Paisarn Dunkum said yesterday (Wednesday) that, on August 23rd, the TFDA subcommittee considering the registration of modern pharmacopoeia for humans, as a vaccine against the virus which causes COVID-19, approved the expansion of the use of Pfizer’s Comirnaty vaccine to include children aged 6 months to 5 years.
25th Aug 2022 - Thai PBS World
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 25th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullSingapore extends use of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for kids
The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) in Singapore has extended the authorisation of Moderna’s Spikevax COVID-19 vaccine via the Pandemic Special Access Route (PSAR), for the prevention of COVID-19)in individuals 6 months to 5 years- administered as a course of two 25 microgram doses; 6 to 11 years- administered as a course of two 50 microgram doses; and 12 to 17 years- administered as a course of two 100 microgram doses. HSA has carefully considered the data from two clinical studies in children and adolescents, and assessed that the benefits outweighed the risks for use of Spikevax in individuals aged 6 months and above. In making this regulatory decision, HSA also consulted expert advice from the Medicines Advisory Committee and Panel of Infectious Diseases Experts. Safety data from the clinical studies also showed that adverse events in adolescents and children were similar to those reported in adults.
25th Aug 2022 - BioSpectrum Asia
100,000 doses of Janssen’s COVID-19 delivered to Ukraine under COVAX initiative
A total of 100,000 doses of Janssen’s COVID-19 vaccine – Ad26.COV2-S – have been delivered to Ukraine this month under the COVAX initiative, and distributed to 22 regions in the country by the Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced. Additionally, more than 100 medical workers and trainers across Ukraine have been taught by WHO to conduct further training on the use of Ad26.COV2-S, and Ukrainian healthcare workers have received over 23,000 copies of guidance materials on the use of the vaccine. Ad26.COV2-S – also known as JNJ-78436735 or Jcovden – was approved for emergency use by WHO and registered in Ukraine in July 2021 for the vaccination of adults aged 18-years-old and over.
24th Aug 2022 - PMLiVE
Bulgaria to treat COVID-19 as influenza – EURACTIV.com
Bulgaria will start considering COVID-19 as influenza and other respiratory viruses, Professor Radka Argirova announced after the expert group at the Ministry of Health meeting, which monitors the epidemic situation in the country. This approach, to be adopted as the school year starts in September, would mean that those infected with coronavirus and their contacts would not be subject to the mandatory quarantine. Spain was the first country in the EU to consider COVID-19 as seasonal flu at the end of March when the mandatory quarantine for the infected was lifted.
24th Aug 2022 - EURACTIV
Australia's COVID-19 vaccine rollout flawed, audit finds
The rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine by Australia’s health department was “partly effective” but planning was slow and incomplete in the early stages, delivery to priority groups was flawed and it failed to meet targets, according to a review by the country’s National Audit Office. Australia’s prime minister Anthony Albanese said on Sunday that he would call an inquiry into the federal government’s wider response to the pandemic “as soon as practicable”. The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) review, published last Wednesday, found that while the Department of Health and Aged Care undertook “largely appropriate” administration and logistics planning, that “initial planning was not timely”. It said that detailed planning with states and territories was not complete before the vaccine rollout commenced, and that it “underestimated the complexity of administering in-reach services to the aged care and disability sectors”. While 90% of the eligible population was vaccinated by the end of 2021, the planning and implementation of the vaccine rollout to priority groups “was not as effective” as for the population as a whole, the report said.
24th Aug 2022 - Global Government Forum
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 24th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullPfizer and BioNTech seek FDA EUA for Omicron-based Covid-19 vaccine
Pfizer and BioNTech have filed an application seeking Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a booster dosage of an Omicron BA.4/BA.5-adapted bivalent vaccine for Covid-19 in people aged 12 years and above. The submission comes after the regulatory agency provided guidance to incorporate clinical findings of the bivalent Omicron BA.1-adapted vaccine. The FDA also sought the vaccine’s pre-clinical and manufacturing data for addressing the SARS-CoV-2 virus’ evolution.
23rd Aug 2022 - Pharmaceutical Technology
FDA authorizes Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine for teens
The Food and Drug Administration on Friday cleared Novavax’s coronavirus vaccine for emergency use in children 12 to 17 years old, giving adolescents a third option to prevent COVID-19 as they return to school. The agency’s decision comes a month after the FDA authorized the shot for adults and more than a year after teenagers became eligible for the messenger RNA shots from Pfizer and, later, Moderna. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention signed off on the FDA’s decision Monday.
23rd Aug 2022 - BioPharma Dive
US CDC announces major changes after criticism of its responses to covid-19 and monkeypox
The US national public health agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), will make major changes to its structure and systems in the light of a review of its emergency response to the covid-19 pandemic. Announcing the changes on 17 August, Rochelle Walensky, CDC director, admitted that the agency had failed in its responses to covid-19 and monkeypox. She said that the proposed changes would strengthen and speed the CDC’s response to public health threats and improve its communications. “For 75 years CDC and public health have been preparing for covid-19, and in our big moments, our performance did not reliably meet expectations,” she said. “As a long time admirer of this agency and a champion for public health, I want us all to do better, and it starts with CDC leading the way.” The CDC has been criticised for releasing a flawed test early in the covid-19 pandemic that delayed accurate reporting of cases; confusing advice about social distancing, masking, and vaccinations; and poor communications. Scott Gottlieb, former head of the Food and Drug Administration, also criticised the CDC’s response to the monkeypox outbreak for being slow and having problems with testing and vaccination
23rd Aug 2022 - The BMJ
Mexico to protest to U.N. over missing COVAX vaccines
Mexico will file a complaint to the United Nations over the failure to deliver vaccines against COVID-19 that the government bought under a program backed by the World Health Organization (WHO), President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Monday. Mexico was owed $75 million, Lopez Obrador said, for COVID-19 vaccines meant to be supplied under COVAX, which was established by WHO during the pandemic to help distribute vaccines equitably across the world.
23rd Aug 2022 - Reuters
Thai cabinet approves 18.4 billion baht for NHSO COVID-19 medical expenses
The Thai cabinet approved an 18.447 billion baht budget for the National Health Security Office (NHSO) to cover medical expenses, medication, vaccines and equipment used in the treatment of COVID-19 patients between April 1st and May 15th. The NHSO has played a key role in arranging for COVID-19 patients to be treated in hospitals or in home isolation free of charge until they recover.
23rd Aug 2022 - Thai PBS World
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 23rd Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullPfizer, BioNTech Seek FDA Authorization for Updated Covid-19 Vaccine
Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE have asked U.S. health regulators to clear use of a Covid-19 shot modified to target the newest versions of the Omicron variant. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to clear the shots for use in the coming weeks, in time for a planned fall booster campaign. The Pfizer-BioNTech booster shot targets the original coronavirus plus the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of Omicron, which have become predominant in the U.S. Pfizer and BioNTech said they have begun producing doses of the vaccines, and could begin supplying them to the U.S. government upon FDA clearance for a vaccination campaign that could start as soon as September.
23rd Aug 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
U.S. CDC recommends use of Novavax's COVID shot for adolescents
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday signed off on the use of Novavax Inc's COVID-19 vaccine for adolescents aged 12 through 17. The recommendation follows the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's authorization for the vaccine for the age group last week.
23rd Aug 2022 - Reuters
WHO recommends Valneva’s COVID-19 vaccine for those aged between 18 to 50 years old
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) has recommended Valneva's COVID-19 vaccine – VLA2001 for all individuals aged 18 to 50 years old. The vaccine is not recommended for people aged 50 years and avoid, due to limited data on the immunogenicity of the vaccine in this age group. Similarly, there is no data on efficacy or safety for people below the age of 18 years, and vaccination of this age group is therefore not currently recommended. VLA2001 is a purified, inactivated and adjuvanted whole virus SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, employing a similar approach to the flu vaccine.
22nd Aug 2022 - PMLiVE
NGOs call on Covid-19 Inquiry chair to probe global impact of UK vaccine buying
A string of NGOs, including Oxfam, have called on the chair of the Government’s Covid-19 Inquiry to probe the impacts of UK pandemic policy on the global stage. In a letter to chair Baroness Hallett today, the NGOs said: “Given the inquiry’s focus on the impact of the pandemic on inequalities, this should include how this has manifested globally and the UK’s role in exacerbating or mitigating these differences.” Of particular interest is the impact of pre-purchasing high volumes of vaccines on global supply, as well as “the UK’s role in weakening the provisions of the Intellectual Property waiver”, they wrote. Signatories also include Global Justice Now, Save the Children UK, People’s Vaccine Alliance, RESULTS UK, Just Treatment, Health Poverty Action, MSF UK and STOPAIDS. Maaza Seyoum, Global South convenor at the People’s Vaccine Alliance, has called pledges to vaccinate the world from leaders of wealthy countries and pharmaceutical firms a “little more than rhetoric”.
22nd Aug 2022 - City A.M.
Covid-19: Free lateral flow testing ends in Northern Ireland
Free lateral flow tests are no longer available to most people in Northern Ireland. While the scheme ended in the rest of the UK in May, Stormont's Department of Health retained the measure. Health officials announced last week that testing will be more "targeted to protect the most vulnerable".
22nd Aug 2022 - BBC News
FDA: Novavax Covid-19 Vaccine Is Now Authorized For Ages 12 To 17
Teenagers will now have another option when it comes to getting vaccinated against Covid-19. And this new option is good because it is in many ways old.
On August 19, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent a letter to Novavax, Inc. This wasn’t a “hi, how you doing’” letter. Instead, this letter indicated that the FDA had agreed to modify the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the Novavax Covid-19 adjuvanted vaccine to include those 12 through 17 years of age as well.
22nd Aug 2022 - Forbes
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 22nd Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullU.S. Won’t Pay For Covid-19 Shots Soon. Here’s How It Could Work
The Department of Health and Human Services will hold a meeting later this month to pave the way for insurers and patients to pay for Covid-19 vaccines, antiviral treatments and tests, according to the Wall Street Journal. Stakeholders from across the healthcare industry will take part in the planning meeting, during which representatives from pharmacy chains, state health departments and drug producers are expected to begin laying out how insurance coverage and reimbursement would work with the shift, along with industry regulations.
19th Aug 2022 - Forbes
WHO recommends Valneva's COVID vaccine
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday recommended the use of French drugmaker Valneva's COVID-19 vaccine. The UN agency also recommended the use of a second booster dose for some individuals at high risk of severe disease. However, that does not constitute a general recommendation of vaccinating all adults, and is aimed at avoiding severe disease and death in populations at the highest risk, it said.
19th Aug 2022 - Reuters
Canada OKs Pfizer COVID booster for kids 5-11, sees monkeypox cases slow
Canada's health ministry on Friday said it had authorized the use of Pfizer Inc's and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine as a booster for children five to 11 years old at least six months after receiving their initial two doses. The authorization for a booster shot was granted after a thorough, independent review of the vaccine, which "provides good protection against severe illness, hospitalization and death," the health ministry wrote on Twitter.
19th Aug 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 19th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullHHS says it plans to extend Covid-19 public health emergency
State and local public health officials — having not heard differently this week — are expecting the Biden administration to extend the Covid-19 public health emergency for another 90 days in mid-October. An extension would ensure expanded Medicaid coverage, telehealth services, boosted payments to hospitals and other pandemic measures remain in place beyond the midterm elections even as public health experts and lawmakers debate the merits of a PHE that was first declared in January 2020. “The COVID-19 Public Health Emergency remains in effect and as HHS committed to earlier, we will provide a 60-day notice to states before any possible termination or expiration," an HHS spokesperson told POLITICO. The administration has not notified groups, including the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, Federation of American Hospitals and the American Public Health Association, that the PHE would end, a courtesy HHS has said it would issue 60 days before the Covid-19 declaration is terminated
18th Aug 2022 - Politico on MSN.com
Israeli, Australian public health leaders to exchange COVID-19 knowledge
A group of 15 leading Australian public health experts and clinicians will visit Israel in September for a high-level exchange of lessons about the management of the COVID-19 pandemic. Both Israel and Australia had impressive achievements during the COVID-19 pandemic – Israel was a model for rapid distribution and injection of vaccines into the whole population and Australia was the first country outside of China to isolate the virus and had one of the world’s lowest death rates from it.
18th Aug 2022 - The Jerusalem Post
Nuvaxovid gets expanded provisional approval in NZ as COVID-19 booster for adults
US-based Novavax has announced that New Zealand (NZ)'s Medsafe has granted expanded provisional approval for Nuvaxovid (NVX-CoV2373) COVID-19 vaccine for active immunization to prevent COVID-19 as a heterologous and homologous booster dose in adults aged 18 and older. Following the expanded provisional approval decision by Medsafe, New Zealand, people may now choose Nuvaxovid as their first and/or second COVID-19 booster dose(s) after completion of their primary series using any of the authorized COVID-19 vaccines. The request for expanded provisional approval for the booster dose is supported by data from Novavax' Phase 2 trial conducted in Australia, from a separate Phase 2 trial conducted in South Africa, and from the UK-sponsored COV-BOOST trial. As a booster for adults, Nuvaxovid is also provisionally registered in Australia and approved in Japan, and is actively under review in other markets.
New Zealand previously granted provisional approval for Nuvaxovid in adults aged 18 and older in February 2022. Novavax' sponsor in Australia and New Zealand is Biocelect Pty. Ltd.
18th Aug 2022 - BioSpectrum Asia
CDC Director Outlines Restructuring Plans After Agency’s Covid-19 Response Fell Short
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will be restructured to strengthen its response to public-health threats, the agency’s director said, acknowledging shortcomings in its fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said Wednesday that she intended to improve the agency’s communication, timeliness and accountability. The CDC has at times amended its guidance on masking, isolation and other mitigation efforts in ways that spurred confusion or lagged behind the trajectory of the pandemic. The agency has faced new criticism recently for its response to the monkeypox outbreak. “In our big moment, our performance did not reliably meet expectations,” Dr. Walensky said. “I want us all to do better, and it starts with CDC leading the way.”
18th Aug 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Planning for COVID-19 vaccine rollout left too late, Commonwealth failed to adequately engage states, damning review finds
A review by the Auditor-General found the Coalition left planning for Australia's COVID vaccine rollout too late. It also found the former Morrison government failed to adequately engage with the states and territories before the rollout began
The Department of Health has agreed to the recommendations.
18th Aug 2022 - ABC news
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 18th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullThailand health ministry to further downgrade COVID-19, reduce days for treatment
The Public Health Ministry of Thailand will ask the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) to downgrade the status of the disease at its next meeting expected on
18th Aug 2022 - Philippine Daily Inquirer
CDC Director Outlines Restructuring Plans
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will be restructured to strengthen its response to public-health threats, the agency’s director said, acknowledging shortcomings in its fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said Wednesday that she intended to improve the agency’s communication, timeliness and accountability. The CDC has at times amended its guidance on masking, isolation and other mitigation efforts in ways that spurred confusion or lagged behind the trajectory of the pandemic. The agency has faced new criticism recently for its response to the monkeypox outbreak. “In our big moment, our performance did not reliably meet expectations,” Dr. Walensky said. “I want us all to do better, and it starts with CDC leading the way.”
17th Aug 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Regulators in Britain approve new COVID-19 vaccine booster
Regulators in Britain are the first in the world to approve a COVID-19 vaccine booster that targets two coronavirus variants. Tina Kraus reports for CBS2.
17th Aug 2022 - CBS News
The Morrison government's COVID-19 vaccine rollout missed key targets, major review finds
An auditor-general's report has criticised the previous coalition government's COVID-19 vaccine rollout for missing key targets. The report said while about 90 per cent of the eligible population were vaccinated by the end of 2021, the rollout was not implemented effectively. None of the five timeline targets set by the government were met, including the rollouts to aged care, the vulnerable and Indigenous people.
17th Aug 2022 - SBS
JCVI publishes advice on COVID-19 vaccines ahead of autumn booster campaign
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has published its advice on which COVID-19 vaccines should be used in this year’s autumn booster programme. For adults aged 18 years and above, the JCVI’s advised vaccines include Moderna’s mRNA (Spikevax) bivalent Omicron BA.1/original wild-type vaccine, as well as its mRNA (Spikevax) original wild-type vaccine. The Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA (Comirnaty) original wild-type vaccine is also advised, and in exceptional circumstances, the Novavax Matrix-M adjuvanted wild-type vaccine (Nuvaxovid) when ‘no alternative clinically suitable UK-approved COVID-19 vaccine is available,’ the JCVI stated. The Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA (Comirnaty) original wild-type vaccine is the only vaccine the JCVI advises for people aged 12 to 17 years, and its paediatric formulation is the only advised for those aged five to 11 years old.
17th Aug 2022 - PMLiVE
No plans for UK to order more supplies of AstraZeneca Covid vaccine
There are no plans to order further supplies of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine for the UK, it has been revealed, as experts expressed hope that a new jab designed to target two variants will form the backbone of the autumn booster programme. Deemed a British success story, and estimated to have saved millions of lives worldwide, the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid jab played a key role early in the UK’s vaccination programme. But Prof Anthony Harnden, the deputy chair of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), has suggested it is unlikely to be used in the future.
17th Aug 2022 - The Guardian
Novavax Nuvaxovid™ COVID-19 Vaccine Granted Expanded Provisional Approval in New Zealand as a First and Second Booster for Adults
Following the expanded provisional approval decision by Medsafe, New Zealand, people may now choose Nuvaxovid as their first and/or second COVID-19 booster dose(s) after completion of their primary series using any of the authorized COVID-19 vaccines. “We are pleased to offer another booster choice and the only protein-based COVID-19 vaccine for those aged 18 and older in New Zealand,” said Stanley C. Erck, President and Chief Executive Officer, Novavax. “As New Zealand endures winter months where thousands of COVID-19 infections are being recorded each day, we believe our vaccine is a strong option, particularly given its broad immune responses to a wide range of circulating variants.”
17th Aug 2022 - The Associated Press
Novavax asks FDA for emergency authorization of its COVID-19 booster
Novavax has submitted an application to the Food and Drug Administration for Emergency Use Authorization of its COVID-19 vaccine as a booster in adults that can be used on top of its primary vaccine series or to mix and match with a different primary series, the company announced. "It's important for people to have a choice as they evaluate how to stay protected against COVID-19, and boosters are an invaluable tool to build upon immunity obtained from previous vaccinations," Stanley C. Erck, President and Chief Executive Officer of Novavax, said in a statement on Monday. "Based on the data presented to the FDA's VRBPAC and the CDC ACIP, we believe our vaccine offers a broad, long-lasting immune response against a range of variants," Erck said.
17th Aug 2022 - ABC on MSN.com
New York City Department of Education relaxes COVID-19 rules for public schools
The New York City Department of Education will no longer randomly test students for COVID-19 when the new school year begins Sept. 8, the department said Tuesday. Instead, test kits will be sent home for students, parents and teachers to use if they are exposed to the virus. As part of the department's new COVID-19 protocols, students will no longer be required to submit a daily health screening form.
17th Aug 2022 - ABC News
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 17th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in full'Next Generation' Moderna Coronavirus Booster Jab Approved for Use in Adults
A "next generation" coronavirus booster jab which may only need administering once a year has been approved for use in adults. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has authorised Moderna's bivalent vaccine, which targets the original Covid strain and the Omicron variant.
15th Aug 2022 - Bloomberg
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 16th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullUK Says People Must Take Any Covid Shot Available This Fall
British health authorities said people should take whatever Covid-19 booster shot is offered to them this fall, even as the country became the first in the world to approve a new two-strain vaccine. The UK will start providing another round of Covid booster shots to about 26 million patients -- aged 50 or above or those with weak immunity -- from September in a bid to bolster defenses against further waves of Covid infections this winter. Patients could receive a vaccine from Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE, or Moderna Inc.’s original or bivalent shot, which specifically targets the omicron variant and was only approved by the UK drugs regulator today.
16th Aug 2022 - Bloomberg
UK Approves First Bivalent COVID-19 Booster Vaccine
The United Kingdom has approved Moderna’s bivalent COVID-19 vaccine, which targets the original variant and Omicron. The United Kingdom’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) announced on August 15, 2022 that it has approved a bivalent version of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine that targets both the original and Omicron strains of the virus. The decision follows an endorsement of the booster from the UK’s Commission on Human Medicines, the government’s independent scientific advisory board. According to an agency press release, the decision was based on a clinical trial which demonstrated that the booster triggers a strong immune response against the original COVID-19 strain and BA.1, the first Omicron strain. It also demonstrated a good immune response against Omicron sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5. Side-effects and overall safety profile were found to be the same as those in the original vaccine.
15th Aug 2022 - PharmTech
Lack of evidence for AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine says UK Department of Health
The UK’s Department of Health and Social Care has decided not to buy AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 drug, Evusheld, due to a lack of evidence about the vaccine’s effectiveness against the Omicron variant. Evusheld – tixagevimab co-packaged with cilgavimab – is a preventative treatment that is given before people have been exposed to the virus. Patient groups and charities have called upon the government to reassess its position due to the potential impact the decision will have on clinically vulnerable people during the winter. Developed by AstraZeneca, Evusheld is a combination of two antibodies that work against COVID-19 by boosting protection for those with weakened immune systems, including those who are organ transplant recipients or blood cancer patients.
15th Aug 2022 - PMLiVE
Bharat Biotech seeks approval for intranasal coronavirus vaccine
Bharat Biotech has submitted data from Phase 3 clinical trials of BBV154, its intranasal Covid vaccine candidate, to the drug regulator. It has sought approval both as a primary two-dose vaccine, and a heterologous booster shot.
A heterologous booster implies that the third or subsequent dose of the vaccine is different from its primary dose. Typically, the primary dose comprises two shots. The Hyderabad-based company claimed that BBV154, which is stable at 2-8 degrees Celsius, is proven to be safe, well-tolerated and immunogenic in the subjects under controlled clinical trials. “Being an intranasal vaccine, BBV154 may produce local antibodies in the upper respiratory tract. These may provide the potential to reduce infection and transmission. Further studies are being planned,” the company noted on Monday.
15th Aug 2022 - Business Standard
Over 20 million COVID-19 jabs wasted — DOH
The Department of Health reported Monday that over 20 million donated and procured COVID-19 vaccine doses were wasted in the Philippines. A total of 20,660,354 COVID-19 vaccines were wasted as of August 12, Health Undersecretary Carol Tanio told the Senate committee on health and demography. Broken down, 6% of the donated COVID-19 jabs, 22% of the vaccines purchased by local governments, and 40% of the shots procured by the private sector had expired. Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, officer-in-charge of the DOH, said the 134 million vaccine doses procured by the national government did not have any wastage.
15th Aug 2022 - Philstar.com
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 15th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullGermany: EU could OK combined COVID-19 vaccines next month
Germany's health minister said Friday that European Union drug regulators may authorize the use of vaccines that are each effective against two variants of the coronavirus. German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said he expected the European Medicines Agency to meet Sept. 1 to consider a vaccine that would provide protection against the original virus and the omicron variant, also known as BA.1.
12th Aug 2022 - CTV News
COVID-19: WHO names disease caused by new coronavirus
The announcement came as the death toll in mainland China has now reached more than 1,000, after 108 people died from the virus on Monday – the highest daily toll since the outbreak began late last year in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. Tedros said that “CO” stands for “corona”, “VI” for “virus” and “D” for “disease”, while “19” was for the year, as the outbreak was first identified on December 31. The WHO chief said the name had been chosen to avoid references to a specific geographical location, animal species or group of people in line with international recommendations for naming aimed at preventing stigmatisation.
12th Aug 2022 - Al Jazeera
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 12th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullFlush with wins, finally COVID-free, Biden to hit the road ahead of U.S. midterms
President Joe Biden plans to travel across the United States in the coming weeks to tout a series of legislative wins on climate change, gun control and drug pricing in a bid to boost his party's chances in the looming midterm elections, White House officials said on Thursday. His Democrats face an uphill battle to retain their narrow control of the House of Representatives and Senate in the Nov. 8 elections. Biden, whose public approval rating rose this week to its highest since early June, plans to use the recent victories in Congress to rally support for Democratic candidates, White House officials Kate Bedingfield and Anita Dunn wrote in a memo distributed to allies in the party and shared with reporters.
11th Aug 2022 - Reuters
All go in health concerns as EU pushes for COVID and monkeypox vaccines and welcomes Digital Decade policy programme
The Commission welcomes the political agreement reached by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU on the 2030 Policy Programme: Path to the Digital Decade. The programme sets up a monitoring and cooperation mechanism to achieve the common objectives and targets for Europe's digital transformation set out in the 2030 Digital Compass. This concerns the area of skills and infrastructure, including connectivity, the digitalisation of businesses and online public services as well as the respect of the EU's Digital rights and principles in achieving the general objectives. A Europe Fit for the Digital Age Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager said: “The Digital Decade is about making digital technology work for people and businesses. It is about enabling everyone to have the skills to participate in the digital society. To be empowered. It is about empowering businesses. It is about the infrastructure that keeps us connected. It is about bringing government services closer to citizens. Europe's digital transformation will give opportunities for everyone.”
11th Aug 2022 - EU Reporter
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 11th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullWHO: COVID-19 deaths fall overall by 9%, infections stable
The number of coronavirus deaths fell by 9% in the last week while new cases remained relatively stable, according to the latest weekly pandemic report released by the World Health Organization Wednesday. The U.N. health agency said there were more than 14,000 COVID-19 deaths in the last week and nearly 7 million new infections. The Western Pacific reported a 30% jump in cases while Africa reported a 46% drop. Cases also fell by more than 20% in the Americas and the Middle East. The number of new deaths rose by 19% in the Middle East, while dropping by more than 70% in Africa, 15% in Europe and 10% in the Americas. The WHO said that the omicron subvariant BA.5 remains dominant globally, accounting for nearly 70% of all virus sequences shared with the world's biggest publicly available virus database. The agency said other omicron subvariants, including BA.4 and BA.2, appear to be decreasing in prevalence as BA.5 takes over.
10th Aug 2022 - Journal Review
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 10th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullEU regulator begins review of Pfizer-BioNTech's variant-adapted COVID shot
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has started a rolling review of a variant-adapted COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech, it said on Tuesday. The so-called bivalent vaccine targets two strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus behind COVID - the original strain first identified in China, and the Omicron offshoots BA.4/5 that are currently behind most cases in Europe. A rolling review means the EMA assesses the data as it becomes available, and the process continues until there is enough data for a formal marketing application.
9th Aug 2022 - Reuters
Here’s How Hong Kong’s New China-Inspired Health Code Will Work
Hong Kong will introduce a tiered health-code system reminiscent of what’s used in mainland China to facilitate a reduction in its deeply unpopular mandatory hotel quarantine. The new rules, which come into effect on Friday, will mean arrivals at Hong Kong’s international airport must spend three days in hotel quarantine -- down from seven. If they don’t test positive for Covid, they will then undergo four days of health monitoring, underpinned by a yellow health code that restricts entry into a raft of high-risk places. Meanwhile, anyone infected with the virus will receive a red code that means they must isolate.
8th Aug 2022 - Bloomberg
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 9th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullThailand to Lower Covid-19 to Same Disease Category as Influenza
Thailand will downgrade Covid-19 from a “dangerous” communicable disease to one that “needs monitoring” starting from October, as the country’s virus situation has started to stabilize, according to the Ministry of Public Health. The move, which will remove Covid-19 from the same category as plague and smallpox to the same level as influenza and dengue, is to reflect the reality of the situation in Thailand, said Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul. The move reflects Thailand’s health-system readiness, availability of treatments and “appropriate self-protection behavior” of people around the country, Anutin said in a statement.
8th Aug 2022 - Bloomberg
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 8th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullBiden tests negative for COVID, White House physician says
President Joe Biden has tested negative for COVID-19 after testing positive with a breakthrough case for days, the White House physician said on Saturday. The Democratic president, "in an abundance of caution," will remain in isolation until he tests negative on a second test, Dr. Kevin O'Connor said in a memo released by the White House. Biden, 79, emerged from isolation at the White House on July 27 after testing positive for COVID-19 for the first time on July 21. He tested positive again on July 30 in what O'Connor described as a "rebound" case seen in a small percentage of people who take the antiviral drug Paxlovid.
7th Aug 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 5th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullChina's Covid Zero Strategy Could Last Years Under Xi
It’s 2025 in Beijing, five years since the start of the pandemic, and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Covid Zero policy is still an inescapable part of daily life. Residents must get PCR tested every few days at one of the booths on nearly every street corner. A personalized health code app determines who can move around the capital, and where. Children have to test negative to go to the park. Something as simple as a visit to a coffee shop or supermarket can result in being locked down in your apartment, not even allowed out for food – which the state instead provides. Because a few positive cases prompt officials to restrict movement in all or parts of the city, CEOs assume they must deal with several shutdowns a year.
5th Aug 2022 - Bloomberg
Sinovac’s Covid-19 vaccine gets approval for use in children in Hong Kong
Sinovac Biotech has reported that its Covid-19 vaccine, CoronaVac, obtained approval from the Health Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China for usage in children of the age six months to three years. The consensus interim recommendations on Covid-19 vaccine use in children aged six months or above in Hong Kong were released by the Scientific Committee on Vaccine Preventable Diseases and the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases under the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health. The approval is based on clinical trials and studies of Covid-19 inoculation in children and adolescents in the region.
4th Aug 2022 - Pharmaceutical Technology
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 4th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullNovavax Covid-19 vaccine should carry warning for possible heart side-effects
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is recommending that Novavax’s Covid-19 vaccine carry a warning of the possibility of two types of heart inflammation that could be triggered as a side effect. The EMA confirmed that the heart conditions – myocarditis and pericarditis – should be listed as new side effects in the product information for the vaccine, Reuters confirmed on Wednesday, August 3. When discussing the Novavax Covid vaccine the American Medical Association’s (AMA) Doctor Sandra Fryhofer who is the liaison to the Advisory Committee on Immunisation Practices said: “We now have a third type of vaccine in the fight against COVID.”
4th Aug 2022 - Euro Weekly News
Eli Lilly to make COVID-19 antibody drug commercially available from August
Eli Lilly and Co said on Wednesday it plans to make its COVID-19 antibody drug commercially available to U.S. states as well as hospitals and other healthcare providers from August. The drug, bebtelovimab, had received authorization in the United States in February for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 among adults and children. Eli Lilly entered an agreement in June to supply an additional 150,000 doses of the drug to the U.S. government. The U.S. government will exhaust their supply of bebtelovimab as early as the week of August 22 and, without congressional appropriations, does not have the funds to purchase more, Lilly told Reuters.
4th Aug 2022 - Financial Post
Moderna's COVID vaccine approved for vulnerable young children
The ATAGI experts have recommended children aged between six months and five years, who have a higher risk of developing severe illness from COVID, will be able to receive the Moderna vaccine from September 5.
3rd Aug 2022 - ABC News
SINOVAC COVID-19 Vaccine Approved for Use in Children Above 6 months of Age in Hong Kong
Sinovac Biotech Ltd. a leading provider of biopharmaceutical products in China, announced that based on related clinical trials and studies of vaccination for local children and adolescents, the Health Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China has approved the Company’s COVID-19 vaccine (CoronaVac), intended for children aged 6 months to 3 years. The vaccination schedule for this age group follows the same vaccination schedule of older children.
3rd Aug 2022 - The Associated Press
EU signs joint procurement deal with Spain's HIPRA for COVID vaccines
The European Commission said on Tuesday it had signed a joint procurement contract with Spanish pharmaceutical firm HIPRA for the supply of its protein COVID-19 vaccine, which will be available if approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The European Union's executive said in a statement that 14 countries are participating in the agreement, under which they can purchase up to 250 million doses.
3rd Aug 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 3rd Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullHong Kong Will First Roll Out Only Sinovac Shot for Infants
Hong Kong will initially offer only one choice when it expands Covid-19 vaccine access to some of its youngest residents: CoronaVac from China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd. Children six months to three years of age will become eligible for the Sinovac shot from Thursday, health care officials said at a press briefing on Tuesday. While a panel of medical advisers recommended that an immunization from Germany’s BioNTech SE should also be available, the government doesn’t yet have access to the proper dose, said Chuang Shuk-kwan, an official at the Health Department’s Center for Health Protection.
3rd Aug 2022 - Bloomberg
Despite mild to moderate adverse events, COVID-19 vaccination recommended in United States for children aged 5 to 11 years
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends children aged 5 to 11 receive the BNT-162b2 vaccination. In a recent study, investigators examined data from 3 United States safety monitoring systems to monitor adverse events in children aged 5 to 11. The data studied the test group for 6 weeks after they received the BNT-162b2 vaccination. Of the 8.7 million vaccines administered during this time, 42,504 children were involved in a safety findings test from v-safe, a smartphone system which, with permission, surveys for safety signals. An additional 4249 Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) reports were included in this data. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) created a survey system to monitor vaccine reactions in children. Parents voluntarily enrolled their children in these programs after the vaccination was injected. They then filled out health surveys throughout the testing period. The first of these, which were sent out during the first week, asked about system reactions and health impacts. Parents could describe the severity as mild, moderate, or severe. Throughout the testing period, more surveys were sent out with further questioning.
2nd Aug 2022 - Contemporary Pediatrics
US locks up 66M retooled COVID shots from Moderna
As U.S. regulators turn their attention to revamped, variant-specific COVID-19 vaccines for the fall, Pfizer and Moderna could have their retooled shots ready shortly after Labor Day, according to multiple reports. But while the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) late last week inked deals with both companies to initiate a new booster campaign in a couple of months, it warned in its release that this stock would not be enough for every single U.S. resident.
The HHS locked up a deal for 66 million doses of Moderna’s bivalent COVID-19 vaccine booster candidate. It also inked an agreement to get 105 million bivalent booster doses from Pfizer and BioNTech. Should the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sign off on the updated prophylactics, HHS says it expects to receive its first deliveries of the retooled Pfizer and Moderna shots in “early fall.”
2nd Aug 2022 - FiercePharma
Hong Kong lowers age for Sinovac vaccine shot to six months
Hong Kong on Tuesday reduced the minimum age for getting vaccinated with China's Sinovac COVID-19 shot to six months from three years after several young children became infected with the virus. Adults and children in the Asian financial hub, which retains some of the world's toughest COVID precautions, are required to have at least three coronavirus vaccine shots. "Recently a series of young children have been infected with the new coronavirus. The situation of severe illness and even death is of great concern," the government said in a statement announcing the reduction in age.
2nd Aug 2022 - Reuters
Commission buys COVID vaccine from Spain’s HIPRA
The European Commission has closed a deal for up to 250 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine developed by Spanish pharmaceutical company HIPRA, it announced Tuesday. The vaccine is still being assessed. The European Medicines Agency in March started a rolling review of the shot, which is designed to protect against both the Alpha and Beta variants of the coronavirus, and would be deployed as a booster. The Commission said that 14 countries are participating in the joint procurement. If the vaccine is approved, they will be able to put in orders on the terms negotiated by the Commission. Those terms were not disclosed.
2nd Aug 2022 - POLITICO Europe
FDA reauthorizes Meridian's COVID-19 test after changes to enable omicron detection
The Food and Drug Administration reauthorized Meridian Bioscience’s Revogene SARS-CoV-2 molecular assay for emergency use. U.S. regulatory officials warned late last year that the previous version of the test was unable to detect the omicron COVID-19 variant, leading Meridian to modify the design of the assay. The work led Meridian, which is the subject of a pending $1.53 billion takeover, to submit initial data on the revised assay in March and ultimately to win renewed emergency use authorization (EUA).
2nd Aug 2022 - MedTech Dive
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 2nd Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullModerna secures £1.74bn deal to supply US government with updated COVID-19 vaccine
Moderna has announced it has secured a deal with the US government to supply 66 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine booster updated for the Omicron subvariant for use in an autumn and winter campaign. The company will receive up to £1.74bn for the manufacture and delivery of the doses of mRNA-1273.222, a bivalent booster candidate containing Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine Spikevax plus the Omicron BA.4/5 string mRNA. The US government will also have the option to purchase up to an additional 234 million doses. Commenting on the deal, Stéphane Bancel, chief executive officer of Moderna, said: "We are pleased to extend our successful collaboration with the US government. Moderna's mRNA platform is enabling us to rapidly create mRNA-1273.222, a bivalent vaccine that specifically targets Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5, the most prevalent variants of concern in the US today
1st Aug 2022 - PMLiVE
Pfizer and BioNTech start trial of 'next-gen' COVID vaccine
The two companies h(Pfizer and BioNTech) ave begun a Phase II study on an ‘enhanced’ version of their mRNA vaccine against COVID-19, a so-called 'nextgen' Covid vaccine
1st Aug 2022 - BioPharma-Reporter.com
Hong Kong's COVID-19 advisory panel recommends vaccine for kids above six months-old - media
The Hong Kong government's COVID-19 advisory panel recommended on Monday to lower the minimum age for vaccines to six months from three years, public broadcaster RTHK reported.
1st Aug 2022 - Reuters
Biden Administration Plans to Offer Updated Booster Shots in September
The Biden administration now expects to begin a Covid-19 booster campaign with retooled vaccines in September because Pfizer and Moderna have promised that they can deliver doses by then, according to people familiar with the deliberations.
With updated formulations apparently close at hand, federal officials have decided against expanding eligibility for second boosters of the existing vaccines this summer. The new versions are expected to perform better against the now-dominant Omicron subvariant BA.5, although the data available so far is still preliminary.
1st Aug 2022 - The New York Times
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 1st Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullCovid Booster: US to Buy $1.7 Billion of Moderna Omicron-Specific Vaccine (MRNA)
Moderna Inc. said it secured a $1.74 billion contract to supply the US government with its new omicron-specific vaccine. The deal is for 66 million doses of a new booster that includes the existing shot as well as components targeting omicron subvariants of the Covid-19 virus. The agreement also allows the government to purchase another 234 million doses of the company’s booster shots in the future.
“Moderna’s mRNA platform is enabling us to rapidly create mRNA-1273.222, a bivalent vaccine that specifically targets omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5, the most prevalent variants of concern in the US today,” Stephane Bancel, the company’s chief executive officer, said in a statement.
31st Jul 2022 - Bloomberg
UK Pays Lenders £352 Million So Far to Cover Virus Loan Losses
The UK has paid lenders £352 million ($429 million) to cover losses so far on virus loans to small businesses, a number that’s likely to grow further with £1.6 billion of further claims lodged by the lenders at the end of March. Metro Bank Plc, which lent a total of £1.4 billion under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, has received £122 million as of March 31 after claims for 3,015 loans were processed and payment released, according to a report published Thursday. Barclays Plc received £88 million and Starling Bank £61 million. The £352 million represents about 0.7% of the 1.5 million loans at the end of March. About 3.2% are in the claimed stage, 4% of the loans are in default and 7.4% are in arrears, the data shows.
30th Jul 2022 - Bloomberg
Pfizer and BioNTech initiate phase 2 study of ‘enhanced’ COVID-19 vaccine
Pfizer and BioNTech have initiated a phase 2 study evaluating a new version of the COVID-19 vaccine that the companies hope will better protect against the virus.
The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, BNT162b5, consists of RNAs encoding ‘enhanced’ prefusion spike proteins for the SARS-CoV-2 wild-type strain and an Omicron variant, with the aim of increasing the magnitude and breadth of the immune response. The vaccine candidate will be evaluated in a US-base study, enrolling around 200 participants aged 18 to 55 who have already received one booster dose at least 90 days prior to their enrolment in the study. The participants will be divided into subgroups based on the number of months since their last dose. The study does not include a placebo. BNT162b5 is the first of multiple vaccine candidates with an enhanced design, the companies stated, representing their long-term COVID-19 vaccine strategy to overcome the relatively short-lived immune response seen with their first-generation vaccine, BNT162b2.
29th Jul 2022 - PMLiVE
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 29th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullAfter Biden COVID recovery, admin launches new booster push
President Joe Biden’s administration is launching a renewed push for COVID-19 booster shots for those eligible, pointing to the enhanced protections they offer against severe illness as the highly transmissible BA.5 variant spreads across the country. The initiatives include direct outreach to high-risk groups, especially seniors, encouraging them to get “up to date” on their vaccinations, with phone calls, emails and new public service announcements. All Americans age 5 and over should get a booster five months after their initial primary series, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It also says those age 50 and over — or those who are immunocompromised — should get a second booster four months after their first. According to CDC, tens of millions of eligible Americans haven’t received their first booster, and of those over 50 who got their first booster, only about 30% have received their second.
28th Jul 2022 - The Associated Press
When will Covid really be over? Three things that will mark the end of the pandemic
Analysing past epidemics shows us that actual endings are long, drawn-out and contested. Societies must grapple not just with the medical realities of the disease, harms and treatments, but the political and economic fallout from emergency measures, and disputes over who has the authority to declare an end and what should be measured to guide this process. This is why there is so much uncertainty about the current state of Covid-19: different groups have vastly different experiences of the medical, political and social aspects of the epidemic, and different ideas of what an ending may look like.
28th Jul 2022 - The Guardian
Covid-19: “Impossible” to be confident that government awarded Randox contracts properly, say MPs
The UK government’s failure to follow basic rules in awarding £777m of contracts for covid-19 testing to the diagnostics company Randox Laboratories make it “impossible to have confidence” that the contracts were awarded properly, says the parliamentary watchdog on public spending. In a highly critical report, the Commons Public Account Committee accuses the Department of Health and Social Care of “woefully inadequate record keeping” and failing to meet basic requirements to publicly report ministers’ external meetings or deal with potential conflicts of interest when awarding testing contracts to the company.
28th Jul 2022 - The BMJ
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 28th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullNovavax Covid-19 vaccine gets Australian TGA approval for adolescents
Novavax has received expanded approval for provisional registration from the Australian Therapeutic Goods Agency (TGA) for its Covid-19 vaccine, Nuvaxovid (NVX-CoV2373), for use in adolescents aged 12 to 17 years. Nuvaxovid is indicated for active immunisation for the prevention of Covid-19 in individuals of this age group. It is the first protein-based vaccine to be offered in Australia for adolescents aged 12 to 17 years. The approval is based on findings from the paediatric expansion of the Phase III PREVENT-19 clinical trial of 2,247 adolescents of this age group at 73 sites in the US.
27th Jul 2022 - Pharmaceutical Technology
FDA Clears Danish Monkeypox Vaccine Plant, Paving Way for Use of Doses in U.S.
The Food and Drug Administration signed off on a Bavarian Nordic A/S monkeypox vaccine plant, a move that allows use in the U.S. of 786,000 doses made at the facility in Denmark. The FDA said Wednesday it had validated the quality of the shots made at the plant and they met the agency’s standards. “This action by the FDA is a critical step forward in our plans to strengthen and accelerate our monkeypox response, which includes distributing a safe and effective vaccine to those at highest risk of exposure to monkeypox,” Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said. Health authorities seeking to vaccinate people at high risk of monkeypox have been waiting for the shots. The federal government had allowed the 786,000 doses to be shipped to the U.S. in advance to speed their availability once the FDA cleared the plant.
27th Jul 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
CDC to make monkeypox nationally notifiable condition
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Wednesday it plans to make the rapidly spreading monkeypox disease a nationally notifiable condition. The designation, which is set to take effect on Aug. 1, updates criteria for reporting of data on cases by states to the agency and would allow the agency to monitor and respond to monkeypox even after the current outbreak recedes, the CDC said.
27th Jul 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 27th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullMonkeypox Proves Elusive Foe as WHO Sounds Alarm on Global Spread
The Covid-19 outbreak forced governments around the world to revamp their pandemic response programs, invest in drugs and vaccines and establish viral surveillance systems. Now monkeypox is putting those upgrades to the test -- and they’re falling short. Getting out in front of the global flare-up of the monkeypox virus, which has spread to about 16,000 people in more than 70 countries in just a few months, is an achievable goal, according to infectious disease experts. Yet the lack of urgency and coordination in testing and treatment in many parts of the world has prompted the World Health Organization to sound the alarm.
26th Jul 2022 - Bloomberg
Novavax Announces Expanded Approval of Nuvaxovid™ COVID-19 Vaccine for Adolescents Aged 12 through 17 in Japan
Novavax, Inc, a biotechnology company dedicated to developing and commercializing next-generation vaccines for serious infectious diseases, today announced that Nuvaxovid™ COVID-19 vaccine received expanded manufacturing and marketing approval from the Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) for primary immunization to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in adolescents aged 12 through 17. Novavax has partnered with Takeda to develop, manufacture, and distribute Nuvaxovid in Japan.
26th Jul 2022 - The Associated Press
Monkeypox vaccine from Bavarian Nordic wins EU approval
Danish biotechnology company Bavarian Nordic said on Monday the European Commission had given permission for its Imvanex vaccine to be marketed as protection against monkeypox, as recommended last week by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The approval comes just one day after the World Health Organization issued a high-level alert declaring the rapidly spreading monkeypox outbreak as a global health emergency
26th Jul 2022 - Reuters
China Approves First Homegrown Antiviral Pill to Combat Covid
China approved its first homegrown Covid antiviral, as regulators cleared a medicine from Genuine Biotech that was previously used to treat HIV. The National Medical Products Administration gave the nod to Azvudine from the Henan-based drug company for adults with moderate Covid-19 disease under an emergency use authorization, according to a statement by the agency on Monday. The drug will compete with Pfizer Inc.’s Paxlovid, which was approved in China in February shortly before the country experienced its worst outbreak of the pandemic.
25th Jul 2022 - Bloomberg
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 26th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullTGA provisionally approves COVID-19 vaccine, Nuvaxovid, for use in 12-17 year olds
Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has provisionally approved the Biocelect - on behalf of US biotech Novavax (Nasdaq: NVAX) - COVID-19 vaccine, Nuvaxovid, for use in individuals aged 12-17 years. The decision follows provisional approvals on 19 January 2022 for the use of Nuvaxovid in adults, on June 9, 2022, the Nuvaxovid booster dose for use in adults. As with adults, the vaccine should be administered in adolescents intramuscularly…
25th Jul 2022 - The Pharma Letter
China approves Genuine Biotech's HIV drug for COVID patients
China on Monday gave conditional approval to domestic firm Genuine Biotech's Azvudine pill to treat certain adult patients with COVID-19, adding another oral treatment option against the coronavirus. The availability of effective COVID vaccines and treatments is crucial in laying the groundwork for China's potential pivoting from its "dynamic COVID zero" policy, which aims to eliminate every outbreak - however small - and relies on mass testing and strict quarantining.
25th Jul 2022 - Reuters
China's Shenzhen orders big firms such as Foxconn into closed loop to curb COVID
The Chinese city of Shenzhen told 100 major companies including iPhone maker Foxconn to set up "closed-loop" systems as it battles COVID-19, according to a document attributed to the local government circulating online on Monday. While Reuters could not independently verify the document, a notice at a Shenzhen office of oil giant CNOOC Ltd seen by Reuters said that the building would be closed for seven days until July 31, with staff to work from home and continue with daily COVID testing.
25th Jul 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 25th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullWHO Chief Overrules Panel to Declare Monkeypox Global Emergency
The monkeypox outbreak is a public health emergency of international concern, the head of the World Health Organization said, overruling a divided expert panel to issue the group’s highest alert. The move paves the way for stepped-up global cooperation to stop the virus, which has spread to dozens of countries. The last time the WHO made a similar declaration was during the early stages of the Covid-19 outbreak in January 2020. US Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra called the WHO decision “a call to action for the global health community.” President Joe Biden’s administration has made vaccines, testing and treatments available and is “determined to accelerate our response in the days ahead,” he said in a statement.
24th Jul 2022 - Bloomberg
WHO Declares Monkeypox a Global Health Emergency
The World Health Organization has declared that monkeypox is a public-health emergency of international concern as global case numbers surpass 16,000. This is the first time the WHO has declared a global health emergency since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in January 2020. The WHO’s director-general, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the emergency committee believes the risk is moderate globally, except in the European region where it assesses the risk as high.
23rd Jul 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Biden's Covid Diagnosis Is a Wake-Up Call for America
The news that President Joe Biden has tested positive for Covid should serve as a wake-up call for the rest of us: Almost three years on, the pandemic is still not going very well. Perhaps it’s human nature to put bad news out of mind. Still, one reason so many people have chosen to ignore Covid-19 may be that they are wary, and weary, of public health authorities. If people admit Covid is still a big problem, they are implicitly giving regulators permission to control their lives once again. But people are tired of lockdowns, mandatory testing, canceled school sessions and travel restrictions. And so they are fighting back with the ultimate form of non-violent resistance — forgetting about the issue altogether.
23rd Jul 2022 - Bloomberg
‘Covid is not going to go away’: Australia will require public health measures for foreseeable future, say experts
In May 2021, Australia’s chief medical officer, Prof Paul Kelly, described how Covid vaccines were our “ticket out of the pandemic”. Vaccination, he said, would give Australians “a life with more certainty”. More than one year later, Australia’s Covid-19 vaccination rate is among the highest in the world. Yet daily deaths from the virus remain in the double-digits. Hospitals are overwhelmed, aged care homes and the most vulnerable are struggling with outbreaks, and there is again debate about whether more social restrictions, including mask mandates, are needed to curb virus spread. Infectious diseases expert and director of the Doherty Institute, Prof Sharon Lewin, said: “Last year, I definitely did not think we would be in this position.”
22nd Jul 2022 - The Guardian
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 22nd Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullIndependent review planned for New York's COVID-19 response
A third-party auditor will review the New York state government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including efforts by the administration of the previous governor to downplay the number of deaths of nursing home residents. The state plans to select an auditor, who would have until late 2023 to deliver a final report, under a timeline released Tuesday by the office of current Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat. Initial findings are expected in May. The report will include a planning guide for future emergencies and will explore issues from the transfer of nursing home patients to the reopening of schools and businesses to efforts to purchase needed medical supplies.
21st Jul 2022 - The Associated Press
Public inquiry into UK Covid-19 response opens
Ministers will have a year to prepare before cross-examination at the UK’s Covid-19 public inquiry, its chair, Heather Hallett, announced, as she opened what is likely be one of the broadest statutory investigations in the country’s history. The first cross-examinations of the government response to the pandemic, including decisions on lockdowns, maintaining public confidence and handling of scientific advice, will begin in summer 2023, three and a half years after the arrival of coronavirus, which has claimed more than 200,000 lives in the UK. Hearings on the UK’s preparedness will start in late spring 2023, as Lady Hallett said she wanted to move as “speedily as possible so lessons are learned before another pandemic strikes”. Boris Johnson had been repeatedly criticised by campaigners for the bereaved and Labour for delaying the launch of the inquiry. Hallett said it would scrutinise the “performance and effectiveness” of central government decision-making and its messaging – topics likely to expose current and former ministers.
21st Jul 2022 - The Guardian
CDC endorses more traditional Novavax COVID shot for adults
U.S. adults who haven’t gotten any COVID-19 shots yet should consider a new option from Novavax -- a more traditional kind of vaccine, health officials said Tuesday. Regulators authorized the nation’s first so-called protein vaccine against COVID-19 last week, but the final hurdle was a recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “If you have been waiting for a COVID-19 vaccine built on a different technology than those previously available, now is the time to join the millions of Americans who have been vaccinated,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, CDC’s director, said in a statement, endorsing an earlier decision from an influential advisory panel.
21st Jul 2022 - Associated Press
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 21st Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullCDC stops monitoring COVID-19 cases on cruise ships
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has discontinued a program that tracked cases of COVID-19 aboard cruise ships in the U.S. and reported the findings to the public. The initiative, called the COVID-19 Program for Cruise Ships, ended Monday, according to the government agency. "CDC will continue to publish guidance to help cruise ships continue to provide a safer and healthier environment for passengers, crew and communities going forward," the agency said on its website.
20th Jul 2022 - CBS News
CDC endorses more traditional Novavax COVID shot for adults
U.S. adults who haven’t gotten any COVID-19 shots yet should consider a new option from Novavax -- a more traditional kind of vaccine, health officials said Tuesday. Regulators authorized the nation’s first so-called protein vaccine against COVID-19 last week, but the final hurdle was a recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “If you have been waiting for a COVID-19 vaccine built on a different technology than those previously available, now is the time to join the millions of Americans who have been vaccinated,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, CDC’s director, said in a statement, endorsing an earlier decision from an influential advisory panel.
20th Jul 2022 - The Associated Press
Faulty Covid Gear May Cost UK Taxpayer £2.7 Billion, Report Says
The UK has made little progress in settling disputes with suppliers of personal-protective gear that turned out to be of little use in the pandemic, potentially wasting as much as £2.7 billion pounds ($3.2 billion) in taxpayers’ money. The country’s department of health and social care is left with “billions of items that are unusable or not needed,” some of which will just have to be incinerated, according to a parliamentary report released Wednesday. Meantime, these products cost £7 million a month to store. The quality issues, lack of supervision and fraud by some suppliers is coming under scrutiny as lawmakers investigate how Boris Johnson’s government handled the pandemic.
20th Jul 2022 - Bloomberg
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 18th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullCzechs to start offering second COVID booster shots
The Czech Republic will begin offering a second COVID-19 boosters from July 18, recommending the shot for people over 60 and those in risk groups, the Health Ministry said on Friday. Boosters will however be available to anyone over 18 and are voluntary, the ministry said. "I want everyone who is interested to have access to vaccination," Health Minister Vlastimil Valek said.
16th Jul 2022 - Reuters
COVID-19: Autumn booster and flu jab to be extended to over 50s to reduce hospital admissions
A COVID-19 booster will be offered to all over 50s in the autumn as part of plans to increase protection from respiratory illnesses and "keep greater numbers of people out of hospital". Scientific advisers on the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommended the extra dose is offered ahead of the winter, in guidance published on Friday. Care home residents and staff and front-line health and social care workers are also eligible. The jabs are also being recommended for people aged between five and 49 who are in clinical risk groups, including pregnant women, and household contacts of people with immunosuppression.
15th Jul 2022 - Sky News
Pfizer, Biontech seek Japan regulatory approval of COVID shot for young children
Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE have sought approval from Japan's health ministry for use of their COVID-19 vaccine for use in children aged six months to four years, the companies said in a statement on Thursday. The filing follows approval last month by U.S. regulators for Moderna Inc's two-dose vaccine and the Pfizer-BioNTech three-shot regimen for children in the same age group.
15th Jul 2022 - Reuters
Canada clears Moderna's COVID vaccine for children under 5
Canada on Thursday authorized Moderna Inc's COVID-19 vaccine for babies as young as 6 months old, making it the country's first vaccine against coronavirus for children under 5, Health Canada said. Canada had been offering Moderna's Spikevax vaccine to children above 5 since March, and the latest authorization means some 1.7 million more children are now eligible for inoculation against COVID, according to Health Canada.
15th Jul 2022 - Reuters
EU adds severe allergies as side effect of Novavax COVID vaccine
The European Medicines Agency on Thursday identified severe allergic reactions as potential side effects of Novavax Inc's (NVAX.O) COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine was authorized by U.S. regulators on Wednesday, and its product label in the United States warns against administering the shot to people with a history of allergic reactions to any components of the shot. Shares of Novavax fell 20.3% to $55.72 in morning trading, along with the broader market and other COVID-19 vaccine makers. Novavax shares are usually volatile.
15th Jul 2022 - Reuters
UK to Offer Covid Boosters to Everyone 50 and Over This Autumn
The UK will offer Covid-19 boosters to a wider number of people in the fall as a new wave of infections increases pressure on the health system. Everyone 50 and over will be eligible for a booster shot this autumn under plans to increase protection ahead of winter, the government said on Friday.
15th Jul 2022 - Bloomberg
SINOVAC COVID-19 Vaccine Is Authorized for Emergency Use in Kids Aged 3-5 In Brazil
Sinovac Biotech Ltd., a leading provider of biopharmaceutical products in China, announced that its COVID-19 vaccine (CoronaVac) has been approved by the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (Anvisa) for emergency use in children from 3 to 5 years old on 13 July. These children will receive the same dose that is already applied to minors aged 6 to 17 years and adults and there is no restriction on the application for immunosuppressed children aged 3 to 5 years. This authorization was given under comprehensive evaluations based on analysis results from all available data on the vaccine and its use in children. Analysis relied on information submitted by the Butantan Institute, with research data from Chile, where the vaccine is already used in this age group, research results on Covid-19 vaccination in Brazil, opinions from invited medical societies, real-life evidence, and published scientific literature data.
15th Jul 2022 - Korea Newswire
From AstraZeneca to Novavax: Serum Institute wins FDA nod to supply new COVID shot to US from India
With an FDA authorization for Novavax’s Nuvaxovid, Serum Institute of India (SII) has scored the go-ahead to finally supply a COVID-19 vaccine to the U.S. Wednesday’s emergency use authorization for Novavax’s recombinant protein-based vaccine means SII is able to supply the shot, also known as Covovax, to the U.S. from India. SII has been producing AstraZeneca’s Vaxzevria, but that adenovirus-vectored vaccine isn’t available in the U.S. The Novavax green light now makes SII the first Indian drugmaker to produce a COVID shot for the U.S. market.
15th Jul 2022 - FiercePharma
FDA green-lights Novavax vaccine as COVID-19 levels rise
The FDA's approval allows distribution of the vaccine to begin, but before health providers can administer it, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) must recommend it. The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is scheduled to discuss the topic on Jul 19. In its announcement, the FDA said the vaccine is approved for use as a two-dose primary series in adults (ages 18 and older). The vaccine is made on a more traditional platform, which officials hope will sway more people to become immunized. The vaccine contains the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein produced in insect calls and contains the Matrix-M adjuvant as an immune booster. The FDA's announcement yesterday came more than a month after its vaccine advisory board recommended EUA approval. Earlier this week, the Biden administration announced the purchase of 3.2 million Novavax doses.
14th Jul 2022 - CIDRAP
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 15th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullSpanish response to Covid poverty was too little, too late, report says
The Spanish government’s efforts to tackle the economic turmoil unleashed by the Covid pandemic were “too little, too late and too few”, according to a report that finds thousands of people are still reliant on emergency food aid and facing even greater hardship as prices soar. The Human Rights Watch study, which documents cases of parents skipping meals so their children can eat, says the pandemic has revealed and exacerbated weaknesses in Spain’s social security system. All too often, food banks, community groups and NGOs have had to step in and help people in need – particularly those in informal work who were not eligible for state help. According to the report, which comes as a seventh wave of Covid sweeps across Spain, pandemic poverty has disproportionately affected families with children, older people dependent on state pensions, migrants and asylum seekers, and people working in the hospitality, cleaning, care and construction sectors.
15th Jul 2022 - The Guardian
IMF says China needs more fiscal, monetary support to fight COVID slowdown
The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday that China needs to add more fiscal and monetary policy support to combat an economic slowdown brought on by continued COVID-19 lockdowns, but less-restrictive pandemic containment policies also were needed. "We welcome the shift to a more expansionary fiscal policy this year, but even more support would help counter the ongoing growth slowdown," IMF spokesman Gerry Rice told a news briefing when asked about the Fund's policy advice for China.
14th Jul 2022 - Reuters
Health Canada approves first COVID-19 vaccine for youngest kids
Canada's drug regulator approved Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for infants and preschoolers Thursday, making it the first vaccine approved for that age group in the country. Health Canada now says the Moderna vaccine can be given to young children between the ages of six months and five years old in doses one-quarter the size of that approved for adults. “After a thorough and independent scientific review of the evidence, the department has determined that the vaccine is safe and effective at preventing COVID-19 in children between 6 months and 5 years of age,” the department said in a statement.
14th Jul 2022 - CTV News
Novavax, at long last, clinches FDA emergency nod for protein-based COVID shot
The U.S. FDA gave the all-clear to Novavax’s adjuvanted, protein-based shot, teeing up the nation’s fourth pandemic prophylactic behind those from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. The FDA’s emergency use authorization covers the prevention of COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 among adults ages 18 and up. The company aims to file a full biologics license application by year-end and figures it will be the last COVID vaccine player blessed with an emergency nod, Novavax’s John Trizzino, executive vice president, chief commercial officer and chief business officer, told Fierce Biotech at this year’s BIO International Convention.
13th Jul 2022 - Fierce Pharma
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 14th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullFDA Authorizes Novavax’s Covid-19 Vaccine
U.S. health regulators have authorized the use of Novavax Inc.’s Covid-19 vaccine, providing a new option that works differently than the two leading vaccines, but at a time when overall demand for vaccines and boosters is low. The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday that adults 18 years and older may receive Novavax’s vaccine. The Novavax vaccine, given as two doses three weeks apart, could become available soon if the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention signs off in the coming days. The authorization gives adults “another option that meets the FDA’s rigorous standards for safety, effectiveness and manufacturing quality needed to support emergency-use authorization,” FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf said.
14th Jul 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
UK Government Seeks to Block Disclosures to the Covid Inquiry
The UK government is trying to block disclosures to the inquiry investigating its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to people with knowledge of the discussions. Officials have asked the government’s top lawyer, Sir James Eadie QC, to assess how much information the administration has to provide to the inquiry about its policy discussions during the pandemic, the people said. Eadie, who is responsible for advising the government on issues of the highest national importance, has advised the Cabinet to limit the scope of information provided to the inquiry and warned ministers they are likely to face vast claims for damages from families of Covid victims.
14th Jul 2022 - Bloomberg
Government braces to fund 'substantial' number of Covid-19 vaccine liabilities
The government is bracing to fund a “substantial” number of liabilities relating to negative impacts from Covid-19 jabs, having spent more than £34bn on the vaccine rollout so far. The Department of Health and Social Care told vaccine manufacturers at the start of the programme that it would cover future claims against producers for any adverse effects of their vaccines which “may add to the cost of the programme in the long term”, according to a Public Account Committee report today. As of the beginning of the month, 1,984 vaccine-related damages claims have been received by the NHS Business Services Authority, which describes itself as an arm’s length body of the Department of Health and Social Care, managing over £35bn of NHS spend annually,
13th Jul 2022 - City A.M.
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 13th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullXi Jinping's Covid-Zero Policy Meets Red Line at Vaccine Mandates
China’s first attempt at a vaccine mandate was abruptly scrapped last week within days of being announced by municipal officials in Beijing. The plan to stop people entering public venues without proof of vaccination sparked an outcry online, with Chinese social media users calling it an illegal cap on their freedoms and questioning how effective the vaccines were against immune-evasive variants. Vaccine mandates have emerged as a surprise red line for the ruling Communist Party, which up until a few years ago controlled citizens’ reproductive rights through its one child-policy and is steaming ahead with other controversial virus curbs, such as widespread tracking of individuals through their phones, mass testing and border curbs.
12th Jul 2022 - Bloomberg
U.S. orders 3.2 million doses of Novavax COVID vaccine
The U.S. government will get 3.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine developed by Novavax Inc once the shot has been authorized by the regulators, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the company said on Monday. The shot will be made available for free in the country after it gets authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) recommendation.
12th Jul 2022 - Reuters
WHO Chief Warns of Rising Infections, Deaths From New Covid Wave
The World Health Organization urged governments and health care systems to take steps to curb Covid-19 transmission as a fresh wave of infections moves across Europe and the US. Sub-variants of the omicron strain are lifting case numbers and leading to further fatalities, Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a briefing in Geneva on Tuesday. Tedros, as the head of the WHO is known, recommended the revival of protocols like mask-wearing to stop the spread. “New waves of the virus demonstrate that Covid-19 is nowhere near over,” Tedros said, adding that he is “concerned about a rising trend of deaths.
12th Jul 2022 - Bloomberg
The Never-Ending Covid Emergency
Why keep extending the emergency? One reason is that in March 2020 Congress barred states from kicking ineligible people off Medicaid rolls during the emergency in return for more federal funding. Medicaid enrollment has ballooned to 95 million—30% of Americans are now enrolled—from 71 million in December 2019. The emergency expands Medicaid in GOP states that opted out of the ObamaCare expansion. It is also a boon for insurers in states that pay per Medicaid participant. Hospitals and physician groups support extending the emergency because they worry that state Medicaid payments will decline if the federal fillip goes away.
12th Jul 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 12th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullModerna Is Developing Two Different Omicron-Targeting Booster Shots
Moderna Inc. said it is developing two potential Covid-19 booster shots targeting different Omicron subvariants, citing differences in market preferences among the U.S. and other countries. The Cambridge, Mass., company said Monday it has completed requests for regulatory authorization of one of its new booster shots in the European Union, the U.K. and Australia. The company expects to complete regulatory filings elsewhere this week. In these countries, Moderna is seeking authorization for the use of mRNA-1273.214, a vaccine that targets both the ancestral strain of the coronavirus and the BA.1 subvariant of Omicron. The BA.1 subvariant was predominant earlier in the year but has been largely displaced by other Omicron subvariants in many countries.
11th Jul 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Biden Administration to Again Extend the Covid Public-Health Emergency
The US government will once again extend the Covid-19 public health emergency, continuing measures that have given millions of Americans special access to health insurance and telehealth services. The Department of Health and Human Services has repeatedly renewed the emergency since it was originally declared in January 2020, with the most recent extension set to expire July 15. The next extension is expected to take effect Friday, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because the details aren’t public. HHS didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
11th Jul 2022 - Bloomberg
US FDA approves Pfizer-BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine for adolescents
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval for Pfizer and BioNTech’s Supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for their Covid-19 vaccine, Comirnaty, for adolescents aged 12 to 15 years. Earlier, the regulatory agency granted emergency use authorization (EUA) for the use of the vaccine in this age group and so far over nine million adolescents of this age have received the initial vaccine regimen. Comirnaty is the first Covid-19 vaccine to obtain FDA approval for use in adolescents. The FDA granted approval based on findings from a Phase III clinical trial in 2,260 subjects aged 12 to 15 years.
11th Jul 2022 - Pharmaceutical Technology
BioNTech, Pfizer ask EU to authorize 3-dose COVID-19 vaccine for kids over 6 months
BioNTech and Pfizer Friday announced they had submitted data to the European Medicines Agency backing their three-dose COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 6 months to less than 5 years. The announcement follows the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granting emergency use authorization for the same schedule in its youngest kids on June 17. The three-dose regimen includes a much lower dose than what's given to adults. BioNTech and Pfizer say that the data from the trial, which enrolled over 10,000 children, indicates the three doses in young children elicited a strong immune response and has a favorable safety profile. Adverse reactions were generally less frequent in this age group compared to children aged between 5 and 12. As such, the companies want the EU to expand its conditional marketing authorization to include the youngest children.
11th Jul 2022 - POLITICO
Pandemic inquiry must question vaccine priorities | Scotland
In November 2020 the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended priority vaccination against Covid-19 for key staff in education, municipal services, food, transport and the police. France had similar priorities while some US states also put teachers at the front of the queue. Scotland should have adopted a system based on the best international information to limit the pandemic’s toll. The country’s independent Covid inquiry has indicated that vaccine strategies will be investigated. Scotland’s prioritisation appears to have been based on a mixture of scientific evidence, lack of evidence and the possible political ramifications of taking more radical or rapid decisions.
11th Jul 2022 - The Times
Are states ordering enough COVID vaccine doses for children under 5?
Since the COVID-19 vaccine was authorized for children under age 5 last month, states have been able to pre-order doses directly from the federal government.
Roughly 300,000 children between ages six months and four years have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as of Thursday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That is equivalent to about 1.5% of the roughly 19.5 million children in the United States who recently became eligible.
11th Jul 2022 - ABC News
EU backs second COVID booster for over-60s, before variant-adapted vaccines are ready
European Union health agencies on Monday recommended a second COVID-19 booster for everyone over 60, as well as medically vulnerable people, amid a new rise in infections and hospitalisations across Europe. While existing coronavirus vaccines continue to provide good protection against hospitalisation and death, vaccine effectiveness has taken a hit as the virus has evolved. EU health agencies have since April recommended a second booster only for those older than 80 and the most vulnerable.
11th Jul 2022 - Reuters
BioNTech, Pfizer ask EU to authorize 3-dose COVID-19 vaccine for kids over 6 months
BioNTech and Pfizer Friday announced they had submitted data to the European Medicines Agency backing their three-dose COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 6 months to less than 5 years. The announcement follows the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granting emergency use authorization for the same schedule in its youngest kids on June 17. The three-dose regimen includes a much lower dose than what's given to adults. BioNTech and Pfizer say that the data from the trial, which enrolled over 10,000 children, indicates the three doses in young children elicited a strong immune response and has a favorable safety profile. Adverse reactions were generally less frequent in this age group compared to children aged between 5 and 12. As such, the companies want the EU to expand its conditional marketing authorization to include the youngest children.
11th Jul 2022 - POLITICO Europe
U.S. orders 3.2 million doses of Novavax COVID vaccine
The U.S. government will get 3.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine developed by Novavax Inc once the shot has been authorized by the regulators, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the company said on Monday. The shot will be made available for free in the country after it gets authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) recommendation.
11th Jul 2022 - Reuters
South Korea's president suspends informal media briefings, citing COVID
South Korea's president will suspend informal media briefings that he has held nearly every day since taking office in May, his office said on Monday, citing rising numbers of COVID-19 infections as a survey showed a fall in his approval ratings.
The end of the free-wheeling briefings, which broke with years of tradition as President Yoon Suk-yeol sought to step up transparency, also comes amid growing questions over scandal and party turmoil.
11th Jul 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 11th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullPfizer, BioNTech Get Full FDA Approval for Covid Vaccine for Teens
Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE gained full US regulatory approval for their Covid-19 vaccine for teens 12 to 15 years old, a milestone that will allow the companies to continue to market it to adolescents after the pandemic. The vaccine partners earlier got formal approval for their Covid vaccine for teens 16 and older. In a statement on Friday, the companies said the US Food and Drug Administration approved their supplemental application to extend that approval to younger adolescents. The shot first went into play when it received emergency use authorization, a temporary clearance for use during the pandemic, for the age group. For full approval, the companies submitted additional information to the FDA, including six months of follow-up data after the two-dose regimen was complete in recipients.
10th Jul 2022 - Bloomberg
How will Boris Johnson's handling of the Covid crisis be remembered?
Boris Johnson had been in power for six months when Covid hit Britain and sparked the greatest peacetime crisis in a century. His departure, with the worst of the pandemic surely behind us, means his tenure will be framed by his handling of the virus. To some he got “the big decisions right”. To others he oversaw one of the UK’s worst ever public health failures. Here we look back at the prime minister’s Covid battle and assess how he fared. Clear communication is crucial in a crisis, but confusion undermined public health messaging from the start. In February 2020, days after the UK confirmed its first cases, the government urged everyone to wash their hands regularly. On 3 March, Sage’s behavioural science experts said ministers should advise people to avoid hugging and shaking hands too. If the PM got the memo, he didn’t act on it.
8th Jul 2022 - The Guardian
African Union launches coronavirus vaccine passport
An African Union vaccine e-passport has been introduced and will enable easier travel within and outside Africa. The passport will be in digital format. A QR code will be scanned to show proof that one has been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and has a valid vaccine certificate. The passport was launched on Friday at the Africa Integration Day, Boma of Africa virtual event. African heads of state and global health leaders present at the event said the virtual document and the e-health backbone are part of Africa’s new health order. Acting head of Africa CDC, Ahmed Ogwell, says the vaccine passport will soon expand its bracket to include other vaccines such as the Yellow Fever vaccine.
8th Jul 2022 - TODAY
Slow pace for youngest kids getting COVID vaccine doses
Nearly 300,000 children under 5 have received COVID-19 shots in the two weeks since they became available, a slower pace than for older groups. But the White House says that was expected for the eligible U.S. population of about 18 million kids. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was to publish initial data on shots for the age group later Thursday, reflecting doses administered since regulators authorized them on June 18. The first vaccinations didn't begin until several days later because the doses had to be shipped to doctors' offices and pharmacies. U.S. officials had long predicted that the pace of vaccinating the youngest kids would be slower than for older groups. They expect most shots to take place at pediatricians’ offices. Many parents may be more comfortable getting the vaccine for their kids at their regular doctors, White House COVID-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha told The Associated Press last month. He predicted the pace of vaccination would be far slower than it was for older populations.
8th Jul 2022 - The Independent
Uruguay suspends COVID vaccination for children under 13
Uruguay stopped administering coronavirus vaccine to children under age 13 after a judge ordered on Thursday that all inoculations in that age group halt until officials present documents relating to contracts signed with vaccine manufacturers. Judge Alejandro Recarey issued the injunction under a petition filed by a lawyer who represents a group of anti-vaccine activists. The vaccinations in children under 13 had been on a voluntary basis, and the government said it will appeal the decision. Alvaro Delgado, the secretary of the presidency, characterized the halt as a threat to public health.
8th Jul 2022 - ABC News
Covid-19: FDA authorises pharmacists to prescribe Paxlovid
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorised licensed pharmacists to prescribe Pfizer’s oral antiviral drug Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir and ritonavir) to eligible patients who have tested positive for covid-19, subject to some limitations.
The FDA’s action on 6 July, a revision of the emergency use authorisation, will make the drug more widely available to people with covid-19, particularly in rural and poor areas. About 90% of the US population lives within five miles of a pharmacy, according to the American Pharmacists Association. Until now, only doctors, nurses, and physician assistants could prescribe Paxlovid. The drug is approved for treatment of mild to moderate covid-19 in adults and children aged 12 or older who weigh at least 40 kg and are at high risk for progression to severe covid-19, including hospital admission or death. Those who report a positive home test on either a rapid antigen diagnostic test or a polymerase chain reaction test are eligible for Paxlovid without further testing.
8th Jul 2022 - The BMJ
Africa CDC says it has signed MOU with Pfizer for COVID pill
Africa's top public health body said on Thursday it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Pfizer for countries on the continent to receive supplies of the Paxlovid pill to treat COVID-19. Data from a mid-to-late stage study in November last year showed the antiviral medication was nearly 90% effective in preventing hospitalisations and deaths compared to a placebo, in adults at high risk of severe illness.
8th Jul 2022 - Reuters
EU drugs regulator open to COVID boosters that target older Omicron offshoots
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is open to using next generation COVID-19 vaccines that target older offshoots of the Omicron variant this fall, an official said on Thursday, amid a rise in cases due to new Omicron subvariants.
While the existing coronavirus vaccines continue to provide good protection against hospitalisation and death, vaccine effectiveness has taken a hit as the virus has evolved. The EMA expects new COVID vaccine boosters to be approved by September.
8th Jul 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 8th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in full'All-in-one' coronavirus vaccine gets backing from CEPI
A new type of vaccine - which could provide broad protection against a variety of SARS-like betacoronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2 variants - has received backing of up to $30m from CEPI.
7th Jul 2022 - BioPharma-Reporter.com
Australians over 30 to be offered fourth dose of Covid vaccine
Australians over 30 will be offered a fourth dose of Covid vaccine from Monday, as health authorities battle a winter wave of Omicron cases. An additional booster shot for people aged over 50 has been “highly recommended” by Australia’s technical advisory group on immunisation, Atagi, but the federal government is still urging millions of eligible Australians who have not yet had their third dose to roll up their sleeves. Atagi has also called for greater use of face masks, warning more vaccine doses may only play a “limited” role in reducing hospital admissions and case numbers.
7th Jul 2022 - The Guardian
Africa CDC says it has signed MOU with Pfizer for COVID pill
Africa's top public health body said on Thursday it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Pfizer for countries on the continent to receive supplies of the Paxlovid pill to treat COVID-19. Data from a mid-to-late stage study in November last year showed the antiviral medication was nearly 90% effective in preventing hospitalisations and deaths compared to a placebo, in adults at high risk of severe illness.
7th Jul 2022 - Reuters
COVID-19: New wave of Omicron mutations spreading across Europe, EU Medicines Agency warns
A new wave of Covid-19 is sweeping across Europe driven by Omicron mutations, an EU Medicines Agency official has warned. Head of vaccines at the agency, Marco Cavaleri, has said "the increase in transmission among older age groups is starting to translate into severe disease". The increase in the number of people testing positive is being driven by the BA.4 and BA.5 mutations of the Omicron variant. In April, the EMA advised people aged over 80 to get a second vaccine booster. Now, they recommend people aged between 60-79 and medically vulnerable of any age to get the booster.
7th Jul 2022 - Sky News
Beijing Rolls Out China’s First Ever Covid Vaccine Mandate
The city will require live performances, entertainment venues such as movie theaters, museums and gyms, as well as training and tutoring locations, to restrict entry to people who are vaccinated, Li Ang, deputy director at the Beijing Municipal Health Commission, told reporters at a briefing Wednesday. The requirement will also apply to medical staff, people working in community service operations, home furnishing operators, express delivery providers and conference attendees. They’ll need to have received a booster shot to continue as normal, Li said. There will be exemptions for people who don’t qualify for vaccination.
6th Jul 2022 - Bloomberg
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 7th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullEC approves Novavax’s Covid-19 vaccine CMA expansion for adolescents
The European Commission (EC) has granted approval for the expanded conditional marketing authorization (CMA) of Novavax’s Covid-19 vaccine, Nuvaxovid (NVX-CoV2373), in the European Union (EU) for adolescents of the age 12 to 17 years. A protein-based vaccine, NVX-CoV2373 is made from the genetic sequence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus’ first strain. The latest development comes after the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency granted a positive recommendation in June this year.
6th Jul 2022 - Pharmaceutical Technology
Covid-19: Gap between second shot of vaccine and precautionary dose reduced to six months
The Union health ministry on Wednesday reduced the mandatory gap between the second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine and the precautionary shot to six months from the earlier interval of nine months, ANI reported. Since April 10, all adults in India have been allowed to take the precautionary shot – a third dose of the coronavirus vaccine. In a letter to all states and Union Territories, Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Wednesday wrote that the decision to reduce the gap between the two doses was taken by the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation.
6th Jul 2022 - Scroll.in
China allows AstraZeneca's COVID preventive drug in southern city
AstraZeneca Plc's antibody cocktail for COVID-19 prevention has been cleared for use in a medical tourism zone in China's southern province of Hainan ahead of national approval, local media said on Tuesday. China allows early use of new medical products in the special zone in Qionghai city as a part of several preferential policies granted to the area to promote medical services to visitors from both home and abroad.
6th Jul 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 6th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullHealth Ministry approves COVID-19 vaccine for infants
Health Ministry Director General Professor Nachman Ash has approved the administration of Moderna's Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccines for infants and children ages six months to five years. Though the approval applies to all children in the above age group, the Health Ministry has not issued a general recommendation for the vaccine. The vaccines were approved last month by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and later the same month by the Israeli Health Ministry's Staff for the Management of Pandemics.
5th Jul 2022 - Arutz Sheva
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 5th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullGermany's Scholz sees no COVID-related school closures, lockdowns
Germany will not shut schools and non-essential businesses again if the COVID-19 infection rate rises again later this year but protective masks would play a bigger role, Chancellor Olaf Scholz told broadcaster ARD on Sunday. The infection rate in Germany has been on the rise for the past month, reaching close to 700 new cases per 100,000 residents this week, after falling below 200 in late May, but Scholz said that vaccinations should help limit what measures will be needed to curb the spread of the virus.
4th Jul 2022 - Reuters
Omicron-specific COVID shots could increase protection as boosters, European Medicines Agency says
Coronavirus vaccines tweaked to include the Omicron variant strain can improve protection when used as a booster, the European Medicines Agency and other global health regulators said on Friday. Following a meeting on Thursday, the EMA said global regulators had agreed on key principles for updating COVID-19 shots to respond to emerging variants. While the existing coronavirus vaccines continue to provide good protection against hospitalisation and death, the group said, vaccine effectiveness has taken a hit as the virus has evolved.
4th Jul 2022 - Reuters
Macron appoints COVID minister to be new face of government policy
President Emmanuel Macron on Monday urged his ministers to "hang in there", be ambitious and show a willingness to compromise after he carried out a limited reshuffle that saw no opponents join his camp as he seeks a workable majority in parliament. Key roles such as the prime minister and finance minister remained unchanged in the reshuffle that signalled no policy changes and was criticised by the opposition as being tone-deaf.
4th Jul 2022 - Reuters
German health minister in move to boost use of COVID treatment Paxlovid
Germany's health minister said on Sunday he will push for more prescriptions of Pfizer's oral COVID-19 antiviral treatment Paxlovid by family doctors to reduce severe cases of the disease. "A system involving family doctors will be prepared to administer this far too rarely-used COVID life saver more routinely," he wrote on Twitter on Sunday, adding that sufficient stockpiles were available.
3rd Jul 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 4th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullNovavax expects COVID vaccine targeting Omicron in fourth quarter
Novavax Inc said on Friday it expects to provide a COVID-19 vaccine targeting Omicron in the fourth quarter as it accelerates development of shots to protect against the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants. The U.S. FDA on Thursday recommended COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers change the design of their booster shots beginning this fall to include components tailored to combat the currently dominant Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants.
3rd Jul 2022 - Reuters
German health minister in move to boost use of COVID treatment Paxlovid
Germany's health minister said on Sunday he will push for more prescriptions of Pfizer's oral COVID-19 antiviral treatment Paxlovid by family doctors to reduce severe cases of the disease. "A system involving family doctors will be prepared to administer this far too rarely-used COVID life saver more routinely," he wrote on Twitter on Sunday, adding that sufficient stockpiles were available.
3rd Jul 2022 - Reuters
Pfizer seeks approval from US FDA for Covid-19 treatment
Pfizer has submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking approval for Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir tablets and ritonavir tablets) to treat Covid-19 patients at increased disease progression risk. An inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro), Paxlovid is intended to be given orally. Due to the oral form, the therapy can be prescribed in the early infection stage to avert severe illness. Paxlovid received emergency use authorization to treat mild-to-moderate Covid-19 in adults and paediatric patients aged 12 years and above who are at increased disease progression risk.
1st Jul 2022 - Pharmaceutical Technology
Russia scraps remaining COVID restrictions
Russia said on Friday it was ending all restrictions to combat the spread of COVID-19, including the requirement to wear masks, citing a steady decline in deaths from the virus. However, it did not rule out re-introducing restrictive measures if the situation deteriorates. Consumer watchdog Rospotrebnadzor said it was "suspending previously introduced restrictions, including the mask regime, a ban on public catering at night, and a number of other measures".
1st Jul 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 1st Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullPfizer asks for formal U.S. approval of oral COVID treatment Paxlovid
Pfizer Inc said on Thursday it is seeking full U.S. approval for its oral COVID-19 antiviral treatment Paxlovid, which is currently available under an emergency use authorization (EUA). Pfizer said it submitted a New Drug Application for Paxlovid to the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of COVID-19 in vaccinated and unvaccinated people at high risk of progression to severe illness.
1st Jul 2022 - Reuters
Israeli health officials green light COVID vaccinations for young children
All members of the health ministry's expert advisory board agreed that the vaccine is safe for children under the age of five, though some experts cautioned that only those with underlying health conditions should be vaccinated
30th Jun 2022 - Haaretz
S.Korea authorises AstraZeneca COVID therapy Evusheld for vulnerable people
South Korea on Thursday authorised AstraZeneca PLC's antibody-based therapy for preventing COVID-19 infection in people with a poor immune response, increasing its options as it works to ease the pandemic burden on the healthcare system. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety granted emergency use authorisation for 20,000 doses of Evusheld for individuals aged 12 years and older who have not been exposed to the coronavirus.
30th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Pfizer asks for formal U.S. approval of oral COVID treatment Paxlovid
Pfizer Inc said on Thursday it is seeking full U.S. approval for its oral COVID-19 antiviral treatment Paxlovid, which is currently available under an emergency use authorization (EUA). Pfizer said it submitted a New Drug Application for Paxlovid to the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of COVID-19 in vaccinated and unvaccinated people at high risk of progression to severe illness.
30th Jun 2022 - Reuters
US buys 105 million COVID vaccine doses for fall campaign
U.S. health officials said Wednesday they have agreed to purchase another 105 million doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in anticipation of a fall booster campaign. The $3.2 billion deal announced by the Biden administration comes as federal scientists consider how to update the vaccines to better protect Americans from the rapidly evolving virus. Federal officials said the purchase agreement includes the option to purchase a total of 300 million doses, including a mix of doses for both adults and children. The first shots would be delivered by early fall, pending a decision by the Food and Drug Administration to authorize new versions of the shots. A decision is expected from the FDA in the coming days following a Tuesday meeting in which outside advisers recommended modifying the vaccines to better target the omicron variant.
30th Jun 2022 - The Associated Press
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 30th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullU.S. Agrees to Pay $3.2 Billion for More Pfizer Covid Vaccines
The Biden administration has agreed to pay $3.2 billion for 105 million doses of Pfizer Inc.’s Covid-19 vaccine. The deal would provide supplies for the federal government’s planned fall booster campaign, which administration officials are devising to blunt a potential wave in cases, possibly driven by variants of the Omicron strain now spreading across the U.S. Under the deal, the federal government would have the option to buy 195 million additional doses, the Health and Human Services Department said Wednesday. Pfizer, which developed and makes the vaccine with partner BioNTech SE, would make whatever type of vaccine federal health regulators decide should be featured in the fall campaign.
30th Jun 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Coronavirus vaccines should be updated for fall, FDA advisers say
It’s time to update coronavirus vaccines to better match the variants currently driving the pandemic, outside experts told the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday. The independent scientists and physicians endorsed an updated omicron vaccine by a 19-2 vote. Despite the overwhelming agreement that it is time to change the vaccine, many experts said they felt frustrated and hamstrung by the need to make a decision quickly to prepare for fall with limited data.
29th Jun 2022 - The Washington Post
Delayed public inquiry into UK’s Covid-19 response opens
The delayed public inquiry into the UK’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic has been launched after Boris Johnson accepted calls to widen the terms of reference to consider its unequal impact on minority-ethnic people, on children and on mental health. The inquiry chair, Heather Hallett, and her team of 12 QCs have begun work under the terms of the Inquiries Act, which makes it an offence to destroy or tamper with evidence. She will be joined by two panellists to be appointed by Johnson, although she had argued for presiding alone. The launch of what is expected to be one of the largest public inquiries conducted in the UK comes days after campaigners for the bereaved threatened legal action against the government over the delay to the prime minister’s commitment to set the inquiry up in spring 2022.
29th Jun 2022 - The Guardian
China's Xi says COVID strategy is 'correct and effective'
Chinese president Xi Jinping said the ruling Communist Party's strategy to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic was "correct and effective" and should be firmly adhered to, the official news agency, Xinhua, said on Wednesday. China, with its large population, would have suffered "unimaginable consequences" had it adopted a strategy of "lying flat", the agency quoted Xi as saying during a visit on Tuesday to the central city of Wuhan where the virus was first reported.
29th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Taiwan to receive first doses of Novavax COVID vaccine this week
Taiwan will take delivery of its first doses of the Novavax Inc COVID-19 vaccine this week, received under the COVAX sharing scheme, the government said on Wednesday. Taiwan's Central Epidemic Command Centre said the 504,000 doses would arrive on Thursday at Taipei's main international airport. Taiwan is scheduled to receive 2.268 million doses of the Novavax vaccine in batches this year through the COVAX mechanism, it added.
29th Jun 2022 - Reuters
S.Korea approves first domestically developed COVID vaccine
South Korea approved its first domestically developed COVID-19 vaccine, manufactured by SK bioscience Co Ltd, for general public use following positive clinical data, authorities said on Wednesday. The SKYCovione vaccine was authorised for a two-dose regimen on people aged 18 or older, with shots given four weeks apart, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. In a phase III clinical trial of 4,037 adults, SKYCovione induced neutralizing antibody responses against the SARS-CoV-2 parental strain, SK bioscience said in a statement.
29th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Norway recommends booster COVID shot to those aged 75 and older
Norway recommends a booster COVID-19 vaccine dose to those who are 75 years and older in response to a rising number of cases, the government said on Wedneday. Local municipalities should also plan to be able to offer a booster jab, which for most people would mean a fourth shot, to citizens from 65 years and up and to people with an underlying disease, from Sept, 1, it added.
29th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 29th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullU.S. appeals court vacates federal vaccine mandate pending additional hearing
A U.S. appeals court panel said on Monday it would convene a full panel to reconsider President Joe Biden's executive order requiring civilian federal employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, and set aside the order pending that hearing. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which is based in New Orleans, had reinstated the vaccine order in April by a 2-1 vote after it was blocked by a district court judge in January.
28th Jun 2022 - Reuters
U.S. FDA advisers recommend inclusion of Omicron component for COVID boosters
Advisers to the U.S Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday overwhelmingly recommended the inclusion of an Omicron component for COVID-19 booster vaccines in the fall. The panel of advisers voted 19-2 in favor of the recommendation.
28th Jun 2022 - Reuters
U.S. FDA classifies recall of GE's ventilator batteries as most serious
U.S. health regulators on Tuesday classified the recall of some backup batteries of GE Healthcare's ventilators, which the company had initiated in mid-April, as the most serious type, saying that their use could lead to injuries or death. The CARESCAPE R860 ventilator's backup batteries, including replacement backup batteries, were recalled as they were running out earlier-than-expected, which could cause the device to shut down preventing the patient from receiving breathing support, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said.
28th Jun 2022 - Reuters.com
Omicron sub-variants BA.4, BA.5 make up more than 50% of U.S. COVID cases - CDC
The fast-spreading BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants of Omicron are estimated to make up a combined 52% of the coronavirus cases in the United States as of June 25, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Tuesday. The two sublineages accounted for more than a third of U.S. cases for the week of June 18. They were added to the World Health Organization's monitoring list in March and designated as variants of concern by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
28th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Pharma largely failed to follow human rights principles with its Covid-19 vaccines and drugs
More than two years after the Covid-19 pandemic emerged, a new scorecard finds that 19 of 26 pharmaceutical companies that marketed vaccines or therapeutics to contain the virus rank poorly when it came to complying with human rights principles. The rankings were compiled by examining actions taken to provide access to products, including commitments and measurable targets; transparency in disclosing R&D and production costs, and profits; the extent to which international cooperation was pursued and patents were enforced; and a willingness to provide fair pricing, equitable distribution, and technology transfers, among other things.
27th Jun 2022 - STAT News
AstraZeneca launches first Evusheld DTC, but without full approval it comes with a different feel
AstraZeneca launched the first ever COVID drug DTC for its prevention antibody, Evusheld, and it’s one of the most unusual and unique commercials you will see this year. The ad, which is set up more as a public health announcement (though is heavily branded), has a very different feel from most traditional pharma DTCs. There are no bright colors or emotional beats. You won’t find someone roller skating around a park, for instance, or someone running with their dog. What you get instead is just one narrator, standing in a bland, empty, white office space, laying out informatively how Evusheld works, who it’s for and, instead of waiting for the end of the ad, explaining many of the potential side effects in the middle of the video.
24th Jun 2022 - FiercePharma
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 28th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullLegal challenge underway over Covid vaccine rollout for children
A judicial review of the Government's vaccine rollout for children aged 5-11 has begun today at the High Court in Wellington. A group of parents - all of whom have name suppression - are seeking a judicial review on the basis that the provisional consent process for the children's vaccine was flawed and illegal. They claim the Government cut corners in its decision to expand the rollout to children and ignored concerns about the adverse side effects of the vaccine.
27th Jun 2022 - New Zealand Herald
Sinovac's COVID-19 vaccine conditionally registered in South Africa
China's Sinovac Biotech said on Saturday that South Africa's health products regulator has granted conditional registration to its coronavirus vaccine CoronaVac for people aged 18 and above.
27th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 27th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullAdvice on fourth COVID shot for many Australians may be delayed
Australia’s vaccine advisory panel is considering delaying a recommendation that more people get a fourth COVID booster shot until a better Omicron-targeting vaccine is available. Omicron sub-variants, including BA.4 and BA.5, are fast becoming the dominant COVID-19 variants in Australia and there is growing concern the sublineages are becoming more effective at reinfecting people.
25th Jun 2022 - Sydney Morning Herald
How Serious is Monkeypox? WHO Says Not Global Emergency
The World Health Organization opted against calling the recent monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. The outbreak is “clearly an evolving threat,” the WHO said in a statement Saturday, though it doesn’t constitute an international public health emergency “at this moment.” An emergency committee convened on Thursday to discuss the outbreak. “What makes the current outbreak especially concerning is the rapid, continuing spread into new countries and regions and the risk of further, sustained transmission into vulnerable populations including people that are immunocompromised, pregnant women and children,” according to the statement. “It requires our collective attention and coordinated action now to stop the further spread of monkeypox virus.
25th Jun 2022 - Bloomberg
European Commission grants marketing authorisation to Valneva's COVID-19 shot
French drugmaker Valneva's COVID-19 vaccine has received marketing authorisation from the European Commission (EC) for use as a primary vaccination in people from 18 to 50 years of age, the company said on Friday. The marketing authorisation will cover the European Union's member states as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. "Now that we have received this full marketing authorization, we hope that the EC and its member states will place orders that reflect this demand," Valneva CEO Thomas Lingelback said in a statement.
24th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 24th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullCDC Advisers Endorse Moderna’s Covid-19 Vaccine for Kids 6 to 17 Years
Advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention backed use of Moderna Inc.’s Covid-19 vaccine in children ages 6 to 17 years. Children in the age group already have access to Covid-19 vaccines made by Pfizer Inc. and its partner BioNTech SE. The advisers recommended on Thursday that Moderna’s shot should also be made available to that age range, in a pair of 15-0 votes. The advisers’ endorsement follows the Food and Drug Administration’s authorization of the shots last week. It is one of the last steps before the Moderna shot would be more broadly available in doctors’ offices, pharmacies and vaccine clinics. Many states and vaccination sites wait for the CDC’s signoff before providing the inoculations. It typically follows the recommendations of its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices but doesn’t have to. The panel is made up of pediatricians, epidemiologists and other health experts.
24th Jun 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
UK Covid Cost: Government Spends £376 Billion on Pandemic Response
The coronavirus pandemic, marked by an ambitious vaccine rollout, has cost the UK government an estimated £376 billion ($459 billion). The figure released Thursday by the National Audit Office has increased by £6 billion over the last ten months, with much of the expense going to support train traffic even as passenger numbers dwindled. The amount -- more than the annual gross domestic product of a country like Austria -- grew amid measures to administer vaccines, test and trace contact cases, and alleviate pressure on hospitals by improving patient discharge. The cost is estimated to be similar in neighboring France after governments across Europe opted to strain their finances to support the economy through the crisis.
24th Jun 2022 - Bloomberg
Valneva Receives Positive CHMP Opinion for Marketing Authorization of its Inactivated COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate in Europe
The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended marketing authorization in Europe for Valneva’s inactivated whole-virus COVID-19 vaccine candidate, VLA2001, for use as primary vaccination in people from 18 to 50 years of age. The European Commission will review the CHMP recommendation, and a decision on the marketing authorization application for VLA2001 is expected shortly. If granted, this will be the first COVID-19 vaccine to receive a standard marketing authorization in Europe.
23rd Jun 2022 - Associated Press
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 23rd Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullCOVID-19: Britons to have first access to vaccines and treatments when new science super-centre opens
Britons will have access to all the latest vaccines and treatments when a new research and manufacturing centre opens in the UK. American pharmaceutical giant Moderna is opening a new mRNA Innovation and Technology Centre that will develop vaccines for a wide range of respiratory diseases, including COVID vaccines that can protect against multiple variants. Construction is expected to start as early as this year, with the first mRNA vaccine due to be produced in the UK in 2025.
22nd Jun 2022 - Sky News
Biological E has place in India's COVID-19 vaccine market following Corbevax' approval
The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) recently approved Biological E’s Corbevax vaccine as the first heterogeneous COVID-19 booster vaccine in India for adults above 18 years who have received two shots of Covaxin or Covishield. Corbevax has the added advantage of scalability and thermostability, making it suitable for deployment in low-resource settings, says GlobalData.
22nd Jun 2022 - The Pharma Letter
Moderna calls for approval of two-strain Covid vaccine booster
Although the vaccine did not elicit as many antibodies to the new subvariants as it did to the original Omicron, suggesting its efficacy may already be declining, Moderna still feels there would be more of a benefit than not
22nd Jun 2022 - Financial Times
New Zealand reports 5,499 new Covid-19 community cases, 18 deaths
New Zealand recorded 5,499 new community cases of Covid-19 with 18 more deaths, the Ministry of Health said on Wednesday. Among the new community infections, 1,637 were reported in the largest city Auckland, the ministry was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency. In addition, 78 new cases of Covid-19 were detected at the New Zealand border. Currently, 334 Covid-19 patients are being treated in hospitals, including four in intensive care units or high dependency units.
22nd Jun 2022 - Business Standard
Singapore reports 7,109 new Covid-19 cases and one monkeypox infection
Singapore reported 7,109 new COVID-19 cases as of noon on Tuesday, comprising 6,393 local infections and 716 imported ones. A monkeypox infection has also been confirmed, according to media reports. There have been 13,78,090 coronavirus cases and 1,405 deaths in Singapore since the start of the pandemic. Singapore has seen a 23 per cent week-on-week increase in COVID-19 community infections, largely driven by increased spread of newer Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5, said the Ministry of Health (MOH). Although the BA.2 subvariant still accounts for the bulk of Singapore's COVID-19 infections, the Health Ministry said the proportion of BA.4 and BA.5 infections is rising.
22nd Jun 2022 - Business Standard
Moderna will make Covid-19 vaccines in UK for the first time as it plans mRNA factory
Covid jabs firm Moderna is opening the first ever factory making mRNA vaccines in the UK, the Government has announced. The company will make the next generation of coronavirus jabs, protecting against multiple variants, as well as new vaccines against illnesses such as flu.
22nd Jun 2022 - iNews
Moderna to build new vaccine facility in Britain
U.S. biotech firm Moderna will build a new research and manufacturing centre in Britain to develop vaccines against new COVID-19 variants, other respiratory illnesses and help improve readiness for any future pandemics. The agreement will see Moderna make a minimum R&D investment of 1.1 billion pounds ($1.35 billion), Prime Minister Boris Johnson's spokesman said, adding it would have the capacity for 250 million vaccines a year if needed.
22nd Jun 2022 - Reuters
Pfizer sued for patent infringement over COVID-19 drug Paxlovid
Pfizer Inc's blockbuster COVID-19 treatment Paxlovid violates an Enanta Pharmaceuticals Inc patent for its COVID drug still in development, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Boston federal court.
Watertown, Massachusetts-based Enanta told the court it received the patent for its antiviral medication last week based on applications dating from July 2020. The company said it began human testing for its once-daily, oral COVID treatment in February, and that the Food and Drug Administration fast-tracked its review in March. Enanta requested an unspecified amount of money damages from Pfizer, including royalties. It also said in a statement that it was not asking the court to block Pfizer from selling Paxlovid. Paxlovid is an oral antiviral pill for high-risk patients that is intended to stave off serious complications from COVID-19. Pfizer said last month it expects to make $22 billion from Paxlovid sales this year. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.
22nd Jun 2022 - Reuters
Government’s Moderna partnership to bring over £1 billion investment
A new Government partnership with vaccine manufacturer Moderna will bring over a billion pounds in investment in mRNA research to the UK, the Health Secretary has said. The US pharmaceutical giant announced on Wednesday plans to open a new research and manufacturing centre in the UK. The new mRNA Innovation and Technology Centre will develop vaccines for a wide range of respiratory diseases, including Covid vaccines that can protect against multiple variants
22nd Jun 2022 - Yahoo Finance
$1 Billion Pledged to Help Countries Cope With Future Pandemics
Donors including the US and the European Union have pledged $1.1 billion in financing to help countries cope with future pandemics. Indonesia, as this year’s host of the Group of 20 meetings, pushed the world’s biggest economies to create a global health fund that would aid nations struggling with the next global health crises, said Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati in a late Tuesday briefing. The Southeast Asian country is also among the donors, along with Germany, Singapore and the Wellcome Trust, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said after the G-20 meeting of health and finance ministers in Yogyakarta. The goal is to reach $10 billion of financing each year, he added. The fund is set to start operating after an expected June 30 approval from the board of the World Bank, which is hosting the financing mechanism.
21st Jun 2022 - Bloomberg
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 22nd Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullIP is no barrier to COVID vaccine access, says industry -
While proponents argue waiving IP on COVID-19 vaccines would better enable low- and middle-income countries to inoculate their populations, the pharma industry has called the proposals “unnecessary and harmful to innovation”. Proposals to waive COVID-19 product patents have been described as “political posturing” and an “answer to a problem that does not exist”. The Quad compromise, a World Health Organization plan which would, if enacted, release members from granting or enforcing COVID-19 vaccine patents, was discussed at the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) last week. But the pharmaceutical industry has said the move could “undermine innovation and industry’s ability to partner, invest at risk, and respond quickly to future pandemics”.
21st Jun 2022 - Pharmaphorum
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 21st Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullFDA grants Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine emergency use authorisation for infants
Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine has been given emergency use authorisation by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for children aged six months through to four years old. The authorisation was based on data from a phase 2/3 randomised, controlled trial involving 4,526 children aged six months to four years. Participants were given the third 3µg dose at least two months after the second dose, during a time when Omicron was the prevailing variant. After a third dose in this particular age group, the vaccine elicited a strong immune response, alongside a favourable safety profile similar to placebo. In both age groups, the antibody responses were comparable to people aged 16 to 25 years who had received two doses of the vaccine. “Tens of millions of older children across the globe have already been vaccinated with our COVID-19 vaccine, helping to prevent symptomatic, severe disease and hospitalisation.
20th Jun 2022 - PMLiVE
TRIPS waiver deal in WTO to help countries make Covid vaccines: Goyal
Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Monday said intellectual property rights (TRIPS) waiver for five years agreed in the recently concluded WTO meet will help developing countries manufacture patented Covid vaccines to deal with the pandemic. Goyal said that India already has a number of Covid vaccines and can help other developing countries to make vaccines. Members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) last week agreed to grant a temporary patent waiver for manufacturing COVID-19 vaccines for five years. Under this, a country will be able to issue a compulsory licence to its domestic pharma firms to make that vaccine without taking approval from the original maker. Besides, it was also decided to permit export of those vaccines.
20th Jun 2022 - Business Standard
CDC recommends Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines for young children
Pediatricians are preparing to administer the nation’s first coronavirus vaccines for children under 5 in coming days, after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Saturday signed off on giving the shots to as many as 19 million children across the United States. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky endorsed the agency’s advisory panel’s unanimous recommendation to vaccinate all children as young as 6 months old with one of two vaccines — one by Moderna and the other by Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech. “Together, with science leading the charge, we have taken another important step forward in our nation’s fight against COVID-19,” Walensky said in a statement. “We know millions of parents and caregivers are eager to get their young children vaccinated, and with today’s decision, they can.”
20th Jun 2022 - The Washington Post
N. Korea abruptly stops importing COVID containment goods from China
North Korea abruptly stopped importing COVID-19 prevention and control products from China in May, trade data released by Beijing showed, after the country bought face masks and ventilators from its neighbour in previous months. Daily new cases of fever in North Korea, as reported by its state news agency, KCNA, have been declining since the reclusive country first acknowledged in mid-May that it was fighting an COVID-19 outbreak. But it has yet to reveal how many of those cases tested positive for the coronavirus
20th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 20th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullWTO Approves Vaccine-Patent Waiver to Help Combat Covid Pandemic
Article reports that the World Trade Organization approved a politically important deal Friday to water down intellectual property restrictions for the manufacture of Covid-19 vaccines after an almost two-year effort involving scores of high-level meetings and much political arm twisting. During the early morning hours in Geneva, WTO ministers approved a package of agreements that included the vaccine patent waiver, which Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala previously said was necessary to end the “morally unacceptable” inequity of access to Covid-19 vaccines. The WTO’s last-minute deal -- secured after an all-night negotiating session in Geneva -- is an important victory for Okonjo-Iweala, the former head of Gavi - the vaccine alliance, who actively stumped for the accord during her first year as the WTO’s top trade official.
19th Jun 2022 - Bloomberg
CDC Recommends Covid-19 Vaccines for Young Children
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that children as young as 6 months receive newly authorized Covid-19 shots, the final step to making the vaccines available. The CDC said Saturday that the young children should receive either the two-dose series from Moderna Inc. or the three-dose series made by Pfizer Inc. and partner BioNTech SE. As soon as Monday, children under 5 years, who haven’t been able to get vaccinated during the pandemic, could start getting inoculated. “Together, with science leading the charge, we have taken another important step forward in our nation’s fight against Covid-19. We know millions of parents and care givers are eager to get their young children vaccinated, and with today’s decision, they can,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said.
19th Jun 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Boris Johnson breaks promise to deliver 100 million Covid vaccines to poor countries
The government has broken its promise to deliver 100 million surplus Covid vaccines to poor countries, after sharply cutting international aid spending. At a G7 meeting in June last year, Boris Johnson pledged to send the vaccines to developing countries within a year to help close the global vaccine gap and “vaccinate the world”. But a year later the government has delivered barely a third of the number of promised jabs, with just 36.5 million deployed as of the end of May – a deficit of 63.5 million doses. Figures published by the government also show that ministers have effectively charged developing countries for the leftover jabs by deducting them from existing aid, and even added a mark-up on the UK’s original purchase price.
18th Jun 2022 - The Independent
WHO panel backs use of Omicron-adapted vaccine as booster dose
A modified coronavirus vaccine that targets the Omicron variant can be administered as a booster dose to broaden immunity, a technical advisory group set up the World Health Organization said on Friday. Such a variant-adapted vaccine may benefit those who have already received the primary series of shots, the agency's panel on COVID-19 Vaccine Composition said, citing available data.
The vaccines could be considered for use globally by the agency once they get emergency use authorization or an approval by a stringent national regulatory authority.
18th Jun 2022 - Reuters
EU drugs watchdog begins review of Moderna's variant COVID vaccine
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) started a rolling review on Friday of a variant-adapted COVID-19 vaccine from Moderna (MRNA.O), as coronavirus cases linked to Omicron sub-variants see an uptick in the region. U.S.-based Moderna's so-called bivalent vaccine targets two strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus behind COVID, the original strain first identified in China, and the Omicron variant. Last week, Moderna said its bivalent vaccine produced a better immune response against Omicron than the original shot.
17th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Swiss COVID-19 vaccine purchase plan fails to pass parliament
The Swiss parliament failed to finance the government's plan to buy COVID-19 vaccines in 2023, forcing the cabinet to try to renegotiate contracts with Moderna and Pfizer/Biontech, for millions of doses. With the two houses of parliament split over the funding request, budget rules required the adoption of the cheaper version of draft legislation, the SDA news agency said in a report posted on parliament's website.
16th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 17th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullCOVID-era health funding extended by Anthony Albanese in first meeting of new national cabinet
$760 million more in COVID-era funding will be given to the states. The extended funding deal was given in recognition that the pandemic was continuing. National Cabinet also agreed to health network reforms to ease pressure on emergency departments.
17th Jun 2022 - ABC News
WHO getting monkeypox tests for Africa, urges vaccine readiness
The World Health Organization (WHO) is in the process of procuring thousands of monkeypox tests for Africa but is not recommending mass vaccination at this stage, WHO Africa Director Matshidiso Moeti said on Thursday. She added that the continent should be prepared for vaccination should the need arise.
16th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Swiss COVID-19 vaccine purchase plan fails to pass parliament
The Swiss parliament failed to finance the government's plan to buy COVID-19 vaccines in 2023, forcing the cabinet to try to renegotiate contracts with Moderna and Pfizer/Biontech for millions of doses. With the two houses of parliament split over the funding request, budget rules required the adoption of the cheaper version of draft legislation, the SDA news agency said in a report posted on parliament's website.
16th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Florida didn't pre-order any COVID-19 vaccines for younger kids, DOH says
Officials from the Florida Department of Health said the state didn't pre-order any COVID-19 vaccines for kids under the age of 5. They say it's up to individual doctor's offices and pharmacies to make their own orders.
16th Jun 2022 - YAHOO!News
Valneva reaches settlement with Britain on COVID-19 vaccine deal termination
French drugmaker Valneva said on Wednesday it reached a settlement agreement with the British government linked to the termination of the supply agreement for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate VLA2001. Valneva said in September that it had received a termination notice from the British government of its COVID-19 vaccine supply deal, sending its shares plunging 35% that day.
The settlement agreement resolves certain matters relating to the obligations of the company and the British government following the termination of the supply agreement, Valneva said.
16th Jun 2022 - Reuters
FDA advisers endorse 1st COVID-19 shots for kids under 5
The first COVID-19 shots for U.S. infants, toddlers and preschoolers moved a step closer Wednesday. The Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine advisers gave a thumbs-up to vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer for the littlest kids. The outside experts voted unanimously that the benefits of the shots outweigh any risks for children under 5 — that’s roughly 18 million youngsters. They are the last age group in the U.S. without access to COVID-19 vaccines and many parents have been anxious to protect their little children. If all the regulatory steps are cleared, shots should be available next week.
15th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 16th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullWHO to Convene Emergency Meeting on Monkeypox Amid Spread
The World Health Organization will hold an emergency meeting to assess whether the current spread of monkeypox constitutes a public health emergency of international concern, or PHEIC.
A special committee will meet next week to advise on the spread in non-endemic countries, Hans Kluge, regional director of the WHO for Europe, said at a media briefing Wednesday. A PHEIC is the WHO’s highest alert level, and such a declaration can be used to encourage nations to cooperate on countermeasures, while letting the agency recommend steps such as travel advisories.
15th Jun 2022 - Bloomberg
EU governments pressure manufacturers to renegotiate contracts for COVID-19 vaccines
Pressure on COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers is being mounted as European Union (EU) governments are in a push to renegotiate contracts, with a caution issued by EU officials that millions of vaccine doses could be wasted. When vaccines became available earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic, countries vied for supply contracts. However, as the need for vaccines begins to slow in Europe, some countries want to amend their contracts to reduce spending and to prevent receiving more vaccines than are needed. During the most acute phase of the pandemic, the European Commission and EU governments agreed to buy huge volumes of vaccines, mostly from Pfizer and its partner BioNTech, amid fears of insufficient supplies
15th Jun 2022 - PMLiVE
WTO draft IP deal on COVID vaccines 'very good', UK minister says
Britain, one of the main opponents to waiving intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines, praised a draft agreement and expressed hope a deal would be reached at the World Trade Organization (WTO) this week. India, South Africa and other developing countries have sought a waiver of IP rights for vaccines, treatments and diagnostics for over a year, but faced opposition from countries with major pharmaceutical producers, such as the United Kingdom and Switzerland.
15th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Pfizer halts Paxlovid trial in less vulnerable COVID patients after failing to find evidence of benefit
Pfizer’s Paxlovid has proven useful in COVID-19 patients at high risk of severe disease. But the antiviral drug may not help less vulnerable patients. Pfizer has stopped enrollment into the EPIC-SR trial that’s been evaluating Paxlovid in standard-risk patients, the company said Tuesday. These include unvaccinated adults without additional risk and vaccinated people who have at least one risk factor for progressing to severe disease. The clinical trial previously flopped on its primary goal, showing the Pfizer antiviral was no better than placebo at sustaining symptom relief for four consecutive days.
15th Jun 2022 - FiercePharma
FDA panel unanimously backs Moderna’s Covid vaccine for children ages 6 to 17
A panel of experts convened by the Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously Tuesday to recommend the agency authorize the Moderna Covid vaccine for children ages 6 to 17. The authorization would mirror the current emergency use authorization of the Covid vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, which is authorized for individuals 6 years and older. “I believe this vote, and I am happy to say it was unanimous, is standing up for vulnerable populations that merit protection against this virus,” said Ofer Levy, a member of the FDA’s expert panel and director of the precision vaccines program at Boston Children’s Hospital. “I believe this will provide families with an important option.”
15th Jun 2022 - STAT News
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 15th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullRussians Inoculated With Expired Coronavirus Vaccine
Patients in Moscow are being inoculated with expired Russian coronavirus vaccines, The Moscow Times’ Russian service reported, citing sources and eyewitnesses. Epidemiologists say that the expired vaccines aren’t dangerous, but are ineffective against Covid-19. Russia has about 30 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines that are currently past their use-by date and worth more than 23 billion rubles ($398 million), sources at the country’s Health Ministry told The Moscow Times’ Russian service. The Health Ministry has not officially commented on the reports, although it has previously issued orders to extend vaccine shelf life and approve the use of these doses.
14th Jun 2022 - The Moscow Times
Saudi Arabia ends COVID protective measures
Saudi Arabia announced on Monday the lifting of measures that had been taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the state news agency (SPA) reported, citing an official in the interior ministry. The measures lifted include the requirement to wear face masks in closed places, with the exception of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque.
14th Jun 2022 - Reuters
EU states step up pressure on Pfizer to cut unneeded COVID vaccine supplies
European Union governments are intensifying pressure on Pfizer and other COVID-19 vaccine makers to renegotiate contracts, warning millions of shots that are no longer needed could go to waste, according to EU officials and a document.
During the most acute phase of the pandemic, the European Commission and EU governments agreed to buy huge volumes of vaccines, mostly from Pfizer and its partner BioNTech amid fears of insufficient supplies.
14th Jun 2022 - Reuters
World Bank approves $474 million loan to South Africa for COVID vaccines
The World Bank has approved a loan of 454.4 million euros ($474.4 million) to help South Africa fund COVID-19 vaccine purchases, the bank and South Africa's National Treasury said in a statement. South Africa has recorded the most coronavirus cases and deaths on the African continent, with over 3.9 million confirmed cases and more than 101,000 deaths. It initially struggled to secure vaccines due to limited supplies and protracted negotiations, but it is now well-supplied with doses.
14th Jun 2022 - Reuters
U.S. FDA advisers back authorization of Moderna COVID vaccine for ages 6-17
Advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday recommended the authorization of Moderna Inc's COVID-19 vaccine for children and teens aged 6 to 17 years of age.
14th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Poland changes judiciary law, demands EU release COVID funds
Poland has replaced a controversial body that disciplined judges with a new accountability panel to resolve a long-running dispute with the European Union over the country’s judicial independence. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of Poland’s ruling party, said on Tuesday that he hoped the bloc would have a “proper” reaction to the move. The EU has frozen billions of euros of pandemic funds for Poland over criticism of its rule of law record. Kaczynski insisted that Poland has met the EU’s demands for changes to the regulations on the judiciary. “I hope the reaction will be proper and in line with the [EU] treaties,” Kaczynski said, reiterating his long-term view that EU bodies have been violating the bloc’s treaties in their approach to Poland.
14th Jun 2022 - Al Jazeera English
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 14th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullNovavax COVID-19 Vaccine Nuvaxovid™ Provisionally Registered in Australia as a Booster in Individuals Aged 18 and Over
Novavax, Inc., a biotechnology company dedicated to developing and commercializing next-generation vaccines for serious infectious diseases, today announced that the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration has granted provisional registration of Nuvaxovid™ (NVX-CoV2373) COVID-19 vaccine as a booster in individuals aged 18 and over. "Today's provisional registration for Nuvaxovid as a booster in Australia is an important step in ensuring broad global access to diversified vaccine options," said Stanley C. Erck, President and Chief Executive Officer, Novavax
13th Jun 2022 - Asia One
Pfizer Vaccine Effective in Children Under 5, the F.D.A. Says
The Food and Drug Administration said on Sunday that three doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine appeared to be effective in preventing Covid illness in children under 5, judging by the level of virus-blocking antibodies the shots induced. The agency’s evaluation was posted online ahead of Wednesday’s meeting of outside vaccine experts, summoned to recommend how the F.D.A. should rule on applications from both Pfizer and Moderna on vaccinating the nation’s youngest children. Some public health experts are expecting the F.D.A. to authorize both Moderna’s and Pfizer’s vaccines, offering parents a choice between the two. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must also weigh in with its recommendations after the F.D.A. acts. Roughly 18 million children younger than 5 are the only Americans who are not yet eligible for shots.
13th Jun 2022 - The New York Times
Saudi Arabia ends COVID-19 protective measures - state news agency
Saudi Arabia announced on Monday the lifting of measures that had been taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the state news agency (SPA) reported, citing an official in the interior ministry. The measures lifted include the requirement to wear face masks in closed places, with the exception of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque.
13th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Saudi Arabia eases mask mandate as first Hajj pilgrims arrive
Saudi Arabia has lifted a mask mandate for indoor spaces even as COVID-19 infection numbers steadily climb past 1,000 new cases a day after reaching double-digit lows just two months ago. Monday’s move comes as the kingdom prepares to welcome around 850,000 pilgrims from abroad to participate in the annual Hajj pilgrimage.
13th Jun 2022 - Al Jazeera English
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 13th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullWaive Pharma's Vaccine Rights? What That Would Mean: QuickTake
The world’s top trade ministers will soon determine the fate of a World Trade Organization proposal to water down intellectual property protections for makers of Covid-19 vaccines. The accord as proposed is supported by the European Union, though its other original backers are not quite on board with it. It has also met fierce opposition from both public interest groups and the pharmaceutical industry who are urging nations to reject it.
12th Jun 2022 - Bloomberg
U.S. FDA staff says Moderna COVID vaccine effective and safe for children
U.S. Food and Drug Administration staff reviewers on Friday said Moderna Inc's COVID-19 vaccine appears safe and effective for use in children aged 6 months to 17 years old as a committee of scientists will meet next week to vote on whether to recommend the regulator authorize the vaccine in children. The FDA's reviewers said in briefing documents published on Friday evening that the vaccine had generated a similar immune response in the children than that observed in adults in previous trials.
12th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Covid-19: Unusable PPE worth £4bn will be burned, says spending watchdog
The parliamentary watchdog on public spending has accused the Department of Health and Social Care for England of wasting £4bn of taxpayers’ money on unusable personal protective equipment in the first year of the covid-19 pandemic and of planning to burn much of it to “generate power.” The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee made the claim in its report on the Department of Health and Social Care’s accounts for 2020-21, the first year of the pandemic.
The report paints a damning picture of the fallout from the government’s rush to compete with the rest of the world to procure PPE, bypassing the usual due diligence in its race to secure supplies. Of £12bn spent on PPE, £4bn was spent on items that failed to meet NHS standards and have remained unused, the report said.
10th Jun 2022 - The BMJ
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 9th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullFDA AdCom strongly backs EUA of Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) yesterday voted 21 to 0, with one abstention, to recommend that the FDA grant Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine (NVX-CoV2373) for individuals aged 18 years and over. The vaccine was developed by US biotech firm Novavax (Nasdaq: NVAX), whose shares leapt 22% to $58.05 in after-hours trading on Tuesday.
8th Jun 2022 - The Pharma Letter
COVID vaccine rights waiver within reach, WTO chief says ahead of meeting
Director-General Ngosi Okonjo-Iweala has called COVID-19 vaccine inequity "unconscionable" and given top priority to a deal to facilitate the flow of vaccines more widely. Even though demand for COVID-19 shots has tapered off, India, South Africa and some 100 other backers are seeking a potential waiver of intellectual property rights for vaccines and treatments. However, WTO members remain divided over a draft deal for vaccines negotiated between the four main parties (India, South Africa, the European Union and the United States) that was forged to break an 18-month deadlock. Protest groups are urging members to reject it and China has lodged an objection.
8th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 8th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullEl-Sisi launches initiative to provide 30 million coronavirus vaccines to African countries
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has announced an Egyptian initiative to provide 30 million doses of coronavirus vaccine to African countries, in coordination with the African Union. During his participation in the dialogue session of the African health medical conference and exhibition “African Health ExCon,” El-Sisi said that “the capabilities of Egypt are available to the African brothers.” El-Sisi was speaking at the launch of the conference, held at the Egypt International Exhibition Center (Al-Manara Center for International Conferences) in the Fifth Settlement in New Cairo.
7th Jun 2022 - Arab News
Novavax COVID shot, aimed at vaccine skeptics, overwhelmingly backed by FDA panel
Advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to recommend that the agency authorize Novavax Inc's COVID-19 vaccine for use in adults, which the drugmaker hopes can become the shot of choice among some American vaccine skeptics. The panel of outside vaccine experts voted 21-0 with one abstention in favor of the vaccine for those 18 and older after discussing whether the shot's benefits outweigh risks, including rare occurrences of heart inflammation that may be associated with the vaccine.
7th Jun 2022 - Reuters
FDA advisers back Novavax COVID shots as 4th US option
American adults who haven’t yet gotten vaccinated against COVID-19 may soon get another choice, as advisers to the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday backed a more traditional type of shot. Next, the FDA must decide whether to authorize the protein vaccine made by latecomer Novavax as the nation’s fourth coronavirus shot for adults. It’s made with more conventional technology than today’s dominant Pfizer and Moderna shots and the lesser-used Johnson & Johnson option. N ovavax shots are already available in Australia, Canada, parts of Europe and multiple other countries, either for initial vaccinations or as mix-and-match boosters. But U.S. clearance is a key hurdle for the Maryland-based company. FDA’s vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks said another choice in the U.S. may entice at least some vaccine holdouts -- whatever their reason -- to consider rolling up their sleeves.
7th Jun 2022 - The Associated Press
Novavax coronavirus vaccine would be fourth authorized in United States
More than a year after people began rolling up their sleeves for cutting-edge coronavirus shots, a new vaccine, this one based on a classic decades-old technology, is expected to begin rolling out in the United States this summer. Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration are scheduled to debate Tuesday whether a shot developed by the Maryland biotechnology company Novavax, an underdog in the vaccine race, is safe and effective. If the shot gets the green light, it will become the fourth coronavirus vaccine in the nation. For most people, some already on their third or fourth messenger RNA coronavirus shot from Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech, it looks like a puzzle: A new vaccine? Why bother? But for a small contingent of holdouts who have closely tracked the progress of the Novavax vaccine, this is a moment of truth.
5th Jun 2022 - The Washington Post
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 7th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullEgypt pledges 30 mln COVID-19 vaccine doses to African states
President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi says that Egypt would supply fellow African states with 30 million doses of anti-COVID-19 vaccines. The president made this announcement on Sunday during the maiden edition of Africa Health ExCon, online news portal, Egypt today reported. This is in fulfilment of the country's selection as one of six African states that would receive the mRNA technology used in the manufacturing of vaccines and other medical drugs necessary to confront many incurable diseases. Egypt was among Senegal, Kenya, South Africa, Tunisia and Nigeria that were selected for this purpose in early 2022. Africa Health ExCon is held by the Egyptian Authority for Unified Procurement (UPA) and is attended by participants from around 100 countries.
6th Jun 2022 - Africanews English
East European countries ask EU to reopen vaccine contracts
A group of ten Eastern European countries have petitioned the European Commission to renegotiate coronavirus vaccine contracts, in a letter seen by POLITICO that cites an oversupply of doses and the need to protect state finances.
Contracts should be able to be terminated "if they are no longer needed from a health and epidemiological perspective," reads one of the letter's demands. In other cases, it should be possible to reduce the number of doses that are ordered so that they better reflect the demand for shots. The letter was sent Friday night and is addressed to EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides. Poland led the initiative, and the letter was also signed by Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. A number of countries in Eastern Europe had previously raised concerns that existing coronavirus vaccine contracts, signed at the height of the pandemic when the EU was under intense public pressure to procure jabs, have locked them into buying too many doses that are now not needed.
6th Jun 2022 - POLITICO Europe
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 6th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullIndia approves Biological E. COVID shot as a booster
India has approved Hyderabad-based drugmaker Biological E's COVID-19 vaccine as the first mix-and-match booster dose in the country, the company said on Saturday. The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) gave the nod for the Corbevax vaccine to be administerd as a booster shot to people age 18 years and over who have already received two doses of either AstraZeneca Plc's Covishield or Bharat Biotech's Covaxin.
5th Jun 2022 - Reuters
U.S. doctors urged to test for monkeypox, CDC says risk to public low
U.S. health officials on Friday urged doctors to test for monkeypox if they suspect cases, saying there may be community-level spread but that the overall public health risk remained low. So far, there have been 21 cases of the disease in at least 11 states. Affected patients are isolating to help prevent spreading the virus, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officials told reporters in a conference call. The CDC said it was aware of 700 cases of monkeypox that have been reported globally outside of parts of Africa, where the disease is endemic. No deaths have been reported so far.
4th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Moderna delays COVID vaccine deliveries to EU by several months
Moderna Inc said on Thursday it has agreed to push back some COVID-19 vaccine deliveries to the European Union by several months to later in 2022 or early next year. Shares of Moderna fell nearly 2% before the bell over the delay, even though the company stuck to its vaccine sales forecast of $21 billion for 2022. Delivery of the doses were originally planned in the second quarter, the European Commission said in a statement.
3rd Jun 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 1st Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullPhilippine FDA grants approval for Spikevax Covid-19 vaccine for children
The Philippine FDA has granted approval for Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine, Spikevax, for use in children who are aged six to 11 years.
31st May 2022 - Pharmaceutical Technology
Japan Panel OKs J&J Coronavirus Vaccine
A panel of Japan's health ministry Monday endorsed a ministry plan to give pharmaceutical approval to U.S. drugmaker Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine. The ministry is expected to grant the approval soon to what will be the fifth COVID-19 vaccine that can be used in the country. The ministry does not plan to make inoculations of the vaccine free of charge at public expense because it has already secured necessary amounts of vaccines. Japan has not signed to buy the J&J vaccine. The J&J product is a viral vector vaccine like the one made by British drugmaker AstraZeneca PLC. It can be administered only to people aged 18 or above. Only a single shot is necessary for the J&J vaccine unlike the previously approved vaccines, all of which require two shots at an interval of at least three to four weeks.
31st May 2022 - Nippon.com
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 31st May 2022
View this newsletter in fullWHO says will begin Covid-19 vaccination drive in Afghanistan from June
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that it will begin its Covid-19 vaccination campaign in Afghanistan from June. According to the global health body, the campaign will cover 34 provinces and target more than 5 million people aged 18 years and above, TOLO News reported. WHO figures have revealed that as of May 22, a total of 6,118,557 vaccine doses against the virus have been administered in Afghanistan. Since the onset of the pandemic in early 2020, the war-torn nation has reported a total of 179,835 confirmed cases of Covid-19 with 7,699 deaths.
30th May 2022 - Business Standard
Covid inquiry into government's handling of pandemic could start in days
The long-awaited statutory inquiry into how Boris Johnson’s Government handled the Covid pandemic is expected to begin next month, i has learnt. While public hearings of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry are not due to start until next year, its chairman, Baroness Hallett, is ready to formally start work as soon as the Prime Minister approves her request to update the terms of reference. Downing Street sources said this response was likely to come in June – meaning the work could begin as early as this week.
30th May 2022 - iNews
Covid-19: Partygate makes a mockery of the sacrifices made and the losses endured
Almost all of us reading about the tawdry details of “partygate” will have specific memories from the past two years to put the revelry at No. 10 Downing Street into sombre context. Sue Gray’s long awaited report, released last week, detailed the drunken parties and people staggering out in the early hours, the vomit and hangovers, the splashed red wine and empties stacked up outside the door, the karaoke machine, the rudeness to the cleaners, the messages that make it abundantly clear (if proof was needed) that the partygoers knew they were breaking laws they themselves had drawn up. Families separated, funerals missed, partners unable to be present at the birth of their child, children unable to be present at the death of their parent, loneliness, social isolation, depression, anxiety—all the inevitable consequences of following rules laid down for the collective good. I have some of these memories myself, but as the co-founder of John’s Campaign—which was set up to campaign on behalf of the rights of people living with dementia—I have also heard the stories and witnessed the pain and trauma of a particular group of people who suffered greatly during the pandemic, whose health was harmed, whose hearts were broken, and in some cases, whose lives ended because of the rules drawn up under the pandemic.
30th May 2022 - The BMJ
CDC Plans to Stop Reporting Suspected Covid Cases to Ease Burden
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plans to simplify the Covid-19 hospital data it collects as the demands of the pandemic evolve and some assembled information has become outdated or redundant. The agency is likely to stop collecting data from hospitals on suspected Covid cases that haven’t been confirmed by tests, for example, and may also wind down federal reporting from rehabilitation and mental health facilities that aren’t major intake points for virus cases, according to a draft of the plan that was viewed by Bloomberg News.
30th May 2022 - Bloomberg
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 30th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullCyprus gets rid of required COVID-19 tests for visitors
Travelers to Cyprus will no longer be required to show either a valid COVID-19 vaccination or a recovery certificate and won’t need to produce a negative recent COVID-19 test of June 1, the Cypriot government said Friday. The government also decided to abolish a requirement to wear face masks in all indoor areas in Cyprus as of June 1 with the exception of hospitals, nursing homes and other indoor medical facilities. Transport Minister Yiannis Karousos said the decision to lift COVID-19 screening requirements at airports signals the tourism-reliant island nation is ready to return to normality.
28th May 2022 - The Associated Press
First steps in reforming global health emergency rules agreed at WHO meeting
Countries have agreed to an initial U.S.-led push to reform of the rules around disease outbreaks, known as the International Health Regulations, after early opposition from Africa and others was overcome this week, sources told Reuters on Friday. The amendments, once confirmed by the World Health Organization (WHO) assembly, are one of a handful of concrete outcomes from a meeting seen as a once-in-a-generation chance for the U.N. health agency to strengthen its role following some 15 million deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic. The reform sought by Washington and backed by others like Japan and the European Union is a first step in a broader reform of the IHR, which set out countries' legal obligations around disease outbreaks, expected to take up to two years.
28th May 2022 - Reuters
North Korea stockpiled Chinese masks, vaccines before reporting COVID outbreak
In the months before it acknowledged its first official COVID-19 outbreak, North Korea suddenly imported millions of face masks, 1,000 ventilators, and possibly vaccines from China, trade data released by Beijing showed. Two weeks ago state media revealed the outbreak, fuelling concerns about a lack of vaccines, medical supplies and food shortages. Chinese data show that even before that announcement, the North had begun stocking up.
28th May 2022 - Reuters
Swiss to destroy more than 620000 expired Moderna COVID doses
Switzerland will destroy more than 620,000 expired doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine, health officials said on Friday, as demand for the shots drops dramatically.
"It was consciously accepted that under certain circumstances too much vaccine was procured for Switzerland's needs," a spokesperson for the Federal Office of Public Heath said, confirming a report by broadcaster RTS. "The aim is to protect the population in Switzerland at all times with sufficient quantities of the most effective vaccines available."
28th May 2022 - Reuters
UK ministerial code updated to set out possible sanctions for breaches
British ministers who breach the government's code of conduct will not be expected to resign, an official document published on Friday said with an updated version of the rule book setting out a range of alternative sanctions. Behaviour at the heart of government is under intense scrutiny after a series of scandals - including several illegal parties in Prime Minister Boris Johnson's offices during the COVID-19 lockdown. The policy paper, published alongside the latest version of the Ministerial Code, said it was "disproportionate to expect that any breach, however minor, should lead automatically to resignation or dismissal"
28th May 2022 - Reuters
U.S. extends tariff exclusions on Chinese COVID-19 medical products
The U.S. Trade Representative's office on Friday said it extended tariff exclusions on Chinese-made medical products needed to address the COVID-19 pandemic for another six months, to Nov. 30. The exclusions from tariffs of up to 25% imposed by former President Donald Trump's administration were granted in 2020 and were subsequently extended, but were due to expire on May 31, USTR said. Products affected by the extension include face masks, surgical gloves, hospital gowns, and other related products and devices.
27th May 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 27th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullJapan starts 4th COVID vaccine shots for seniors, at-risk groups
Japan began offering fourth coronavirus vaccine shots Wednesday to older people, and those with underlying medical conditions. People eligible for fourth inoculations are those aged 60 and older as well as individuals between 18 and 59 with chronic health conditions, such as respiratory illnesses or heart conditions, or at high risk of developing severe COVID-19 symptoms if infected with the coronavirus, according to the health ministry. The ministry suggests people receive the booster shots at least five months after receiving their third inoculation. The majority of seniors began getting third shots in January, meaning that the fourth round of shots is expected to be in full swing from June onward.
26th May 2022 - Kyodo News Plus
US making COVID antiviral drug more available at test sites
The White House on Thursday announced more steps to make the antiviral treatment Paxlovid more accessible across the U.S. as it projects COVID-19 infections will continue to spread over the summer travel season. The nation’s first federally backed test-to-treat site is opening Thursday in Rhode Island, providing patients with immediate access to the drug once they test positive. More federally supported sites are set to open in the coming weeks in Massachusetts and New York City, both hit by a marked rise in infections. Next week, the U.S. will send authorized federal prescribers to several Minnesota-run testing sites, turning them into test-to-treat locations. Federal regulators have also sent clearer guidance to physicians to help them determine how to manage Paxlovid’s interactions with other drugs, with an eye toward helping prescribers find ways to get the life-saving medication to more patients.
26th May 2022 - The Associated Press
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 26th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullPfizer to sell all its patented drugs at nonprofit price in low-income countries
Pfizer Inc will make all of its patented medicines including COVID-19 treatment Paxlovid and big-selling breast cancer drug Ibrance available at a not-for-profit price to 45 of the world's poorest countries, the drugmaker said on Wednesday.
These countries lack good access to innovative treatments. It can take four to seven years longer for new treatments to become available in low-income countries, according to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, if they become available at all.
26th May 2022 - Reuters
Nigeria receives 4.4 million doses of J&J COVID vaccine from Spain
Nigeria has received 4.4 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine from Spain, a government official said on Tuesday. Nigeria has already received 2 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine from Finland, Greece and Slovenia with more expected from EU countries. Faisal Shuaib, head of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), said Nigeria wanted to vaccinate 70% of its population. It was far off the target but Spain's donation would help, he said.
25th May 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 25th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullWHO says monkeypox containable, convening research meeting to support member states
The outbreak of monkeypox cases outside of Africa can be contained, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday, as more governments said they would launch limited vaccinations to combat rising infections of the virus. The moves came as authorities investigated 237 suspected and confirmed cases of the virus in 19 countries since early May. That number is expected to increase, WHO officials have said, but most of the infections so far have not been severe.
24th May 2022 - Reuters
Vaxzevria Gains Approval in EU as a Third Dose COVID-19 Booster in Adults
AstraZeneca's recombinant COVID-19 vaccine, originally invented by the University of Oxford, has been approved as a third dose booster vaccine in the EU. AstraZeneca has revealed in a May 23, 2022 press release, that its recombinant COVID-19 vaccine originally invented by the University of Oxford, Vaxzevria (ChAdOx1-S), has been given the nod by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) as a third dose booster vaccine for use in the European Union (EU). Through this latest market authorization, healthcare professionals will be able to use the vaccine as a third dose booster in patients who have already been administered a primary vaccine schedule of either Vaxzevria or other EU-approved messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccines. The authorization has been based on EMA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) recommendation, for which there was a review of data demonstrating an increased immune response with a third dose booster Vaxzevria jab.
24th May 2022 - PharmTech
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 24th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullWHO says no evidence monkeypox virus has mutated
The World Health Organization does not have evidence that the monkeypox virus has mutated, a senior executive at the U.N. agency said on Monday, noting the infectious disease that has been endemic in west and central Africa has tended not to change. Rosamund Lewis, head of the smallpox secretariat that is part of the WHO Emergencies Programme, told a briefing that mutations tended to be typically lower with this virus, although genome sequencing of cases will help inform understanding of the current outbreak.
24th May 2022 - Reuters
Covid-19—How Europe's vaccine donations went tragically wrong
Covid vaccine equity remains out of reach, as wealthy nations drag their feet on donations, and vaccine stocks pass their use-by dates, write Lucien Hordijk and Priti Patnaik On 21 December 2021, a truck piled with brown cardboard boxes drove to the Goja rubbish dump in Abuja, Nigeria. Inside the boxes were a million doses of AstraZeneca’s covid-19 vaccine, which were tipped onto the heap, among dirty plastic bags and papers.
Two months earlier, Nigeria had agreed to receive 2.6 million doses of the vaccine from the Covax facility, an initiative set up to distribute covid-19 vaccines equitably worldwide. The vaccines, in large part coming from Europe, had been close to expiry. “Some of these vaccines came in with a shelf life of about four weeks,” said Faisal Shaibu, a Nigerian government official tasked with organising vaccination of the country’s 200 million population against covid-19. Following quality inspections and regional allocations, Nigeria administered 1.53 million doses. But the rest were thrown away.
Nigeria, Rwanda, Kenya, and Indonesia have destroyed vaccines received from Europe and North America because they arrived close to expiry
23rd May 2022 - The BMJ
U.S. Justice Department to appeal judge's ruling on COVID border migrant rules
The U.S. Justice Department will appeal a federal judge's decision blocking the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions that empower agents at the U.S.-Mexico border to turn back migrants without giving them a chance to seek asylum. "The Department of Justice intends to appeal," spokesman Anthony Coley said in a statement.
23rd May 2022 - Reuters
U.S. drug regulator lifts clinical hold on Ocugen's COVID vaccine trial
Ocugen Inc said the U.S. drug regulator has lifted the clinical hold on a mid-to-late stage trial of the COVID-19 vaccine being developed by its Indian partner Bharat Biotech. The Food and Drug Administration paused the trials of the shot, Covaxin, in April after an inspection of a Bharat Biotech facility by the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed deficiencies in the manufacturing process.
23rd May 2022 - Reuters
Oman ends all COVID protective measures
Oman announced on Sunday the lifting of all measures that had been taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19, in all venues and for all activities, state TV reported, citing a statement from the government committee dealing with the pandemic. There have been 389,943 infections and 4,260 coronavirus-related deaths reported in the sultanate since the pandemic began, according to Reuters data.
22nd May 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 23rd May 2022
View this newsletter in fullBiden, Yoon vow to deter North Korea and offer COVID aid
President Joe Biden and his new South Korean counterpart agreed on Saturday to hold bigger military drills and deploy more U.S. weapons if necessary to deter North Korea, while offering to send COVID-19 vaccines and potentially meet Kim Jong Un.
Biden and Yoon Suk-yeol said their countries' decades-old alliance needed to develop not only to face North Korean threats but to keep the Indo-Pacific region "free and open" and protect global supply chains. The two leaders are meeting in Seoul for their first diplomatic engagement since the South Korean president's inauguration 11 days ago.
21st May 2022 - Reuters
Welsh Government announces who will get Covid jabs this autumn
From this autumn, the Welsh Government has announced. The government has confirmed a list of those who will be offered a Covid jab between September and December this year following the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation's (JCVI) latest review of the existing vaccine programme in Wales.
Following the review, the Welsh Government has confirmed it will offer a single dose of a Covid-19 vaccine to: Residents in a care home for older adults, and staff working in care homes for older adults, Frontline health and social care workers
All those 65 years of age and over, Adults aged 16 to 65 years in a clinical risk group
21st May 2022 - Wales Online
Judge: COVID asylum restrictions must continue on border
Pandemic-related restrictions on migrants seeking asylum on the southern border must continue, a judge ruled Friday in an order blocking the Biden administration’s plan to lift them early next week. The ruling was just the latest instance of a court derailing the president’s proposed immigration policies along the U.S. border with Mexico. The Justice Department said the administration will appeal, but the ruling virtually ensures that restrictions will not end as planned on Monday. A delay would be a blow to advocates who say rights to seek asylum are being trampled, and a relief to some Democrats who fear that a widely anticipated increase in illegal crossings would put them on the defensive in an already difficult midterm election year.
21st May 2022 - The Associated Press
Switzerland buys Pfizer's COVID-19 antiviral Paxlovid
Switzerland signed a contract to buy Pfizer's anti-viral drug Paxlovid to treat Covid-19, it said on Friday. The European country said it had signed a contract to buy 12,000 packages and first treatments for certain at-risk patients would start this month.
21st May 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 20th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullWhy schools have returned to remote learning in Victoria
Several schools in Victoria have been forced to return to remote learning due to Covid-induced staffing shortages. The dreaded backflip comes as tens of thousands of Covid cases are recorded each day across the country just before the arrival of the flu season. Victoria’s Deputy Premier James Merlino confirmed a private school in regional Shepparton was among the first to temporarily revert to remote learning.
19th May 2022 - News.com.au
Germany's top court OKs vaccine mandate for health workers
The coronavirus pandemic is not over yet, Germany’s health minister warned Thursday as the country’s highest court approved rules requiring health workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach noted the sharp rise in cases currently happening in some Asian countries, such as North Korea, but also parts of Europe. “In Germany, too, an average of 130 to 150 people are dying every day due to the pandemic,” Lauterbach told reporters in Berlin. “So the impression that the pandemic has been defeated is wrong.” Lauterbach was holding a two-day meeting with his counterparts from the Group of Seven leading democracies on Thursday and Friday.
20th May 2022 - The Associated Press
UK vaccine advisers eye autumn COVID boosters for over-65s
Britain's vaccine advisers on Thursday said that an anticipated autumn COVID booster campaign would be aimed at people aged over 65, care home residents, frontline health and social care workers and all adults in a clinical risk group.
Britain is offering a spring booster to the over-75s, care home residents and immunosuppressed people, and ministers have spoken openly of plans for a further booster campaign in the autumn.
20th May 2022 - Reuters
U.S. expert panel backs COVID boosters for children 5 to 11
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday recommended the COVID-19 vaccine booster for children ages 5 to 11 after an advisory panel voted to back them, at least five months after completing their primary vaccination course. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in a statement that she "endorsed" the vote by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices "to expand eligibility for COVID-19 vaccine booster doses. Children 5 through 11 should receive a booster dose at least 5 months after their primary series."
20th May 2022 - Reuters
White House warns the US can't buy updated Covid-19 vaccines 'for every American who wants one' without more funding
White House Covid-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha warned Wednesday that without more funding from Congress the US will not be able to buy enough Covid-19 vaccines for every American who wants an updated shot later this year. Scientists are working to develop new vaccines that would offer additional protection from infection and severe illness from new variants, including the possibility of a bivalent vaccine, a vaccine that would combine a currently approved vaccine with an Omicron-specific vaccine, for example. The US Food and Drug Administration could make a decision as soon as next month based on data from manufacturers Moderna and Pfizer for distribution in the fall.
19th May 2022 - CNN
Covid-19: Government failed to protect doctors during pandemic, BMA inquiry finds
The UK government failed in its duty of care to protect doctors and other healthcare staff from avoidable harm and suffering in its management of the covid-19 pandemic, a major review by the BMA has concluded. Two reports published on 19 May document the experiences of thousands of UK doctors throughout the pandemic, drawing on real time surveys carried out over the past two years, formal testimonies, data, and evidence sessions. The reports will form part of a wider review by the BMA into the government’s handling of the pandemic, with three further instalments to come. The evidence lays bare the devastating impact of the pandemic on doctors and the NHS, with repeated mistakes, errors of judgment, and failures of government policy amounting to a failure of a duty of care to the workforce, the BMA said.
19th May 2022 - The BMJ
India has supplied COVID vaccines under Quad umbrella
India has supplied COVID-19 vaccines to Cambodia and Thailand under an initiative of the Quad group of countries, New Delhi said on Thursday, though not the Johnson & Johnson shot as originally planned. The leaders of the Quad countries - India, the United States, Japan and Australia - could discuss the vaccine supply plan when they meet in Japan on Tuesday, Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi told a news conference.
19th May 2022 - Reuters India
WHO clears COVID vaccine by China's CanSino Biologics for emergency use
The World Health Organization on Thursday issued an emergency use listing for the single-dose COVID-19 vaccine from China-based CanSino Biologics. The vaccine, Convidecia, is the eleventh shot against the coronavirus to get clearance from the global health agency, whose advisory group recommended its use in people of age 18 years and above. The vaccine was found to have 64% efficacy against symptomatic disease and 92% against severe COVID-19, the agencysaid.
19th May 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 19th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullGermany OKs more COVID-19 vaccine spending for this fall
Germany plans to spend another 830 million euros ($872 million) to buy new coronavirus vaccines that will allow the country to deal with a series of possible variants this fall, the health minister said Wednesday. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said that the government, via the European Union, already has ordered enough of the existing vaccines and of one that has been developed by Germany’s BioNTech to counter the omicron variant. He said the new funding is earmarked for a vaccine being developed by Moderna to tackle both omicron and other variants.
“We are betting on a broad portfolio of vaccines; we must be prepared for all eventualities,” Lauterbach said. “We don't know what variants will confront us in the fall.” “One lesson from the pandemic is that we never again want to have too little vaccine,” he added, alluding to the sluggish start early last year of the EU's and Germany's COVID-19 vaccination campaign. “We want to be able to offer all those who need or want it a fourth shot.”
18th May 2022 - The Independent
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 18th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullPfizer COVID antiviral use up 315%, U.S. health department says
Rising COVID-19 cases are driving up the use of therapeutics, with Pfizer Inc's oral antiviral treatment Paxlovid seeing a 315% jump over the past four weeks, U.S. health officials said on Tuesday. The increase in U.S. cases and hospitalizations is starting to affect recommendations on behavior, with New York City, the nation's most populous city, advising stricter mask usage but stopping short of new mandates. Apple has scrapped return to office plans.
17th May 2022 - Reuters
U.S. FDA authorizes Pfizer's COVID booster shot for young children
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday authorized the use of a booster shot of Pfizer (PFE.N) and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11, making everyone in the country over the age of 5 eligible for a third shot.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) still needs to sign off on the shots before they can be administered. Children below the age of five are not yet eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine in the United States.
17th May 2022 - Reuters
African leaders urge global vaccine body to buy locally made Covid jabs
African leaders have called on the organisation in charge of procurement for the Covax vaccine sharing scheme to commit to buying at least 30 per cent of all Covid-19 jabs produced on the continent, as the future of Africa’s biggest manufacturing facility hangs in the balance. Covid-19 vaccine production at the Aspen Pharmacare facility in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, ground to a halt in late March because of a drop-off in demand, putting its future in doubt and threatening to undermine African Union plans to increase local jab production.
17th May 2022 - Financial Times
Covid-19: Hong Kong leader confirms next phase of Vaccine Pass to go ahead as health experts urge relaxation
Chief Executive Carrie Lam has confirmed that the next phase of Hong Kong’s Covid-19 Vaccine Pass will go ahead as scheduled on May 31, despite experts urging the government to relax the requirement for those under 60. Lam’s confirmation came on Tuesday after two University of Hong Kong (HKU) medics wrote an opinion piece in Ming Pao arguing that the scheme, which will require Hongkongers to have received three doses of a Covid-19 to enter certain types of premises from May 31, was “coercive.”
17th May 2022 - Hong Kong Free Press
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 17th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullChina's economy cools sharply in April as lockdowns bite
China's retail and factory activity fell sharply in April as wide COVID-19 lockdowns confined workers and consumers to their homes and severely disrupted supply chains, casting a long shadow over the outlook for the world's second-largest economy. Full or partial lockdowns were imposed in major centres across the country in March and April, including the most populous city Shanghai, hitting production and consumption and heightening risks for those parts of the global economy heavily dependent on China.
16th May 2022 - Reuters
FDA Authorizes Nonprescription Test for Covid-19, Flu and RSV
The Food and Drug Administration authorized the first nonprescription test that can detect Covid-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. The test, developed by Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, can be sold directly to consumers online or at retail. A person can collect a nasal-swab sample themselves before sending the sample to Labcorp for analysis. The test, called the Labcorp Seasonal Respiratory Virus RT-PCR DTC Test, searches for and amplifies the genetic materials of multiple viruses to figure out which one a person might be harboring.
16th May 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
FDA declines to authorize common antidepressant as COVID treatment
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has decided not to authorize the antidepressant fluvoxamine to treat COVID-19, saying that the data has not shown the drug to be an effective therapeutic for fighting the virus. "Based on the review of available scientific evidence, the FDA has determined that the data are insufficient to conclude that fluvoxamine may be effective in the treatment of nonhospitalized patients with COVID-19 to prevent progression to severe disease and/or hospitalization," the agency said in a document published on Monday.
16th May 2022 - Reuters
Covid-19 pushed 55 mn Africans into extreme poverty in 2020: UN Report
The disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic pushed an estimated 55 million Africans into extreme poverty in 2020 and reversed more than two decades of poverty reduction in Africa, said a report by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). The report with the theme "Fight against poverty and vulnerability in Africa during the Covid-19 pandemic", was issued by the ECA during the 54th session of the Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development.
16th May 2022 - Business Standard
EC to terminate Covid-19 vaccine deal with Valneva
The European Commission (EC) has informed Valneva of its plan to terminate the advance purchase agreement (APA) for the latter’s inactivated whole-virus Covid-19 vaccine candidate, VLA2001. The details were communicated by the EC through a notice to the company. An adjuvanted vaccine candidate, VLA2001 is for active immunisation of at-risk people to avert carriage and symptomatic Covid-19 infection. It comprises inactivated whole virus particles of the SARS-CoV-2 virus with increased S-protein density and two adjuvants, alum and Dynavax Technologies’ CpG 1018.
16th May 2022 - Pharmaceutical Technology
Pfizer, BioNTech amend Covid-19 vaccine supply deal with EC
Pfizer and BioNTech have amended the supply agreement with the European Commission (EC) to rephase the delivery schedules of their Covid-19 vaccine. The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine is based on the messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) technology of BioNTech. Under the deal, the initial contractual supply schedules for the vaccine will be updated to rephase the supplies to support the vaccination programmes of EC and its member states.
16th May 2022 - Pharmaceutical Technology
Kim Jong-un calls in the army to respond to North Korea’s Covid-19 crisis
Kim Jong-un has criticised North Korea’s pandemic response and ordered the army to help distribute medicine, state media said Monday, as the country said 50 people had died since first reporting an outbreak of Covid-19. More than one million people have been sickened by what Pyongyang is referring to as “fever”, state media said, despite Kim ordering nationwide lockdowns in a bid to slow the spread of disease through the unvaccinated population. After two years denying North Korea had any cases of Covid-19, last week officials confirmed that there had been a Covid outbreak in the country.
16th May 2022 - The Guardian
Tokyo COVID curbs declared illegal in "Kill Bill" restaurant case
Japan's "Kill Bill" restaurant operator prevailed in a court case on Monday that declared Tokyo's now defunct COVID-19 infection curbs were illegal. The orders, enacted in the capital during various states of emergency, included shortened operating hours and a ban on alcohol sales, though there was a compensating government subsidy. Businesses that didn't comply were subject to fines. Global-Dining Inc, which runs more than 40 restaurants, defied the restrictions, taking the city government to court over the matter.
16th May 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 16th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullCovid-19 patent lawsuits: Will vaccine producers have to pay the bill?
In a new chapter with emerging legal dimensions for the Covid-19 vaccine success story, last week Moderna submitted a filing to take down a patent infringement lawsuit over its Covid-19 vaccine. In a claim filed on 28 February, Arbutus Biopharma and Genevant Sciences stated that Moderna infringed on their patented lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology, and as such, were due damages from Moderna. Later in March, Pfizer’s Canada-based LNP partner Acuitas Therapeutics filed a complaint against Arbutus and Genevant in the US district court for the southern district of New York, asking for a judgement on the non-infringement and invalidity of such patents.
13th May 2022 - Pharmaceutical Technology
China denies suspending passports, invalidating foreign residency cards
China's immigration authority is still providing services for necessary trips outside the country, it said on Friday, denying rumours that passport issuances were halted and that residency cards for living in foreign countries were being invalidated. Officials have promptly processed certificates for people who need to travel abroad for necessary and urgent matters such as study, scientific research, trade and businesses and medical issues, the National Immigration Administration (NIA) said in a statement. The NIA was responding to what it said were "foreign media reports" that falsely said the agency had suspended passport issuances and had invalidated residency cards issued by foreign countries to Chinese citizens eligible to live overseas by cutting off the corners. The NIA statement did not include examples of the reports. The statement followed the NIA's announcement on Thursday that it would "strictly limit" unnecessary overseas travels by Chinese citizens to minimize the risks of a resurgence in COVID-19 cases caused by infections among international travellers
13th May 2022 - Reuters
S.Korea's Yoon pledges $300 million to global COVID response initiative
South Korea's new President Yoon Suk-yeol pledged on Thursday to provide an additional $300 million won to a global initiative to fund COVID-19 tests, treatments and vaccines for poorer countries. Yoon made the announcement in his speech to a second global COVID-19 summit, held virtually, aimed at facilitating efforts to end the pandemic and prepare for future health threats. His funding pledge would bring South Korea's total donations to the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A), sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) and other aid groups, to $510 million.
13th May 2022 - Reuters
Meatpackers convinced Trump to keep plants running during COVID crisis - report
Article reports that top U.S. meatpacking companies drafted the executive order issued by President Donald Trump in 2020 to keep meat plants running and convinced his administration to encourage workers to stay on the job at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report released on Thursday by a U.S. House panel. The report by the House of Representatives Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis details the meat industry’s influence on Trump's White House as it tried to keep production rolling even as employees fell ill.
13th May 2022 - Reuters
Massachusetts to pay $56 mln over deadly COVID outbreak at veterans' home
The state of Massachusetts on Thursday agreed to pay $56 million to resolve a lawsuit by families of veterans who contracted COVID-19 during an outbreak at a veterans' care center that killed 84 people early in the pandemic. The proposed settlement would resolve a pending federal class action lawsuit by families of veterans who died as a result of the 2020 outbreak at Holyoke Soldiers' Home, one of the deadliest to have occurred at a U.S. nursing facility.
13th May 2022 - Reuters
Biden may need to 'claw back' funding for COVID, Jha says
The White House is preparing for a scenario in which Congress fails to approve President Joe Biden's request for additional COVID funds by reviewing old contracts to see if there is any money it can "claw back," the president's top COVID adviser said on Thursday. The United States is still in a pandemic and continues to face an evolving coronavirus despite making strides over the past two years, White House COVID-19 response coordinator Ashish Jha told Reuters in an interview.
13th May 2022 - Reuters
Switzerland authorizes Moderna's COVID vaccine for 6-11 year olds
Moderna Inc said Swiss drugs regulator Swissmedic had authorized the use of its COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 6 to 11 years. The approval is for the vaccine's two-dose series of 50 micro gram per dose, Moderna added.
13th May 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 13th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullTrump officials and meat industry blocked life-saving Covid controls, investigation finds
Trump officials “collaborated” with the meatpacking industry to downplay the threat of Covid to plant workers and block public health measures which could have saved lives, a damning new investigation has found. Internal documents reviewed by the congressional select subcommittee on the coronavirus crisis reveal how industry representatives lobbied government officials to stifle “pesky” health departments from imposing evidence-based safety measures to curtail the virus spreading – and tried to obscure worker deaths from these authorities. At least 59,000 workers at five of the largest meatpacking companies – Tyson Foods, JBS USA Holdings, Smithfield Foods, Cargill and National Beef Packing Company which are the subject of the congressional inquiry – contracted Covid in the first year of the pandemic, of whom at least 269 died.
12th May 2022 - The Guardian
Report criticizes meat industry, USDA response to pandemic
During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the meat processing industry worked closely with political appointees in the Trump administration to stave off health restrictions and keep slaughterhouses open even as the virus spread rapidly among workers, according to a congressional report released Thursday. The report by the House’s Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis said meat companies pushed to keep their plants open even though they knew workers were at high risk of catching the coronavirus. The lobbying led to health and labor officials watering down their recommendations for the industry and culminated in an executive order President Donald Trump issued in spring 2020 designating meat plants as critical infrastructure that needed to remain open.
12th May 2022 - Associated Press
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 12th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullChina calls WHO chief 'irresponsible' for saying zero-COVID strategy 'not sustainable'
China hit back on Wednesday against what it called "irresponsible" comments by the head of the World Health Organization, who described the country's uncompromising and increasingly painful "zero COVID" policy as "not sustainable." The policy has placed hundreds of millions of people across dozens of cities under various degrees of movement restrictions, most dramatically in Shanghai, causing significant economic damage in China and beyond and fuelling wide-spread frustration.
11th May 2022 - Reuters.com
WHO calls on Pfizer to make its COVID pill more available
The head of the World Health Organization called on Pfizer to make its COVID-19 treatment more widely available in poorer countries, saying Tuesday that the pharmaceutical company’s deal allowing generic producers to make the drug was insufficient. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a news briefing that Pfizer’s treatment was still too expensive. He noted that most countries in Latin America had no access to Pfizer’s drug, Paxlovid, which has been shown to cut the risk of COVID-19 hospitalization or death by up to 90%. “We remain concerned that low- and middle-income countries remain unable to access antivirals,” Tedros said, The WHO chief warned that the unequal distribution of COVID-19 drugs could ultimately mirror the grossly disproportionate distribution of coronavirus vaccines.
10th May 2022 - The Associated Press
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 11th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullWHO offers rare criticism for China's steadfast and strict COVID-19 measures
The head of the World Health Organization said on Tuesday China's zero-tolerance COVID-19 policy is not sustainable given what is known of the disease, in rare public comments by the United Nations agency on a government's handling of the virus. "We don't think that it is sustainable considering the behaviour of the virus," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a media briefing. Speaking after Tedros, WHO emergencies director Mike Ryan said the impact of a "zero-COVID" policy on human rights also needs to be taken into consideration alongside the effect on a country's economy. He also noted that China has registered 15,000 deaths since the virus first emerged in the city of Wuhan in late 2019 — a relatively low number compared with 999,475 in the United States and more than 500,000 in India.
11th May 2022 - CBC.ca
U.S. will limit next-generation Covid vaccines to high-risk people this fall if Congress doesn't approve more funding
The U.S. will have to limit the next generation of Covid vaccines this fall to individuals at the highest risk of getting seriously sick from the virus if Congress fails to approve funding to purchase the new shots, according to a senior Biden administration official. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, warned the U.S. faces a substantial surge of Covid infections this fall as immunity from the current vaccines wanes and the omicron variant mutates into more transmissible subvariants. The U.S. needs more money for next-generation vaccines, therapeutics and tests to prevent infections from turning into hospitalizations and deaths, the official said.
10th May 2022 - CNBC
Norway discards COVID-19 vaccines as supplies exceed demand
Norwegian health authorities said Tuesday that the country has a surplus of COVID-19 vaccines and has already discarded more than 137,000 doses because there is declining demand in low-income countries. The Norwegian Institute of Public Health said it plans a further disposal of doses if global demand does not change. In Norway there is high vaccine coverage while globally a demand for donations has fallen.
10th May 2022 - ABC News
Moderna says U.S. on the hook in COVID-19 vaccine patent case
Facing claims that its COVID-19 vaccine violates the patent rights of two biopharma companies, Moderna told a Delaware federal court on Friday that the companies should have sued the U.S. government instead. Moderna said it is shielded from the lawsuit brought by Arbutus Biopharma and Genevant, thanks to its agreement to supply the vaccine to the federal government. It cited a federal law that was previously used to keep patent claims from interfering with the supply of war materials during World War I.
10th May 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 10th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullWHO, Gavi not planning COVID vaccine buys from S.Africa's Aspen
The World Health Organization (WHO) and its COVID-19 vaccine partner Gavi have no immediate plans to buy shots made by Aspen Pharmacare, the two bodies said, dealing a blow to Africa's efforts to develop its own vaccine production capacity.
9th May 2022 - Reuters
FDA sets limits on the use of the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine in US
The FDA has limited the authorized use of the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine to individuals 18 years of age and older who cannot access other approved COVID-19 shots for various reasons.
9th May 2022 - biopharma-reporter
Taiwan receives 1.85 million Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine doses
Taiwan received all of the 1.85 million Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine doses for people 12 years and older it had ordered this year on Monday, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said. The 1,857,960 vaccine doses will expire on Oct. 4, and adolescents aged 12-17 who need a booster shot will be given priority to receive the vaccine, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung said at the CECC press briefing
9th May 2022 - Focus Taiwan News Channel
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 9th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullChina Rejects Its Exclusion From WTO Vaccine Waiver Proposal
China objected to a key provision of a World Trade Organization proposal to waive intellectual-property rights for Covid-19 vaccines that Beijing said would discourage shipments of doses to poorer nations. The development may complicate the WTO’s multi-year effort to reach an agreement to help speed production of vaccines in the developing world by permitting certain countries to authorize the use of Covid-19 jabs without the consent of the holders of the patent rights. China’s opposition is problematic because WTO agreements require support from all 164 members, meaning any one government can block the adoption of a vaccine IP waiver for any reason.
7th May 2022 - Bloomberg
White House Warns of Fall, Winter Surge Without Additional Covid-19 Funding
The Biden administration estimates 100 million Americans may become infected with Covid-19 in the fall and winter without additional funding to help combat the pandemic and buy new vaccines for a fall booster campaign. The infections would result from a virus that is rapidly adapting and waning natural and vaccine immunity, as well as from lack of money for updating vaccines and for stockpiling tests and treatments, a senior administration official said Friday. The cases would amount to a million a day over the course of three to four months, according to a senior administration official, who shared the estimate as part of a White House push to secure $22.5 billion in new funding to combat the pandemic.
6th May 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Xi Jinping attacks ‘doubters’ as he doubles down on China’s zero-Covid policy
Xi Jinping has confirmed there is no intention to turn away from China’s zero-Covid commitment, in a major speech to the country’s senior officials that also warned against any criticism or doubting of the policy. Addressing the seven-member politburo standing committee, China’s highest decision-making body, specifically about the Shanghai outbreak, the president said China’s response was “scientific and effective”. He told officials to “unswervingly adhere to the general policy of dynamic zero-Covid”. “We have won the battle to defend Wuhan, and we will certainly be able to win the battle to defend Shanghai,” he said, according to a translation by Sinocism’s Bill Bishop.
6th May 2022 - The Guardian
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 6th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullFDA Limits Authorized Use of J&J's Covid-19 Vaccine
The Food and Drug Administration limited the use of the Covid-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson after reviewing the risk of life-threatening blood clots. The agency said Thursday that the J&J shot’s authorization was now only for adults for whom other shots aren’t available or medically appropriate, or who won’t take another vaccine. The FDA said it was making the move after confirming a total of 60 cases, including nine deaths, of the clotting condition known as thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, or TTS, among the millions of people who got the J&J shot. The change will likely sharply scale back use of a vaccine that health authorities had once hoped would be a convenient option for many people, but has become a third choice for most people because of the emergence of the risk for the rare but life-threatening side effect.
6th May 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
A Covid vaccine waiver? WTO has a plan for that.
World Trade Organization officials have circulated a draft proposal that would temporarily waive intellectual property protections for Covid-19 vaccines, paving the way for members to start discussing the plan. That will compel members, including the deal’s brokers, to signal whether they’ll support the divisive proposal. The deal, which emerged from talks among U.S., European, South African and Indian representatives, would temporarily ease patent restrictions on Covid-19 vaccines for developing countries that exported less than 10 percent of the world’s coronavirus vaccine doses in 2021.
5th May 2022 - Politico
Recent COVID-19 court cases show New Zealand's Bill of Rights Act is not as strong as some might wish
At the end of April, the High Court found the border quarantine (MIQ) system did work well to protect public health and many of the resulting restrictions on rights were justifiable. However, the court also found the allocation of space in MIQ through a virtual lobby system amounted to an unjustifiable limit on the right of New Zealand citizens to return because it did not prioritise citizens over non-citizens, and it did not prioritise on individual need or delays experienced. What we see in these cases is the New Zealand constitution in action, operating as a system of checks and balances to protect individuals from arbitrary interference by the state.
As an aspect of that, the cases show the operation of the rule of law, which means any power exercised by the government has to be based on legal authority and that everyone is subject to the law, whether they are members of the public or politicians.
5th May 2022 - The Conversation
Africa CDC urges COVID-19 vaccine buyers to order from S.Africa's Aspen
Africa's top public health body urged all those purchasing COVID-19 vaccines for the continent to place orders with South Africa's Aspen Pharmacare, saying the market was key to developing vaccine manufacturing on the continent. The Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it was doing everything it could behind the scenes to prevent a situation where Aspen closes its facility due to a lack of orders.
5th May 2022 - Reuters.com
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 5th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullMain negotiators reach 'outcome' on COVID vaccine IP waiver, WTO says
The four main parties to negotiations on an intellectual property waiver for COVID-19 vaccines have prepared an "outcome document" for approval by the broader membership, the WTO said on Tuesday, with its chief hoping for a final deal by June. WTO director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who has made vaccine equity her top priority since taking office in 2021, has been working for months to broker a compromise between the United States, the European Union, India and South Africa to break an 18-month-long impasse.
4th May 2022 - Reuters.com
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 4th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullTaiwan won’t go into lockdown like Shanghai despite Covid surge, premier says
Taiwan will not go into a Shanghai-like lockdown to control a rise in Covid-19 cases as the vast majority of those infected have no symptoms or show only minor symptoms, the premier, Su Tseng-chang, has said. Taiwan has been dealing with a spike in local cases since the start of the year, but the numbers overall remain small – 18,436 since 1 January for a population of some 23 million – and just four people have died. Backed by a high vaccination rate, the government has been promoting the “new Taiwan model”, learning to gradually live with the virus and avoiding shutting down the economy, unlike in Shanghai, which is in its third week of a lockdown to control the pandemic.
4th May 2022 - The Guardian
Main negotiators reach 'outcome' on COVID vaccine IP waiver, WTO says
The four main parties to negotiations on an intellectual property waiver for COVID-19 vaccines have prepared an "outcome document" for approval by the broader membership, the WTO said on Tuesday, with its chief hoping for a final deal by June. WTO director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who has made vaccine equity her top priority since taking office in 2021, has been working for months to broker a compromise between the United States, the European Union, India and South Africa to break an 18-month-long impasse. "What the discussions were aiming at was coming up with something workable," Okonjo-Iweala told Reuters, saying she hoped the WTO's 164 members would finalise and approve the proposal by a major conference in June. "This will advance the discussion and dialogue. For the next pandemic or a flare up of this one, this is hugely important," she said. The document showed that there were still unresolved areas in the draft deal, including on the duration of the waiver's application which could be either three or five years.
4th May 2022 - Reuters
Japan to review official COVID-19 response, with report expected from June
In Japan, a panel of experts set up by the central government will begin discussions shortly to review its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with a report expected as early as June. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said he plans to use the outcome of the review by the the eight-member panel to make improvements on the government’s strategy in the fight against the deadly virus. High on the panel’s agenda will be how authorities and hospitals should cooperate. Health care systems have been strained across the country at times during the pandemic, though Japan is among countries with large numbers of hospitals and hospital beds.
3rd May 2022 - The Japan Times
Denmark to destroy 1.1 million excess COVID-19 vaccines
Danish health officials say that 1.1 million excess COVID-19 vaccines will be discarded in the coming weeks because their expiration date is near, and efforts to donate them to developing countries have failed. Statens Serum Institut (SSI), a government agency that maps the spread of infectious diseases including COVID-19 in Denmark, said the epidemic in the Scandinavian country “is currently under control, and the vaccine coverage in the Danish population is high”.
3rd May 2022 - Al Jazeera
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 3rd May 2022
View this newsletter in fullU.N. chief calls for debt relief, post-COVID investment on West Africa trip
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday urged debt relief for African countries and more investment to help their economies recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and weather the impacts of the Ukraine war. The United Nations chief spoke in Senegal on the first leg of a trip that will also include Niger and Nigeria, where he will visit communities affected by conflict and climate change. Supply disruptions due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine have caused simultaneous food, energy and finance crises in Africa and beyond, Guterres said. The coronavirus pandemic pushed many poor countries into debt distress and the Ukraine war has disrupted their economic recovery, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Public debt ratios in sub-Saharan Africa are at their highest in more than two decades, the IMF said last week.
2nd May 2022 - Reuters on MSN.com
Poland has no 'rationale to invoke force majeure in Pfizer vaccine deal, EU official says
Poland has no "coherent rationale" to invoke force majeure in an existing contract in order to stop paying for more COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer, a European Commission official told Reuters. In April Poland's health minister Adam Niedzielski said Warsaw had informed the European Commission and Pfizer that it would no longer take or pay for COVID-19 vaccines under a supply contract co-negotiated by the EU, acknowledging this would trigger a legal conflict.
2nd May 2022 - Reuters
How to Make the CDC Matter Again
For many years, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was known as the world’s preeminent public-health agency. No longer. During the pandemic, the CDC stumbled repeatedly. Accused of incompetence, overreach and muddled messaging, it is now in need of repair. Director Rochelle Walensky was right to order a review of the agency’s operations in early April. She shouldn’t shrink from significant reforms. To be sure, some of the CDC’s troubles have resulted from political interference. Donald Trump’s White House sought to undermine the agency by second-guessing its guidance and advice. Political operatives pushed to revise some of its publications and revoked its authority to gather hospital Covid data from the states.
1st May 2022 - Bloomberg
Swiss commandos lose court fight over COVID-19 jabs
Four members of Switzerland's special forces who were fired for refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19 have lost their bid for reinstatement, a court said on Friday. "By refusing to be vaccinated for no valid medical reason, the four servicemen deliberately put themselves in a position where they could no longer perform their professional duties," the Federal Administrative Court said in a summary of its ruling, which can be appealed at the supreme court.
30th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Ukraine seeks urgent WHO meeting on impact of invasion on health
Ukraine, backed by dozens of other countries, has written to the World Health Organization's regional chief calling for an urgent meeting on the impact of Russia's invasion on health and healthcare, a letter obtained by Reuters on Friday showed. The letter, sent this week by Ukraine's diplomatic mission in Geneva, Switzerland, where the WHO is headquartered, is signed by some 38 other members of the agency's European region, including France, Germany and Britain.
30th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 29th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullBeijing orders schools closed in tightening of virus rules
Beijing is closing all city schools in a further tightening of COVID-19 restrictions, as China’s capital seeks to prevent a wider outbreak. The city of 21 million has already ordered three rounds of mass testing this week, with the third coming Friday. On Thursday, the city’s Education Bureau ordered all schools to end classes from Friday and said it hadn’t determined when they would resume. It also wasn’t clear whether schools would be able to offer classes online or allow students facing crucial exams to return to class. Beijing announced 50 new cases on Thursday, two of them asymptomatic, bringing its total in the latest wave of infections to around 150. Students make up more than 30% of total cases, with clusters linked to six schools and two kindergartens in Chaoyang.
28th Apr 2022 - The Associated Press
Govt promises to add halal vaccine to booster program
The Health Ministry in Jakarta has announced that it will add one of the more widely available COVID-19 vaccines with halal certification to the state-led booster jab rollout, in an effort to assuage the concerns of the country’s Muslim majority. A ministry official confirmed on Tuesday that it would add the CoronaVac vaccine, co-manufactured by state-run pharmaceuticals company BioFarma and China’s Sinovac Biotech, to its current roster of booster shot offerings.
28th Apr 2022 - The Jakarta Post
Here’s Who Should Get a Second COVID Booster
Although the consensus remains that getting the initial full-series vaccination offers a clear benefit, scientists today disagree on the value of a fourth mRNA vaccine dose. Some say a second booster is essential for protecting highly vulnerable people—and that it should also be available to their families and other close contacts. Others note that the FDA’s decision about a fourth dose was based on limited evidence—primarily one study in Israel—and that the original two-shot series still provides durable protection against the most severe outcomes in adults with a healthy immune system. For its part, guidance published on April 6 by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control and the European Medicines Agency’s COVID-19 Emergency Task Force states that a fourth mRNA COVID vaccine dose can be given to adults age 80 and older but that it is too early to consider that booster for the general population.
28th Apr 2022 - Scientific American
WHO says pandemic justifies leader's pitch at Moderna meeting
A shareholder proposal calling on Moderna Inc to study transferring production of COVID-19 vaccines to less-developed countries won 24% support from investors on Thursday after it received a rare endorsement from the World Health Organization. Proponents say production shifts could help combat the global pandemic. Moderna of Cambridge, Mass. opposed the measure, saying among other things it already maximized its manufacturing capacity with partners, and that poorer countries have declined millions of doses that Moderna was prepared to deliver.
28th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Hungary, EU at odds over billions of euros of COVID funds
Hungary sees no obstacles to the European Union releasing billions in economic stimulus funds to Budapest, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's top aide said on Thursday, but the bloc's executive disagreed, quoting corruption and anti-LGBT policies. The executive European Commission has been withholding its approval to pay out money meant to help lift economies from the COVID-19 malaise to Poland and Hungary, accusing them of undermining the rule of law.
28th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Latin American nations ease restrictions as COVID cases drop
Colombians will soon be going to movie theaters without having to wear face masks. Chile opens its borders next week for the first time in two years. Mexico’s president has declared the pandemic over. And in Rio de Janeiro, tens of thousands attended Carnival parades just two months after the world-famous spectacle was postponed to prevent COVID-19 infections. Even as coronavirus cases rise half a world away in China and authorities there impose new lockdowns, plummeting infection rates in Latin America have countries eliminating restrictions on mass gatherings, lifting some travel requirements and scrapping mask mandates that have been in place for two years.
28th Apr 2022 - Associated Press
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 28th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullCDC Data Plan Is Too Vague, Lacks Deadlines, U.S. Watchdog Says
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s plan to modernize its data operations is too vague, lacks deadlines and doesn’t assign clear responsibility for completing the project, a government watchdog said in a report. The CDC’s Data Modernization Initiative was launched in 2020 as part of a broader push to overhaul the country’s public health information systems and improve capacity to respond to threats like Covid-19. While the pandemic pushed some of those efforts into high speed, the Government Accountability Office report said that the agency’s overall plan “does not articulate the specific actions, time frames, and allocation of roles and responsibilities needed to achieve its objectives.” And while the CDC has been given $1.1 billion to move ahead with its data plans, the agency had yet to fully lay out plans for spending the money, according to the GAO, the investigational arm of Congress.
28th Apr 2022 - Bloomberg
Covid News: Vaccines for Young Children Delayed by Incomplete Data, F.D.A. Official Says
The Food and Drug Administration has not yet cleared a coronavirus vaccine for children under 5 because the vaccine manufacturers have not finished their applications for authorization to distribute doses, a top official at the agency suggested on Tuesday. The official — Dr. Peter Marks, who oversees vaccine regulation for the F.D.A. — said the agency will release a schedule this week for outside expert review of vaccines for the nation’s 18 million children younger than 5. That is the only age group still not eligible for coronavirus vaccination. Despite growing pressure, including from Congress, the F.D.A. might not rule on whether to authorize a pediatric vaccine dose for that group until June, administration officials have said.
27th Apr 2022 - The New York Times
Court says UK's nursing home COVID-19 policy was illegal
A British court ruled Wednesday that the government’s decision to discharge hospital patients into nursing homes without testing them for COVID-19, which led to thousands of deaths early in the pandemic, was illegal. Two High Court judges said the policy from March and April 2020 was unlawful because it failed to take into account the infection risk that non-symptomatic carriers of the virus posed to older or vulnerable people. The judges said officials did not consider other options, including keeping such patients separate from other nursing home residents for a time as much as practically possible. “This was not a binary question – a choice between on the one hand doing nothing at all, and on the other hand requiring all newly admitted residents to be quarantined,” the judges said. The ruling came in response to a lawsuit by two women whose fathers died when the virus swept through the homes where they lived. Their lawyers said the decisions that allowed COVID-19 to spread among the elderly and vulnerable was “one of the most egregious and devastating policy failures in the modern era.”
27th Apr 2022 - The Independent
New Zealand High Court finds quarantine allocation system infringed on rights
New Zealand's once lauded COVID-19 response took a hit on Wednesday, when a High Court judge ruled a system used to allocate places in border quarantine facilities infringed on some citizens' right to return home. Citizens looking to return had to either make emergency requests to the government or secure a spot in state quarantine facilities, called MIQ. Due to demand outstripping hotel rooms, a type of lottery system was introduced. It left tens of thousands of expatriate New Zealanders cut off from families back home. Critics called the system unfair, something that the judgement released Wednesday by High Court Justice Jillian Mallon agreed with. Mallon said restrictions preventing a person from being able to enter their country for three months couldn't be justified and evidence indicates at least some New Zealanders experienced unreasonable delays.
27th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 27th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullCovid Pills to Become More Widely Available
The Biden administration on Tuesday is expected to outline plans to make it easier for infected people to get Covid-19 treatments, which some health leaders and patient advocates say are too difficult to obtain despite a federal program to help make them more widely available. The administration has heavily touted vaccines to reduce the risk of serious illness from Covid-19. Officials also have been urging greater use of two pills given they are easy to take at home: Pfizer Inc.’s Paxlovid and Merck & Co.’s and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics LP’s molnupiravir, also known as Lagevrio. Both were cleared for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in December. The authorization of those pills marked a turning point in the treatment of Covid-19 because people can take the therapies at home shortly after they develop symptoms, helping prevent hospitalization.
26th Apr 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
South Korea Downgrades Covid-19 From Riskiest-Disease Category
South Korea has downgraded Covid-19 from the country’s riskiest category of infectious disease, a first step toward treating the virus more like the seasonal flu. The country is one of the first to make such a move. The downgrade, approved Monday by health officials, will take effect after a four-week transition period. Once it does, South Koreans who test positive will no longer be required to go into quarantine, which currently lasts seven days by law. Doctors will no longer need to report a positive case immediately, as infection-tracking diminishes in importance. Those showing symptoms will be able to get treatment at local clinics rather than solely at hospitals, due to the reduced fears of virus spread.
26th Apr 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
China Politburo Under Pressure to Help Economy as Covid Spreads
China’s leaders are under mounting pressure to throw the country’s Covid-stricken economy a lifeline as they gather for a critical meeting in the coming days. Several prominent policy advisers and Chinese economists have called on the government to take more decisive measures to prop up the economy, ranging from the relaxation of property and internet curbs to acting with more flexibility when it comes to Covid restrictions and lockdowns. The People’s Bank of China on Tuesday pledged economic support in a bid to reassure jittery investors, and the Communist Party’s Politburo -- its top decision-making body -- has an opportunity to signal changes this week during its April quarterly meeting to discuss economic issues.
26th Apr 2022 - Bloomberg
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 26th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullLockdown gatherings report is 'excoriating' for UK's Johnson-The Times
An independent report into lockdown gatherings held at Boris Johnson's Downing Street office and residence is "excoriating" for the British prime minister and will make things "incredibly difficult" for him, the Times said. Sue Gray, a senior civil servant, has been tasked with investigating the events and whether they broke lockdown rules set by Johnson. The publication of her report has been put on hold until the police complete their own inquiry.
25th Apr 2022 - Reuters
North Korea: COVAX scraps the reclusive country's vaccine allocations
As mask mandates and social distancing requirements lift around the world, North Korea remains one of two countries that have not administered any coronavirus vaccines, with no sign of how it can ever begin to reopen despite a brewing humanitarian crisis for its people. The vaccines that were allocated for North Korea through a United Nations-backed global vaccination effort are no longer available, officials said this month, after Pyongyang repeatedly rejected the initiative’s offers of millions of doses. North Korea, already one of the most closed societies in the world, remains in a strict pandemic lockdown and has shuttered its borders except to a minimal level of trade with China, with grave implications for the health and food security of its population.
24th Apr 2022 - The Washington Post
WHO backs Paxlovid for high-risk COVID patients
Paxlovid is an oral SARS-CoV-2 protease inhibitor called nirmatrelvir that is given with a low dose of the HIV antiviral drug ritonavir, which can boost the level of protease inhibitors. The drug combo is designed to be given at the first sign of illness and is taken twice a day for 5 days. In December, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the drug for emergency use. In a statement, the WHO said it based the recommendation on new data from two randomized controlled trials that included 3,078 patients, which suggested that Paxlovid can cut the risk of hospitalization by 85% among high-risk groups. The WHO said its recommendation applies to those who are at highest risk for severe disease, such as those who are unvaccinated, older, or immunocompromised. It added that data showed benefits were negligible in lower-risk patients. However, the WHO aired concerns about two obstacles for rollout of the drug to low- and middle-income countries. One is access to early testing and diagnosis, since the drug needs to be given in the earlier stages of infection. The WHO pointed to data that suggest average daily testing rates in lower-income countries are one-eightieth that of higher-income countries.
22nd Apr 2022 - CIDRAP
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 25th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullBiden admin to promote availability of COVID antiviral pill
President Joe Biden and his administration want Americans and their doctors to know that the country has an ample supply of the life-saving COVID-19 antiviral treatment Paxlovid and that it no longer needs to be rationed. First approved in December, supply of the Pfizer regimen was initially very limited, but as COVID-19 cases across the country have fallen and manufacturing has increased it is now far more abundant. The White House is now moving to raise awareness of the pill and taking steps to make it easier to access. Paxlovid, when administered within five days of symptoms appearing, has been proven to bring about 90% reduction in hospitalizations and deaths among patients most likely to get severe disease.
24th Apr 2022 - The Associated Press
EU regulator backs using Pfizer COVID shot as booster after other vaccines
A European Medicines Agency (EMA) committee on Friday recommended approving the use of Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine, Comirnaty, as a booster for adults who have previously been inoculated with other vaccines. The recommendation from Europe's drug regulator comes days after global COVID-19 cases surpassed 500 million, according to a Reuters tally, as the highly contagious BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron surges in many countries. Some European countries are now seeing a slower uptick in new cases, or even a decline, but the region is still reporting over 1 million cases about every two days, according to the Reuters tally published on Thursday
23rd Apr 2022 - Reuters
Polish health minister upbeat on Moderna vaccine talks
Poland can reach a compromise with Moderna on increasing the flexibility of COVID-19 vaccine contracts, the health minister said on Friday, striking an upbeat tone after after initial talks with the U.S. pharmaceutical company. Poland has said it will not will not take or pay for more doses of COVID-19 vaccine under the European Union's supply contract as it already has sufficient doses, potentially setting the stage for a legal battle with manufacturers. The country has seen lower vaccine uptake than many other European countries and is seeing its public finances stretched by the effects of the war in neighbouring Ukraine, which has resulted in 2.9 million refugees entering Poland.
22nd Apr 2022 - Reuters
‘Best therapeutic choice’: WHO backs Pfizer’s COVID antiviral
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has given its backing to Pfizer’s Paxlovid treatment for COVID-19 after studies showed the antiviral pill reduced the risk of high-risk patients being admitted to hospital by 85 percent. The WHO announced on Thursday it was making a “strong recommendation” for the use of Paxlovid – a combination of nirmatrelvir and ritonavir – for people with mild and moderate COVID-19 but at risk of hospital admission, calling it the “best therapeutic choice for high-risk patients to date”.
22nd Apr 2022 - Al Jazeera English
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 22nd Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullCOVID-19: Hotel quarantine scheme cost taxpayers almost £400m despite being estimated to break even - government's own watchdog finds
The government's coronavirus hotel quarantine system, which was originally expected to break even, cost the taxpayers almost £400m - its own spending watchdog has found. A report by the National Audit Office (NAO) found that despite the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) previously estimating that the cost of running the hotel quarantine service would be met by the price people were charged to stay in the rooms, the taxpayer has subsidised half of the scheme's total £786m cost. The NAO report adds that the overall cost of the scheme to the taxpayer is likely to be even higher as DHSC cannot ensure that everyone who stayed in a quarantine hotel has paid their bill - with the government owed £74m from outstanding hotel costs and COVID test purchases as of 1 March 2022.
21st Apr 2022 - Sky News
UK lawmakers approve probe into PM Boris Johnson’s ‘Partygate’
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson suffered a blow to his authority when lawmakers ordered a parliamentary investigation into his past denials that he broke coronavirus restrictions by attending illegal gatherings during the pandemic. Johnson on Thursday faced stinging criticism from his own Conservative party and an influential former ally called on him to quit over what has become known as the “Partygate” scandal, which has caused widespread public anger. The investigation will look into whether Johnson knowingly misled the Parliament of the United Kingdom – ordinarily a resigning offence if proven. But a bullish Johnson – on a two-day trip to India – insisted he was not going anywhere. In India, Johnson vowed he would not quit and intended to fight the next general election – still likely at least two years away. “I understand people’s feelings,” he told Sky News. But he said of stepping aside: “I don’t think that is the right thing to do. What I am determined to do is make sure we continue with our agenda.”
22nd Apr 2022 - Al Jazeera English
U.S. extends COVID vaccine requirements for non-citizens at land borders
The Biden administration said Thursday it is extending a requirement that non-U.S. citizens crossing land or ferry terminals at the U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada borders must be vaccinated against COVID-19. The requirements were first adopted in November as part of reopening the United States to land crossings by foreign tourists after the borders had been closed to most foreign visitors since March 2020.
21st Apr 2022 - Reuters.com
Taiwan approves second COVID booster dose, infections yet to peak
Taiwan's government has approved a second COVID-19 booster vaccine dose for those 65 and older, and third boosters for the immunocompromised, as it looks to step up its fight against a spike in domestic infections that has yet to peak. While Taiwan is dealing with a rise in local cases, the numbers overall remain small - 15,544 since Jan. 1 - and just four people have died, with more than 99% of those infected reporting either minor or no symptoms. Taiwan's Centres for Disease Control said late Wednesday it had approved second booster shots for the elderly, as well as residents of long-term care facilities.
21st Apr 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 21st Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullFourth COVID-19 vaccine shot possible for some in Mexico, official says
Certain groups of people in Mexico may be able to receive a fourth COVID-19 vaccine shot, a senior government official said on Tuesday. Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell told reporters at a regular news conference that while the government does not currently have plans to roll out a second booster shot nationally, certain people may be eligible to receive one.
20th Apr 2022 - Reuters.com
Norway offers 4th COVID vaccine dose to those aged 80 and over
Norway will offer a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose to those aged 80 and over, the country's Institute of Public Health said on Wednesday.
20th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Israel scraps indoor COVID-19 mask order for second time
Israel told its citizens on Wednesday they could stop wearing COVID-19 masks indoors, its second such revision after the measure was briefly dropped and then restored last year in response to a rise in cases. The scrapping of mandatory masks in closed public venues will go into force on Saturday, subject to approval by a parliament oversight committee, a government statement said.
20th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 20th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullOcugen gains rights to market Covid-19 vaccine in Mexico
Ocugen and Bharat Biotech have signed an amendment to their co-development, supply and commercialisation agreement for expanding the former’s exclusive territory to include marketing of their Covid-19 vaccine, Covaxin (BBV152), in Mexico. With the latest development, Ocugen will have complete commercialisation rights to Covaxin in North America. The expansion of licence between the companies for supply in Mexico has the same profit share structure as in the US.
19th Apr 2022 - Pharmaceutical Technology
Japan’s MHLW grants approval for Takeda’s Covid-19 vaccine
The Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) has granted manufacturing and marketing approval to Takeda’s Covid-19 vaccine, Nuvaxovid Intramuscular Injection, for initial and booster vaccination in people of the age 18 years and above. The recombinant protein-based Covid-19 vaccine contains Matrix-M adjuvant. It can be stored at a refrigerated temperature of 2℃ to 8℃ and requires a standard vaccine supply chain for transportation. In August 2020, Takeda and Novavax entered a collaboration to develop, manufacture and supply the latter’s Covid‑19 vaccine candidate in Japan.
19th Apr 2022 - Pharmaceutical Technology
Covid-19: India accused of trying to delay WHO revision of death toll
India has been accused of attempting to delay an effort by the World Health Organization to revise the global death toll from Covid-19 after its calculations suggested that the country had undercounted its dead by an estimated 3.5 million.
India’s official number of deaths from Covid is 520,000. But according to in-depth analysis and investigations into the data by WHO, the total is more than 4 million, which would be by far the highest country death toll in the world. The figure tallies with previous estimates made by scientists, data analysts and medical journals that the true number of deaths from Covid in India was up to 10 times higher than that recorded in official statistics.
19th Apr 2022 - The Guardian
Japan health ministry panel approves Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine
A Japanese Health Ministry committee said on Monday it has approved Novavax Inc's COVID-19 vaccine, setting the stage for full approval of the country's fourth shot for the coronavirus. The Japanese government has agreed to purchase 150 million doses of Novavax's recombinant protein type vaccine, which is to be manufactured domestically by Takeda Pharmaceutical Co.
19th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Taiwan says COVID vaccine talks held up on China sales deal
Talks on Taiwan buying the child version of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine have stalled as Pfizer does not have the right to sell it and BioNTech and its Chinese partner do not make it, a Taiwanese minister said on Monday. The sales rights for the vaccine in Greater China, including Taiwan, belong to BioNTech and its Chinese sales agent, Shanghai Fosun. A deal for the main version of the vaccine ran aground last year after Taiwan accused China of political interference, which Beijing denied.
19th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Second Global COVID-19 Summit scheduled for May 12
A second Global COVID-19 Summit will be held virtually next month for countries to discuss efforts to end the pandemic and prepare for future health threats, according to a joint statement on Monday. "The emergence and spread of new variants, like Omicron, have reinforced the need for a strategy aimed at controlling COVID-19 worldwide," the White House said in a news release with the Group of Seven and Group of 20 nations.
19th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Poland declines to take or pay for more COVID-19 vaccines for now
Poland will not take or pay for more doses of COVID-19 vaccine under the European Union's supply contract, its health minister said on Tuesday, setting the stage for a legal battle with manufacturers. Poland, along with other EU members, has been receiving COVID-19 vaccines during the coronavirus pandemic under supply contracts agreed between the European Commission and vaccine makers such as BioNTech and Pfizer or Moderna. However, the country has seen lower vaccine uptake than most of the European Union and has surplus vaccine stock, part of which it has sold or donated to other countries.
19th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Analysis: China's Xi sticks with COVID stance despite anger, economic headwinds
For many leaders, mounting public anger and a rapidly worsening economic outlook would be cause for worry and a policy rethink. But Chinese President Xi Jinping, who doubtless would prefer smoother sailing in the run-up to a third leadership term, is doubling down on a signature "dynamic zero" COVID-19 policy that has been increasingly tested by the more infectious Omicron variant. Xi's high-profile reiteration of the policy, made last week during a visit to the southern island of Hainan that capped days of state-media support for it, reflects a political imperative not to reverse course and look weak in a year in which he needs to appear strong, analysts said.
19th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 19th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullUK's Johnson shredded ministerial code with lockdown breaches, constitutional expert says
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has thrust Britain into a constitutional crisis by breaking the law he set for pandemic restrictions, effectively "shredding the ministerial code", the country's leading constitutional expert said on Sunday. Peter Hennessy, a historian and member of the upper house of parliament, said Johnson had become "the great debaser in modern times of decency in public and political life" after he was fined by police for attending a social gathering in Downing Street while lockdown restrictions were in place.
18th Apr 2022 - Reuters
'Last few tweaks' being made to COVID IP waiver deal -WTO chief
The head of the World Trade Organization told Reuters on Thursday that negotiations on an intellectual property deal for COVID-19 vaccines were ongoing between the four parties, saying they were seeking to agree on the proposal's final terms. Since the draft compromise emerged in the media a month ago, pressure from civil society groups has been rising for the parties - the United States, the European Union, India and South Africa - to walk away from the deal. Other public figures have also criticised it such as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, saying it is too narrowly focused on vaccines
15th Apr 2022 - Reuters
FDA authorizes 1st breath test for COVID-19 infection
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday issued an emergency use authorization for what it said is the first device that can detect COVID-19 in breath samples. The InspectIR COVID-19 Breathalyzer is about the size of a piece of carry-on luggage, the FDA said, and can be used in doctor’s offices, hospitals and mobile testing sites. The test, which can provide results in less than three minutes, must be carried out under the supervision of a licensed health care provider. Dr. Jeff Shuren, director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, called the device “yet another example of the rapid innovation occurring with diagnostic tests for COVID-19.”
15th Apr 2022 - The Associated Press
UK clears 6th COVID shot despite canceling deal for doses
British authorities have authorized a coronavirus vaccine for adults made by French drugmaker Valneva, despite the government’s decision last year to cancel an order for at least 100 million doses. The U.K. is the first country to authorize Valneva’s vaccine, which is also under review by the European Medicines Agency. Britain’s medicines regulator said Thursday that the two-dose vaccine is intended for adults ages 18 to 50, with the second dose given about a month after the first.
The Valneva vaccine is made with the decades-old technology used to manufacture shots for flu and polio. It is the sixth COVID-19 vaccine the U.K. has cleared and the only one that utilizes a “killed” virus; scientists grow the coronavirus in a lab and then inactivate the virus so it cannot replicate or infect cells.
14th Apr 2022 - The Associated Press
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 14th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullGreece to lift most remaining coronavirus measures
Greece’s health minister announced Wednesday that most remaining coronavirus measures will be lifted over the next couple of months until the end of August, including the use of vaccine certificates for access to certain services and the mandatory use of masks indoors. Health Minister Thanos Plevris said the need for vaccine certificates or negative COVID-19 tests will be lifted from May 1 to Aug. 31, and would be re-evaluated on Sept. 1. The use of masks indoors will no longer be mandatory as of June 1
13th Apr 2022 - Associated Press
US renews COVID-19 public health emergency
The United States on Wednesday renewed the COVID-19 public health emergency, allowing millions of Americans to keep getting free tests, vaccines and treatments for at least three more months. The public health emergency was initially declared in January 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic began. It has been renewed each quarter since and was due to expire on April 16. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in a statement said it was extending the public health emergency and that it will give states 60 days notice prior to termination or expiration. This could be the last time HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra extends it, policy experts have said.
13th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine Nuvaxovid gets conditional approval in Switzerland
Novavax said Swissmedic granted conditional marketing authorization to its COVID-19 vaccine Nuvaxovid for individuals 18 years of age and older.The company said
13th Apr 2022 - Seeking Alpha
IMF board approves new trust to help members deal with climate change, pandemics
The International Monetary Fund's executive board on Wednesday approved creation of a new facility to help low-income and most middle-income countries deal with longer-term challenges such as climate change and pandemics. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva announced approval of the new Resilience and Sustainability Trust in a statement after the board meeting, and said it would take effect from May 1, with a goal of raising at least $45 billion. She said the trust would amplify the impact of last year's $650 billion allocation of IMF Special Drawing Rights by allowing richer members to channel their emergency reserves to allow vulnerable countries to address longer-term challenges that threatened their economic stability.
13th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 13th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullCDC eases COVID travel assessment for Saudi Arabia, Myanmar, Haiti
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday eased its COVID-19 travel ratings for Saudi Arabia, Myanmar and Haiti. The CDC said it had changed its COVID-19 travel recommendation for the three countries to "Level 1: Low" from "Level 4: Very High," which urges Americans to avoid travel to those locations. In recent weeks, the CDC has been easing ratings on a number of countries around the world as the COVID-19 pandemic recedes. The CDC also on Monday lowered to "Level 1" ratings for Bangladesh, Philippines, and Saint Kitts and Nevis from "Level 2: Moderate."
12th Apr 2022 - Reuters
200,000 Covid-19 vaccines donated to Ivory Coast
The Maltese government has donated 200,000 vaccine doses to Ivory Coast, while it continues to show solidarity with countries in need, in particular to Sub-Saharan Africa. It is the largest ever Covid-19 vaccination donation by the government thus far with national carrier Air Malta facilitating the donation. As part of the humanitarian aid Malta is offering throughout the pandemic, AirMalta conducted its second longest direct flight to the Sub-Saharan country of Ivory Coast. The flight occurred at the beginning of April and took five hours 45 minutes to reach the destination. This was a conjoined effort by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and the Ministry of Health. So far Malta has donated and delivered more than 710,000 vaccines to countries in need. These countries included Libya, Egypt, Ghana and Rwanda.
12th Apr 2022 - The Malta Independent
Thai FDA grants EUA to Novavax-Serum Institute's Covid-19 vaccine
The Thailand Food and Drug Administration (Thai FDA) has granted emergency use authorization (EUA) to Novavax and Serum Institute of India for a protein-based Covid-19 vaccine, NVX-CoV2373. Created from the genetic sequence of the initial SARS-CoV-2 virus strain, the vaccine is formulated with Novavax’s saponin-based Matrix-M adjuvant. The vaccine is authorised for active immunisation for preventing Covid-19 in adults aged 18 years and above. SII will produce and supply the vaccine under the brand name Covovax.
12th Apr 2022 - Pharmaceutical Technology
U.S. orders some personnel to leave Shanghai consulate amid COVID surge
The U.S. State Department on Monday ordered non-emergency U.S. government workers to leave the consulate in Shanghai due to a surge in COVID-19 cases and China's measures to control the virus. On Friday, the State Department announced that non-emergency personnel could voluntarily leave the consulate. It is not clear why the departure of those workers has become mandatory.
12th Apr 2022 - Reuters
British PM and finance minister to be fined over lockdown parties
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his finance minister Rishi Sunak will be fined for breaking Britain's strict coronavirus lockdown rules, his office said on Tuesday, provoking anger and calls for them both to resign. Police have been investigating 12 gatherings at Johnson's Downing Street office and the Cabinet Office after a damning internal inquiry found his staff had enjoyed alcohol-fuelled parties that were not permitted. Johnson said he had attended some of the events, held when social mixing was all but banned by laws his government brought in to curb the spread of COVID-19, but he has always denied knowingly committing any wrongdoing.
12th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Pfizer's COVID pill Paxlovid gets boost in Britain thanks to spot in national trial
Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine and antiviral show little sign of slowing down in the pandemic’s third year. Now, the company’s oral therapy is getting a boost across the Atlantic.
Thousands more people in the U.K. will gain access to Pfizer’s Paxlovid thanks to its inclusion in the national Panoramic study, which is looking at how best to use the pill among Britain’s highly vaccinated population, the country’s Department of Health and Social Care said Tuesday.
Paxlovid is the second antiviral to enter the Panoramic fray behind Merck & Co. and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics’ molnupiravir, Britain’s health ministry pointed out. The drug has been shown to slash the risk of hospitalization or death by 88% in clinical studies, and it’s already available in the U.K. for patients with
12th Apr 2022 - FiercePharma
Filipinos urged to get booster shots to save 80 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines
Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion has encouraged citizens to get their needed booster shots against COVID-19 so as not to waste vaccines already available for use.
Concepcion earlier revealed that 27M doses of COVID vaccines are set to expire by July. These vaccines which are a combination of procured vaccines and donations, are part of a total of around 80 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines in storage.The 80 million doses of various brands of COVID-19 vaccines with an estimated worth of P40 billion are currently stored in the Department of Health’s 3rd party logistics warehouses, regional warehouses and Zuellig’s warehouse. “We call on fellow Filipinos to think about their safety and the safety of their families as well and get their booster shots immediately. As citizens, we also have a responsibility to help our government in its efforts to control the pandemic and ensure our safety while keeping the economy open,” Concepcion said.
10th Apr 2022 - Philstar.com
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 12th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullBoris Johnson Rejects NHS UK New Covid Restrictions Request
Boris Johnson rejected calls from National Health Service officials for new measures to curb the spread of coronavirus, saying hospital data don’t justify shifting from the U.K. plan for “living with Covid.” The NHS Confederation over the weekend demanded a “revamp” of the strategy to ease pressure on hospitals, which the organization said are struggling to deal with “critically high demand for emergency care.” It also accused the government of abandoning “any interest in Covid whatsoever.” More than 20,000 patients are currently in the hospital with Covid-19, the most since February 2021. That’s hampering NHS efforts to reduce waiting times that soared during the pandemic, according to the confederation.
11th Apr 2022 - Bloomberg
Catalonia's Hipra Covid-19 vaccine could be on the market by June
The Covid-19 vaccine made by Catalan pharmaceutical company Hipra, which was found to generate more antibodies than the Pfizer jab, could be placed on the market by late May or early June, Spain's science minister Diana Morant said on Monday in an interview with public broadcaster TV3. The European Medicines Agency is currently conducting a rolling review of the protein-based vaccine that is intended to be used as a booster for adults who have already been fully vaccinated with other jabs. "Hipra is an example of a successful public-private partnership," Morant said. The Spanish government allocated €18 million towards its development. "We wish Hipra a lot of success with their vaccine that has many advantages over others that we've already been inoculated with," she added.
11th Apr 2022 - Catalan News
Moderna and Rovi Pharma recall Covid-19 vaccine doses
Moderna and Rovi Pharma have recalled a batch of 764,900 doses of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine, Spikevax. The move comes after a foreign body was detected in one of the vials from the batch produced at Rovi’s contract manufacturing site in Spain. The company noted that the contaminated vial was punctured and was not used for administration to people. Moderna’s marketing authorisation holders Moderna Biotech Spain and Rovi were informed of the issue through a complaint on the product from an inoculation centre in Málaga, Spain.
11th Apr 2022 - Pharmaceutical Technology
Japan cancels a third of contracted Astrazeneca vaccine purchase
Japan has cancelled the purchase of about 40 million Astrazeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses it agreed to buy last year, a health ministry official said in parliament on Monday. The contract allowed the government to cancel a portion of the supply if it was unneeded, the official said in response to lawmakers' questioning. Japan had originally agreed to buy 120 million of the shots, with the bulk made domestically by Daiichi Sankyo and other local partners.
11th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Germany agrees deal with CureVac, GSK for mRNA vaccines until 2029
Germany has signed a contract with CureVac and its British partner GlaxoSmithKline for domestically produced mRNA vaccines to bolster supplies in case of public health emergencies, the German biotech firm said on Monday. The five-year contract allows for production of up to 80 million doses at short notice until 2029, CureVac said, adding that those doses could be for the remainder of the current pandemic or future outbreaks.
11th Apr 2022 - Reuters
China labels U.S. concerns over COVID regulations 'groundless accusations'
China's foreign ministry expressed "strong dissatisfaction" with the United States late on Saturday after it raised concerns over China's coronavirus control measures. The U.S. State Department said on Friday that non-emergency staff at its Shanghai consulate and families of U.S. employees could leave due to a surge in COVID cases and coronavirus restrictions in the city. "We express strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to the groundless accusations against China's pandemic prevention policy from the U.S. in its statement, and have lodged solemn representations," foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said in a statement.
11th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Taiwan orders Pfizer's COVID-19 pill as infections rise
Taiwan has ordered 700,000 units of Pfizer's anti-viral COVID-19 pill Paxlovid, its health minister said on Monday, amid a steady increase in the number of infections as the government pledges to gradually reopen its borders. Taiwan has kept the pandemic well under control thanks to strict and early control measures. But daily infections have been rising in recent weeks, with 439 new cases reported on Monday, the second highest daily increase this year.
11th Apr 2022 - Reuters
WHO says it is analysing two new Omicron COVID sub-variants
The World Health Organization said on Monday it is tracking a few dozen cases of two new sub-variants of the highly transmissible Omicron strain of the coronavirus to assess whether they are more infectious or dangerous. It has added BA.4 and BA.5, sister variants of the original BA.1 Omicron variant, to its list for monitoring. It is already tracking BA.1 and BA.2 - now globally dominant - as well as BA.1.1 and BA.3. The WHO said it had begun tracking them because of their "additional mutations that need to be further studied to understand their impact on immune escape potential".
11th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 11th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullWHO: Two-thirds of people in Africa may have had COVID
More than two-thirds of people living in Africa may have contracted COVID-19 over the past two years, about 97 times more than the number of reported infections, a World Health Organization (WHO) report has suggested. Laboratory tests have detected 11.5 million COVID-19 cases and 252,000 fatalities across the African continent. But according to the report released on Thursday, some 800 million people could have already been infected by last September. Officials at the WHO’s Africa region said the study – which is still being peer-reviewed – suggests the officially confirmed numbers were “likely only scratching the surface of the real extent of coronavirus infections in Africa”. “A new meta-analysis of standardised sero-prevalence study revealed that the true number of infections could be as much as 97 times higher than the number of confirmed reported cases,” said WHO Africa boss Matshidiso Moeti.
9th Apr 2022 - Al Jazeera English
Vaccine group Gavi secures $4.8 billion in funding pledges for COVAX
The global vaccine alliance Gavi has secured $4.8 billion in funding pledges for the vaccine-sharing scheme COVAX, an official said on Friday, falling just shy of its target. "It is really putting us in a very comfortable position," Marie-Ange Saraka-Yao, managing director for resource mobilization at Gavi, told a virtual media briefing. The group had previously said it needed an additional $5.2 billion to continue delivering COVID-19 vaccines at scale as part of its global programme that delivers shots to poorer countries
9th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Pfizer Covid-19 booster shots approved for children aged 12-15 by Therapeutic Goods Administration
Australia's medical regulator has given approval for 12 to 15-year-olds to receive a COVID-19 booster. The Therapeutic Goods Administration gave provisional approval for people in the Year 7 to 10 age range to receive the Pfizer booster.
A final green light will need to be given by the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation before the boosters can be rolled out to them. The medical regulator has recommended the booster be given six months after the primary course of a COVID-19 vaccine.
9th Apr 2022 - Daily Mail
ECDC and EMA Issue Advice on Fourth Doses of mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines
ECDC and EMA have concluded that it is too early to consider using a fourth dose of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in the general population. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Medicine Agency’s (EMA’s) COVID-19 task force (ETC) have concluded that it is too early to consider using a fourth dose of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in the general population. The vaccines being referred to are Pfizer’s Comirnaty and Moderna’s Spikevax. ECDC and EMA concluded that there is currently no clear evidence in the European Union that adults with normal immune systems will benefit from a fourth dose. However, in adults aged 80 years and older, the agencies agreed that a fourth dose may be administered for the protection against COVID-19. There may be a reevaluation of recommending a fourth dose for adults aged 60 to 79 years depending on the epidemiological situation changes and new data. As of now, there is no clear evidence that the current three-dose vaccination system is decreasing in effectiveness for this age group.
9th Apr 2022 - BioPharm International
The leaked WTO COVID patent waiver text promises a very bad deal
In October 2020, South Africa and India’s governments tabled a bold proposal (PDF) at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to temporarily waive intellectual property (IP) protections for producing COVID-19 vaccines and other coronavirus-related medical tools for the duration of the pandemic. The proposal aimed to address an urgent problem: multinational pharmaceutical companies and their backers using their monopoly power to prevent vaccine and medical product manufacturers across the world from scaling up production to meet global needs.
It has been more than a year since the proposal was tabled, and the ongoing disparities in access to timely supplies of vaccines and other key technologies show the need for a waiver agreement is still as urgent as ever.
9th Apr 2022 - Al Jazeera English
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 8th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullJapan to lift COVID entry ban for 106 countries including U.S.
Japan plans to ease COVID 19-related border restrictions by lifting its entry ban for foreignnationals from 106 countries including the United States, Britain and France on Friday, the government said. Tokyo has been gradually relaxing pandemic-induced curbs but the loosened border regime does not mean a full reopening to tourists. The foreign ministry said in an update on Wednesday that foreigners from the 106 countries would not be subject to denial of permission to enter Japan from Friday, but foreigners with tourist purposes were still not allowed into the country.
7th Apr 2022 - Reuters
U.S. House passes $55 billion in COVID aid for restaurants, other hard-hit firms
The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved a $55 billion COVID-19 aid bill aimed at helping restaurants, bars and other businesses that are still struggling through the pandemic. By a vote of 223-203, the House approved the measure earmarking $42 billion for restaurants that have applied for aid but not received it because a $28.6 billion fund is depleted. The measure, which has not yet been considered by the Senate, was moving through the House as Congress was about to embark on a nearly three-week spring recess. The legislation was supported by only a handful of Republicans.
7th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Long Covid numbers rise to 1.7m in UK as MPs warn of economic impact
More than three-quarters of a million people in the UK have had long Covid for at least a year, figures show. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates 1.7 million people were likely to be experiencing symptoms of long Covid in the four weeks to March 5, the equivalent of 2.7 per cent of the population. This is up by 13 per cent from 1.5 million people a month earlier, and includes 784,000 people who first had Covid-19, or suspected they had the virus, at least one year ago – the highest number so far.
7th Apr 2022 - iNews
No evidence to support widespread use of fourth COVID shot - EU agencies
EU health agencies said on Wednesday there was no evidence to support the use of a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer (PFE.N) and Moderna (MRNA.O) in the general population, but they recommend a second booster for people aged 80 and above. There is no clear evidence in the European Union that vaccine protection against severe disease is waning substantially in adults with normal immune systems aged 60-79, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said in a joint statement.
7th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 7th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullFDA suspends use of GSK-Vir's sotrovimab for Covid-19 treatment in US
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has updated the emergency use authorization (EUA) for GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Vir Biotechnology’s sotrovimab and suspended its use to treat Covid-19. Sotrovimab is an investigational monoclonal antibody that binds to the epitope of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to neutralise it. The regulatory authority noted that the antibody is unlikely to be effective against the Omicron BA.2 sub-variant, which is causing a rise in the number of Covid-19 cases in the region. The proportion of the sub-variant-caused Covid-19 cases is more than 50% in all Health and Human Services (HHS) US regions, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Nowcast data showed.
6th Apr 2022 - Pharmaceutical Technology
Covid-19: WHO suspends supplies of India's Covaxin through UN agencies
The World Health Organization has suspended the supply of Covaxin through UN procurement agencies because of manufacturing irregularities. Covaxin is India’s indigenous covid-19 vaccine, produced by the Hyderabad based Bharat Biotech.
A spokesperson for WHO told The BMJ that the suspension had come after a broader inspection of a few companies in India by the agency. “In the case of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin manufacturing site, problems were detected in some parts of the manufacturing process, and changes were made after the emergency use listing was granted,” said the spokesperson. “But [these] were not submitted to the national drug regulator and WHO for evaluation and validation. However, the company is fully aware and cooperative.” The move came a day after Bharat Biotech announced that it would be scaling down its production of Covaxin domestically, as demand was dropping and infections were reducing alongside wider immunisation coverage in India. Covaxin received emergency use authorisation from India’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organization in January 2021 and was included in the nationwide immunisation drive.
6th Apr 2022 - The BMJ
Canada panel makes initial recommendations on second COVID booster shot
An official Canadian panel has provided initial recommendations on the use of a second COVID-19 vaccine booster dose for some Canadians as infections rise in many parts of the country, Health Canada said on Tuesday. The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) recommended Canadian jurisdictions to prepare for the deployment of a second vaccine booster dose program over the coming weeks prioritizing people 80 years old and over and residents of long-term care.
6th Apr 2022 - Reuters
U.S. Fed bars six former bankers over COVID grant fraud
The U.S. Federal Reserve on Tuesday said it had barred six former bank executives from Regions Bank and Bank of America Merrill Lynch from the industry for fraudulently obtaining COVID-19 pandemic relief grants. Under the CARES Act, some small businesses were eligible to receive funds to mitigate the effects of the pandemic. The six individuals obtained funds based on fraudulent representations and used the money for unauthorized personal expenses, the Fed said.
6th Apr 2022 - Reuters.com
COVAX, African Union decline to buy more doses of Moderna's COVID shots
COVAX, the global project to share COVID-19 vaccines, and the African Union have declined options to buy additional doses of Moderna's shot, as developing nations struggle to allocate supplies. The global alliance did not exercise the option for 166 million doses of the shot for the third quarter of 2022, as well for 166 million doses in the fourth quarter, which expired on April 1, a Moderna spokesperson said.
6th Apr 2022 - Reuters.com
Biden launches U.S. plan to help Americans struggling with long COVID
President Joe Biden has tasked the U.S. health department with developing a national action plan to tackle the looming health crisis of long COVID, a complex, multi-symptom condition that leaves many of its sufferers unable to work. Long COVID, which arises months after a COVID-19 infection, affects nearly 7% of all U.S. adults and 2.3% of the overall population and has cost an estimated $386 billion in lost wages, savings and medical bills, according to an analysis by the Solve Long Covid Initiative, a non-profit research and advocacy group
6th Apr 2022 - Reuters.com
FDA pulls authorization for GSK-Vir's COVID therapy as BA.2 cases rise
The U.S. health regulator said on Tuesday GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotechnology's antibody therapy was no longer authorized as a COVID-19 treatment, with data suggesting it was unlikely to be effective against the dominant Omicron sub-variant in the country. The move by the agency, which had already pulled its authorization for the sotrovimab therapy in much of the U.S. northeast last month, sent shares in Vir Biotechnology 11.5% lower. The highly contagious BA.2 coronavirus sub-variant is estimated to make up about three of every four COVID-19 cases in the United States, according to the latest government data
6th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Japan to lift COVID entry ban for 106 countries including U.S.
Japan plans to ease COVID 19-related border restrictions by lifting its entry ban for foreign nationals from 106 countries including the United States, Britain and France on Friday, the government said. Tokyo has been gradually relaxing pandemic-induced curbs but the loosened border regime does not mean a full reopening to tourists.
6th Apr 2022 - Reuters.com
China relies on traditional medicine to fight COVID surge in Shanghai
Shanghai is distributing to residents millions of boxes of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), such as herbal products and flu capsules, which it says can treat COVID-19 in the battle to control its largest virus outbreak. China's commercial capital, now under an extended lockdown, reported more than 17,000 new COVID-19 infections on April 5, including 311 symptomatic cases, among a population of more than 26 million. "Facing the extremely transmissible Omicron variant, we should use TCM treatment as soon as possible," said Fang Min, president of the city's Shuguang Hospital.
6th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 6th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullCovid Antibody Therapy From Vir, Glaxo Loses U.S. Authorization
A Covid-19 antibody treatment from Vir Biotechnology Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline Plc lost its U.S. authorization as the therapy is unlikely to work against the dominant omicron BA.2 subvariant, regulators said. The treatment, sotrovimab, is no longer authorized in any U.S. state or territory, since the subvariant accounts for more than half of virus cases in all regions, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday in a statement. Last month, the agency limited use of the drug only in parts of the country where the the subvariant dominated. Recent data suggested the treatment was less effective against BA.2 than other variants.
5th Apr 2022 - Bloomberg
Biden launches U.S. plan to help Americans struggling with long COVID
President Joe Biden on Tuesday tasked the U.S. health department with developing a national action plan to tackle the looming health crisis of long COVID, a complex, multi-symptom condition that leaves many of its sufferers unable to work. Long COVID, which arises months after a COVID-19 infection, affects nearly 7% of all U.S. adults and 2.3% of the overall population and has cost an estimated $386 billion in lost wages, savings and medical bills, according to an analysis by the Solve Long Covid Initiative, a non-profit research and advocacy group.
5th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Canada panel makes initial recommendations on second COVID booster shot
An official Canadian panel has provided initial recommendations on the use of a second COVID-19 vaccine booster dose for some Canadians as infections rise in many parts of the country, Health Canada said. The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) recommended Canadian jurisdictions to prepare for the deployment of a second vaccine booster dose program over the coming weeks prioritizing people 80 years old and over and residents of long-term care.
5th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Using the False Claims Act to combat COVID-19 fraud
The COVID-19 pandemic and the attendant economic crisis precipitated the largest increase in government spending in American history. Major stimulus legislation such as the CARES Act of 2020, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 created and funded programs that added trillions of dollars to the U.S. economy at lightning speed. While these efforts helped millions of Americans, the unprecedented flood of money also provided ample opportunity for unscrupulous actors. The Small Business Administration's Office of Inspector General estimates that the agency handed out more than $80 billion in potentially fraudulent loans during the pandemic.
5th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Is Covid Over? African Union, Covax Turn Down Moderna (MRNA) Vaccine Doses
Two buyers of Covid-19 vaccines for low- and middle-income countries have declined options to purchase hundreds of millions of additional doses from Moderna Inc., a sign of waning demand as the pandemic eases. The African Union and Covax, the World Health Organization-backed group, decided not to obtain more of the vaccine as developing nations struggle to turn supplies into inoculations. Lower-income countries left behind in the global rollout are now grappling with a lack of funds, hesitancy, supply-chain obstacles and other factors that are hampering distribution.
5th Apr 2022 - Bloomberg
US to donate more than 100mn children's Covid doses to poorer countries
The Biden administration will soon start donating children’s doses of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine to poorer countries for the first time, although officials warn some might not reach their intended recipients because of a fight in Congress over pandemic funding. The donation of more than 100mn doses for five to 11-year-olds, which is set to be announced on Tuesday, is part of the administration’s pledge to give a total of 1.2bn doses of the Covid-19 vaccine to low- and middle-income countries. But Biden administration officials say a congressional dispute over billions of dollars’ worth of extra Covid funding could mean the jabs do not get to where they are needed.
5th Apr 2022 - Financial Times
Here's what's in the $10 billion Covid-19 aid bill
The Senate has reached a bipartisan deal to provide an additional $10 billion in Covid-19 assistance, less than half of what the White House originally had requested. It would allow the Biden administration to purchase more vaccines and therapeutics, as well as maintain testing capacity and research. But it does not include $5 billion in funding for global Covid-19 aid, nor would it replenish the program that pays for testing, treating and vaccinating the uninsured. The deal would be paid for using unspent funds from the Democrats' $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, which was enacted in March 2021.
5th Apr 2022 - CNN
New Zealand’s Covid strategy was one of the world’s most successful – what can we learn from it?
Two weeks ago marked the two-year anniversary of New Zealand’s adoption of the elimination strategy and a lockdown that successfully stamped out the first wave of Covid-19. By chance, it was also the week that the government announced a major relaxation of Covid-19 control measures in response to the Omicron variant wave sweeping the country. By most metrics, the New Zealand Covid-19 response – the initial elimination strategy which has now transitioned to a mitigation strategy – has been one of the most successful in the world. It got the country through the first 18 months of the pandemic until vaccines became widely available, giving it very low Covid-19 mortality rates. Life expectancy actually increased during this period. Protecting public health has also been good for protecting the economy, resulting in relatively good economic growth and low unemployment
5th Apr 2022 - The Guardian
IMF calls for $15 bln this year to manage long-term risks of COVID
Countries around the world should provide $15 billion in grants this year and $10 billion a year thereafter to manage the long-term risks of COVID-19, the International Monetary Fund said in a new staff paper released on Tuesday. The paper, prepared with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the Global Fund, and charitable group Wellcome, said a new, more comprehensive approach was needed immediately to strengthen global health systems and limit the already staggering $13.8 trillion cost of the pandemic.
5th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Mexico says WTO COVID vaccine deal should go beyond IP waiver
Any World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement on COVID-19 vaccines should include more than just a waiver on intellectual property, Mexico's representative to the trade body said, in a sign that consensus is proving tough to forge. The United States, the European Union, India and South Africa reached a provisional consensus on elements of a long-sought IP waiver for the vaccines, according to a document that circulated among governments last month
5th Apr 2022 - Reuters Canada
China Variants and Omicron XE Put Fresh Focus on Covid Mutations
The disclosure of new Covid variants emerging in China and the rise of a potentially more transmissible strain in the U.K. has recast the spotlight on the ongoing risk of the virus, even as health experts say there’s no reason to panic. The World Health Organization said a hybrid of two omicron strains -- BA.1 and BA.2 -- that was first detected in the U.K. and dubbed XE could be the most transmissible variant yet. It is estimated to spread 10% more easily than BA.2, which itself was more transmissible than the original omicron famous for its ease of penetration.
4th Apr 2022 - Bloomberg
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 5th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullSenate Reaches Deal on Covid Funding That Leaves Out Global Aid
Senate Democrats and Republicans have struck a deal to provide $10 billion for coronavirus vaccines and therapeutics after Democrats dropped a last-minute attempt to include global vaccination funds in the bill. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican Senator Mitt Romney of Utah, who had been leading negotiations on the package, announced the agreement Monday. It meets GOP demands that any new Covid-19 funds be paid for with unspent funds from earlier pandemic relief packages. The bill would provide far less money than the $22.5 billion that President Joe Biden sought early last month, though lawmakers widely expect another infusion will be needed, especially if a new variant of the disease spreads.
4th Apr 2022 - Bloomberg
Thai PM takes delivery of 3.2 million Pfizer vaccines donated by France; Covid-19 cases still registering above 24,000 in country
The French ambassador to Thailand on Monday handed over 3.2 million doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha. Ambassador Thierry Mathou met Prayut at Government House on Monday morning to formally hand over the vaccine shipment donated to Thailand by France. After the meeting, government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkrongchana said Prayut thanked France for the donation and lauded the envoy for helping coordinate close bilateral ties.
4th Apr 2022 - The Star
Biological E to get mRNA technology from WHO to produce Covid vaccines
In a mkaoCity-based vaccine maker Biological E. Limited on Monday said the company was selected as a recipient of mRNA technology to produce COVID-19 vaccines from the World Health Organisation. A press release from BE Limited said the WHO's Advisory Committee on Vaccine Product Development (ACPDV) selected the firm after examining a number of proposals from India, as a recipient of mRNA (ribonucleic acid) technology from the global health body's technology transfer hub.
4th Apr 2022 - Business Standard
Low number of Covid cases now as India chose right vaccine: Serum CEO
Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla on Monday said the low number of COVID-19 cases at the moment was because the country chose the right vaccine.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the 'Alternate Fuel Conclave', he said the fourth wave, if at all it occurs, will hopefully be mild. Speaking on the booster dose, he said, "About the booster dose, we have appealed to the government, because everyone who needs to travel, needs the booster dose. They (government) are having internal discussions and a policy on booster dose may be announced soon."
4th Apr 2022 - Business Standard
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 4th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullSenators Eye $10 Billion Covid-19 Deal Ahead of Possible Resurgence
Senators are looking to close a deal this coming week to reappropriate roughly $10 billion to pay for Covid-19 treatments and vaccines, with lawmakers saying they need to act quickly ahead of a possible resurgence of the pandemic. A bipartisan group of senators has sought to give the Biden administration some of what it has requested to address future variants of Covid-19 and secure a domestic supply of tests, vaccines and treatments in coming months, as well as send vaccines abroad.
Negotiators are looking at pandemic-related funds that Congress has previously passed that remain unspent, after Republicans resisted new outlays and many Democrats rejected a previous deal involving $15.6 billion in repurposed funding.
3rd Apr 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
WHO Suspends Procurement, Supply of Bharat Biotech Covid Vaccine
The World Health Organization suspended procurement and supply of Covaxin, a Covid-19 vaccine made by Bharat Biotech International Ltd., citing issues following an inspection at the company’s facilities. The Indian vaccine maker has committed to address deficiencies in good manufacturing practices and is developing a corrective and preventive action plan, the World Health Organization said, without specifying when the suspension will be lifted. It recommended countries which have received the vaccine to “take actions as appropriate.” The World Health Organization granted emergency use authorization to the vaccine co-developed by India’s medical research agency and the local manufacturer in November. It said the suspension doesn’t change the vaccine’s risk assessment, and data indicates it is effective and no safety concerns exist.
3rd Apr 2022 - Bloomberg
Public Policies - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 1st Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullFDA grants Pfizer/BioNTech expanded EUA for an additional COVID-19 vaccine booster
Pfizer/BioNTech have been given an expanded emergency use authorisation (EUA) by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its COVID-19 vaccine. This allows the vaccine to be given to adults ages 50 years and older as a second booster. Eligible adults can have had any authorised COVID-19 vaccine as their first booster. A second booster dose has also authorised for those aged 12 years and older who are immunocompromised, and have had a first booster dose of any authorised COVID-19 vaccine. The second booster should be given at least four months after the initial booster and could potentially restore antibody levels and improve protection in older people. It is the same formulation and strength as previous Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine doses. The companies’ vaccine already has EUA authorisation for use as a single booster for those aged 12 and older who have already had two doses of the vaccine. Those aged 18 and older could have received any approved COVID-19 vaccines for their initial two doses.
31st Mar 2022 - PMLiVE
Health Ministry provides coronavirus vaccine to refugees using UNHCR certificate
In Egypt, the Ministry of Health and Population announced that they will provide the coronavirus vaccines to refugees and asylum seekers through medical teams without registering on the ministry’s website, pointing out that the vaccination can be obtained with a passport or a UNHCR certificate. The ministry pointed out, in an official statement, that coronavirus vaccines were available at several metro stations. The Ministry added it targets vaccinating 70 percent of citizens by the end of June to reach herd immunity, so that coronavirus precautionary measures could be eased.
31st Mar 2022 - Egypt Independent
EMA starts review of Sanofi-GSK COVID vaccine application