Category: Covid-19 Vaccine

BERLIN (Reuters) - German pharmaceutical giant Bayer is examining whether it can help CureVac to produce its experimental COVID-19 vaccine, its chief executive was quoted as saying on Sunday.

Though inoculation campaigns have started around the world using various COVID-19 vaccines, many countries say their ability to get shots into arms is being limited by lower than expected supplies owing to a shortage of production.

We are prepared to pull out all the stops for this, Werner Baumann told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

This is not primarily about financial considerations but about making the vaccine available as quickly as possible.

Bayer agreed this month to help fellow German company CureVac with development of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, which is in late-stage clinical trials and has not yet been approved.

Baumann said the drugmaker was intensively examining whether to expand its co-operation to include manufacturing the vaccine for CureVac.

With our production network in Germany and the USA and the corresponding lead time, we would in principle be in a position to produce vaccine in larger quantities, he said.

On Friday U.S. drugmaker Pfizer said there would be a temporary slowdown of shipments of the vaccine it developed with German partner BioNTech, citing changes in manufacturing processes to boost output.

Reporting by Caroline Copley; Editing by David Goodman

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Bayer aims to help CureVac with COVID-19 vaccine output, says CEO - Reuters

by: Lindsey Eaton, Nexstar Media Wire

INDIANAPOLIS (WXIN) Don and Joyce Hoffman have joined the group of Indiana residents vaccinated against COVID-19 after the virus forced them apart for weeks during the summer of 2020 after Joyce got coronavirus.

The Hoffmans have been married for 67 years.

I saw him in the cafeteria, and I thought I think hed be fun to know sometime and here I got married, said Joyce Hoffman, who received the COVID-19vaccine.

Don and Joyce Hoffman are now in their 90s. The longest the two have been away from each other was last summer when Joyce had COVID-19

Oh, it was a long time. I thought we would never get together. It was forever I thought. Oh my goodness it was terrible, said Don.

Despite all of Dons desperate attempts, the couple had to spend five weeks apart.

In fact, I wanted to go upstairs. I said, Let me get the virus too, and then I can be up there with her. They didnt like that idea. They said, You cant do that, recalled Don.

Waiting was the only option for the Hoffmans, and the wait was worth it.

I missed her hugs and kisses. I didnt get any hugs and kisses while [she was] gone. And then when I turned around, she was right there standing behind me, said Don.

After being reunited, the Hoffmans had to wait again, this time for a vaccine.

Last week, Don and Joyce were two of the nearly 200 residents and staff at Hooverwood Living Facility in Indianapolis to get their first dose of the Moderna vaccine.

Governor Eric Holcomb mentioned the couple in his weekly press conference this week.

The shot was nothing. I cant believe it yet. I still cant believe it. I said, Are they going to give me a shot? They said, You already had it (laughs). It was so painless didnt hurt at all, said Don.

This husband and wife are remaining hopeful that this is the start of life getting back to normal, but until then, they have each other.

The Hoffmans are scheduled to get their second vaccine on February 5.

Theyll celebrate their 68th wedding anniversary on July 13.

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Couple married 67 years receives COVID-19 vaccine after diagnosis forced them apart - FOX40

9:53 AM PST 1/17/2021byRyan Parker

Steve Martin on Sunday told his fans he had some good news and some bad news.

The iconic comic and movie star revealed that he had received what is assumed to be his first round of COVID-19 vaccination, which was the good news. He added the bad news is he is old.

"Good news/Bad news. Good news: I just got vaccinated! Bad news: I got it because Im 75. Ha! The operation in NYC was smooth as silk (sorry about the clich @BCDreyer!) and hosted to perfection by the US Army and National Guard. Thank you all, and thank you science," Martin said on Twitter.

Martin explained to another user where he went ("I signed up ON line through an NYC dot gov website [sorry I dont have the exact site], and waited IN line at the Javits Center") before cracking a joke to a different user. "Right now, Im having no fide resects," he quipped.

Martin has made it a point to make people laugh amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. For example, his Twitter profile picture is of the actor wearing two masks that cover his whole face.

In September, Martin made headlines when he had people in stitches after he posted about making sure he could still be recognized while wearing a mask out and about.

"I always wear a mask when I go outside. But something about it was leaving me anxious and unsettled. I thought about the problem, addressed it, and here is the solution," wrote the comic and actor, along with a picture of him wearing a sign over his hear that read: "Steve Martin" with an arrow pointing down.

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Steve Martin Celebrates His COVID- 19 Vaccination By Reminding Fans He's Old - Hollywood Reporter

A year after it emerged, COVID-19 has now claimed more than 2 million lives worldwide. Experts have said for much of the last year that the only way to escape the coronavirus' grasp is through widespread vaccination. Weapons to win that war have been and continue to be approved by individual countries' drug regulators in record time.

But the pace and a host of other unique factors have left many around the globe with concerns about the vaccines' safety and efficacy.

National regulatory bodies insist corners haven't been cut. They've reviewed and accepted data provided by pharmaceutical companies showing the major vaccines already approved, and those expecting a greenlight within weeks, are between 70% and 95% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 infection.

More importantly, none of the trials carried out on the three vaccines to emerge first, by Pfizer/BioNtech, Moderna and Oxford/AstraZeneca, have shown any significant side effects.

Millions of people have now had doses of all three of those vaccines, and apart from a small number of severe allergic reactions mostly among those with a history of severe allergies and the minor, short-term aches and pains associated with many long-established vaccines, the new drugs appear to be well tolerated.

A survey published by the Pew Research Center in early December showed an increase in overall American confidence in the vaccines, with 60% saying they would get vaccinated.

There are divergent views among experts on the best near-term goals for vaccination programs, including the emphasis that should be put on achieving "herd immunity," versus simply giving health care systems room to breathe.

But most experts agree with Dr. Anthony Fauci, who told CBS News in November that the bottom line is simple: "We need to get as many people as possible vaccinated."

Below is a snapshot of sentiments on vaccination in nine countries from CBS News journalists:

By Haley Ott -A December poll by the Royal Society for Public Health showed that overall, 76% of adults in the U.K. would get a coronavirus vaccine if their doctor recommended it, but that willingness varied significantly based on a person's socio-economic status and ethnicity.

The vast majority of people in office jobs, 84%, said they would get a vaccine, but only 70% of people in "unskilled/semi-skilled manual occupations" or who were unemployed said they would.

79% of White people said they would get a vaccine, compared to 57% of Black, Asian and other non-white people, according to the survey. This is reflects opinions in the U.S., too.

Misinformation about the vaccine online was thought to be fueling some of the mistrust in the South Asian community and among certain religious groups, BBC News has reported. Messages falsely claiming the vaccines contain alcohol or animal products could deter Muslims and Hindus from wanting a shot.

Mosques across the U.K. have joined a campaign organized by the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board to counter the false narratives, saying they'd use their Friday sermons in January to urge people to get vaccinated.

More than 3 million people have had a first dose of either the Oxford or Pfizer vaccines in the U.K.

By Elaine Cobbe -The number of French people who say they're happy to be vaccinated has been on the rise. At the end of December, a poll found that just 40% were willing to have a COVID-19 vaccine. That reflected a drop from polling in November and over the summer.

But as the vaccine program in France actually got underway slowly and fraught with bureaucratic problems surveys showed growing confidence. A poll on January 7 found that 56% of French adults were in favor of getting vaccinated: 26% said they would "definitely" get the vaccine when it was their turn and 30% said they would "probably" get it.

The young appear to be the most reluctant, with more than half of those aged 25-35 consistently saying they don't want a vaccine.

More worrisome for health authorities is the number of health care workers voicing reluctance to being vaccinated has also been high. A poll conducted in the first week of December among nursing home workers found that just 19% were keen to be vaccinated, while 76% said they did not want a vaccine.

For many, however, it's looked more like a "wait and see" approach than a blanket "no." In the December poll, 86% of those against the vaccines said they were worried about potential side effects, especially of the vaccines like Pfizer's and Moderna's which have been developed using new technology.

Seeing the first wave of vaccinations of nursing home residents and medical staff go off without any serious side effects may have contributed to the rise in confidence in January.

By Anna Noryskiewicz -Many German health care workers have also been skeptical of the coronavirus vaccines, but one doctor tells CBS News that's likely to change.

A nationwide survey of medical staff, including many intensive care workers, carried out in early December found that 73% of physicians said they wanted to be vaccinated, but among nursing staff, the figure was only around 50%.

Dr. Petra Creutz, a pulmonologist in Berlin, told CBS News she believed it was more a matter of uncertainty than rejection.

"I think it's a common reaction to be reluctant with new drugs and vaccines. But in a few weeks' time, when more people get vaccinated and more explanatory work is done, the willingness to be vaccinated will eventually grow," she predicted.

Germany's leaders and health officials will be hoping she's right, as reluctance, particularly among health workers, can have a serious impact due to their inherent higher risk of contracting the virus.

"It is particularly important that this group is vaccinated," Bavarian state premier Markus Sder said this week, sparking a debate among politicians after suggesting the consideration of compulsory vaccination for medical staff.

By Chris Livesay - Early last year, Italy was at the epicenter of the pandemic, and it became an early leader among European nations in the drive to inoculate people against the disease. Almost 1 million Italians had been given a first dose of coronavirus vaccine by Friday.

But there is resistance, and Italian officials may be hoping for the kind of growing confidence seen in France and predicted in Germany. Italian health care professionals have shown significant reluctance to get a shot.

According to research published in December byItaly's ANSA news agency, one in five Italian health care workers said they would refuse a vaccine at the time. In some parts of the country that figure was even higher: In the northern Piedmont region, only 10-20% of nursing home workers said they planned to get vaccinated, according to the region's pandemic response unit.

Pope Francis was vaccinated this week, and he called on everyone to follow his example. Speaking to Italian TV on Sunday, he called refusal of the vaccines "suicidal."

"It's an ethical choice, because you are playing with health, life, but you are also playing with the lives of others," he told Italian television.

By Alexandra Odynova -The majority of Russians, 58%, are not ready to get the country's first domestically-made coronavirus vaccine the only one available in Russia to date according to the most recent independent survey. Despite the government's insistence that it's safe, many in the country remain wary of the Sputnik V vaccine, which was certified for use in August before Phase-3 human trials even began.

Despite the lack of final data, the government lab that developed Sputnik V says it's 95% effective and causes no major side effects.

The independent Lavada Center's poll, published just after Christmas, found that most of those willing to get the vaccine were supporters of President Vladimir Putin. One of Putin's daughters was said to have received the Sputnik V vaccine before it was even approved, but the 68-year-old president hasn't received a shot yet himself.

"The overwhelming majority of the president's opponents are not ready to get vaccinated," noted the Lavada Center.

Only 38% of the overall respondents to the survey said they were willing to get the shot. About 30% said they wanted to wait at least until trials on the vaccine were completed. Only 10% said they opposed vaccines in general, while 12% of the respondents said they saw no reason to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Last month, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed suggestions of a link between Putin not getting vaccinated and the low public confidence in Sputnik V.

"We don't see any connection here," Peskov told reporters. Putin said months ago that he was planning to get immunized. Sputnik V's developers say more than 1.5 million people in Russia have received the vaccine to date.

By Amjad Tadros- Jordan launched its national vaccination campaign on Wednesday, and it was the first country to specifically include refugees in its COVID-19 inoculation drive.

But national uptake hasn't been enthusiastic off the starting block: Some 6 million people are eligible for inoculation in the first stage, including the elderly, people with chronic diseases, and medical workers. Registration was opened on December 24, but as of this week, only about 250,000 Jordanians had signed up for a shot.

"We call on people to come to our centers to take the doses," Wael Hayajneh, a senior Jordanian health official, told reporters. To encourage vaccinations, Jordan's King Abdullah II, along with his 73-year-old uncle Prince Hassan and his eldest son Crown Prince Hussein, were shown on state television getting their first shots this week.

Minister of Health Dr. Natheer Obeidat told reporters that he hopes that the nationwide campaign will reach between 20% and 25% of the country's citizens in the coming months.

Jordan is home to some 750,00 Syrian refugees, and that population has been hit by the coronavirus. The United Nations refugee agency's representative in Jordan, Dominik Bartsch, told CBS News that "the first few refugees who have the same medical priorities as their Jordanian brothers and sisters were included in that very first round of vaccination."

At least 43 refugees were among those vaccinated this week.

By Lucy Craft -Compared to the rush elsewhere to get shots into arms, Japan's tortoise-like approach to vaccination might seem incomprehensible. Japan's first round of vaccinations, using the Pfizer vaccine, is still more than a month away.

Public health officials here are under unusual pressure to reassure the public that COVID-19 vaccines are safe. Japan, according to a recent study in The Lancet medical journal, is among the world's most vaccine-wary nations in general, and consequently has some of the highest rates of vaccine-preventable disease in the world.

There was a marked swerve toward vaccine hesitancy in the early 1990s, when reports linked the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR) without any definitive data to cases of aseptic meningitis.

History repeated itself in 2013, when anecdotal reports claimed the HPV vaccine was causing serious side effects, including one young woman who said she was left in a wheelchair by it. Researchers in Japan and Europe confirmed the vaccine's safety, but the damage was done.

HPV vaccination rates dropped from 70% to less than 1%. That drop is now blamed for 5,700 needless cervical cancer deaths.

Sensationalized coverage of purported side effects, and what The Lancet describes as a passive government vaccination policy, have nurtured public suspicions.

A recent poll by national broadcaster NHK showed 36% of Japanese wouldn't take a COVID-19 vaccine. That's not remarkably low trust, but public health officials will be incredibly alert to any unvetted reports of "side effects" sparking another media-fueled panic.

By Arshad R. Zargar -India's mass-vaccination drive kicks off on Saturday. It's using a domestically produced stock of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, and another Indian-developed drug.

"Both the vaccines have been authorized for emergency use and there should be no doubt about their safety. They have been tested on thousands of people and side-effects are negligible," said Dr. V.K. Paul, of the Indian government's coronavirus and vaccines taskforce.

But not everyone is convinced.

A survey by public engagement social media platform Local Circles earlier this month found 69% of Indians said they wouldn't take a coronavirus vaccine, or would at least wait for months before deciding to get one. Only 26% of respondents said they would get a vaccine shot as soon as it becomes available.

Delhi-based marketing professional Rupali Dhanda, who has a masters in biochemistry, told CBS News she wasn't ready yet, arguing that there's "not enough research" yet on the vaccines.

Delhi hospitality worker Ravi Kumar said he trusts the vaccines "somewhat," but not the government's vaccination program.

"I would prefer to buy the vaccine on the market when it's available," he said, explaining that he lost trust in the government's health care system when he caught the coronavirus last year, but had six tests with different results. "It was like a joke," he said.

Epidemiologist Ramanan Laxminarayan, director of the Washington-based Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy (CDDEP), told CBS News that "attitudes towards the COVID vaccine will likely change a lot in coming months, based on any side effects and the speed and efficiency of the rollout."

By Imtiaz Tyab -Pakistan's government has pinned its hopes of inoculating the nation's 230 million-plus citizens with a coronavirus vaccine created by a Chinese company. Officials say the CanSinoBio vaccine is near the end of Phase-3 human trials in Pakistan and has shown considerable promise.

The South Asian nation is one of seven countries testing the Chinese vaccine, but a recent poll conducted by Gallup Pakistan showed 37% of Pakistanis wouldn't get a COVID-19 vaccine when it's available.

Pakistan suffers from extreme poverty, rampant corruption, and has a tiny health budget. It's struggled to contain the virus largely because hospital space is limited and many areas only have rudimentary health care facilities.

But it's the nation's deep mistrust of vaccines causing the most concern. For years, Pakistan's efforts to wipe out polio have been thwarted largely due to public fear of foreign vaccines.

These "anti-vaxx" sentiments have been inflamed by tribal leaders and religious clerics claiming the polio drops are part of a Western plot to sterilize Muslims.

Today, Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan remain the only two countries where polio hasn't been eradicated.

The deep-rooted mistrust has, for years, seen dozens of people killed in attacks on polio vaccination teams, including an attack this week.

The vaccine conspiracy theories only got worse after a Pakistani doctor was accused of running a fake vaccination campaign to help the C.I.A. track down Osama bin Laden.

While the dangers of polio have been well known for decades, COVID-19 is a new disease, and the government's weak messaging around the virus have likely made things worse.

Prime Minister Imran Khan ordered a national lockdown early in the pandemic, but quickly abandoned it as the virus spread widely in the country.

Pakistan has officially recorded a total of over 423,000 coronavirus infections and close to 8,500 deaths. But experts say the real toll is likely much higher, because the government is only doing a fraction of the testing it should.

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How much do people around the world trust the COVID-19 vaccines? - CBS News

Do you have any information about when the vaccine will be available at the local level?

We dont have a specific date but are continually monitoring the situation and we expect the CDC to release guidelines for distribution soon. We do know that the vaccine will be distributed in phases.

Phase 1a includes healthcare workers and long-term care residents.

Phase 1b includes essential frontline workers and people over 75.

Phase 1c includes people over 65. This phase will also include people 16 or older with underlying conditions and other essential workers.

The vaccine will be available to the general public after being offered to these higher risk groups.

No, the vaccine has not been found to affect a persons reproductive health. The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology encourages vaccination and provided the statement below in a Dec. 21 article.

Vaccination is strongly encouraged for non-pregnant individuals within the ACIP prioritization group(s). Further, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology recommends vaccination of individuals who are actively trying to become pregnant or are contemplating pregnancy. Additionally, it is not necessary to delay pregnancy after completing both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The vaccine was created under emergency conditions. The processes used to develop the vaccine have been studied for years. Much of the testing was done simultaneously and many of the financial restraints were removed. It has undergone the same rigorous safety testing as other vaccines.

At this time, we are using the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. So far, 230 staff members have been vaccinated.

Ultra-cold refrigeration is necessary to maintain the biochemical make-up of the vaccine. The cold temperature keeps mRNA from falling apart.

Messenger RNA or mRNA is a piece of genetic material that lives within cells. It is heavily involved in creating proteins. mRNA vaccines give our bodies instructions on how to make protein just like the one found on the spike of the COVID-19 virus. Our immune system will then produce antibodies against this spike protein and build an immunity to the virus. These vaccines have a success rate of around 95 percent.

Side effects are like those experienced with other vaccines. They usually include soreness at the site of injection, fever, chills or a headache. If you experience side effects outside the usual immune system response, contact your doctor immediately.

The CDC recommends that we continue practicing mitigation strategies. It remains important to continue these strategies until a significant percentage of the population is immune. We can still spread the disease through surface contact even if we are not susceptible ourselves. Mitigation practices for COVID-19 help prevent the spread of other viral illnesses such as influenza, reducing the burden on our health care systems.

We will continue to monitor information from national health authorities. When the vaccine is ready for the public, we will make this information available. There is no waiting list or appointment schedule at this time. Please visit TCHC.org/covidvaccine and follow Tri-County Health Care on social media for regular updates.

Cheryl Houselog is the Infection Preventionist at Tri-County Health Care.

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Houselog: What you need to know about the COVID-19 vaccine - Wadena Pioneer Journal

This is huge for Harrison County, Martin said. The Harrison County Board of Supervisors are grateful to Matt for his commitment to the community. As we receive additional doses of the vaccine and the appointments become available to more members of the community, we are looking at other places in Harrison County, such as the Harrison County Fairgrounds, to assist in the distribution of the vaccine.

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Coast Coliseum to serve as COVID-19 vaccination site starting Monday - WLOX

MANSFIELD -- OhioHealth announced Saaturday that it will begin providing COVID-19 vaccines to patients who are 80 years of age and older on Tuesday, Jan. 19, in accordance with guidance from Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and the Ohio Department of Health.

The first vaccinations will be given starting Jan. 19 at seven OhioHealth locations across Ohio, including OhioHealth Physician Group Primary Care practice locations on the second floor of OhioHealth Shelby Hospital, 199 West Main Street, Shelby, and the first floor of the OhioHealth Balgreen Medical Office Building, 770 Balgreen Drive, Mansfield, as well as a vaccination location at the OhioHealth Marion Medical Campus, 1050 Delaware Avenue, Marion. OhioHealth plans to open additional vaccine locations in the coming weeks.

Walk-in appointments will not be accepted. Only those individuals who have scheduled a vaccination through MyChart or the OhioHealth COVID-19 Vaccine Hotline will be vaccinated.

How to schedule

For patients who have a medical record in the last three years at OhioHealth, vaccinations can be self-scheduled through OhioHealth MyChart, which is available on the OhioHealth website or via smartphone app. Patients will be notified through OhioHealth MyChart when they are able to schedule. Patients are encouraged to check their OhioHealth MyChart account now to ensure their contact information is up to date. OhioHealth MyChart is the easiest and fastest way to schedule an appointment.

For all others or those that are unable to schedule online:

Those in the eligible age groups can call OhioHealths COVID-19 Vaccine Scheduling Hotline to book their vaccination appointments. The hotline can be reached at 614-533-6999, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Vaccinations will be given following the schedule below, current as of Jan. 15:

Week of Jan. 19 Patients 80 years of age and older.

Week of Jan. 25 Patients 75 years of age and older; those with severe congenital or developmental disorders.

Week of Feb. 1 Patients 70 years of age and older.

Week of Feb. 8 Patients 65 years of age and older.

Appointments slots are filling fast. If a preferred location is fully booked, then patients will have the option to select another OhioHealth vaccine administration location, based upon availability. If no appointments are available when scheduling opens, patients are encouraged to regularly check OhioHealth MyChart. Appointments will be added as additional vaccine arrives.

For more information about scheduling a COVID-19 vaccine at OhioHealth, visit http://www.ohiohealth.com/covidvaccine.

About OhioHealth

OhioHealth is a nationally recognized, not-for-profit, charitable, healthcare outreach of the United Methodist Church.

Based in Columbus, Ohio, OhioHealth has been recognized as one of the top five large health systems in America by Truven Health Analytics, an honor it has received six times. It was also recognized by FORTUNE as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For for 13 years in a row, 2007-2019.

Serving its communities since 1891, it is a family of 35,000 associates, physicians and volunteers, and a network of 12 hospitals, 200+ ambulatory sites, hospice, home-health, medical equipment and other health services spanning a 47-county area.

OhioHealth hospitals include OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital, OhioHealth Grant Medical Center, OhioHealth Doctors Hospital, OhioHealth Grady Memorial Hospital, OhioHealth Dublin Methodist Hospital, OhioHealth Hardin Memorial Hospital, OhioHealth Marion General Hospital, OhioHealth OBleness Hospital, OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital, OhioHealth Shelby Hospital, OhioHealth Grove City Methodist Hospital and OhioHealth Berger Hospital. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.ohiohealth.com.

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OhioHealth to begin COVID-19 vaccinations of 80-and-over on Jan. 19 - Richland Source

So much is at stake. If the vaccine proves safe and effective, it could quickly become the third cleared for emergency use by the US government, which has ordered 100 million doses and has an option to buy 200 million more. Like the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines authorized by the Food and Drug Administration last month, it uses new technology. But it has two distinct advantages. It requires only one shot, not two, and doesnt need to be shipped frozen, as they do, which should simplify a rapid rollout.

Barouch, 47, says hes cautiously optimistic. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine relies on a design he pioneered nearly 20 years ago for two experimental vaccines that have shown promise against HIV and Zika and a third that won approval from the European Union in July to prevent Ebola. Unlike those efforts, however, this vaccine was created during the worst epidemic in a century, one that quickly upended life around the world.

The experience of developing a vaccine in a pandemic was truly surreal, Barouch said in a Zoom interview from his 10th-floor office in a building in the Longwood Medical Area, his white coat and a spare necktie hanging from a hook on the door. We have 4,000 people dying every day now [in the United States]. Think of it, every day we have a 9/11.

Last February, soon after the coronavirus began appearing in the United States, Barouch told the Globe that multiple vaccines would be needed to vanquish it because no single drug firm could produce enough doses to protect everyone.

Although Johnson & Johnson is one of the worlds biggest companies and has collaborated on a potential HIV vaccine with Barouchs lab for almost a decade, it is a relative newcomer in the vaccine market. The US government has pledged more than $1 billion to manufacture and deliver the firms coronavirus vaccine, which the company has agreed to provide on a nonprofit basis during the pandemic.

Dr. Moncef Slaoui, the outgoing head of Operation Warp Speed, the federal program that bankrolled several vaccine candidates to spur development and manufacturing, said last month that Johnson & Johnsons one-shot vaccine would be a game changer.

The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines require two doses a few weeks apart, and their slow deployment so far has caused widespread frustration among health officials and the public. As of Friday nearly 10.6 million people in the United States have gotten at least one dose of either vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, far below federal officials goal of at least 20 million by the end of 2020. The vaccines were the first to use a new technology called messenger RNA and were a remarkably 95 percent effective at preventing COVID-19 in late-stage trials.

Production of the vaccine by Johnson & Johnsons subsidiary, Janssen, is behind schedule because of unexpected manufacturing delays, according to news reports. At a news conference Tuesday, Slaoui said that instead of 12 million doses anticipated in the contract with the firm by the end of February, Johnson & Johnson was likely to have in the single-digit millions. If regulators approve the vaccine, distribution could start in February.

Johnson & Johnson said in a statement Wednesday that it is premature to discuss vaccine supply specifics but that the New Brunswick, N.J.-based company remains confident in our ability to meet our 2021 supply commitments. The firm has set a goal of delivering 1 billion doses worldwide this year.

Ordinarily, vaccines take years, if not decades, to develop. Creating a new vaccine and getting it into peoples shoulders in only a year or so is breathtakingly fast.

Barouch, who oversees a lab of about 60 researchers, seems to have spent much of his life preparing for this moment.

Although he enjoyed playing classical music growing up in Potsdam, N.Y., and passed that interest on to his two school-age daughters (both study violin and play with him at their Newton home), he eventually opted to focus on medicine.

After graduating from Harvard, he was named a Marshall Scholar and studied at Oxford University in England under Sir Andrew McMichael, a world-famous biomedical researcher known for his work on T cell responses to viral infections such as influenza and HIV. Barouch completed his PhD in immunology in just two years.

He returned to Harvard, where he earned his medical degree and met his future wife, a classmate who stored her microscope in a locker next to his. (Dr. Fina Barouch is an ophthalmologist.) He finished his clinical training in internal medicine and infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Womens Hospital while completing a postdoctoral research fellowship in the lab of the HIV pioneer Dr. Norman Letvin.

Soon after opening his own research lab in 2002, Barouch set a characteristically ambitious goal: creating a vaccine for HIV. Although antiretroviral drugs have made HIV a manageable infection since the late 1990s, the virus continues to exact a devastating toll, particularly in developing countries. About 38 million people were living with the virus worldwide in 2019, according to the World Health Organization.

Following many failed efforts by other scientists, Barouch chose a new approach: using another virus to deliver HIV proteins into cells to stimulate an immune response. By 2007, he had picked a relatively rare virus that causes colds, adenovirus serotype 26 or Ad26 as a Trojan horse to penetrate human cells and generate HIV antibodies without making people sick.

In experiments on monkeys, the Ad26 vaccine provided protection against HIV. In early-stage trials on humans, it was safe and stimulated a robust immune response in blood samples. Two late-stage trials are underway to see if it protects people from contracting HIV, which mutates rapidly and is considered far more challenging than the coronavirus.

Barouchs lab collaborated on the HIV vaccine with Crucell, a Dutch biotech acquired by Johnson & Johnson in 2011. Maria Grazia Pau, a Crucell biologist who began working with him nearly 20 years ago and now helps run Johnson & Johnsons HIV program, describes him as brilliant and energetic.

Theres not a single e-mail from me that he doesnt reply to within the same day or, at a maximum, the day after, she said in a Zoom call from her office in Leiden, Netherlands.

Although Barouchs lab is still working on potential vaccines against HIV and other diseases, it pivoted to COVID-19 a year ago. On Jan. 10, 2020, he hosted his labs annual retreat at the Museum of Science. Amid presentations and refreshments, he and other researchers discussed reports of a puzzling cluster of 41 cases of pneumonia in Wuhan, China.

We thought it was important, Barouch recalled. Never in our wildest imagination did we think it would grow to 90 million cases [worldwide] a year later.

That Friday night, Chinese scientists posted the genetic sequence of the coronavirus online. Researchers in Barouchs lab frantically began designing an Ad26 vaccine that would deliver part of the distinctive spike protein on the coronavirus into cells to trigger an immune response.

Two weeks later, Barouch contacted executives at Janssen to see if they were interested in collaborating with his lab, as they had on HIV, Zika, and Ebola. They were. Beth Israel soon signed an agreement with the company, which has licensed the technology from the hospital. A Beth Israel spokeswoman declined to share the terms of the deal.

Researchers worked marathon days at Barouchs lab designing multiple versions of the vaccine that were tested in mice, ferrets, hamsters, and rhesus monkeys. Outside, the streets of Boston were almost deserted because of the lockdown.

With Dans expert guidance, the teams were able to identify a COVID-19 vaccine candidate for clinical trials in just a few weeks, said Dr. Paul Stoffels, chief scientific officer for Johnson & Johnson.

The collaborators began testing it in an early-stage trial on about 1,000 volunteers during the summer. Updated results published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that the vaccine generated antibodies in the blood after one shot, but that two doses produced more.

But no one will know whether the vaccine prevents COVID-19 until results of the much bigger late-stage trial come in. Johnson & Johnson is also enrolling an estimated 30,000 volunteers for a second late-stage study that will examine whether two shots are more effective than one.

Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and an authority on vaccines, said he never thought the two mRNA vaccines would be the workhorses of a vaccination campaign on this vast scale, in part because of their cold-storage requirements. Hes more optimistic about the vaccine from Johnson & Johnson and a two-shot vaccine developed by AstraZeneca that uses a similar technology.

Barouch doesnt have time to bask in his new, if quiet, fame, but he is certainly aware of the many people counting on him, and his invention.

For one thing, they write to him. Although virologists dont typically get fan mail, Barouch said he has received more than 100 e-mails and letters from strangers who are rooting for him. One was from a woman in Ireland who read that Barouch plays violin with his daughters. She told him she loves all music, from Beethoven to Bruce, and offered a traditional Gaelic toast for good health.

My knowledge of science is a laywomans, but I am hopeful that you and all who work for and with you will succeed, wrote Ginny McNamara. So from Dublin, I will later raise a glass and say Slainte.

Jonathan Saltzman can be reached at jonathan.saltzman@globe.com.

Excerpt from:

Beth Israel researcher awaits approval of the COVID-19 vaccine he helped create - The Boston Globe

LONDON (AP) The U.K. government plans to offer a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine to every adult by September as the nations health care system battles the worst crisis in its 72-year-history.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Sunday that the government will soon begin a trial of round the clock injections at some locations as it continues to add more vaccination sites to increase the pace of delivery. The National Health Service opened a mass vaccination center on Saturday at the historic Salisbury Cathedral, where injections were accompanied by organ music.

Our target is by September to have offered all the adult population a first dose, he told Sky News. If we can do it faster than that, great, but thats the road map.

Britain has more than 51 million adults in its population of 67.5 million people.

The ambitious vaccination program comes amid crushing pressures on the National Health Service. Already beleaguered hospitals are admitting another COVID-19 patient every 30 seconds, putting the service in its most precarious situation ever, said Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England.

The facts are very clear and Im not going to sugarcoat them, hospitals are under extreme pressure and staff are under extreme pressure, he told the BBC. Since Christmas Day weve seen another 15,000 increase in the in-patients in hospitals across England. Thats the equivalent of filling 30 hospitals full of coronavirus patients.

Britains health care system is staggering as doctors and nurses battle a more contagious variant of the coronavirus coupled with cold, wet winter weather that drives people inside, where infections spread more easily.

The surge in infections has pushed the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 to a record 37,475, more than 73% higher than during the first peak of the pandemic in April. Britain has reported 88,747 coronavirus-related deaths, more than any other country in Europe and the fifth-highest number worldwide.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Jan. 2 ordered England into its third national lockdown in an effort to slow the spread of the virus and protect the NHS, which Stevens said now has some 50,000 employees off work due to COVID-19 infections and exposure quarantines.

The government says it wont review the lockdown measures until mid-February, by which time it plans to offer at least one dose of vaccine to everyone over 70, as well as to frontline health care workers and others who are especially vulnerable to COVID-19.

Once that goal has been reached, the U.K. will offer the vaccine to everyone over 50 before finally moving on to everyone over 18.

Unlike other nations, Britain has chosen to stretch out the time between vaccine doses from 21 days to up to 12 weeks a decision that means more people will get at least one dose more quickly.

Britain has approved three vaccines ones by Pfizer-BioNTech, Oxford-AstraZeneca and Moderna. The first two are already being used, while the Moderna doses are not expected until spring.

Meanwhile, vaccination centers are being opened in England at some of the countrys great cathedrals. Salisbury Cathedral, which also houses a copy of the Magna Carta, opened its great nave to the public. Others will follow as the rollout continues.

Organ music played as the jabs were delivered at Salisbury. Requests were taken.

I doubt that anyone is having a jab in surroundings that are more beautiful than this, so I hope it will ease people as they come into the building, said the Very Rev. Nicholas Papadopulos, Dean of Salisbury.

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Follow AP coverage of the coronavirus pandemic at:

https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic

https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine

https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak

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UK aims to give 1st COVID-19 shot to all adults by September - Associated Press

By Jason GilhamCommunications ManagerAdena Health System

CHILLICOTHE Adena Health System, along with other statewide partners, will begin offering COVID-19 vaccinations to the public this week as part of the states Phase 1B vaccination program. At this time, Ohioans age 80 and older are the first group eligible.

Adena Health System is set to receive 300 doses of the Pfizer vaccine early this week in preparation to begin administration on Wednesday, Jan. 20 at the PACCAR Medical Education Center located on the campus of Adena Regional Medical Center in Chillicothe.

Adenas vaccination administration will be by appointment only. The Health System has begun contacting its patients that meet the eligibility requirements to set appointments.

Vaccination appointments can also be made by eligible non-Adena patients by calling Adenas COVID-19 Hotline at (740) 542-SAFE (7233). Those who cannot get an appointment can be placed on a wait list by visiting http://www.adena.org/COVIDvaccine. At this time, Adena is offering the vaccine at no cost.

WHERE

PACCAR Medical Education Center446 Hospital RoadChillicothe

WHEN

Wednesday, Jan. 20, noon5 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 21, 8 a.m. 5 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 22, 8 a.m. 5 p.m.

Individuals with appointments to receive their vaccination through Adena are asked to bring photo identification and be prepared to wait approximately 15-30 minutes following their shot for monitoring. All vaccination recipients will be asked to schedule and receive their second of the two doses required from the same location at the appropriate time.

In the early stages of COVID-19 vaccine distribution, doses will be available in limited supply for specific critical populations as a part of phased approach. As supply increases, COVID-19 vaccines will be available to all Ohioans who choose to be vaccinated.

The Ohio Department of Health has launched a tool on coronavirus.ohio.gov where Ohioans can select their county or ZIP code to see a list of providers that received the vaccine. Community members are encouraged to check the states website for additional vaccine administration locations. In most counties, vaccines are being made available through area health systems, hospitals, county health districts, local pharmacies and other locations. Each provider manages its own schedules and appointments. Due to the limited supply of vaccines at this time, please do not make appointments at multiple locations.

For more about Adena Health System, visit adena.org, or follow Adena on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter @adenamedical.

Read more:

Adena Health System to offer COVID-19 vaccinations starting Jan. 20 - The Highland County Press