Opinion | Should Future COVID Boosters Include the Ancestral Strain?
The current COVID-19 mRNA vaccine boosters are bivalent, meaning they contain equal amounts of spike protein mRNA for the original Wuhan virus sequence and for the BA.4/5 Omicron variants that emerged in mid-2022. How well does this type of bivalent booster perform? The question is relevant because FDA’s recent Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory […]
CDC: Monovalent Vax Has ‘Limited’ Protection Against BA.4/5 Hospitalization
A monovalent mRNA booster dose offered “limited” protection against COVID-related hospitalizations from the currently circulating Omicron variants, a CDC analysis found, likely due to the waning effects of the vaccines and potentially more immune evasion with BA.4/BA.5. In immunocompetent adults, vaccine effectiveness (VE) against hospitalization with three doses of mRNA vaccine dropped from 69% (95% […]
The Science Supporting the U.S. Case for COVID Boosters
U.S. health officials laid out the scientific rationale for a third dose of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines for all U.S. adults on Wednesday, relying on published and unpublished CDC data, as well as a preprint study. Overall, they said that there is evidence that vaccine effectiveness against infection — both symptomatic and asymptomatic — has […]
Bell’s Palsy After COVID Vaccines Still Very Rare
No significant increased risk of Bell’s palsy was seen after the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine, but risk did increase for people who received the CoronaVac (Sinovac Biotech) shot, a vaccine that uses an inactivated virus, an analysis in Hong Kong showed. Compared with the background population, the age-standardized difference for Bell’s palsy incidence was 41.5 (95% […]
CDC Panel Backs Third COVID Shot for the Immunocompromised
Moderately to severely immunocompromised people who received mRNA vaccines for COVID-19 should receive an additional dose, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) said on Friday. In a unanimous 11-0 vote, the ACIP recommended an additional dose of the Pfizer (ages 12 and up) or Moderna vaccine (ages 18 and up) following a primary […]
mRNA vaccines slash risk of COVID-19 infection by 91 percent in fully vaccinated people, study finds: Illness is significantly milder in rare ‘breakthrough’ cases of the disease
People who receive mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are up to 91 percent less likely to develop the disease than those who are unvaccinated, according to a new nationwide study of eight sites, including Salt Lake City. For those few vaccinated people who do still get an infection, or “breakthrough” cases, the study suggests that vaccines reduce […]
Liver Fibrosis Linked to Lower Response to COVID Vaccine
An evaluation of antibody titers developed in response to the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA COVID-19 vaccine appeared to show a correlation between low response and advanced liver fibrosis, researchers from Israel reported. In a cohort of 140 patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, the more advanced the fibrosis was, the less of a response patients had to […]
FDA to Add Warning on Rare Myocarditis Risk After COVID Vaccination
Given the reported cases of myocarditis in young people who received mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, FDA will include a warning statement about the risks and characteristics of this rare condition, an agency representative said at CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meeting on Wednesday. Data presented by CDC staff estimated a rate of 12.6 cases […]