Category: Covid-19 Vaccine

Japanese doctor warns holding Games could lead to 'Olympic virus' strain

The head of a Japanese doctors union on Thursday warned holding the Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer, with tens of thousands of people gathering from around the world, could lead to the development of a new "Olympic" strain of the coronavirus.

Although Japan has repeatedly pledged to hold a "safe and secure" 2020 Olympics in Tokyo after a year-long postponement, it is struggling to contain a fourth wave of the pandemic and preparing to extend a state of emergency that covers much of the country.

Japanese officials, Olympics organisers and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have all vowed the Games will go ahead, albeit under strict virus prevention measures. Foreign spectators have already been banned and a decision on domestic viewers is expected next month.

But even with these steps in place, worries remain about the influx of athletes and officials into Japan, where the vaccine process remains glacially slow and just over 5% of the population have received inoculations.

With people from over 200 nations and territories set to arrive in Tokyo, it will be dangerous to host the Games in July, said Naoto Ueyama, head of the Japan Doctors Union.

"All of the different mutant strains of the virus which exist in different places will be concentrated and gathering here in Tokyo. We cannot deny the possibility of even a new strain of the virus potentially emerging after the Olympics," he told a news conference.

"If such a situation were to arise, it could even mean a Tokyo Olympic strain of the virus being named in this way, which would be a huge tragedy and something which would be the target of criticism even for 100 years."

(Reuters)

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Covid-19 vaccine in the US live updates: CDC investigating potential heart problems, vaccination lottery.... - AS English

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) The R.I. Department of Health says it is investigating at least one case of myocarditis, a condition that causes the heart muscle to become inflamed, and a possible connection to the COVID-19 vaccine.

A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) workgroup brought up several presentations on myocarditis following mRNA vaccines in its last meeting on Monday.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Technical Work Group concluded there are relatively few reports of myocarditis to date, and that these cases seem to occur:

Dr. Philip Chan with the R.I. Department of Health says the patient with myocarditis is doing well and was discharged from the hospital after one day.

There are also a couple of other cases that are under investigation, according to Chan.

I really want to emphasize that its very rare and uncommon, he said.

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), the incidence of myocarditis is approximately 1.5 million cases worldwide per year. The overall incidence is unknown and probably underdiagnosed, the NCBI reported.

Symptoms of myocarditis generally include chest pain, trouble breathing or irregular heartbeat, and according to Chan, while serious complications can occur, most people do well with supportive care.

Some people dont even end up in the hospital, but a lot of people do just to be monitored because of course anything concerning the heart is serious, he explained.

According to Chan, one of the most common causes of myocarditis is a viral infection, which could include the common cold, influenza or COVID-19.

Myocarditis is certainly uncommon, but it definitely happens, he said. Were actually in the time of the year that we tend to actually see more cases of myocarditis in the hospital because were seeing other viral infections that cause this.

As of Thursday, more than 544,000 people were fully vaccinated and another 100,000 were partially vaccinated, according to the R.I. Department of Health.

Chan said about 30,000 people younger than 18 have been vaccinated so far.

Health officials also reported 76 new positive cases Thursday and with more than 8,000 tests conducted the previous day, the daily positivity rate was 0.9%.

The data showed there were no additional COVID-19-related deaths in Rhode Island, so the death toll remained at 2,708.

Hospitalizations declined to 65, according to the Health Department, with 15 patients in the intensive care unit and 10 on ventilators.

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CDC, RIDOH investigating possible link between COVID-19 vaccines and rare heart condition - WPRI.com

Poker nights, yoga classes in the park, birthday parties and family reunions: All of them can become free COVID-19 vaccine clinics under Texas mobile vaccination program that expanded on Tuesday part of an effort to increase vaccine rates as supply increases and demand across the nation slips.

Groups of at least five people can schedule a mobile clinic to come to a house, a park, a place of business, an apartment just about anywhere they want, and on evenings or weekends if necessary by calling the states vaccine hotline, said Seth Christensen, spokesperson for the Texas Division of Emergency Management, which, along with the Texas Military Department, oversees the four-month-old State Mobile Vaccination Program.

This allows us to get a little deeper down into the community, Christensen said. We have the teams, we have the assets, and we have the vaccines available to reach more Texans and expand our reach.

More than 12 million Texans have gotten at least one dose of the vaccine, and more than 10 million about 42% of the eligible population ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated.

The task of vaccinating the majority of the states 29 million residents, a goal still potentially months from being realized, has been fraught with high rates of hesitancy, geographical challenges with Texans living in very remote areas, and other issues.

In Texas and nationwide, a slowdown in demand has spawned a host of ideas on how to reach those who still havent been vaccinated.

When the mobile vaccination program began in late January, it focused on hard-to-reach communities, rural Texans, homebound residents and senior citizens, vaccinating many of them in their own homes and partnering with groups to administer the shot to those priority populations, Christensen said. The mobile teams have administered more than half a million doses and supported local cities and other partners in the administration of another 400,000 doses, he said.

On May 6, as supply of the vaccine increased and vaccination rates among the states most vulnerable were hitting high numbers, state officials went public with the mobile program, setting up the Mobile Vaccination Team Call Center to take requests through the state hotline from businesses and other organizations to schedule on-site clinics for groups of at least 10.

Since then, the call center has received requests to schedule more than 160 mobile events to administer doses to more than 12,000 Texans, Christensen said.

The state has about 1,500 Texas National Guard personnel dedicated solely to the mobile vaccination effort, Christensen said, with a network of local fire departments and medical units as backup, he said.

In announcing the expansion of the program this week, Gov. Greg Abbott encouraged groups of Texans who wish to get vaccinated as a business, family unit, friend group, or more to schedule an event and help defeat the pandemic.

By working together to get more shots in arms, we will continue to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in communities across the state, he said.

Texans can schedule a clinic for groups of five or more by calling 844-90-TEXAS and selecting option 3. Texans who cant leave their homes or gather in groups can call that number and select option 1 to have a vaccine team visit their home.

Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.

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Mobile Texas COVID-19 vaccines available to groups of 5 or more - The Texas Tribune

German researchers on Wednesday said that based on laboratory research, they believed they have found the cause of the rare but serious blood clotting events among some people who received COVID-19 vaccines made by AstraZeneca Plc (AZN.L) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N).

The researchers, in a study not yet reviewed by experts, said COVID-19 vaccines that employ adenovirus vectors - cold viruses used to deliver vaccine material - send some of their payload into the nucleus of cells, where some of the instructions for making coronavirus proteins can be misread. The resulting proteins could potentially trigger blood clot disorders in a small number of recipients, they suggest.

Scientists and U.S. and European drug regulators have been searching for an explanation for what is causing the rare but potentially deadly clots accompanied by low blood platelet counts, which have led some countries to halt or limit use of the AstraZeneca and J&J vaccines. read more Other scientists have suggested competing theories for the clotting condition.

Johnson & Johnson, in an emailed statement said: "We are supporting continued research and analysis of this rare event as we work with medical experts and global health authorities. We look forward to reviewing and sharing data as it becomes available." AstraZeneca declined to comment.

Researchers at the Goethe-University of Frankfurt and other sites explained in their paper that vaccines using a different technology known as messenger RNA (mRNA), such as those developed by BioNTech SE with partner Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and Moderna Inc (MRNA.O), deliver the genetic material of the coronavirus spike protein only to fluid found inside cells, not to the nucleus of the cells.

All mRNA-based vaccines should represent safe products, the paper said.

The paper suggests that vaccine makers using adenovirus vectors could modify the sequence of the spike protein to avoid unintended splice reactions and to increase the safety of these pharmaceutical products.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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German researchers tie cold viruses used to deliver COVID-19 vaccine to rare blood clot risk - Reuters

At 81, William Shakespeare, or "Bill," became the second person in Britain to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in December. Jacob King/AP hide caption

At 81, William Shakespeare, or "Bill," became the second person in Britain to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in December.

William "Bill" Shakespeare, the first man in the United Kingdom to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, has died following a stroke.

The 81-year-old, whose famous name grabbed headlines around the world last year when he got the jab, died on Thursday, The New York Times reported, at the same hospital where he was inoculated.

On Dec. 8, Shakespeare became the second person in the country to get the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at the University Hospital in the central England city of Coventry. Margaret Keenan kicked off the country's vaccination campaign when she got the country's first shot at age 90.

In a statement released by the hospital, according to the BBC, his wife Joy said her husband was "so grateful" to have been one of the first people in the world to be vaccinated against the virus.

"It was something he was hugely proud of - he loved seeing the media coverage and the positive difference he was able to make to the lives of so many," she said. "He often talked to people about it and would always encourage everyone to get their vaccine whenever he could."

At the time, Shakespeare said: "It could make a difference to our lives from now on, couldn't it?"

The drama of his momentous jab was heightened by the fact that it took place just 20 miles from the birthplace of his playwright namesake.

"Taming of the flu: First man to get COVID shot in UK is named William Shakespeare," a front page of The New York Post quipped.

Beyond his landmark immunization, Shakespeare was known for his community involvement and political activism. He worked as an official at local schools and was a parish councilor for three decades.

Local councilor Jayne Innis described her friend to the Coventry Telegraph as a "life-long campaigner," who enjoyed photography, jazz and socializing.

Coventry Labour Party secretary Angela Hopkins told the publication that Shakespeare "walked hundreds of thousands of steps every year campaigning for the party."

Shakespeare's love for the natural world remains on display through the trees he helped plant in the village of Allesley back during the 1980s, and in the local forests he worked to preserve.

"Bill will be remembered for many things, including a taste for mischief," Innis said.

In addition to his wife, Shakespeare is survived by their two adult sons and his grandchildren.

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William 'Bill' Shakespeare, The 2nd Briton To Receive A COVID-19 Vaccine, Has Died - NPR

The woman allegedly yelled "no vaccine" as she drove through the tent.

May 27, 2021, 2:35 PM

4 min read

A Tennessee woman was arrested this week after authorities say she drove her SUV through a COVID-19 vaccination tent, nearly hitting several people while yelling "no vaccine."

Virginia Christine Lewis Brown, 36, of Greenback, has been charged with seven felony counts of reckless endangerment. She was released on bonds totalling $21,000 and has an initial court appearance set for June 7, according to the Blount County Sheriff's Office. It was unclear whether she had obtained an attorney who could speak on her behalf.

The incident in question occurred Monday morning at a COVID-19 vaccination tent set up in the parking lot of the Foothills Mall in Maryville, a suburb of Knoxville. According to an incident report, two deputies from the Blount County Sheriff's Office said they were at the location when they saw a blue Chrysler SUV speed through a cone course, past the check-in area and then through the tent, where several health workers and National Guard personnel were preparing to administer COVID-19 vaccines. The vehicle did not stop and was traveling at a "high rate of speed," deputies wrote in the incident report.

"I have worked at this location multiple times over the past few months and the area is clearly marked with signs and cones to advise the public of the event," one deputy wrote. "The driving behavior of Ms. Brown, as she approached the tent and exited the tent towards the waiting area, caught my attention due to how quickly the vehicle was traveling through the area."

PHOTO: Virginia Christine Lewis Brown, of Greenback, Tenn., is pictured in this booking photo on May 24, 2021.

The workers inside the tent ran over to the deputies, telling them what had just happened. They said they heard the driver shout "no vaccine" as she plowed through the tent and that she narrowly missed seven of the workers. Several workers told the deputies that they thought the driver was going to kill them, according to the incident report.

One of the deputies went after the vehicle and pulled it over. Brown allegedly told the deputy that she was driving through the tent to protest the vaccine and that she was only going 5 miles per hour. The deputy took Brown into custody without incident and transported her to the Blount County Jail, according to the incident report.

"While traveling to the jail, Ms. Brown made several statements about wanting to protest the vaccine," the deputy wrote in the incident report. "Ms. Brown stated she was driving through the course and once she got to the tent she told the personnel working she was not there for the vaccine."

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Tennessee woman arrested for speeding through COVID-19 vaccination tent in protest, authorities say - ABC News

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) The Child Care Resource Network (CCRN) has partnered with the Erie County Department of Health to host a COVID-19 vaccine pop-up for child care providers and their families.

The clinic will be held June 5 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the CCRN office located at 1000 Hertel Avenue, Buffalo. The single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be offered at the clinic.

To register click here and use POD code 10020.

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COVID-19 vaccine pop-up to be held for child care providers and their families - WKBW-TV

Final day to receive the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at the convention center  KATU

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Final day to receive the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at the convention center - KATU

A lot of Americans are afraid of the COVID-19 vaccines. They believe the vaccines are killing people.

The statistics fueling this fear typically come from a 30-year-old database known as VAERS -- the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System -- which can be found on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.

You may have heard about VAERS from popular Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who early this month devoted a segment on his TV show to death results associated with the COVID-19 vaccine.

If you havent had your shot, youre under enormous pressure to get your shot, Carlson said, arguing that unvaccinated Americans soon might not be allowed to get on an airplane or attend their neighbors backyard barbecue.

Between late December of 2020 and last month, a total of 3,362 people apparently died after getting the COVID vaccine in the United States, Carlson said on his prime-time program, citing VAERS. Three thousand, three hundred and sixty-two -- thats an average of 30 people every day.

(If you select COVID-19 vaccines and deaths in the database today, you will get just over 4,000 results.)

Stickers for Pennsylvania health-care workers after they receive COVID-19 vaccines.Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com

Carlson added that there is much that VAERS doesnt tell us, then said: But its clear that what is happening now, for whatever reason, is not even close to normal. Its not even close to what weve seen in previous years with previous vaccines.

The blowback to Carlsons segment was immediate, with news outlets ranging from Reuters to The Wrap noting that Carlson had, at best, muddied the vaccine-information waters.

The problem, in part, is that VAERS is not the kind of database you might expect to find on the CDC website. It is a self-reporting system. As Reuters reported, anyone [in the public] can report events to VAERS, and so the database contains unverified information.

CDC disclaimers on VAERS point out that the database may contain information that is incomplete, inaccurate, coincidental or unverifiable, and that the inclusion of events in VAERS data does not imply causality.

The national public-health agency also has stated that its review of the medical records of those who died shortly after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine revealed no evidence that vaccination contributed to patient deaths.

A vile of Moderna's Covid-19 Vaccine.George McNish | For NJ Advance Media

In short, maybe some 4,000 Americans have died after receiving COVID-19 vaccines. Maybe a lot more than that have. But however many it is, VAERS doesnt tell us why they died. People die every day for many different reasons: heart disease, car accident, cancer, accidental choking, and so on. And some people, logically, are going to die not long after getting a vaccine shot for reasons that have nothing to do with getting that vaccine shot.

VAERS, that is, is a starting point for medical researchers, not an end point. Looking at this raw, unverified data offers very little insight.

But this is not immediately clear to people who, trying to do their own research, stumble upon the database. One video that went viral on Facebook shows a computer with VAERS filling the screen.

Im looking at an individual here, this is a 38-year-old in New Mexico that took [a COVID-19 vaccine] on the 12th of February but then died on the 18th of February, six days later, the unidentified person in the video says. They took the Pfizer. Anyway, you might be thinking, Oh, its just one person, but let me show you the list I got this from

The computer mouse scrolls down through the database, case after case after case.

The videos narrator says: This is the list of all the people who have died from the vaccines. What is concerning to me is this list is extremely long.

Such unsubstantiated claims and fears about vaccine-related deaths have spread far and wide on the internet. A British online publication called The Conservative Woman said in a headline that COVID-19 vaccines were linked to blindness, deafness, miscarriages and 5,000 deaths.

The opaque website called Swiss Policy Research, which has claimed that the QAnon conspiracy theory is an FBI operation, used VAERS and other data to state that covid vaccinations have already been associated with close to 10,000 deaths and several thousand non-trivial adverse events, including anaphylactic shocks, neurological and cardiovascular disorders and miscarriages.

The Falun Gong-affiliated Epoch News got the jump on Tucker Carlson by more than a month, using VAERS to conclude early in March that 966 people had died after having the Pfizer or Moderna COVID vaccines.

A syringe with Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)AP

Its possible that this misinformation isnt simply the unfortunate consequence of non-experts coming upon confusing medical information online. The Wall Street Journal this week reported that Frances intelligence services are investigating the possibility that Russia tried to pay high-profile health and science bloggers [in France] to sow public doubts about the safety of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine.

To be sure, none of this means the COVID-19 vaccines pose no risk at all. Every medical intervention involves some risk. A very small number of people (about two to five people per million vaccinated, Forbes magazine writes, citing CDC reports) will suffer a severe allergic reaction immediately after they receive a vaccine shot. This is why vaccine providers require people to remain under their observation for up to half an hour following the arm jab.

And the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was briefly paused after a rare blood-clotting problem, affecting about two-dozen people and causing three deaths, cropped up.

Heres what the CDC says about the three COVID-19 vaccines that have received emergency approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration:

Over 285 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given in the United States from December 14, 2020, through May 24, 2021. COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective. COVID-19 vaccines were evaluated in tens of thousands of participants in clinical trials. The vaccines met the Food and Drug Administrations (FDA) rigorous scientific standards for safety, effectiveness and manufacturing quality needed to support emergency use authorization.

It adds:

CDC recommends you get a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible.

-- Douglas Perry

dperry@oregonian.com

@douglasmperry

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Have 1,000s of Americans died from COVID-19 vaccines? The claim abounds online; evidence doesnt back it up - OregonLive

The COVID-19 subcommittee of the WHO Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS) is reviewing reports of a small number of cases of myocarditis reported in individuals vaccinated with the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. The subcommittee noted that in most of the reported cases, the individuals have recovered. The subcommittee is soliciting and monitoring for additional information to assess for any relationship to COVID-19 vaccination.

Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle and pericarditis is an inflammation of the lining that surrounds the heart. While it can cause serious illness, it is frequently mild and responds well to conservative treatment.

On May 17, the US Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Technical (VaST) Work Group concluded that there are few reports of myocarditis to date and that these cases seem to occur predominantly in adolescents and young adults, more often in males than females, more often after the second dose of the vaccine, and typically within 4 days after vaccination[1]. Most cases appeared to be mild and follow up is ongoing.

The GACVS subcommittee noted that most of the information received so far is based on spontaneous, passive reporting. More rigorous studies using alternative data sources and more robust study designs including comparison of vaccinated and unvaccinated populations are needed to assess a potential causal association between the event and the vaccine. Some countries, such as Israel, the United Kingdom and the United States have embarked upon such studies. The GACVS subcommittee will review further as more data become available. The subcommittee also underscored the importance of having a harmonized case definition. A draft case definition for myocarditis has been developed recently by the Brighton Collaboration[2].

While acknowledging the clear benefits of the mRNA vaccines in reducing deaths and hospitalizations due to COVID-19 infections, the subcommittee encourages all health professionals to report all events of myocarditis and other adverse events observed with these and other vaccines. The WHO COVID-19 vaccine safety surveillance manual provides guidance to countries on the safety monitoring and adverse events data sharing for the new COVID-19 vaccines[3].

The GACVS COVID-19 subcommittee will continue to review the safety data from all COVID-19 vaccines and update any advice as necessary. Open, transparent, and evidence-based communication about the potential benefits and risks to recipients and the community is essential to maintain trust. WHO is carefully monitoring the rollout of all COVID-19 vaccines and will continue to work closely with countries to manage potential risks, and to use science and data to drive response and recommendations.

[1] https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/work-groups-vast/technical-report-2021-05-17.html

[2] https://brightoncollaboration.us/myocarditis-case-definition-update/

[3] https://www.who.int/publications-detail-redirect/10665338400

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COVID-19 subcommittee of the WHO Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS) reviews cases of mild myocarditis reported with COVID-19 mRNA...