Pfizer COVID-19 shot won't be ready for youngest kids for months: 'Might be a three-dose vaccine' https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...-pfizer-vaccine-youngest-children/9122889002/ Pfizer hopes a third dose of its COVID-19 vaccine eight weeks after the first two shots will provide the desired effectiveness in early trials. Other vaccine makers have lagged Pfizer-BioNTech in trials for children, which is why that vaccine remains the only one authorized for minors. fizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine won't be available anytime soon for kids younger than 5. In early tests, the lower dose given to 2- to 5-year-olds didn't produce as much immune protection as did shots given to other age groups, a Pfizer scientist said at a federal advisory committee meeting Wednesday, expanding on information provided late last year. The company hopes a third dose of vaccine eight weeks after the first two shots will provide the desired effectiveness, Dr. Alejandra Gurtman, vice president of vaccine clinical research and development for Pfizer said at a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. But that means waiting until late March or early April for results, she said, allowing time for children in the trial to get a third shot and then have their immune responses tested. "This might be a three-dose vaccine," Gurtman said, adding that Pfizer-BioNTech is testing a third dose in children ages 5 to 12, as well. The vaccine has been shown to be safe in younger children, she said, as it was for older children and adults. In 2020, Pfizer-BioNTech ran a 40,000-person trial to prove effectiveness in people 16 and older. But as is standard with vaccines like the flu, the Food and Drug Administration allowed Pfizer-BioNTech and other COVID-19 vaccine-makers to run much smaller trials in other age groups. The companies just have to show that immune responses are comparable – which has been true for every group except the 2- to 5-year-olds. Younger children were given a 3-microgram dose of the same vaccine given to adults and adolescents at 30 micrograms and to children ages 5 to 12 at 10 micrograms. Children ages 6 months to 2 years did mount an adequate immune response at that 3-microgram dose, Gurtman said. On Wednesday, the advisory committee recommended children ages 12 through 15 become eligible for booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, so now everyone ages 12 and up is recommended to receive a booster. People 12 and up who are immunocompromised are also eligible for an additional dose. Other vaccine makers, including Moderna, have lagged Pfizer-BioNTech in trials for children, which is why that vaccine remains the only one authorized for minors. The FDA is exploring options for speeding up vaccines for the youngest children, Dr. Doran Fink, deputy director of the FDA's division of vaccines and related products applications, told the committee. "We're evaluating what options are possible for moving forward with evaluating the vaccine in this age group," he said, "in order to figure out how to best make available safe and effective vaccine as quickly as possible."
COVID-19: Older adults still have 90% protection against hospital admission three months after booster jab, UKHSA says The "timing and need for further booster doses will continue to be reviewed as the data evolves", scientists say. It comes after Health Secretary Sajid Javid says these are "challenging times" for the health service and the "best thing" people can do is get their COVID booster jab. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19...-months-after-booster-jab-ukhsa-says-12511250
Moderna donates 2.7 million vaccine doses to Mexico as COVID-19 cases surge https://thehill.com/policy/internat...s-27-million-vaccine-doses-to-mexico-as-covid
Work on the next generation coronavirus vaccine is underway across the globe. Covid: Second generation vaccine 'very promising' say experts A SECOND generation coronavirus vaccine has boasted positive results from its first clinical trial. Experts say the study, while not peer reviewed, could pave the way for a "pan-coronavirus vaccine". https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/1545100/covid-second-generation-vaccine A new vaccine contender has passed initial safety tests in Manchester. Limited data has been released from the current pre-print study, but experts are cautiously optimistic. Professor of Immunology Charles Bangham said: "Although the details of the construction of the vaccine are not yet made public, and the full data from this trial are not presented, the preliminary results nevertheless look very promising." The safety trial was conducted on healthy adults who had already received two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Professor Bangham explains that there are two primary differences between this new vaccine and those which have seen widespread use. "First, the vaccine generates an immune response not only to the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, but also some of the other proteins of the virus. "This is important, because the other proteins differ much less between the variants of SARS-CoV-2 than the spike protein, so we would expect a better degree of cross-protection against different variants. "These proteins are well recognized by cytotoxic (‘killer’) T cells, and since the T cell response plays a critical part in protection, especially in clearing the virus from the body, the immunity produced by the vaccine should give good cross-protection against the virus variants." The second benefit of the new vaccine, Bangham explains, is not to do with the immune response directly but the economics and politics of the vaccine. “The new vaccine is based on self-amplifying RNA (samRNA). "This amplifies itself to make large amounts of mRNA, reproducing the mRNA found in the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. "Because it amplifies itself, only a small dose is necessary – this should make it possible to vaccinate many more people with the same amount of the vaccine."
Singapore Breaks Down Covid Deaths by Vaccine, With Moderna Seeing Lowest Rate Most deaths reported in those who got Sinovac, Sinopharm shots Health minister says key strategy remains to live with virus https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...s-death-rate-divergence-on-covid-vaccine-type
Novavax CEO says its Covid vaccine could be cleared in multiple countries over next 90 days https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/10/nov...ld-be-cleared-in-multiple-countries-soon.html The Novavax Covid-19 vaccine could be cleared by 10 regulators for use in multiple countries, including the U.S., in the coming months, the vaccine maker’s CEO said Monday. The company expects feedback from American regulators in February, Stanley Erck told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.” The vaccine is currently available for use in 170 countries. The Novavax coronavirus vaccine could be cleared by regulators for use in multiple countries, including the U.S., in the coming months, the vaccine maker’s CEO said Monday. The company has filed for emergency approval with 10 different regulatory agencies, Stanley Erck told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.” It’s currently available for use in 170 countries, he said. “I expect in the next 90 days we could have all 10 of them,” Erck said. The company submitted its final data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on New Year’s Eve. It has yet to file the full application for emergency-use authorization, but will do so shortly and expects a decision from American regulators in February, he said. Erck didn’t name the other regulatory agencies, but according to the company site, it has recently applied for approval in Japan, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, New Zealand, Canada, Australia, South Africa and the United Kingdom. Several other health agencies across the globe have already given their nod of approval to the vaccine. Novavax recently shipped its first doses of the vaccine to Europe, Erck said, after receiving authorization from European Union regulators last month. “Everything is coming together,” Erck told CNBC. The vaccine could be in high demand. Novavax’s vaccine is protein based, using an alternative technology to the more widespread mRNA vaccines. Skeptics leery of the mRNA technology may be inclined to get the Novavax version, Erck said, which also has been seen to present fewer adverse side effects than other vaccines.
Minorities falling behind on boosters? KFF Report: The CDC also reports race/ethnicity of people ages 65 and older who have received an additional/ booster vaccine dose at the federal level. Among this group, three-quarters of booster recipients were White (74%), 7% were Black, 8% were Hispanic, 4% were Asian, and AIAN and NHOPI people made up less than 1% of recipients (0.5% and 0.1%, respectively). White people make up a similar share of booster dose recipients age 65 and older as their share of fully vaccinated people age 65 and up (74% vs. 73%), while the shares of booster dose recipients who are Black and Hispanic are smaller than their shares of fully vaccinated people age 65 and older. However, the data also show an uptick in the shares of recent booster doses going to Black and Hispanic people, with the shares of recent booster doses going to Black (10%) and Hispanic people (11%) ages 65 and older exceeding their shares of fully vaccinated people ages 65 and older (both at 9%).
The WHO outlines that regularly providing boosters around the world cannot be done. Especially considering some countries have barely got first vaccine doses yet. They also are calling for the "next generation" vaccines to be accelerated. WHO warns booster program unlikely to be a practical defence against Omicron and other COVID variants The World Health Organisation says administering repeated doses of existing COVID vaccines are "unlikely to be appropriate or sustainable" as new variants emerge, and calls for new jabs that better protect against the emerging varieties. https://www.skynews.com.au/world-ne...s/news-story/1d1ec463696e7c3253fcee932740e769