Category: Covid-19 Vaccine

As U.S. health authorities expand use of the leading Covid-19 vaccines, researchers investigating heart-related risks linked to the shots are exploring several emerging theories, including one centered on the spike protein made in response to vaccination.

Researchers arent certain why the messenger RNA vaccines, one from Pfizer Inc. and partner BioNTech SE and the other from Moderna Inc., are likely causing the inflammatory heart conditions myocarditis and pericarditis in a small number of cases.

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Covid-19 Vaccines and Myocarditis Link Probed by Researchers - The Wall Street Journal

People who spread misinformation on Covid-19 vaccines are "criminals" and have cost "millions of lives," Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said Tuesday.

Speaking with Washington D.C.-based think tank Atlantic Council, Bourla said there is a "very small" group of people that purposefully circulate misinformation on the shots, misleading those who are already hesitant about getting vaccinated.

"Those people are criminals," he told Atlantic Council CEO Frederick Kempe. "They're not bad people. They're criminals because they have literally cost millions of lives."

Bourla's comments come as millions of eligible adults in the U.S. have yet to get vaccinated even though the shots have been available to most Americans most of this year. Public health experts say misinformation is likely playing a large role.

According to a survey published Monday by the Kaiser Family Foundation, more than three-quarters of U.S. adults either believe or aren't sure about at least one of eight false statements about Covid or the vaccines, with unvaccinated adults and Republicans among those most likely to hold misconceptions.

Among the falsehoods are that Covid vaccines contain microchips, cause infertility and change one's DNA, according to the survey.

Bourla said Tuesday that life for many people can go "back to normal" once many of the unvaccinated get vaccinated.

"The only thing that stands between the new way of life and the current way of life is, frankly, hesitancy to vaccinations," he said.

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Pfizer CEO says people who spread misinformation on Covid vaccines are 'criminals' - CNBC

Want your picture with the Milwaukee Bucks championship trophy? People who receiveaCOVID-19 vaccine at a Saturday clinic at Fiserv Forum will get that chance, according to a Milwaukee Health Department news release.

The health department and the Bucks are teaming up for a vaccine clinic from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday in the atrium of Fiserv Forum, 1111 Vel R. Phillips Ave., Milwaukee.

"Everyone vaccinated at this clinic will have the opportunity to take a photo with the Larry OBrien Championship Trophy," a news release said.

The focus of this clinicis on children ages 5 to 11.The clinic will offerpediatric Pfizer COVID-19vaccines.

Vaccination is the best tool to keep ourselves and our children safe from COVID-19," Milwaukee Health Commissioner Kirsten Johnson said in a news release. "We hope the opportunity to take a shot in the home of the 2021 World Champion Milwaukee Bucks will encourage Milwaukee children and families to get vaccinated."

The clinic will also offer first, secondand booster doses of Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines foreligible individuals, the news release said. Flu shots will be available as well.

Those under the age of 18 will need permission from a parent or guardian to receive avaccine.

Free parking will be available in the Highland Street Parking Garage, 1030 North6th Street.

Another vaccine clinic will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 4 to administer second doses of the vaccine.

People who return to complete their vaccine series will be entered to win one of two family four-packs of tickets for that night's game against the Miami Heat. The drawing will be held following the completion of the clinic. Winners will be notified and emailed their tickets.

Contact Hannah Kirby at hannah.kirby@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HannahHopeKirby.

Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.

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If you get a COVID-19 vaccine at this Fiserv Forum clinic Saturday, you get a picture with the Bucks championship trophy - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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New data from the Texas health department released Monday proves what health officials have been trying to tell vaccine-hesitant Texans for months: The COVID-19 vaccine dramatically prevents death and is the best tool to prevent transmission of the deadly virus.

Out of nearly 29,000 Texans who have died from COVID-related illnesses since mid-January, only 8% of them were fully vaccinated against the virus, according to a report detailing the Texas Department of State Health Services findings.

And more than half of those deaths among vaccinated people were among Texans older than 75, the age group that is most vulnerable to the virus, the study shows.

Weve known for a while that vaccines were going to have a protective effect on a large segment of our population, said Dr. Jennifer A. Shuford, state epidemiologist. By looking at our own population and seeing what the impact of the vaccines have been on that population, were hoping just to be able to reach people here in Texas and show them the difference that being fully vaccinated can make in their lives and for their communities.

The state health department study covers most of the positive cases and COVID-19 deaths reported in Texas among residents from Jan. 15 to Oct. 1. Its the first time state officials have been able to statistically measure the true impact of the vaccine on the pandemic in Texas which has one of the highest death tolls in the nation. The majority of Texans ages 16 and up didn't become eligible for the vaccine until late March.

State health officials also found the vaccine greatly reduced the risk of virus transmission, including the highly contagious delta variant that ravaged the state over the summer.

Only 3% of 1.5 million positive COVID-19 tests examined since mid-January occurred in people who were already vaccinated.

State researchers matched electronic lab reports and death certificates with state immunization records, and measured cases and deaths since mid-January, a month after the first shots were administered in Texas.

The study was done using data similar to those used by other states that conducted similar studies and methods recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Shuford said.

And while the outcome was not particularly surprising, Shuford said, officials hope that the new data will increase trust in the benefits of the shot.

Texas is a unique place; its got a lot of diversity, geographic and population-wise, Shuford said. We know that some people want to see actual numbers and that they want to see it for their own community. And so we are hoping that this reaches some of those people who have been hesitant and really just questioning the benefits of the vaccines.

In Texas, it literally requires a disaster like a pandemic before the state records precise information about vaccinations. As a result, there is a record for every single COVID-19 vaccine dose of the name and age of the person who received it plus the date it was administered. Normally, vaccination records are shown to schools by parents, but details of all vaccinations are not regularly kept by a state registry in Texas, unlike nearly every other state, because its a voluntary system.

However, state officials still dont have official numbers on how many vaccinated people were hospitalized with COVID-19 because hospitals are not required to report that level of data under state law.

But the states largest hospital districts and counties have reported that at least 90% of the hospitalized Texans with the virus were unvaccinated.

The states new health data comes as Republican state leaders grapple with local cities and school districts about masking, which has been proven to reduce transmission of the virus, and with federal officials over vaccine mandates.

About 53% of the Texas population is fully vaccinated. More than 70,000 Texans have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic began.

The new report is particularly well-timed, officials say, because gatherings throughout the holiday season could touch off another surge as families get together many of them for the first time since last year and around 9 million Texans remain unvaccinated.

Texas saw its deadliest surge of the pandemic in January, when more than 400 deaths were reported daily at its peak, a trend health officials said was likely a direct result of the holidays.

The recent Texas Coronavirus Antibody Response Survey, commissioned by the state health department in partnership with the University of Texas System, estimated that about 75% of Texans roughly 22 million people likely have some level of protection against the virus, either by natural immunity from being infected or through vaccination.

But that doesnt mean infected people are immune indefinitely or that they shouldnt get the vaccine, health experts say.

In fact, doctors, scientists and health officials urge those who have been infected to get vaccinated anyway, saying the vaccine provides a strong boost in immunity even to those who have some level of natural protection.

The Texas CARES study found that fully vaccinated participants showed significantly higher antibody levels than those who were unvaccinated but had been infected.

A week ago, the CDC found that while both vaccination and natural infection provide about six months of protection from infection by the virus, the vaccine provides a higher, more robust, and more consistent level of immunity than natural infection does.

And while the fact that a solid majority of Texans are estimated to have some protection from the virus bodes well for the state in its fight against the pandemic, Shuford said, it still means that millions of Texans are vulnerable to severe illness or death from the highly contagious virus, without any vaccine or natural immunity.

Those susceptible populations can still get infected, and the holidays are the perfect time for that, she said. Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years. These are all times that people gather together, and COVID-19 can easily be transmitted at these gatherings.

Mandi Cai contributed to this report.

Disclosure: University of Texas System has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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Unvaccinated Texans make up vast majority of COVID-19 cases and deaths this year, new state data shows - The Texas Tribune

Elsa Estrada, 6, smiles at her mother before receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday at a pediatric vaccine clinic for children at Willard Intermediate School in Santa Ana, Calif. Jae C. Hong/AP hide caption

Elsa Estrada, 6, smiles at her mother before receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday at a pediatric vaccine clinic for children at Willard Intermediate School in Santa Ana, Calif.

Beloved stuffed animals in hand, they lined up at schools, pop-up clinics and children's hospitals to do something that little kids generally hate to do: get a shot. COVID vaccinations for 5- to 11-year-olds began in earnest late last week, ramping up over the weekend and early this week.

By the end of the day on Wednesday, about 900,000 elementary school-age children will have gotten their first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, a White House official shared with NPR in advance of an announcement expected later in the day.

That represents about 3% of children ages 5 to 11. About 700,000 more have appointments scheduled in the days ahead at pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens.

"This does not include appointments being made, for example, at places like pediatricians' offices, children hospitals and other sites," the official said.

For the White House, this is an early and encouraging sign in the effort to vaccinate 5- to 11-year-olds, though it is impossible to tell from these initial numbers whether vaccinations will continue apace or hit a plateau of hesitancy as has happened with other age groups. Unlike previous expansions of vaccine availability, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for these younger children comes in a smaller dose with different packaging and smaller needles.

Vaccines for this age group couldn't be packaged and shipped until the Food and Drug Administration gave emergency use authorization on Oct. 29, and it's been a dash ever since.

To rapidly reach this new population, the official says Minnesota has set up 1,100 vaccination sites including one at the Mall of America at which 1,500 children can be vaccinated a day. Children's hospitals have set up family-friendly events with pets, stuffed animals and adults in costume. New York City has more than 1,000 clinics planned in schools, with flexible hours.

Because it is a new program, comparisons are imperfect. A week after authorization of vaccines for 12- to 15-year-olds, a larger share of the eligible population had gotten their first dose than 5- to 11-year-olds so far. But adolescents were getting the same vaccine doses already widely available to adults in pharmacies and doctor's offices all over the country, so there was no ramp-up time needed.

A recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that only 27% of parents planned to rush right out and get their 5- to 11-year-olds vaccinated for COVID-19. A full 30% said they definitely would not get their children vaccinated. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has raised alarms about misinformation, pleading with parents to do their research using reliable sources and to talk to their children's pediatricians if they have questions.

Some parents have complained about having trouble finding appointments. Still, over the weekend, social media was flooded with pictures of masked children sporting brightly colored band-aids.

"And it's going to give millions of American parents peace of mind," President Biden said at a virtual political fundraiser Tuesday night, touting the newly available vaccines for children.

First lady Jill Biden is expected to travel across the country in the coming weeks, visiting schools and making direct appeals to parents to protect their children through vaccination.

The secretaries of education and health and human services earlier this week sent letters to school leaders, encouraging them to set up vaccine clinics on campuses, to distribute high-quality information about the vaccines to students' families and to hold Q-and-A sessions for parents with local pediatricians. The letter also flagged that there is money in the American Rescue Plan passed by Congress earlier this year to help fund these efforts.

If enough parents vaccinate their children, it could go a long way to restoring normalcy for elementary schools. Many have had to put students on "pause" after close contact with an infected classmate, disrupting in-person learning. Some school districts have even had to shut down entirely for a week or more to try to break the chain of infection.

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Nearly 1 million kids ages 5-11 will have their first COVID shots by the end of today - NPR

A new COVID-19 vaccine aims to stop the entire novel coronavirus not just provide antibodies to stop the spike protein of the virus.

Per Al Jazeera, French pharmaceutical company Valneva has created a COVID-19 vaccine that stimulates an immune response to the entire virus, and that might just give it an edge over its competitors.

The vaccine has been making headlines for successful trials. The vaccine reportedly provided more protection against COVID-19 compared to the AstraZeneca vaccine in a clinical trial, which led the company to prepare for approval from European regulators, according to Bloomberg.

Scientists are working hard to find new ways to stop the coronavirus. As I wrote for the Deseret News, researchers from Duke Human Vaccine Institute and the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill discovered an antibody that could stop COVID-19 and other coronavirus variants.

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What is the Valneva COVID-19 vaccine? Is it better? - Deseret News

As the Delta variant became the dominant strain of coronavirus across the United States, all three COVID-19 vaccines available to Americans lost some of their protective power, with vaccine efficacy among a large group of veterans dropping between 35% and 85%, according to a new study.

Researchers who scoured the records of nearly 800,000 U.S. veterans found that in early March, just as the Delta variant was gaining a toehold across American communities, the three vaccines were roughly equal in their ability to prevent infections.

But over the next six months, that changed dramatically.

By the end of September, Modernas two-dose COVID-19 vaccine, measured as 89% effective in March, was only 58% effective.

The effectiveness of shots made by Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine, which also employed two doses, fell from 87% to 45% in the same period.

And most strikingly, the protective power of Johnson & Johnsons single-dose vaccine plunged from 86% to just 13% over those six months.

The findings were published Thursday in the journal Science.

The three vaccines held up better in their ability to prevent COVID-19 deaths, but by July as the Delta variant began to drive a three-month surge of infections and deaths the shots effectiveness on that score also revealed wide gaps.

Among veterans 65 and older who were inoculated with the Moderna vaccine, those who developed a breakthrough infection were 76% less likely to die of COVID-19 compared with unvaccinated veterans of the same age.

Older veterans who got the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and subsequently experienced a breakthrough infection were 70% less likely to die than were their unvaccinated peers.

And when older vets who got a single jab of the J&J vaccine suffered a breakthrough infection, they were 52% less likely to die than their peers who didnt get any shots.

For veterans under 65, the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines provided the best protection against a fatal case of COVID-19, at 84% and 82%, respectively. When younger veterans inoculated with J&J vaccine suffered a breakthrough infection, they were 73% less likely to die of COVID-19 than were their unvaccinated peers.

Johnson & Johnson representatives did not immediately respond to requests to discuss the studys findings.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended booster shots for everyone who got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least two months earlier.

Boosters are also recommended six months after a second dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines for everyone 65 and older; those with medical conditions that make them more vulnerable to a serious case of COVID-19; those who live in nursing homes or other group settings; and those who live or work in high-risk settings like hospitals or prisons.

In addition, all people with compromised immune systems are advised to get a booster shot if its been at least 28 days since their vaccine took full effect.

With millions of vaccinated Americans pondering whether they need a boost, the new study offers the most comprehensive comparison yet of how the three vaccines have performed across the nation this year.

It tracked 780,225 veterans of the U.S. armed forces from Feb. 1 to Oct. 1. Close to 500,000 of them had been vaccinated, while just under 300,000 had not.

Hailing from across the country, all were cared for by the Veterans Affairs unified system, which provides health care to 2.7% of the U.S. population. While the group under study was ethnically and racially diverse, the record-keeping that researchers relied upon was uniform.

Because these were veterans, the study population comprised six times as many men as women. And they skewed older: about 48% were 65 or older, 29% were between 50 and 64, and 24% were under 50.

While older veterans were more likely to die than younger vets throughout the study period, the decline of the vaccines protection against illness and death was seen in both young and old.

The study was conducted by a team from the Public Health Institute in Oakland, the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in San Francisco, and the University of Texas Health Science Center.

Dr. Barbara Cohn, the studys lead author, said in addition to its comparison of COVID-19 vaccines, the groups analysis provides a lens for making informed decisions around primary vaccination, booster shots, and other multiple layers of protection. That includes mask mandates, coronavirus testing and other public health measures aimed at countering viral spread.

Strong evidence of the vaccines declining power should prompt even states and locales with highly vaccinated populations to consider retaining mask mandates, the authors said. And the findings strongly support the CDCs recent recommendation that all recipients of the J&J vaccine get a booster.

The study concluded that the Delta variant, which drove a wave of infections and deaths across the country this spring and summer, was likely the factor that most eroded the protection of vaccines.

Other researchers have found similar evidence of declining vaccine effectiveness. But they have suggested that the immune systems defenses against SARS-CoV-2 simply fade with time, and that waning vaccine effectiveness would likely have been seen with or without the arrival of a new, more transmissible strain.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC.

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Study shows dramatic decline in effectiveness of all 3 COVID-19 vaccines over time - Honolulu Star-Advertiser

News 12 Staff

Nov 10, 2021, 1:04pm

Updated on: Nov 10, 2021, 1:10pm

Can your child get the flu and COVID-19 vaccines at the same time?

Dr. Sharon Nachman, a pediatric infectious disease specialist and the director of the Office of Clinical Trials at Stony Brook Children's Hospital, suggests that your child receive the shots in different arms.

"We have a history of vaccinating our kids with multiple vaccines," says flu specialist Richard Webby of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Staying up to date on all vaccinations will be especially important this year, experts say.

Since people were masked and staying home, last year's flu season barely registered. This year, it's unclear how intense the flu season will be with more places reopening.

"The worry is that if they both circulate at the same time, we're going to have this sort of 'twin-demic,'" Webby says. "The concern with that is that it's going to put extra strain on an already strained health care system."

The CDC recommends an annual flu vaccine for everyone 6 months and older, and says ideally everyone should be vaccinated by the end of October. It takes 10 to 14 days for the flu vaccine to take full effect so if you wait until the flu begins circulating, your body may not have time to build up protection. Vaccine options vary by age but include several types of shots or a nasal spray version.

One caution: COVID-19, colds and flu all share similar symptoms so if you feel ill, the CDC says to postpone a vaccination appointment until you're better to avoid getting others sick.

AP wire services contributed to this report.

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Can your child get the flu and COVID-19 vaccines at the same time? Here's what health officials say. - News 12 Bronx

As children ages 5 to 11 begin to get vaccinated against COVID-19, even younger kids are participating in clinical trials that will determine if they will be able to get similar protection against the disease in the near future.

This week, the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Healthannounced a phase 3 clinical trial of the Moderna vaccine in kids ages 6 months to 4 years old had filled up. The trial has been underway for two weeks.

"Weve had an overwhelming response from the Madison community," said Dr. Bill Hartman. "So, we had way more people interested in the study than we had spots."

Hartman is co-principal investigator of the KidCOVE clinical trial at UW-Madison, which also tested the Moderna vaccine on children ages 5 to 11.

So far, the Pfizer vaccine is the only brand approved for that age group. Moderna could seek emergency use authorization for children ages 5 to 11 next month, Hartman said.

The parents of 4-year-old twins Sam and Theo Rodriguez were eager to participate in the study for the sake of science and to protect their family. The children started school this fall and their grandmother, who has diabetes and COPD, lives with them at their home in eastern Dane County.

No one in the family has ever participated in clinical trial before, said their mother, Anne Rodriguez. But she said they were watching for this opportunity in hopes of potentially getting early access to a vaccine for their young children.

Hartman expects the Moderna clinical trial in these younger children to be finished in mid-December. Pfizer is further along in testing its vaccine on children under age 5, but federal approval isnt expected until 2022.

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UW-Madison testing COVID-19 vaccine in children 6 months to 4 years old - Wisconsin Public Radio News

The Los Angeles Police Department has placed on leave at least three employees who refused to either get vaccinated against COVID-19 or follow the citys requirement to get tested weekly.

LAPD Chief Michel Moore told police commissioners Tuesday that the three a pair of sworn officers and a civilian employee were a tiny fraction of the thousands of department employees who were asked last week to sign agreements to follow the citys vaccination mandate.

LAPD supervisors are personally approaching the employees who have not agreed yet to the citys mandate and asking their intentions.

Our desire would be to have all of (the remaining) notices served forthwith, Moore said.

L.A. city employees have until December to get fully vaccinated. Under plans hashed out with the citys unions, those employees with legitimate medical or religious reasons for not getting vaccinated are still required to get tested weekly. And they have to pay for the tests.

Moore said 2,239 LAPD employees had sought such exemptions, which are still subject to review and approval by city administrators. Some might have since chosen to get vaccinated.

On Tuesday, Moore and police commissioners indicated they were confident the mandate was working. The departments vaccination rate now stands at 78%, with that percentage of employees having received at least one shot.

LAPD has about 9,500 sworn officers and 2,500 civilian employees.

The surge in vaccinations among LAPD employees comes after the department appeared to lag for months behind other city agencies. In September, Police Commission President William Briggs harshly criticized officers who still hadnt been vaccinated, saying as employees in public-facing roles they endangered L.A. residents.

On Tuesday, he was far more upbeat.

We are taking strides not steps strides in the right direction, Briggs said.

Moore said the departments mobile vaccine clinic had gotten shots to thousands of employees so far at least 1,500 since the program was started over the summer in response to LAPDs lagging vaccination rate.

He said in just the last week, 429 employees have used the mobile clinics. That number included more than 170 officers and civilians getting vaccinated for the first time, and others who got their booster shots.

At least 10 LAPD employees have died from COVID-19 since March 2020.

We want to make sure we dont lose anyone (else to the virus), Moore said, and that they dont lose their career over something emotionally charged.

Of the three employees who refused, all have been assigned to home, Moore said. They will face administrative hearings to determine whether theyll keep their jobs.

LAPD didnt identify the employees. But one, Mike McMahon, a 14-year veteran of the department, said in an Instagram video on Saturday, Nov. 6, that he had his gun and badge taken away last week after he refused to sign the agreement.

I did just leave the captains office not too long ago, he said. I did refuse everything. I was subsequently relieved of duty, returned my gun, my badge, my police ID. All of my police powers have been suspended and I have been assigned to home, pending a Board of Rights, for which is essentially going to be an insubordination charge, which will ultimately result in termination from the department.

McMahon said he is part of a group of officers called Roll Call 4 Freedom, which opposes the mandates for L.A. city employees. McMahon appeared at a protest on Monday, Nov. 8, at Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles, speaking to a large group of vaccine opponents.

Union leaders said last week that officers who refuse to get vaccinated would not face insubordination charges. Rather, theyll be judged on whether theyre fit for duty, a less serious charge than insubordination. If theyre found unfit and fired, they could still return to LAPD if they later get vaccinated.

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3 LAPD employees face firing after refusing COVID-19 vaccines or testing, while thousands of others agree to plan - The Mercury News