Vaccines

An FDA advisory panel is scheduled to meet on Friday to discuss and vote on Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine booster shots. In August, President Biden announced his plan to get booster shots into arms as early as September 20 to fight back against the coronavirus. But getting the FDA to approve a third shot before that date is an uphill battle. Pfizer said studies show people who received a booster shot six to eight months after their second dose of the Pfizer vaccine tripled their antibodies — increasing protection against mild infection and the contagious Delta variant. Experts like Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, say they believe that based off publicly available data, it does appear that a third shot is safe and effective. "I think people who are vulnerable, people who are older, people with chronic diseases, immunocompromised, they would benefit from a third shot. I think it is necessary for that group. For young and healthy …

[Read more...] about Experts weigh pros and cons of COVID-19 vaccine booster shots

Now millions of doses have been administered across the world, the Covid-19 vaccine, its side effects and its effectiveness are a prime topic of conversation. Bogus remedies, myths and fake news about the virus, which can cost lives, have been debunked time and time again as health experts continue to encourage vaccination uptake. The vaccine has even triggered some spectacular, out-of-this-world theories, like the one that Bill Gates will use it to control the world . But today we have come to one of the strangest suggestions of all – what would happen if a person drinks a Covid-19 vaccine? Scientist Dr Karl Kruszelnicki has now revealed what would happen if a person drinks the liquid instead of having it injected into their arm. Hopefully this is not a huge spoiler for anyone was actually considering it – as it would be a waste of a precious dose. Dr Kruszelnicki, who appeared on the Triple M’s The Danny Lakey Show in Australia, was asked what would happen if …

[Read more...] about What happens if you drink the Covid vaccine?

Restaurants and bars in Brussels are bracing to become the next in Europe to be required to enforce COVID passes for their customers. The only major COVID-19 measures for waiting staff in the Belgian capital are obligations to wear a mask and for the establishment to have a CO2 meter. But with vaccination rates in the Belgian capital lagging behind the rest of the country at just over 52% double dosed, the government is considering imposing the passes. A scan of a QR code proves a person is vaccinated, tested or recently recovered from COVID - an app turns green and the person is allowed to take a table. The hospitality sector in Brussels is worried though. Guy Quirynen runs an international chain of ramen restaurants called Umamido. "It just feels a bit sad in the sense that already our industry suffered a lot, and now we are being almost held hostage to get towards this aim," he told Euronews. "I wonder if there are not more efficient ways to do this." That …

[Read more...] about Brussels braces itself for COVID passes to boost sluggish vaccination rate

"I need for everybody to hear this message," said Lisa Wilson, an aide to the Palm Beach County commissioner. "Don't trade places with me and my family." Advertisement The wife of a Florida mayor says COVID-19 has killed six of her loved ones in just three weeks. Lisa Wilson, who's married to Belle Glade mayor Steve Wilson, told WPTV on Wednesday that none of her family members that died from the virus had been vaccinated against it. Get push notifications with news, features and more. + Follow Following You'll get the latest updates on this topic in your browser notifications. "I work side by side with the communities and constantly push the message to get people vaccinated, but I couldn't convince my family members to get vaccinated," she told CNN on Thursday. Wilson, an aide to Palm Beach County commissioner Melissa McKinlay, had gone door-to-door in Belle Glade educating locals about the coronavirus vaccine …

[Read more...] about Fla. Vaccine Advocate Has 6 Unvaccinated Family Members Die from COVID in Just 3 Weeks

A Houston doctor says he was punished for administering expiring vaccine doses, and he is ready to strike back. Dr. Hasan Gokal was fired from his job. A few weeks after he was fired, Harris County's District Attorney, Kim Ogg charged him with stealing vaccine doses. In January, a judge decided there was no probable cause to charge Gokal.  Ogg then took the case to a grand jury, but in June the grand jury declined to indict him. The charges against him were dropped. CBS Morning's lead national correspondent David Begnaud reports that Gokal plans to sue the Harris County Public Health District within the next 72 hours. Gokal claims he was discriminated against on the basis of race and national origin when he was fired. The story of his firing and the subsequent filing of criminal charges gained international attention when it broke, but the headlines were not as prominent and glaring when the criminal case that the District Attorney brought against Gokal fell apart. The …

[Read more...] about Houston doctor cleared of COVID vaccine theft charges will sue county seeking over $1 million

Dr. Hasan Gokal decided to give away 10 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine that were on the verge of going to waste, in what he thought was the responsible decision. Everything that came next was "an absolute, complete utter shock," and "mind-blowingly unexpected," he told CBS News. The Houston doctor worked as Texas' Harris County Public Health Department emergency response physician for the Office of Preparedness. He was also the medical director for the COVID-19 vaccine rollout for the county. In late December of last year, he was supervising a vaccination event for emergency workers — the county's first public vaccination event, he said. Within two weeks, he'd be fired and charged with theft for his actions that night. As the event came to an end, one last person showed up for a shot. So, a new vial of the Moderna vaccine containing 11 doses was punctured to administer the vaccine, which activated the six-hour time limit for the 10 remaining doses. The remaining 10 doses …

[Read more...] about “An absolute, utter shock”: Doctor fired after giving away expiring doses of COVID-19 vaccine speaks out

A Houston area health department doctor is accused by prosecutors of stealing nine doses of coronavirus vaccine from a damaged vial and administering them to family and friends. But Hasan Gokal insists he did nothing wrong and was only trying to ensure the vaccine was not wasted, his attorney said Thursday. Authorities allege that Gokal, who worked for Harris County Public Health, stole a vial of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine while working at a vaccination site at a suburban Houston park on Dec. 29. Gokal told a health department employee earlier this month that "he had taken a punctured vial of the Moderna vaccine ... at the end of operations and that he took the vial offsite and vaccinated his friends and family," according to a probable cause complaint. Prosecutors determined Gokal, 48, had given the vaccine to nine individuals, including his wife, according to the complaint. "He abused his position to place his friends and family in line in front of people who had …

[Read more...] about Texas doctor accused of stealing COVID-19 vaccine to give to his family and friends

New data released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine was the most effective against preventing COVID-related hospitalization over a recent five-month period, compared to the other two authorized and approved vaccines. According to the study , Moderna's vaccine was 93% effective at preventing COVID-19 hospitalizations, compared to 88% for the Pfizer vaccine and 71% for Johnson and Johnson's. Researchers assessed data from more than 3,600 hospitalized adults across 21 hospitals in 18 states from March 2021 through the middle of August Through the first four months after being fully vaccinated, Moderna and Pfizer's vaccines were found to have nearly the same efficacy against hospitalizations, but then it began to wane for the Pfizer vaccine, dropping from 91% in the first four months to 77% afterward. Moderna's efficacy against hospitalization dropped only 1 percentage point after four months. "Although these …

[Read more...] about New study finds Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine is most effective against hospitalizations

HAVANA, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Cuba on Thursday will seek World Health Organization (WHO) approval of three COVID-19 vaccines, according to the state-run corporation that produces them, as it begins administering shots en masse to toddlers. Rolando Perez Rodriguez, director of research and development at BioCubaFarma, made the announcement during a discussion broadcast by state media on Tuesday evening on a vaccination campaign that aims to immunize more than 90% of the population by November. "There have already been some exchanges in Havana and at the office in Geneva," Perez said. "Now begins a procedure and exchange to evaluate the documentation delivered." The Communist-run Caribbean island is vaccinating its population at one of the fastest rates in the world with local drugs Abdala, Soberana-2 and Soberana Plus, all authorized for emergency use by local regulators amid a Delta variant-driven surge that has strained its health system. Cuba is the only country in the …

[Read more...] about Cuba seeks WHO approval of COVID-19 vaccines as toddlers next for shot

Wales is introducing mandatory vaccine certificates for nightclubs and large events from next month. From 11 October, anyone over 18 will have to show the NHS COVID pass to enter nightclubs, indoor non-seated events for more than 500 people, outdoor non-seated events for more than 4,000 people, and any event with more than 10,000 attendees. The COVID pass shows if a person has been fully vaccinated and also if someone has had a negative lateral flow test within the past 48 hours. Girl, 17, in hospital with coronavirus is targeted by anti-vaxxers A nightclub trade body had warned First Minister Mark Drakeford that COVID certificates would have a "hugely detrimental impact on trade, and would result in some of the hardest-hit Welsh businesses losing out to those in England". In a letter to the first minister, Benjamin Newby from the Night Time Industries Association added: "With no criteria to identify 'nightclubs', and with local authorities differing in …

[Read more...] about COVID-19: Vaccine certificates will be mandatory at nightclubs and large events in Wales from next month