From coast to coast and beyond, participants in ongoing clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccines are discovering just how frustrating it can be to take part in medical research. Belated and unavailable booster shots in the middle of the Omicron surge are the sticking point now, following on the heels of […]
Patients with the omicron variant of covid-19 shed virus for longer after symptoms emerge, show data from Japan, potentially jeopardising hopes that the period of isolation for people testing positive could be shortened. Preliminary data from the National Institute of Infectious Diseases—which conducts disease surveillance in Japan—suggest that the amount […]
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 results of 2 large studies comparing severe disease and death among individuals vaccinated against COVID-19 support a benefit of booster doses. Both studies were conducted in Israel, where BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) boosters were introduced in July 2021. One analysis included data from more than 840 000 vaccinated people aged 50 years or […]
Lack of a high school education is a predictor in whether a person will be resistant to getting the COVID-19 vaccine, a new study shows. Researchers from the University of North Carolina looked at vaccination rates in 3,142 counties in the U.S. They compared them to population characteristics based on […]
The pivotal phase 3 clinical trials of the two-dose messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines, among the largest ever conducted, led to the notable finding of ∼95% efficacy for prevention of symptomatic COVID-19 2 months after the second dose. Adenovirus vectored vaccines showed lower protection against infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome […]
Late last year, UK health authorities announced that the second dose of authorized COVID-19 vaccines would be administered up to 12 weeks instead of 3 to 4 weeks after the first dose. The change was intended to free up initial doses for more people, but it also created an opportunity […]
COVID-19 vaccines appear slightly less effective in preventing severe disease and death but do provide “significant protection,” the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday. The Omicron variant first detected in South Africa and Hong Kong last month has now been reported by 77 countries and is probably present in […]
Nearly everyone who had a mild case of COVID-19 still has antibodies to the coronavirus a year later, but that might not protect them from new variants circulating now, a small study suggests. Among 43 Australians who dealt with mild COVID-19 early in the pandemic, 90% still had antibodies 12 […]
Germany’s COVID-19 situation is entering a very difficult period with rising numbers of intensive care patients, health minister Jens Spahn said, as German state leaders warned the country may need a new lockdown unless it takes urgent action. Spahn said he had agreed with regional health ministers that in future […]
