Patient deaths: 1,019,083
Total vaccine doses distributed: 770,337,705
Patients whove received the first dose: 259,957,415
Patients whove received the second dose: 222,271,398
% of population fully vaccinated (both doses, not including boosters): 66.9%
% tied to Omicron variant: 100%
% tied to Other: 0%
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Soldiers in the Army Reserve and National Guard who refuse to take the COVID-19 vaccine wont be allowed to attend any federally funded activities, including their monthly drills, and wont receive pay or retirement credit, the Pentagon announced.
Troops refusing the vaccine, with an approved or pending exemption, could also face a reprimand or a bar from service.
The new regulations took effect on July 1 following the directive from Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
Unit commanders will be able to activate and pay soldiers for limited administrative purposes, such as receiving the vaccine, processing their exemption requests, or conducting separation procedures, Army officials said in a statement.
The order could impact an estimated 40,000 troops. It takes effect just as many reserve and national guard soldiers are heading out to attend their annual drills. The long-term impact of the Army vaccination order isnt immediately clear. The Army both full-time and reserve components is facing significant recruiting challenges.
While the Army allows soldiers to apply for exemptions, only a handful have been granted.
The U.S. Army Reserve is under federal control, so the latest order is easier to enforce. It is a different case for the U.S. Army National Guard, however. It operates under a dual-command structure. A state governor is commander-in-chief until the guard unit gets federally activated.
The Army says 87% of National Guard troops are fully vaccinated while the rate for the Army Reserve is slightly higher at 88%.
For more information, visit The Washington Times COVID-19 resource page.
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Army stops pay for guard and reserve troops who won't get a COVID-19 vaccine - Washington Times
June 17, 2022: FDA authorizes Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccines for children down to 6 months of age. View press release and press conference.
On August 23, 2021, FDA announced the first approval of a COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine has been known as the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, and will now be marketed as Comirnaty, for the prevention of COVID-19 in individuals 16 years of age and older.
Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine is authorized for emergency use as a:
On February 11, 2022, in consultation with FDA, CDC updated the emergency use instructions to provide information about the primary, additional, and booster doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines in certain individuals.
06/29/2022
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City of Oakland Head Start Vaccine Clinic
The City of Oakland Head Start will be hosting vaccine clinics for everyone 6 months and up. City of Oakland Head Start encourages families to come, get vaccinated, and receive information about services. No appointment is needed. The clinic is free. No insurance is needed.
Thursday, July 14, 2022 and Thursday, August 11, 2022
9AM - 1PM
Downtown Senior Center 200 Grand Ave., Oakland, CA
East Oakland Senior Center 9255 Edes Ave., Oakland, CA
Thursday, July 21, 2022 and Thursday, August 18th, 2022
9AM - 1PM
West Oakland Senior Center 1724 Adeline St., Oakland, CA
KinderCare Vaccination Site (Fremont)
KinderCare is offering free vaccine clinics. There is no appointment needed and Moderna is available for 6 months to 5 years of age and Pfizer is available for 5 years and older.
Saturday, July 23, 2022 and Saturday, August, 20, 2022
9AM - 1PM
KinderCare 38700 Paseo Padre Pkwy., Fremont, CA
Click here for flyer.
Alameda County Public Health Department
For more information on providers offering the COVID-19 vaccine for ages 6 months to 4 years old, click here. (Click the drop down menu titled "Clinics at Health Care Partners" for site and appointment information.)
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FDA Recommends COVID-19 Vaccines Available to - City of Oakland
GAITHERSBURG, Md., July 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Novavax,Inc. (Nasdaq: NVAX), a biotechnology company dedicated to developing and commercializing next-generation vaccines for serious infectious diseases, today announced that the European Commission (EC) has approved the expanded conditional marketing authorization (CMA) of Nuvaxovid (NVX-CoV2373) COVID-19 vaccine in the European Union (EU) for adolescents aged 12 through 17. The approval follows the positive recommendation made by the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use on June 23, 2022.
"With this authorization, we are extremely pleased to be able to offer our Nuvaxovid COVID-19 vaccine to adolescents in the EU," said Stanley C. Erck, President and Chief Executive Officer, Novavax. "Our protein-based vaccine was developed using an innovative approach to traditional technology and has demonstrated efficacy and safety in both adolescents and adults."
The authorization was based on data from the ongoing pediatric expansionof PREVENT-19, a pivotal Phase 3 trial of 2,247 adolescents aged 12 through 17 years across 73 sites in the U.S., to evaluate the safety, effectiveness (immunogenicity), and efficacy of Nuvaxovid. In the trial, Nuvaxovid achieved its primary effectiveness endpoint and demonstrated 80% clinical efficacy overall at a time when the Delta variant was the predominant circulating SARS-CoV-2 strain in the U.S.
Preliminary safety data from the trial showed the vaccine to be generally well-tolerated. Serious and severe adverse events were low in number and balanced between vaccine and placebo groups, and not considered related to the vaccine. Local and systemic reactogenicity was generally lower than or similar to adults, after the first and second dose. The most common adverse reactions observed were injection site tenderness/pain, headache, myalgia, fatigue, and malaise. There was no increase in reactogenicity in younger (12 to <15 years old) adolescents compared to older (15 to <18 years old) adolescents. No new safety signal was observed through the placebo-controlled portion of the study.
The EC granted CMA for Nuvaxovid to prevent COVID-19 in individuals aged 18 and over in December 2021. In addition to the EC's expanded CMA, Indiahas granted emergency use authorization in the 12 through 17 year-old population.
Authorization in the U.S.
NVX-CoV2373 has not yet been authorized for use in the U.S. and the trade name Nuvaxovid has not yet been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Important Safety Information
For additional information on Nuvaxovid, please visit the following websites:
About NVX-CoV2373NVX-CoV2373 is a protein-based vaccine engineered from the genetic sequence of the first strain of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 disease. The vaccine was created using Novavax' recombinant nanoparticle technology to generate antigen derived from the coronavirus spike (S) protein and is formulated with Novavax' patented saponin-based Matrix-M adjuvant to enhance the immune response and stimulate high levels of neutralizing antibodies. NVX-CoV2373 contains purified protein antigen and can neither replicate, nor can it cause COVID-19.
The Novavax COVID-19 vaccine is packaged as a ready-to-use liquid formulation in a vial containing ten doses. The vaccination regimen calls for two 0.5 ml doses (5 mcg antigen and 50 mcg Matrix-M adjuvant) given intramuscularly 21 days apart. The vaccine is stored at 2- 8 Celsius, enabling the use of existing vaccine supply and cold chain channels. Use of the vaccine should be in accordance with official recommendations.
Novavax has established partnerships for the manufacture, commercialization and distribution of NVX-CoV2373 worldwide. Existing authorizations leverage Novavax' manufacturing partnership with Serum Institute of India, the world's largest vaccine manufacturer by volume. They will later be supplemented with data from additional manufacturing sites throughout Novavax' global supply chain.
About the NVX-CoV2373 Phase 3 TrialsNVX-CoV2373 continues being evaluated in two pivotal Phase 3 trials.
PREVENT-19 (thePRE-fusion protein subunitVaccineEfficacyNovavaxTrial | COVID-19) is a 2:1 randomized, placebo-controlled, observer-blinded trial to evaluate the efficacy, safety and immunogenicity of NVX-CoV2373 with Matrix-M adjuvant in 29,960 participants 18 years of age and over in 119 locations inthe U.S.andMexico. The primary endpoint for PREVENT-19 was the first occurrence of PCR-confirmed symptomatic (mild, moderate or severe) COVID-19 with onset at least seven days after the second dose in serologically negative (to SARS-CoV-2) adult participants at baseline. The statistical success criterion included a lower bound of 95% CI >30%. A secondary endpoint was the prevention of PCR-confirmed, symptomatic moderate or severe COVID-19. Both endpoints were assessed at least seven days after the second study vaccination in volunteers who had not been previously infected with SARS-CoV-2. In the trial, NVX-CoV2373 achieved 90.4% efficacy overall. It was generally well-tolerated and elicited a robust antibody response after the second dose in both studies. Full results of the trial were published in theNew England Journal of Medicine(NEJM).
The pediatric expansion of PREVENT-19 is a 2:1 randomized, placebo-controlled, observer-blinded trial to evaluate the safety, effectiveness, and efficacy of NVX-CoV2373 with Matrix-M adjuvant in 2,247 adolescent participants 12 to 17 years of age in 73 locations in the United States, compared with placebo. In the pediatric trial, NVX-CoV2373 achieved its primary effectiveness endpoint (non-inferiority of the neutralizing antibody response compared to young adult participants 18 through 25 years of age from PREVENT-19) and demonstrated 80% efficacy overall at a time when the Delta variant of concern was the predominant circulating strain in the U.S.Additionally, immune responses were about two-to-three-fold higher in adolescents than in adults against all variants studied.
PREVENT-19 is being conducted with support from the U.S. government, including the Department of Defense, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health at HHS. BARDA is providing up to$1.75 billionunder a Department of Defense agreement (# MCDC2011-001).
Additionally, a trial conducted in the U.K. with 14,039 participants aged 18 years and over was designed as a randomized, placebo-controlled, observer-blinded study and achieved overall efficacy of 89.7%. The primary endpoint was based on the first occurrence of PCR-confirmed symptomatic (mild, moderate or severe) COVID-19 with onset at least seven days after the second study vaccination in serologically negative (to SARS-CoV-2) adult participants at baseline. Full results of the trial were published inNEJM.
About Matrix-M AdjuvantNovavax' patented saponin-based Matrix-M adjuvant has demonstrated a potent and well-tolerated effect by stimulating the entry of antigen-presenting cells into the injection site and enhancing antigen presentation in local lymph nodes, boosting immune response.
About NovavaxNovavax, Inc. (Nasdaq: NVAX) is a biotechnology company that promotes improved health globally through the discovery, development, and commercialization of innovative vaccines to prevent serious infectious diseases. The company's proprietary recombinant technology platform harnesses the power and speed of genetic engineering to efficiently produce highly immunogenic nanoparticles designed to address urgent global health needs. NVX-CoV2373, the company's COVID-19 vaccine, has received conditional authorization from multiple regulatory authorities globally, including the European Commission and the World Health Organization. The vaccine is currently under review by multiple regulatory agencies worldwide and will soon be under review in the U.S. for use in adults, adolescents and as a booster. In addition to its COVID-19 vaccine, Novavax is also currently evaluating a COVID-seasonal influenza combination vaccine candidate in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial, which combines NVX-CoV2373 and NanoFlu*, its quadrivalent influenza investigational vaccine candidate, and is also evaluating an Omicron strain-based vaccine (NVX-CoV2515) as well as a bivalent Omicron-based / original strain-based vaccine. These vaccine candidates incorporate Novavax' proprietary saponin-based Matrix-M adjuvant to enhance the immune response and stimulate high levels of neutralizing antibodies.
For more information, visitwww.novavax.comand connect with us on LinkedIn.
*NanoFlu identifies a recombinant hemagglutinin (HA) protein nanoparticle influenza vaccine candidate produced by Novavax. This investigational candidate was evaluated during a controlled phase 3 trial conducted during the 2019-2020 influenza season.
Forward-Looking StatementsStatements herein relating to the future of Novavax, its operating plans and prospects, its partnerships, the timing of clinical trial results, the ongoing development of NVX-CoV2373, a COVID-seasonal influenza investigational vaccine candidate, the scope, timing and outcome of future regulatory filings and actions, including Novavax' plans to supplement existing authorizations with data from the additional manufacturing sites in Novavax' global supply chain, additional worldwide authorizations of NVX-CoV2373 for adolescents, the potential impact and reach of Novavax and NVX-CoV2373 in addressing vaccine access, controlling the pandemic and protecting populations, and the efficacy, safety and intended utilization of NVX-CoV2373 are forward-looking statements. Novavax cautions that these forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, challenges satisfying, alone or together with partners, various safety, efficacy, and product characterization requirements, including those related to process qualification and assay validation, necessary to satisfy applicable regulatory authorities; difficulty obtaining scarce raw materials and supplies; resource constraints, including human capital and manufacturing capacity, on the ability of Novavax to pursue planned regulatory pathways; challenges meeting contractual requirements under agreements with multiple commercial, governmental, and other entities; and those other risk factors identified in the "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" sections of Novavax' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). We caution investors not to place considerable reliance on forward-looking statements contained in this press release. You are encouraged to read our filings with the SEC, available at http://www.sec.gov and http://www.novavax.com, for a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date of this document, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any of the statements. Our business is subject to substantial risks and uncertainties, including those referenced above. Investors, potential investors, and others should give careful consideration to these risks and uncertainties.
Contacts:InvestorsAlex Delacroix | 240-268-2022[emailprotected]
MediaAli Chartan | 240-720-7804[emailprotected]
SOURCE Novavax, Inc.
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Five million doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered to children under 5 in the U.S., says the CDC. | Rick Bowmer/AP Photo
THE BEHIND-THE-SCENES PUSH TO GET UNDER-5 VACCINES OUT Health officials have swung into action to get shots in the arms of the 20 million children under 5 years old that became eligible for a Covid-19 vaccine last month.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told Pulse thatjust over 5 million doses had been delivered around the country as of Friday.
Thats an impressive start, but public health officials always expected an early spike because of pent-up demand from families who have been itching to get their young children vaccinated for years.
Another significant group of parents will almost surely be set against getting their young kids vaccinated at all. (Nearly 70 percent of kids ages 5 to11 are still unvaccinated.) And then theres a third group: families who may take a little more time and convincing.
The CDC has identified the providers in its Vaccines for Children program as key to reaching those families. They consist of private and public practitioners registered with the CDC to administer subsidized vaccines to children who qualify, free of cost. The agency expects that younger children will get the shot at their primary care office instead of at pharmacies and sees the VFC program as critical to ensuring the vaccine is equitably distributed.
In a recent survey, 73 percent of VFC providers said they intended to register to vaccinate children under 5 for Covid-19. The CDC wants to get more on board and is appealing to practitioners to register to administer the vaccine, use every opportunity to offer it and consider vaccinating outside their regular patient group.
In an email shared with Pulse, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky told VFC providers they could directly impact hesitant parents confidence in the newly authorized vaccines.
As the most trusted source of information for parents and caregivers, your strong recommendation is critical to increasing confidence in COVID-19 vaccines and ensuring children get vaccinated, she wrote.
A MISTAKE OF EPIC PROPORTIONS Thats how Atul Gawande, the head of the U.S. Agency for International Development, described how western nations flagging financial commitment to tackle the global pandemic to POLITICOs Erin Banco in a recent interview.
Covid is not over, Gawande said. It is a continuing recurrent illness that we will be living with, at least for the next few years to come. We need to make sure that the health systems at home and around the world have the basic tools to respond.
Gawande spoke with POLITICO in a wide-ranging interview about the future of the global health office at USAID and how it plans to deliver key services to low-income countries and vulnerable populations at a time when the world faces multiple crises.
After Congress failed this spring to sign off on new funding for USAID to continue its global Covid work, agency officials now worry whether lawmakers, who are balancing inflation and an election year, will approve the proposals put forward in President Joe Bidens budget for global health efforts.
Public health lives in a boom-bust cycle where when the disease is at its worst is when people are willing to make an investment. And then when the tide has gone out, people decide, Now I dont have to worry about it, Gawande said. But the tide is coming back.
Pulse oximeters can overestimate blood oxygen levels in people with dark skin. | Anupam Nath/AP Photo
FLAWED OXYGEN READINGS AND COVIDS UNEVEN TOLL Doctors have failed to diagnose serious cases of Covid-19 among people of color and the Food and Drug Administration says one reason may be flaws in devices it approved to measure blood oxygen levels, POLITICOs Ben Leonard writes.
The agency will convene an expert advisory panel later this year to assess how and why pulse oximeters can overestimate blood oxygen in people with dark skin, causing doctors to miss patients distress signals. The devices, typically placed on a patients fingertip, use light beams to estimate oxygen saturation levels.
Advocates say the FDA, which issued a warning about the problem last year, is moving too slowly. Researchers identified pulse oximeter discrepancies years ago in small studies pointing to misreadings in people of color in 1990, 2005 and 2007.
As technology becomes more embedded in health care, broader concerns are being raised about bias and the governments ability to counteract it through regulation and oversight. Experts warn that disparate outcomes among racial groups could worsen if technology doesnt work for all patients.
WIDER WINDOW INTO MONKEYPOX VAX DISTRIBUTION Public health officials are offering more visibility into how the monkeypox vaccine is being distributed after advocates pushed for more transparency in the process.
The Biden administration rolled out a national vaccine strategy last week, saying it would send hundreds of thousands of doses of the Jynneos vaccine to outbreak areas in the coming weeks.
Beginning Wednesday, data about Jynneos deliveries will be published weekly on Monkeypox (hhs.gov), HHS said Friday. The agency didnt elaborate on the type of data it would release, but it could include the location and number of doses sent if the information released Friday is any guide.
As of July 1, HHS said the Strategic National Stockpile had shipped 19,965 Jynneos doses to 15 jurisdictions and was processing an additional 11,565 doses that had been ordered. California and Los Angeles County had so far received the most doses.
The flurry of news from the states regarding abortion access after the Supreme Courts reversal of Roe v. Wade continued over the long weekend.
On Sunday, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said his state will move ahead with its efforts to make abortion exceedingly rare, POLITICOs David Cohen reports.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem talked with CNN host Dana Bash on Sunday about the case of a 10-year-old girl denied an abortion in Ohio who had to go to Indiana for the service, POLITICOs Shayna Greene reports.
In New York, legislators took the next step on Friday to enshrine abortion rights in the constitution, POLITICOs Shannon Young reports.
And Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey signed two bills on Friday intended to counter restrictive out-of-state abortion laws and protect women trying to obtain the procedure in New Jersey, writes POLITICOs Daniel Han.
BECERRA ON BIDENS AGGRESSIVE STRATEGY In an NBC interview that aired Sunday, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said the Biden administration is still seeking avenues to ensure people have access to the care that they need, including abortion care, Shayna writes.
The president in his first announcement said that he was tasking us at HHS to take on a number of issues, including medication abortion, Becerra said. He has asked us to seek as aggressive a strategy as we can. But unlike the previous administration, we do intend to respect the law.
HHS has launched a website to help people find contraceptives and access to abortion services.
AND GOOGLE GETS INVOLVED Google will delete location data after people visit abortion clinics, domestic violence shelters and other sensitive locations, the tech giant announced in a blog post Friday, reports POLITICOs Olivia Olander.
Jen Fitzpatrick, senior vice president of Core Systems and Experiences at Google, wrote that the change will take effect in the coming weeks and the company will soon add a feature for users to delete multiple menstruation logs at once on Google Fit and Fitbit apps.
Google will also delete the data entries of users who visit counseling centers, fertility centers, addiction treatment facilities, weight-loss clinics and plastic surgery clinics, Fitzpatrick wrote. Users tracking location history is off by default and can be deleted at any time, she added.
The move follows an outcry from many social media users who immediately called for people to delete period-tracking apps or take other precautions for medical privacy on their smartphones following the Courts ruling on Roe.
An increasing number of THC products packaged to look like candy mean more children are overdosing on the psychoactive, STAT News reports.
Variant-specific Covid-19 vaccine shots wont arrive until the fall, and cases are rising now, The New York Times writes.
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CDC wants primary care providers to help convince parents on Covid-19 vaccine for kids - POLITICO
As masks, travel restrictions, and COVID testing fade into the past, one aspect of the pandemic may stick around for quite some time: vaccines.
Canadian Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said Canadians may soon be required to get a booster shot every nine months for the foreseeable future to protect against new variants of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Speaking to reporters, Duclos said Canadians who got a shot last summer are no longer "up to date," and should now roll up their sleeves for another booster.
The virus evolves and Omicron made us aware we will never be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, Duclos continued, adding that as our immunity evolves, we have to maintain our vaccinations up to date.
According to local media Toronto Sun, when Duclos was asked if there would be a return of a vaccine mandate for boosters in the fall, he didn't dismiss the idea, replying, We must continue to fight against COVID.
"We want to be prepared for next fall, and that requires an up-to-date vaccination which is based on the nine months," he added.
Duclos message was mostly directed at the Canadians who have yet to receive their very first booster. While 81% of Canadas population has had two shots of the COVID-19 vaccine, only around 49% had a third dose as of June 19, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.
The health agency recommended in a June 29 report that boosters be offered to all people between the ages of 12 and 64, regardless of the number of booster doses they have previously received.
Cases of COVID-19, including associated hospitalizations and deaths, are currently declining in Canada. However, the likelihood, timing, and severity of a future wave of COVID-19 is uncertain, the health agency said in a release.
Canada's chief public health officer Theresa Tam said that the number of COVID-19 cases in Canada is currently stable, but officials are bracing for a resurgence in late summer and early fall as a wave of immune-evasive variants like the BA.4 and BA.5 variants of Omicron sweep the country just before respiratory virus season arrives.
Story continues
In the U.S., the Center for Disease Control advises all people above the age of 5 to get their first booster shot, according to the agencys booster guidance website, but has so far not advised a fourth shot for people below the age of 50 unless they are immunocompromised.
The last guidance came in May 2022, and said that a second booster may be more important in the fall of 2022, or if a new vaccine for a future COVID-19 variant becomes available.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
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When:July 08, 2022 1:00pm to 2:00pm
Are you the parent of a child with a disability? Do you work for an organization that serves members of the disability community? Do you have questions about how well the COVID-19 vaccine works in children as young as 6 months of age? Do you wonder about COVID-19 vaccine side effects? Would you like to learn more about COVID-19 vaccination resources, including how to receive a vaccine from the comfort of your own home?
The Arizona Department of Health Services Office of Health Equity and the University of Arizona Vaccine Task Force invite you to attend a Zoom lunch and learn where you can interact with clinical and public health professionals who can answer your questions about COVID-19 vaccinations for you or your child.
An American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter will be present. Live captioning will be available.
United States
Arizona US
Requests for disability-related accommodations should be directed to the event's primary contact: COVID-19 Response
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Vaccines for Little Kids: Virtual Lunch and Learn About COVID-19 - University of Arizona News
Editor's note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape's Coronavirus Resource Center.
MADRID Skin manifestations of COVID-19 were among the topics presented in several sessions at the 49th Congress of the Spanish Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (AEDV). Specialists agreed that fewer skin changes associated with this virus have been seen with the latest variants of SARS-CoV-2. They highlighted the results of the most remarkable research on this topic that were presented in this forum.
In the study, which was carried out by Spanish dermatologists with the support of the AEDV, researchers analyzed skin reactions associated with the COVID-19 vaccine.
Study author Cristina Galvn, MD, a dermatologist at the University Hospital of Mstoles, Madrid, said, "This is the first study that analyzes a significant number of cases assessed by dermatologists and illustrated with clinical images of the dermatological manifestations caused as a reaction to these vaccines."
The study was carried out during the first months of COVID-19 vaccination, Galvn told Medscape Spanish Edition. It was proposed as a continuation of a COVID skin study that was published in the British Journal of Dermatology in April 2020. That study documented the first classification of skin lesions associated with COVID-19. Galvn is the lead author of the latter study.
"The objectives of this study were to characterize and classify skin reactions after vaccination, identify their chronology, and analyze the associations with a series of antecedents: dermatological and allergic diseases, previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, and skin reactions associated with COVID-19," said Galvn. The study was a team effort, she added.
"It was conducted between February 15 and May 12, 2021, and information was gathered on 405 reactions that appeared during the 21 days after any dose of the COVID-19 vaccines approved at that time in Spain: the Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, and University of Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines," she added.
Galvn explained that the study shows very clear patterns and reaches conclusions that match those of other groups that have investigated this topic. "Six reaction patterns were described according to their frequency. The first is the 'COVID-19 arm,' which consists of a local reaction at the injection site and occurs almost exclusively in women and in 70% of cases after inoculation with the Moderna serum. It is a manifestation that resolves well and does not always recur in subsequent doses. More than half are of delayed onset: biopsied patients show signs of a delayed hypersensitivity reaction. In line with all the publications in this regard, it was found that this reaction is not a reason to skip or delay a dose."
The second pattern is urticarial, which, according to the specialist, occurs with equal frequency after the administration of all vaccines and is well controlled with antihistamines. "This is a very nonspecific pattern, which does not prevent it from still being frequent. It was not associated with drug intake.
"The morbilliform pattern is more frequent after the Pfizer/BioNTech and AstraZeneca vaccines. It affects the trunk and extremities, and up to a quarter of the cases required systemic corticosteroids. The papulovesicular and pityriasis rosealike patterns are equally frequent in all vaccines. The latter is found in a younger age group. Finally, there is the purpuric pattern, more localized in the extremities and more frequent after the Pfizer/BioNTech and AstraZeneca vaccines. On biopsy, this pattern showed small-vessel vasculitis."
Less frequently, reactivations or de novo onset of different dermatologic diseases were found. "Varicella-zoster virus reactivations were observed with a frequency of 13.8%, being more common after the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine," said Galvn. "Other studies have corroborated this increase in herpes zoster, although it has been seen that the absolute number is low, so the benefits of the vaccine outweigh this eventual complication. At the same time and along the same lines, vaccination against herpes zoster is recommended for those over 50 years of age."
Another fact revealed by the study is that these reactions were not significantly more severe in people with dermatologic diseases, those with previous infection, or those with skin manifestation associated with COVID-19.
Galvn highlighted that except for the COVID-19 arm, these patterns were among those associated with the disease, "which supports [the idea] that it does not demonstrate that the host's immune reaction to the infection was playing a role."
"As for pseudoperniosis, it is poorly represented in our series: 0.7% compared to 2% in the American registry. Although neither the SARS-CoV-2pseudoperniosis association nor its pathophysiology is clear, the idea is that if this manifestation is related to the host's immune response during infection, pseudoperniosis after vaccination could also be linked to the immune response to the vaccine," said Galvn.
Many of these reactions are more intense in women. "Before starting to use these vaccines, we already knew that messenger RNA vaccines (a powerful activator of innate immunity) induce frequent reactions, that adjuvants and excipients (polyethylene glycol and polysorbate) also generate them, and that other factors influence reactogenicity, among those of us of the same age and sex, reactions being more frequent in younger people and in women," said Galvn. "This may be one of the reasons why the COVID-19 arm is so much more prevalent in the female population and that 80% of all reactions that were collected were in women."
In relation to the fact that manifestations differed, depending on the type of inoculated serum, Galvn said, "Some reactions are just as common after any of the vaccines. However, others are not, as is the case with the COVID-19 arm for the Moderna vaccine or reactivations of the herpes virus, more frequent after the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.
"Undoubtedly, behind these differences are particularities in the immune reaction caused by each of the vaccines and their composition, including the excipients," she said.
Regarding the fact that these reactions were the same throughout the vaccine regimen or that they varied in intensity, depending on the dose, Galvn said, "In our study, as in those carried out by other groups, there were no significant differences in terms of frequency after the first and second doses. One thing to keep in mind is that, due to the temporary design of our study and the time at which it was conducted, it was not possible to collect reactions after second doses of AstraZeneca.
"Manifestations have generally been mild and well controlled. Many of them did not recur after the second dose, and the vast majority did not prevent completion of the vaccination scheme, but we must not lose sight of the fact that 20% of these manifestations were assessed by the dermatologist as serious or very serious," Galvn added.
Regarding the next steps planned for this line of research, Galvn commented, "We are awaiting the evolution of the reported cases and the reactions that may arise, although for now, our group does not have any open studies. The most important thing now is to be alert and report the data observed in the pharmacovigilance systems, in open registries, and in scientific literature to generate evidence."
Galvn has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
Follow Carla Nieto of Medscape Spanish Edition on Twitter @carlanmartinez.
This article was translated from the Medscape Spanish edition.
Continued here:
Skin Reactions After COVID-19 Vaccination Have Six Patterns - Medscape
Drive-thru COVID-19 vaccines will no longer be available at the Town Toyota Center after July 13.
The Chelan-Douglas Health District said the demand for the vaccines has waned with an average of just 30 doses a week administered in recent weeks.
The health district said COVID-19 drive-thru testing at the Town Toyota Center will continue through July.
The testing is available every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
On Wednesday, the testing and vaccine operations will be moved to Walla Walla Point Park for one day while work is done at the Town Toyota Center parking lot.
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Drive-thru COVID-19 vaccines at Town Toyota Center will end July 13 - NCWLIFE News
