Covid-19 Vaccine Development

[BetteDavisEyes]

Pfizer says Covid booster for kids 5-11 ups antibodies against omicron (nbcnews.com)

The company says it plans to submit its data to the FDA for authorization.

A booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine raised antibody levels in children ages 5 to 11, the company said Thursday.

The additional shot, given six months after the two-dose primary series, led to a sixfold increase in antibodies against the original strain of the coronavirus...

 

[davidjulian]

Vaccinations really help.

 

[Betty P]

FDA authorizes a 2nd Covid booster shot for people 50 and older (nbcnews.com)

The move comes as fewer than half of those eligible for their first booster shot have received one.

The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday authorized a second booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech and the Moderna Covid-19 vaccines for adults ages 50 and older.

People are eligible to get the additional dose at least four months after receiving their first booster, the FDA said in a statement.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is expected to release a statement signing off on the additional shot shortly.

The FDA has already authorized a fourth shot for immunocompromised individuals...

Has anyone gotten this one yet? I haven't yet, though probably should.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Has anyone gotten this one yet? I haven't yet, though probably should.

On the main Covid thread, several members have indicated that they have gotten their second booster. DH and I are going to wait a while before getting ours. We had our initial boosters in mid-November and plan to wait at least six months before the second booster.

 

[Betty P]

On the main Covid thread, several members have indicated that they have gotten their second booster. DH and I are going to wait a while before getting ours. We had our initial boosters in mid-November and plan to wait at least six months before the second booster.

We're traveling overseas in June, so may get it then. Has anyone read whether its as effective as the previous booster?

 

[anneg]

We're traveling overseas in June, so may get it then. Has anyone read whether its as effective as the previous booster?

We don't have a lot of data on it yet. Data from a study of people age 60+ in Israel showed that the second Pfizer booster helps prevent infections, but that seems to be a short-term effect. However, it is effective in preventing severe illness (see study conclusions below), and I believe there is unpublished data showing it is effective in preventing hospitalizations and death.

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2201570

METHODS
Using the Israeli Ministry of Health database, we extracted data on 1,252,331 persons who were 60 years of age or older and eligible for the fourth dose during a period in which the B.1.1.529 (omicron) variant of SARS-CoV-2 was predominant (January 10 through March 2, 2022). We estimated the rate of confirmed infection and severe Covid-19 as a function of time starting at 8 days after receipt of a fourth dose (four-dose groups) as compared with that among persons who had received only three doses (three-dose group) and among persons who had received a fourth dose 3 to 7 days earlier (internal control group). For the estimation of rates, we used quasi-Poisson regression with adjustment for age, sex, demographic group, and calendar day.

[...]

CONCLUSIONS
Rates of confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe Covid-19 were lower after a fourth dose of BNT162b2 vaccine than after only three doses. Protection against confirmed infection appeared short-lived, whereas protection against severe illness did not wane during the study period.

 

[weepingangel]

Pfizer says tweaked Covid-19 shots boost omicron protection

The announcement comes days before an FDA advisory committee meeting to discuss whether to offer updated boosters to Americans this fall.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Nasal vaccines may stop Covid infections. Will we get them soon?

Research on nasal vaccines is mostly in its early phases in the U.S., though many scientists believe this twist on vaccination could prove to be an effective way to block infections.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[weepingangel]

CDC recommends Novavax Covid vaccine

Some health officials hope the Novavax will fill a gap in the U.S. vaccination push, since it is does not use mRNA technology.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[Betty P]

Nasal vaccines may stop Covid infections. Will we get them soon?

Research on nasal vaccines is mostly in its early phases in the U.S., though many scientists believe this twist on vaccination could prove to be an effective way to block infections.

www.nbcnews.com

It sounds like this is just a nasal version of existing vaccines that are targeted to the older variations of COVID19.

A nasal vaccine still remains far off in the United States, though that isn’t for lack of trying: There are numerous nasal vaccines for Covid in development in the country, Fauci said, but the vast majority are still in the preclinical stage or early on in human clinical trials. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which Fauci directs, is funding some early research on nasal vaccines.

Akiko Iwasaki, an immunologist at Yale University, is among the group of researchers working on a nasal vaccine.

Her team is looking at two approaches: a protein-based nasal spray and an mRNA vaccine delivered into the nose using nanoparticles.

 

[weepingangel]

Biden admin plans to roll out updated Covid booster shots in September

The new vaccines will be reformulated to perform better against the now dominant, and extremely contagious, omicron subvariant BA.5.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Moderna sues Pfizer and BioNTech alleging patent infringement over Covid vaccine

"We believe that Pfizer and BioNTech unlawfully copied Moderna’s inventions, and they have continued to use them without permission,” Moderna's chief legal officer said.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[Betty P]

Moderna sues Pfizer and BioNTech alleging patent infringement over Covid vaccine

"We believe that Pfizer and BioNTech unlawfully copied Moderna’s inventions, and they have continued to use them without permission,” Moderna's chief legal officer said.

www.nbcnews.com

Not sure what they mean by they developed the "technology platform" for the vaccine. They want Pfizer and Biontech to compensate them for using "2 key features" of their "technology platform". Sounds like Pfizer and Biontech developed their own "technology platforms" which had 2 key features in common with Moderna's.

I say "no silos". This technology should be "open source" for everyone to use to develop treatments for the public benefit, particularly when much of the research is funded by US taxpayers. It will be interesting to see the details in this lawsuit once it goes to trial.