Vaccines for the world’s most deadly diseases, like cancer and heart disease, will likely be ready by 2030 and could save millions of lives, according to the top doctor at one the world’s leading drug companies. The announcement is yet another sign of what many are calling “the golden age” […]
A panel of advisers to the FDA unanimously supported an effort today to simplify COVID-19 vaccinations, with the aim of developing a one-dose approach — perhaps annually — for the general population. The FDA is looking to give clearer direction to vaccine makers about future development of COVID-19 vaccines. The […]
Two retrospective Israeli cohort studies suggest that, after a fourth dose of BNT162b2, participants aged ≥60 had reduced risk for infection and severe disease in the short term. In the wake of the surging SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, a fourth dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT162b2) vaccine in those aged ≥60 was […]
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, has launched a Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating three experimental HIV vaccines based on a messenger RNA (mRNA) platform—a technology used in several approved COVID-19 vaccines. NIAID is sponsoring the study, called HVTN 302, […]
Antibodies induced by mRNA COVID-19 vaccines keep improving in quality for at least six months while the immune system continues to “train” its antibody-producing B cells, according to a new study. After vaccination, some B cells become short-lived antibody-producing cells, while others join germinal centers in lymph nodes – essentially, […]
A recent study shows that two doses of mRNA (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna) or one dose of viral vector (Johnson & Johnson) COVID-19 vaccines were insufficient to produce adequate immunity to a lab-created Omicron variant or pseudovirus. The Omicron pseudovirus infected cells at a higher rate than other pseudovirus variants. The […]
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is adding a warning to the fact sheets for the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna mRNA COVID-19 vaccines as medical experts continue to investigate cases of heart inflammation, which are rare but are more likely to occur in young men and teen boys. Doran Fink, MD, […]
A new CDC study finds that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective in preventing COVID-19 among health care and other essential workers, groups more likely to be exposed to the virus because of their occupations. The study found that “partial” vaccination (two weeks after a single dose) with either a […]
Pregnant and breastfeeding women who receive an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine develop a strong immune response and produce antibodies that can transfer to the fetus through the placenta and to newborns through breast milk, according to a prospective cohort study published March 25 in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. […]
People with SARS-CoV-2, which is the virus that causes COVID-19, who show no symptoms may account for more than half of all transmission cases of the disease. A new study helps alleviate concerns that people who have been vaccinated may still be vulnerable to symptom-free, or “asymptomatic,” COVID-19 and will, […]
