Category: Covid-19 Vaccine

In a new study, researchers have found that the antibodies that the body produces in response to the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine reduce significantly in number in just 6 months.

The study, which has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Medical Biochemistry and is available as a preprint, also found that a persons age or sex affected the number of antibodies they developed in response to the vaccine.

The research will contribute to debates about the use of booster vaccines for COVID-19 and whether they should be limited to specific vulnerable populations or rolled out universally.

One of the great achievements of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic is scientists rapid development of safe and effective vaccines.

Initial reports of more than 90% efficacy for many of the vaccines including Pfizer-BioNTech significantly exceeded many scientists hopes.

Although the vaccines have proved slightly less effective against the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, they are still providing significant protection, in particular against severe cases of COVID-19.

However, scientists know that immunity acquired through vaccination typically wanes over time.

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, understanding several related factors including how long it takes for immunity to wane, how much it wanes by, and who is primarily affected is important for deciding when to roll out booster jabs and to whom.

In the present study, the researchers looked at data from 787 healthcare workers aged 2175 years in Verona, Italy.

The healthcare workers had received two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. The data included measurements of their SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels before their first vaccination, after their second vaccination, and then 1, 3, and 6 months after the second vaccination.

The researchers found that across age and sex, antibody levels reduced by more than 50% within 6 months of the second vaccination.

They also found that there were differences in the total antibody levels that participants had based on age and sex.

People under the age of 65 years had more than double the number of antibodies compared with people 65 years or older over the 6 months following the second vaccination. This followed a linear pattern as age reduced.

In addition, women had a higher number of antibodies than men, particularly if they were below the age of 65 years.

Dr. Brandon Michael Henry, a postdoctoral researcher at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute and co-leader of the study, says, [w]hile we see how well vaccines have helped keep people out of the hospital and prevent life threatening disease, antibody levels are quickly declining in all persons regardless of age and sex.

Our study provides additional evidence that booster shots for all adults will be important to keep antibody levels up so we can continue to mount an effective immune response against [SARS-CoV-2] infection and prevent COVID-19 fatalities, says Dr. Henry.

Dr. Henry suggests that the difference in antibody levels between men and women may be due to hormones. Men typically have more testosterone than women, and this hormone suppresses a persons immune system. In contrast, estrogen which is typically higher in women than in men enhances the immune system.

Dr. Henry also wonders whether chromosomes could play a part. The X chromosome carries specific genes related to immunity, and females have two X chromosomes.

Normally, only one X chromosome is active, and the other is mostly deactivated, but there is evidence that immune-related genes stay active on that redundant chromosome and help boost immune responses in women, says Dr. Henry.

Prof. Giuseppe Lippi, full professor of clinical biochemistry at the University of Verona and the corresponding author of the study, said to Medical News Today that he would expect a similar waning in immunity following a SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Vaccination is a kind of artificial infection. Therefore, antibody decline is predictably similar in people who recover from a SARS-CoV-2 infection as [it is] in vaccine recipients, said Prof. Lippi.

Prof. Lippi also agreed that the findings suggest that booster shots will be necessary for everyone.

Antibody decay is related to age and sex higher in older males but [it] displays a similar trend throughout all ages. Therefore, yes, booster doses of vaccines would be needed sooner or later for everybody, said Prof. Lippi.

Speaking to MNT, Prof. Jeffrey Townsend who is Elihu professor of biostatistics and professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Yale School of Public Health, Connecticut, and was not involved in the study agreed that the findings suggested booster vaccinations would be necessary. Prof. Townsend is corresponding author of a study in The Lancet Microbe on the durability of SARS-CoV-2 immunity.

The decline in antibody levels with time following vaccination indicates a similarity between the waning of immunity to natural infection and the waning of immunity from vaccination and booster vaccination, he said. Other studies have demonstrated that both natural infection and vaccination are subject to decreasing efficacy in protection versus infection.

These results reinforce the need for booster vaccination for the prevention of infection by [SARS-CoV-2].

Prof. Townsend

Prof. Townsend also said that further research on waning SARS-CoV-2 immunity was necessary.

Two aspects of research should be pursued. First, studies that better characterize the benefits of vaccination and booster vaccination for the prevention of symptomaticity, severe disease, and mortality.

And second, studies that quantitatively evaluate the relative roles of antibody waning and antigenic evolution of the virus in decreasing the benefits of natural infection, vaccination, and booster vaccination, said Prof. Townsend.

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COVID-19 vaccine: Antibodies more than halved after 6 months - Medical News Today

Low- and middle-income countries have experienced COVID-19 vaccine delays and shortages. Even though vaccines and other pharmaceuticals are frequently tested in low-income countries, they often do not reap the benefits of this technology.

A study published last week in JAMA Network Open sought to examine the authorization and dispersal of COVID-19 vaccines recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) in the countries where they were tested.

The cross-sectional study analyzed the COVID-19 vaccines authorized for emergency use by the WHO through September 7, 2021. Using the WHO COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker and Landscape and the McGill University COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker, the investigators identified all completed clinical trials for the authorized vaccines. They noted trial primary completion dates, phases, and country locations. Countries were assigned a national income group based on the 2021 World Bank historical classifications.

Using regional and national regulatory agency websites, the investigators determined whether countries hosting vaccine clinical trials also authorized them for use. They also extracted data on doses obtained from the UNICEF COVID-19 Vaccine Market Dashboard and Airfinity COVID-19 platform.

The investigators calculated the proportion of countries hosting clinical trials who had authorized any vaccine tested in their population and vaccine delivery. They determined the number of people 15 years and older who received a full vaccination series of the tested vaccine. All descriptive statistical analyses were performed using Microsoft Excel spreadsheet software.

There are 6 COVID-19 vaccines authorized for emergency use by WHO, tested in a total of 25 countries. Among 11 high-income countries who completed clinical vaccine trials, 90.9% (n=10) authorized the tested vaccine and received sufficient doses to vaccinate an average of 51.7% of their populations 15 years and older. Lower middle- and upper middle-income countries had respective authorization rates of 100% and 90.9%, with median vaccination rates of 31.0%.

Moderna completed clinical trials in 2 countries, Janssen completed trial in 10 countries, and AstraZeneca completed trials in 14. Janssen received authorization in 80% of these countries, while AstraZeneca did in 85.7%. Across all vaccine manufacturers, high-income countries received more doses to vaccinate larger proportions of their countries populations 15 and older. COVAX delivered an average of 15.4%, 48.8% and 78.8% of their vaccines in low-, lower middle-, and upper middle-income countries, respectively.

Countries of all income levels have largely authorized the vaccines their populations tested, but high-income countries continue to receive more doses to vaccinate a larger proportion of their populations.

The study authors noted These wealth-based access inequities among countries hosting trials parallel general disparities in COVID-19 vaccine access, as high-income countries have successfully procured and administered doses ahead of low- and middle-income countries.

Link:

COVID-19 Vaccines Tested in Low-Income Countries, But Distributed in Wealthy Nations - Contagionlive.com

A nurse prepares the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for children for distribution in Montreal, Quebec on November 24, 2021.

ANDREJ IVANOV | AFP | Getty Images

The World Health Organization on Friday assigned the Greek letter omicron to a newly identified Covid variant in South Africa.

The U.N. health agency recognized the strain, first referred to as lineage B.1.1.529, as a variant of concern.

Health experts are deeply concerned about the transmissibility of the omicron variant given that it has an unusual constellation of mutations and a profile that is different from other variants of concern.

"Omicron, B.1.1.529, is named as a variant of concern because it has some concerning properties," Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's technical lead on Covid-19, said in a video published on Twitter. "This variant has a large number of mutations, and some of these mutations have some worrying characteristics."

Experts fear that the sharp upswing of Covid cases in South Africa's Gauteng province where the heavily mutated strain of the virus was first identified could mean it has greater potential to escape prior immunity than other variants. The number of omicron cases "appears to be increasing" in almost all of South Africa's provinces, the WHO reported.

The organization only labels Covid strains as variants of concern when they're more transmissible, more virulent or more adept at eluding public health measures, including vaccines and therapeutics. Data presented at a briefing Thursday hosted by South Africa's Department of Health indicates that some of omicron's mutations are connected with improved antibody resistance, which could reduce the protection offered by vaccines.

Certain mutations could also make omicron more contagious, while others haven't been reported until now, preventing researchers from understanding how they could impact the strain's behavior, according to a presentation at the briefing.

"Preliminary evidence suggests an increased risk of reinfection with this variant, as compared to other VOCs," the WHO said in a statement released Friday.

The designation of a new variant of concern coupled with mounting alarm from health officials sent global markets into a tailspin Friday. Oil prices and travel and leisure stocks took heavy losses on the news.

WHO has said it will take weeks to understand how the variant may affect diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines.

South African scientist Tulio de Oliveira said at a media briefing Thursday that the omicron variant contains around 50 mutations but more than 30 of these are in the spike protein, the region of the protein that interacts with human cells prior to cell entry.

What's more, the receptor binding domain the part of the virus that first makes contact with our cells has 10 mutations, far greater than just two for the delta Covid variant, which spread rapidly earlier this year to become the dominant strain worldwide.

This level of mutation means it most likely came from a single patient who could not clear the virus, giving it the chance to genetically evolve. The same hypothesis was proposed for the Covid variant alpha.

"There's a lot of work that is ongoing in South Africa and in other countries to better characterize the variant itself in terms of transmissibility, in terms of severity and any impact on our countermeasures, like the use of diagnostics, therapeutics or vaccines," Van Kerkhove said. "So far there's little information, but those studies are underway."

Around 100 omicron variant genomes have been identified in South Africa, mostly in the Gauteng province. The variant has also been detected in Israel, Botswana and Hong Kong.

Many of the mutations identified in the omicron variant are linked to increased antibody resistance, which may reduce the effectiveness of vaccines and affect how the virus behaves with regard to inoculation, treatments and transmissibility, health officials have said.

Passengers wait at Frankfurt Airport.

Boris Roessler | picture alliance | Getty Images

"There are two approaches to what happens next: Wait for more scientific evidence, or act now and row back later if it wasn't required," said Sharon Peacock, professor of public health and microbiology at the University of Cambridge.

"I believe that it is better to 'go hard, go early and go fast' and apologise if mistaken, than to take an academic view that we need to reach a tipping point in evidence before action is taken. Rapid spread in South Africa could be due to super-spreader events or other factors. But there are sufficient red flags to assume the worst rather than hope for the best and take a precautionary approach," Peacock said.

The European Union, the U.K., Israel, Singapore and the U.S. are among the countries imposing travel restrictions on southern African nations.

The WHO has cautioned countries against hastily imposing travel restrictions, saying they should instead take a "risk-based scientific approach."

South Africa's foreign ministry said Friday morning that the U.K.'s decision to take precautionary measures "seems to have been rushed as even the WHO is yet to advise on the next steps."

CNBC's Elliot Smith contributed to this report.

More:

WHO labels new Covid strain, named omicron, a 'variant of concern,' citing possible increased reinfection risk - CNBC

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have passed 260 million globally, according to Johns Hopkins University. The number of confirmed deaths has now passed 5.18 million. More than 7.81 billion vaccination doses have been administered globally, according to Our World in Data.

Eligibility for COVID-19 booster shots has been expanded in the United States, with millions of Americans getting their third dose last week.

The Czech Republic reported 27,717 new COVID-19 cases yesterday - the highest single-day total since the beginning of the pandemic.

Pfizer and MSD - known as Merck & Co in North America - have agreed to give licenses to firms in Viet Nam to produce COVID-19 treatment pills, the Vietnamese government has announced.

Three locally transmitted COVID-19 cases in Shanghai city have prompted authorities to limit tourism activities, while the city of Xuzhou has suspended some public transport after a confirmed asymptomatic case.

COVID-19 vaccination is safe for pregnant women and not associated with higher rates of complications, data released by the UK Health Security Agency showed on Thursday.

Daily new confirmed COVID-19 cases per million people in selected countries.

Image: Our World in Data

The COVID Response Alliance for Social Entrepreneurship is a coalition of 85 global leaders, hosted by the World Economic Forum. Its mission: Join hands in support of social entrepreneurs everywhere as vital first responders to the pandemic and as pioneers of a green, inclusive economic reality.

Its COVID Social Enterprise Action Agenda, outlines 25 concrete recommendations for key stakeholder groups, including funders and philanthropists, investors, government institutions, support organizations, and corporations. In January of 2021, its members launched its 2021 Roadmap through which its members will roll out an ambitious set of 21 action projects in 10 areas of work. Including corporate access and policy change in support of a social economy.

For more information see the Alliance website or its impact story here.

South African scientists have detected a new variant of COVID-19 and are working to understand its possible implications, they said yesterday.

The variant - called B.1.1.529 - has a "very unusual constellation" of mutations, which are concerning because they could help it evade the body's immune response and make it more transmissible, scientists told reporters at a news conference.

South Africa has requested an urgent meeting today of a World Health Organization working group on virus evolution to discuss the new variant.

Other countries, including India, Australia, Japan and the UK, have voiced concern, with some moving to impose travel restrictions from South Africa and some neighbouring countries.

"This is the most significant variant we have encountered to date and urgent research is underway to learn more about its transmissibility, severity and vaccine-susceptibility," the UK's Health Security Agency Chief Executive Jenny Harries said.

Countries across Europe have expanded COVID-19 vaccine booster programmes, introduced plans to vaccinate young children and increased restrictions in response to rising COVID-19 cases.

Slovakia has gone into a two-week lockdown, the Czech Republic has declared a 30-day state of emergency, which includes the early closure of bars and clubs and a ban on Christmas markets, while Germany has crossed the threshold of 100,000 COVID-19-related deaths. Germany also reported a record number of daily COVID-19 cases on Thursday - 75,961.

In France authorities have said that COVID-19 vaccine booster shots would be available to everyone aged over 18, while the Netherlands is planning for new restrictions to slow the spread of the virus. Portugal has also announced it would reimpose restrictions.

The European Union's medical regulator has approved the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for use in children aged 5- to 11-years-old. The EU Commisison has also proposed that residents will need booster shots if they wish to travel to other countries in the bloc free of tests or quarantines next summer.

It also proposed accepting all vaccines approved by the World Health Organization for travel shots. The move would allow non-essential travel to the EU from outside the bloc for those vaccinated with Chinese- or Indian-made vaccines.

Meanwhile, the WHO Regional Office for Europe and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), estimates that 470,000 lives have been saved among those aged 60 years and over since the start of COVID-19 vaccination roll-out in 33 countries across the WHO European Region.

Written by

Joe Myers, Writer, Formative Content

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

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COVID-19: Top news stories about the coronavirus pandemic on 26 November | World Economic Forum - World Economic Forum

I have been a guest of Vail Resorts my entire life and a seasonal employee for the past two years, including working the 2019-20 season until the shutdown. I returned for the 2020-21 season with COVID-19 mitigations (masks, distancing, etc.) implemented. These types of mitigations were very different than the current Vail policy of jabbing a vaccine into my body.

COVID-19 has a 99% survival rate unless you are over the age of 65 per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An estimated 46 million Americans have recovered from COVID-19, according to the World Health Organization. Risk assessment is multifaceted, including experiencing mountain activities. Vails mission and code of ethics states to create the experience of a lifetime for our employees, so they can, in turn, provide exceptional experiences for our guests.

Those who chose to receive the jab did on their own, likely after communication with a licensed physician. Those who have recovered from COVID-19 have their own immunity, which Vail policy doesnt accept!

Vail is not recognizing natural immunity or bodily autonomy as protected by the Constitution. I was hired for a third season, but my jab exemption was subsequently denied, so I am unable to work. Vail is unethical and unconstitutional by forcing medical choices without a medical license in exchange for employment. Vail policy has greatly impacted me and my fellow employees and goes against the companys own mission.

Consider the excited young child learning to love mountain activities but who is unable to dine on the mountain with his or her parents because of Vails vaccination policy. My own grandchildren planned to enjoy my timeshare while I worked but would be discriminated against dining on the mountain because of Vails unethical policy.

Shame on you, Vail Resorts.

As a Summit Daily News reader, you make our work possible.

Now more than ever, your financial support is critical to help us keep our communities informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having on our residents and businesses. Every contribution, no matter the size, will make a difference.

Your donation will be used exclusively to support quality, local journalism.

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Letter to the editor: Shame on Vail Resorts for COVID-19 vaccine mandate - Summit Daily News

"I would hope that within the next week or two weeks, so many of those people will take advantage of the vaccine," Dr. William Schaffner, a professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told CNN's Alisyn Camerota on Friday. "That will help us in the immediate term. And I would anticipate that, as bad as Omicron might be, our vaccine still will be partially effective."

Dr. Anthony Fauci echoed that, pointing to vaccinations and boosters as effective mitigation tools.

"I'm saying this absolutely clearly, that if ever there was a reason for unvaccinated people to get vaccinated and for those who have been vaccinated when your time comes up to go and get a booster shot," Fauci told NBC News on Friday.

"The booster shots give you a very, very important edge," he said, noting that boosters increase the level of antibodies that protect against the virus.

Omicron has raised concerns for health officials because there's a possibility it could be more contagious than the original novel coronavirus strain, the WHO said, and it also has a significant number of mutations.

There have been no indications so far that the variant has made its way into the US, Fauci told CNN Friday. On Saturday morning, however, he told NBC he "would not be surprised" if the variant was already in the US, saying, "it almost invariably is going to go all over."

The US variant surveillance system has reliably detected new variants in the past, the CDC said.

"We expect Omicron to be identified quickly, if it emerges in the U.S.," the agency said in a statement.

Vaccine makers are working to determine effectiveness against Omicron

Meanwhile, vaccine makers have disclosed they are taking action to address the emergence of a new variant.

Moderna is working quickly to test the ability of its vaccine to neutralize Omicron, the company said Friday, and data is expected in the coming weeks.

The strain includes mutations "seen in the Delta variant that are believed to increase transmissibility and mutations seen in the Beta and Delta variants that are believed to promote immune escape," Moderna said in a news release.

"The combination of mutations represents a significant potential risk to accelerate the waning of natural and vaccine-induced immunity."

If its current vaccine and booster are insufficient against the variant, Moderna explained that one possible solution is boosting people with a larger dose, which the company is testing.

The company is also evaluating two multivalent booster candidates to see if they provide better protection against Omicron -- both of which include some of the viral mutations present in the variant. Moderna said it is also testing an Omicron-specific booster.

"For several days, we have been moving as fast as possible to execute our strategy to address this variant," Moderna CEO Stphane Bancel said in the news release.

Scientists at BioNTech, the German company that partnered with Pfizer to make its Covid-19 vaccine, are also investigating the impact of the variant on their shot, with data expected within the upcoming weeks.

A Johnson & Johnson spokesperson told CNN in a statement the company was also testing the effectiveness of its vaccine against Omicron.

Covid-19 travel restrictions aren't all that effective, experts say

The Biden administration's decision to curtail travel from eight countries is a precautionary measure as the US government learns more about the Omicron variant of coronavirus.

But some experts say travel restrictions aren't as effective as they may seem.

"Travel bans are modestly effective. They can obviously influence travel directly from that country to the United States," said Schaffner, the doctor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

"But obviously US citizens will be permitted to come back. They could bring the virus. And people could go from the country of interest, South Africa for example, and go to other countries that are not on the travel ban, and enter, if you will, by the side door. So travel bans are somewhat effective, but let's not expect a miracle," he said.

US citizens, lawful permanent residents and noncitizens who are the spouses of citizens or permanent residents are exempted from the new restrictions.

Dr. Megan Ranney, a professor of emergency medicine and Associate Dean of Public Health at Brown University, said universal vaccination requirements for all air travel would be more effective.

"Or having quarantines when people arrive in the U.S. from other countries. Neither of those are particularly politically palatable right now, but they would make a much bigger difference in the spread of this variant," Ranney told CNN's Jim Acosta on Friday.

CNN's Jacqueline Howard, Virginia Langmaid, Michael Nedelman, Frederik Pleitgen and Kaitlan Collins contributed to this report.

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Omicron concerns should spur millions of unvaccinated Americans to get their Covid shots, experts say - CNN

Long before the COVID-19 pandemic and the concomitant vaccine, the anti-vaccination movement was mainly identified with one veryspecific myth:the idea that vaccines cause autism.

Aside from being patently offensive to neurodiverse and autistic people (including this writer), version 1.0 of the anti-vax movementwas also dangerousbecause its adherents made it easier for infectious diseases to spread. This wasn't just a theoretical fear:local measles outbreaks in places like Disneyland that occurred with greater frequency throughout the 2010s were tied to the increasing number of anti-vaxxers, who had collectively lowered the herd immunity numbers for diseases like measles which were once nearly eradicated in the United States.

Now that COVID-19 has changed the world, it is worth reexamining the legacy of that autism-related controversy, which may have proven to be the "original sin" that led us to this dismal moment in which anti-COVID-vaccination misinformation is rife.That means turning our eye to the inglorious career of a man named Andrew Wakefield.

Wakefield's wake

Once a British doctor, Wakefield is infamous for being the lead author of a 1998 case series that studied links between autism and digestive conditions and, heclaimed, documented changes in behavior in children who were given themeasles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR vaccine).Over time, this mutated into a claimthat MMR vaccines could cause autism, prompting an international panic.

Because Wakefield's study had been publishedin a distinguished medical journal (The Lancet), his claimsquickly circulatedand influenced millions of parents to not let their children get vaccinated at an age when, they believed erroneously, they could be at risk of developing autism. This trend persisted despite the fine print within the study: notably, itincluded no data about the MMR vaccine, its conclusions were speculative, it had been poorly designed, andthe researchers had only studied a small sample of patients. Other critics observed that, because autism is usually diagnosed at the same young age when MMR vaccines are supposed to be administered, the study could dupe impressionable parents into thinking the timing of their child's autism diagnosis was linked to the inoculation. These fears proved founded; measles outbreaks surged as more and more people followed Wakefield's uninformed advice.By2019, the United States was experiencing its worst measles outbreak since 1994.

Soon, the people who merely suspected something fishy in Wakefield's study were given more than mere clues. Other scientists were unable to reproduce Wakefield's findings, which is crucial for scientific studies to be considered valid. Then,in 2004, Wakefieldwas hit with a double whammy: An investigation by Sunday Times reporter Brian Deer demonstrated that Wakefield had financial conflicts of interest he had not disclosed when publishing his report.It was revealedthat Wakefield had established several autism-related medical businesses, but their success was predicated on establishing links between MMR vaccines and a likely-fabricated disease called "autistic entercolitis."On top of that, 10 of the 12 scientists who co-authored the paper retracted it on the grounds that "no causal link was established between MMR vaccine and autism as the data were insufficient."

By 2010 The Lancet fully retracted the paper, admitting that it was riddled with scientific errors and that the authors had behaved unethically, in no small partby studying children without the required clearances. Wakefield was ultimately stripped of his ability to practice medicine, although he continues to stand by his findings and insists he was mistreated.

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A direct line can be drawn between Wakefield's assertions about MMR vaccines and the rhetoric about COVID-19 vaccines (an issue where Wakefield is also anti-science, but has not emerged as a prominent voice). Studies have repeatedly found that general vaccine skepticism increased as a direct result of Wakefield's study; just last August, researchers writing for the scientific journal PLOS One again confirmed that vaccine hesitancy went up after Wakefield's paper came out.

"The Wakefield et al paper arrived at an interesting time in history," epidemiologist Dr. Ren Najera told Salon in June. "The internet was growing. The 24-hour news cycle was growing. People like Jenny McCarthy and others were becoming 'influencers.'His paper only brought to the forefront fears that many parents had: that vaccines caused developmental delays. Before 1998, you didn't have the internet as a bullhorn, or time to interview or showcase celebrities."

While hesitation about vaccines existed before Wakefield, the British doctor made it possible for misinformation to do something that had previously only occurred in the world of epidemics: achieving virality. Even after Wakefield himself sank into obscurity, other anti-vaccine activists emerged to take his place. By normalizing the practice of questioning vaccines without regard to reliable medical knowledge, they laid the foundations for the denial of the COVID-19 vaccines that is so prevalent today.

Wakefield may not be one of the so-called "disinformation dozen" social media voices today whocreate two-thirds of all anti-vaxxer content online but he is their forefather. Without Wakefield, it is hard to imagine that the anti-vaccination movement would have been so loudbefore the pandemicthat it would metastasizeduring it, to the extent thatmillions of Americans now view opposing vaccines as a crucial part of their identity.

Despite the claims made by Wakefield and others, there is no evidence that vaccines are in any way linked to autism. There is also no evidence that the COVID-19 vaccines are either unsafe or ineffective or, as some kooks claim, have microchips in them. Autismrefers to a broad range of neurological conditions that many doctors argue should not even be considered "unhealthy," and which certainly are not induced by vaccinations. Vaccineswork by training your immune system to protect the body against pathogens (microorganisms that cause disease) by either introducing a weakened or dead part or whole of that pathogen into the body, or by teaching the cells to make proteins associated with a specific pathogen so that the invader can be identified and eliminated.

Read more:

How one discredited 1998 study paved the way for today's anti-vaxxers - Salon

Hundreds of millions of Americans will gather Thursday to watch football, catch up with family and friends and eat themselves into a food coma and it will be a miracle.

One year ago, a return to traditional Thanksgiving celebrations seemed unimaginable. Covid-19 was still raging across the country. Vaccines had been developed, but no Americans had received them. The day after Thanksgiving 2020, there were around 160,000 Covid-19 cases reported, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It was a time with close to 100,000 Covid-related hospitalizations and more than 1,500 Americans dying every day.

The progress that has been made on vaccinations is one of the most extraordinary accomplishments in human history.

Then, on Dec. 14, Sandra Lindsay became one of the first Americans outside a clinical trial to receive a coronavirus vaccine, and everything changed. Since then, more than 231 million people in the U.S. have received at least one dose of a Covid vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 80 percent of Americans ages 12 and over have received at least one dose, and more than 69 percent are fully vaccinated. For those ages 65 and over, the age group most vulnerable to the ravages of Covid, more than 99 percent have received at least one dose.

Americans who refuse to get vaccinated continue to get sick and die. Each death is a needless tragedy. But the progress that has been made on vaccinations is one of the most extraordinary accomplishments in human history.

Of course, these advances are not just happening in the United States.

In less than a year, 7.78 billion doses of Covid vaccines have been given out, and a stunning 3.32 billion people worldwide are fully vaccinated.

China did not give full approval to a Covid vaccine until Dec. 30. But recently it reported that more than 1 billion of its citizens are fully vaccinated. India is second, with about 412 million fully vaccinated people. However, that number represents only about 30 percent of the population, which is a reminder of how much work still needs to be done to make sure everyone on the planet has the opportunity to be fully vaccinated.

We may never know how many lives the vaccines saved, but the figure would likely be in the millions.

As Christopher Nichols, a historian at Oregon State University who has written about past pandemics, told me, I can't think of a truly comparable world-historical event of the likely impact and import of the 2020-21 global race for effective Covid-19 vaccines and production and distribution to get this many shots in arms this fast.

In Nichols view, the vaccination and distribution race likely saved us all from a pandemic much closer to the 1918 flu pandemic, in which a far smaller global population had an estimated 50 million deaths.

We may never know how many lives the vaccines saved, but the figure would likely be in the millions.

What is perhaps even more extraordinary than the numbers were seeing is the safety and efficacy of the vaccines. No major or minor side effects are being reported in any significant numbers. Moreover, the vaccines are extraordinarily successful.

Covid deaths among vaccinated people are vanishingly rare. A person who has been vaccinated is about 14 times less likely to die from Covid than someone who has not.

Indeed, right now, even with Covid cases increasing, the levels of hospitalization and deaths remain low. In New Jersey, for example, cases have jumped by 66 percent in the past two weeks, but the states hospitalization rate is around 830, approximately five times lower than in January.

With the increase in protection, our lives are slowly but surely returning to normal. Kids are back in school; college students are back on campus; even workplaces are being populated again. The normal rhythms of life are returning.

Travel is opening up as the U.S. travel ban on Europe has been lifted, and even New Zealand, which had one of the most stringent lockdowns in the world, is preparing to allow tourists to return.

Professional hockey and basketball teams have played more than 550 games in indoor arenas to an estimated 8 million fans. There has been nearly three months of professional and college football. Tens of thousands of concerts and plays have taken place. There are virtually no reports of any being a superspreader event.

All of this is made possible by the vaccines.

As if that werent enough, we appear to be getting closer to a therapeutic treatment for Covid. Earlier this month, Pfizer applied for emergency use authorization of a Covid treatment pill that the company said can reduce the risk of hospitalization and death by 89 percent in people who are at high risk of severe illness.

In the immortal words of Jesse Pinkman: Yeah, science!

Of course, for all the progress thats been made, there are still tens of millions of people in the United States who are refusing to get the shot. Their actions are prolonging the pandemic and contributing to Covid spikes. Worst of all, approximately a thousand people are still dying every day. In addition, around half of the people on the globe remain unvaccinated. The next year must bring renewed effort to ensure everyone has access to a vaccine.

But the progress weve made suggests we can get there and we must not let ourselves be distracted by the know-nothing contingent. Billions of people around the world struggled and suffered, but most have done their part. They wore masks, socially distanced and demonstrated empathy, decency and resilience in the face of a once-in-a-lifetime global plague. When the time came to get vaccinated, billions acted. Its a hopeful reminder of our shared humanity, no matter our differences.

As we gather this week, that is reason enough to give thanks.

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Thanksgiving is possible this year because of Covid-19 vaccines - MSNBC

According to a study in mice conducted by researchers at the University of Queensland and Griffith University in Australia, a vaccine administered via a skin patch could offer better protection against COVID-19 than those given via traditional needle injections.

The centimetre-wide (0.39 inch) patch contains 5,000 plastic spikes that are a quarter of a millimetre (0.009 inch) long. Each is coated with a dry version of the vaccine. Unlike the liquid form given in an injected vaccine, the dry version does not need to be stored at cold temperatures.

The researchers tested the skin patch with a COVID-19 vaccine candidate called HexaPro, which has been developed by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin. This vaccine is still undergoing clinical trials but has been shown to be more heat-stable than liquid vaccines. It remained stable for at least one month when stored on the patch at 25 degrees Celsius (77 Fahrenheit) and for one week when stored at 40C (104F). This makes it much more suitable for use in places without the cold storage facilities necessary for many liquid vaccines. It is also cheaper to manufacture than the existing approved vaccines.

According to the researchers, vaccines administered via a patch produced a better immune response becauseof the high density of immune cells on the surface of the skin. Mice treated with the patch developed more coronavirus antibodies than those injected with the vaccine and none showed any sign of sickness from the disease.

If these vaccines do eventually get the go-ahead, it will be music to the ears of those who are so needle-phobic that it has so far prevented them from taking up the COVID-19 vaccines.

Other advantages of this method of delivery include the ease of administering the vaccine, including the potential for self-delivery, or that it can be given by those who have no medical training. Unlike the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccines, the vaccine given as a patch does not have to be mixed or drawn up, and the fact that it can be stored at room temperature makes it easier to transport. The researchers also insist that it is painless.

The HexaPro is not the only vaccine being developed as a patch; Emergex, a UK company, has created a patch it says offers more long-lasting immunity than regular COVID-19 vaccinations. According to Robin Cohen, the chief commercial officer at Emergex Vaccines, their skin patch vaccine elicits high levels of T-cell immune cells that are important for long-lasting immunity and preventing transmission of the disease.

Emergex vaccines have been designed to be administered via the skin using microneedles and to be stable at ambient room temperature for more than three months, facilitating rapid and efficient distribution across the world and making administration of the vaccine more patient-friendly. The company is due to start Phase1 trials in 13 volunteers in Switzerland soon.

If these vaccines do eventually get the go-ahead, it will be music to the ears of those who are so needle-phobic that it has so far prevented them from taking up the COVID-19 vaccines.

The start of November saw pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announce the results of its trial for paxlovid, its experimental COVID-19 pill. According to its own trial results, which are yet to be peer-reviewed, the pill reduced the risk of hospitalisation or death by 89 percent compared with a placebo in non-hospitalised high-risk adults with COVID-19.

Less than two weeks after it announced this, Pfizer released a statement saying it had signed an agreement with the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) which could make the treatment available to 53 percent of the worlds population. The MPP is a United Nations-backed public health organisation working to increase access to life-saving medicines for low- and middle-income countries.

The agreement will enable MPP to facilitate additional production and distribution of the investigational antiviral, pending regulatory authorisation or approval, by granting sub-licenses to qualified generic medicine manufacturers, with the goal of improving access to the pill. Pfizer will not receive royalties on sales in low-income countries and will waive royalties on sales in all countries covered by the agreement while COVID-19 remains classified as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the World Health Organization (WHO).

If the trial results are corroborated, then the pill designed to be taken by individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 and have a higher risk of worsening symptoms because of underlying health conditions or weakened immune systems could help reduce the effect on healthcare systems in low- and middle-income countries.

There has been much criticism over the inequalities in access to COVID-19 treatments and vaccines. Wealthy countries have ordered and in some cases hoarded vaccines at the expense of poorer countries who are lagging behind in their vaccination programmes. Many developing nations are relying on charitable donations for their vaccines. Pfizer and other pharmaceutical companies have also pushed back against calls to lift patents on their COVID-19 jabs. So while this announcement is good news, there is much more that could be done, and while the deal with the MPP includes many countries in Africa and Asia, but countries such as Brazil, Argentina and Thailand, which have experienced significant outbreaks, are not part of it.

In October, pharmaceutical company Merck, announced a similar deal with the MPP to allow manufacturers to produce its own COVID-19 pill, molnupiravir.

Last week, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson called a news conference to encourage people more than 40 to take up their COVID-19 booster jabs. He warned about rising coronavirus rates in mainland Europe which are being described as a fourth wave and said the UK needed to protect itself.

Storm clouds that are gathering over the continent. A new wave of COVID has steadily swept through central Europe We dont yet know the extent to which this new wave will wash up on our shores, but history shows we cannot afford to be complacent, he said.

With the exception of Russia, the UK has had more deaths from the virus than any other European country and still has high rates of infections.

Many argued that the prime ministers speech was his way of deflecting responsibility for the rising numbers of infections across the country since mandatory social distancing measures and mask-wearing in indoor public spaces were removed in the summer.

Many scientists and doctors across the UK, myself included, have repeatedly warned that not enough is being done to curb the spread of COVID-19. Simple measures such as mask-wearing in public indoor spaces and adequate air filtration and ventilation in schools and crowded workspaces would have reduced the spread of the virus while people were being given boosters.

The government has so far said there is no need for another lockdown but has referred to Plan B measures it has on standby, which include mask-wearing, COVID-19 passports and advice to work from home. Plan B is being kept in reserve should cases, hospitalisations and deaths rise to unacceptable levels, the government said. But what these unacceptable levels remain a mystery.

Despite all this, the prime minister did get one thing right: cases are rising in mainland Europe and even though the reasons for these increases may differ from the UKs, some countries are also implementing their own equivalents of a Plan B.

Germany is in the grip of a surge in coronavirus infections, with a record 68,366 cases on November 17. The countrys leaders have announced tighter restrictions for the unvaccinated, including banning them from restaurants, sporting venues and concerts. To protect the most vulnerable, they also agreed to introduce compulsory vaccinations for healthcare workers and employees in homes for the elderly. Unvaccinated people will also be banned from public areas in those parts of Germany where COVID-19-related hospital admissions are particularly high; these already include Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein and Saarland.

Unlike the UK, which has high levels of double-vaccinated people, Germanys vaccination rates are relatively low, with only 68 percent of the population fully vaccinated. The situation is worst in Saxony, where just 57.6 percent of the population is double jabbed. The ruling parties are hoping these newly imposed restrictions will encourage those who have not yet had the vaccines to come forward for them.

Parts of Austria are also seeing a surge in new coronavirus infections and after an initial introduction of tough new restrictions for the unvaccinated, the country has now announced a full lockdown for all. The measures will continue until December 12 but will be reassessed after 10 days. Austria too has a low vaccine uptake rate with only 66 percentof the population having had both doses of the vaccines. Austrias federal government announced it would impose mandatory nationwide COVID-19 vaccinations from February 2022 onwards. Unsurprisingly, this caused an uproar among vocal anti-vaxxer groups, with protests against the measures in Vienna soon after the announcements.

In Prague in the Czech Republic, thousands of protesters also took to the streets to denounce the new restrictions that came into force there for unvaccinated people. The Czech government is introducing restrictions on those yet to receive the shots, banning them from public events, bars and restaurants from November 22, in a bid to drive up vaccination rates. The country has struggled with its vaccination programme, lagging behind its neighbours; as a result, it is now recording high rates of infections.

The Netherlands, Italy and Croatia also saw protesters gathering in the streets, some turning violent as they demonstrated their anger over what they feel are curbs on their freedom.

The next month will be critical in Europe. How governments act now will determine where this next phase in the pandemic will take us.

There is certainly a worrying picture developing in both mainland Europe and the UK as they again become the epicentre of the pandemic. Europe is grappling with low vaccine rates which cannot be tackled by restricting the unvaccinated alone.

We must target the misinformation that feeds into peoples fear about the vaccines; social media sites have a role to play in policing the content they allow to be shared and factual education from trusted sources must be promoted.

Vaccines cannot be relied upon alone, it has to be a multi-faceted approach. Mask wearing and better ventilation in indoor spaces are key to reducing the spread of this airborne virus. This is the part that has let the UK down; although it has a high vaccine rate it has all but abandoned other measures and is paying the price. High rates in the UK are most likely driven by a lack of mask-wearing, social distancing and ventilation as well as ambiguous messaging from the central government which continues to tell the public to use common sense rather than mandating measures that would reduce the spread of the virus and undoubtedly save lives.

The next month will be critical in Europe. How governments act now will determine where this next phase in the pandemic will take us.

I received a written complaint from a patient this week my first in over five years. I take pride in having such low numbers of complaints from patients, but I knew this one was coming the patient told me as much as he walked out the door, also saying he had sent a copy of his complaint to MP Sajid Javid, the health secretary for England.

The letter detailed how I had asked the patient to wear a face-covering in my clinic and said I had refused to see him unless he did so. To be honest, this was true.

We have a policy at the surgery: all people attending must wear a face-covering unless medically exempt. We, of course, have access to their medical records and know who is medically exempt. This particular patient was not.

He entered the clinic without a face covering and shouted at the receptionist when she asked him to wear one in the waiting room, which was filled with vulnerable people. When I went to call him from the waiting area, I offered him a free mask that we keep at the front desk. He told me he knew his rights and did not have to wear one if he did not want to. I explained to him that many of the people in the clinic were vulnerable and that we had a duty of care to them.

He agreed about the medical reasoning but still refused to wear a mask. His decision put my patients including him at risk, so I had to make a decision too. I told him he was welcome to stay and discuss his medical complaint, but only if he wore a mask; if he chose not to, I would not be able to see him.

He realised I was serious, so after a pause, he took the mask and put it on making a point of writing my name down and telling me to expect a complaint. The consultation went rather well, I thought. He left with a diagnosis and management plan for his ailment, and I thought we had resolved our differences. I was wrong. Two weeks later, the written complaint arrived and now I must waste time that could be spent with patients penning a response to it.

I see almost 50 people a day in my clinic room, ranging from the elderly to newborn babies. I often see pregnant women and those with underlying conditions that make them more vulnerable to infectious diseases. I keep my window open at all times (despite it being cold here in the UK) to improve ventilation, and I wear a face covering the entire time I am there, which is usually about 12 hours. I do this to keep my patients, my staff and myself safe.

I understand that some people have medical reasons for not wearing masks such as respiratory conditions that affect breathing and I make exemptions for them. But for other patients, I ask them to wear a mask for the 10 to 15 minutes that they are in my room. Face coverings, along with other measures, can reduce the risk of passing on the virus to others and reduce the amount of the disease circulating in the air. The last thing I want is my room to become a hub of infection, causing illness and potential death to my vulnerable patients. That is why I insist that those who can wear a mask, do.

Christmas is around the corner and many people are looking forward to having friends and family over to share in the festive fun. This year, Christmas is especially poignant as winter COVID-19 restrictions in the northern hemisphere last year meant household gatherings were limited. People, I know are really looking forward to Christmas with the family this year and feel they have worked through the pandemic to allow for this.

However, in the northern hemisphere, winter has once coincided with rising numbers of coronavirus infections. Restrictions are coming back into place in a bid to drive infection numbers down and vaccination rates up in time for Christmas. There is a lot of focus on encouraging people to get vaccinated.

While vaccines are no doubt the most important way to protect ourselves against COVID-19, we cannot rely on that alone to save Christmas. We must look at other protective factors too: indoor environments, including schools, remain largely inadequately ventilated; this has to change to reduce the spread of disease. Mask wearing needs to be enforced again in indoor public spaces and people need to be reminded to socially distance themselves. These may all feel like backwards steps, but they are a small price to pay if we wish to spend some of the holiday period with people from outside of our households.

The fight against this virus is not over. And if we look at it through the lens of a war metaphor, vaccinations would be our general, but ventilation, masks, hand washing and social distancing are the all-important foot soldiers.

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Could a COVID-19 vaccine patch be better than injections? - Aljazeera.com

The City and Borough of Juneau in partnership with Juneau Public Health Center, Bartlett Regional Hospital, Juneau School District, local pediatricians, and other community organizations is hosting free pediatric Pfizer vaccine clinics for all Juneau youth ages 5-11 on Monday, November 29; Tuesday, November 30; and Saturday, December 4. Register your 5-11 year-old now atjuneau.org/vaccineor 586-6000.

Pediatric vaccine clinics are on:

The Pfizer pediatric vaccine requires two doses administered three weeks apart. This clinic is for first doses and second doses. If your kid needs a first dose, register at juneau.org/vaccineor 586-6000. If youve already registered your child for their second dose, theres no need to register again. If you havent though, do make an appointment atjuneau.org/vaccineor 586-6000.

Please note the following:

Learn more about COVID-19 vaccines for children from this CDC webpageor thisAlaska Health and Social Services information sheet.

For more information, call 586-6000 or emailCOVIDquestions@juneau.org.

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Pediatric COVID-19 vaccine clinics happening next week, Nov. 29 Dec. 4 City and Borough of Juneau - City and Borough of Juneau