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U.S. health regulators this week advised states to temporarily stop using Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine after six women developing a rare but potentially life-threatening blood-clotting disorder. Meg Tirrell has the details. The CEO of Pfizer said it is likely people will need booster shots within 12 months of getting fully vaccinated. I've got that story below.
Programming update: Microsoft Healthcare's Peter Lee, Mayo Clinic's John Halamka and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Toni Hoover are joining the Healthy Returns Summit on May 4. Don't miss their critical discussions. We'll also hear from Pfizer Head of R&D Kathrin Jansen, Eli Lilly CEO Dave Ricks, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky and more. Check out the full lineup and register now.
| | J&J's vaccine pause: will it boost or hinder vaccine confidence? | After six reports of what appear to be the same rare blood clots as were seen with the AstraZeneca vaccine in Europe, regulators recommended pausing use of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine in the U.S. while the risk was investigated. On Wednesday, a CDC advisory panel deliberated for four hours before deciding to continue collecting data for another week and a half before issuing an updated recommendation for the vaccine's use. The move was heralded by some as a beacon of transparency in the regulatory process that should boost confidence in the safety of vaccines, but disparaged by others as an unnecessary hesitation that will shake the U.S. vaccine effort. The events also raise questions about the entire class of vaccines using adenovirus vectors, which includes Russia's Sputnik V and a shot from China's CanSino.
-Meg Tirrell | | | | Moderna vaccine is highly effective six months after second shot | Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine was more than 90% effective at protecting against Covid and more than 95% effective against severe disease up to six months after the second dose, the company said this week, citing updated data from its phase three clinical trial. The updated data comes after Pfizer said earlier this month its vaccine, which uses technology similar to Moderna's, was also shown to be highly effective for at least six months. Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease specialist who has sat on several drug data and safety monitoring boards, told me he's glad to hear that both mRNA vaccines are highly effective at six months. "I think it is fair to estimate that they will both have decent efficacy for many months beyond this," he said.
-Berkeley Lovelace Jr. | | | | Pfizer CEO says third Covid vaccine dose likely needed within 12 months | Although the Covid-19 vaccines are highly effective for at least six months, researchers still expect protection to wane after a while. In comments that were made public this week, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told CNBC's Bertha Coombs that people will "likely" need a booster dose of a Covid-19 vaccine within 12 months of getting fully vaccinated. He also said it is possible people will need to get vaccinated against the coronavirus annually. Pfizer has previously said it is testing a booster shot with its partner BioNTech. The comment comes after Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky told CNBC in February that people may need to get vaccinated against Covid-19 annually, just like seasonal flu shots. Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel told CNBC on Wednesday that the company hopes to have a booster shot for its two-dose vaccine available in the fall.
-Berkeley Lovelace Jr. | | | | Fauci says the ultimate endgame is a universal coronavirus vaccine | Responding to Democrat Congressman Bill Foster's question about the next generation of vaccines at a House hearing, Dr. Fauci said that the ultimate endgame is a universal coronavirus vaccine. Booster shots against dangerous variants like the one first discovered in South Africa are already being tested, but beyond that, Fauci says a universal coronavirus vaccine is the ultimate goal. "There are a number of ways of doing that, we have important and new platform technologies and we believe for example that we can apply the mRNA technology to get to that goal of getting a broad response against all possible variants."
-Rich Mendez | | | | Covid infection rate is approaching highest level ever, WHO chief warns | The head of the World Health Organization said Friday that an alarming rise in Covid-19 cases has pushed global infections toward their highest level in the pandemic. "Globally, the number of new cases per week has nearly doubled over the past two months. This is approaching the highest rate of infection that we have seen so far during the pandemic," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a press briefing. Tedros said the United Nations health agency will continue to assess the evolution of the coronavirus crisis and "adjust advice accordingly."
-Sam Meredith | |
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