Moderna Says Its Combo Vaccine Effective Against Omicron Company says the combination vaccine triggers antibodies capable of fighting several variants, including beta and omicron https://consumer.healthday.com/mode...ine-effective-against-omicron-2657178918.html Moderna Inc. announced Tuesday that an updated COVID-19 booster shot that combines Moderna's original vaccine with protection against the beta variant appears more effective than current booster shots against omicron and a number of other variants. Before the highly transmissible omicron variant surfaced, Moderna was tweaking its original vaccine to provide added protection against the earlier beta variant. But Moderna said the combination vaccine triggered antibodies capable of fighting several variants -- including omicron -- than regular booster shots now available to people. Moderna is now testing a second combination shot that includes its original vaccine and one that targets omicron by including 32 of that variant's mutations. Studies of two booster doses are underway in the United States and Britain and results are expected by June, The New York Times reported. "We are pleased with these data for our first bivalent booster candidate, mRNA-1273.211. We believe that these results validate our bivalent strategy, which we announced and began pursuing in February 2021," Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in a company statement. "The results indicate that mRNA-1273.211 at the 50 µg dose level induced higher antibody responses than the 50 µg mRNA-1273 booster, even when additional variants of concern were not included in the booster vaccine." In the statement, Bancel touted the powers of the second combo vaccine. "Our latest bivalent booster candidate, mRNA-1273.214, which combines the currently authorized Moderna COVID-19 booster with our omicron-specific booster candidate, remains our lead candidate for the fall 2022 Northern Hemisphere booster," Bancel said. "We look forward to sharing initial data on mRNA-1273.214 later in the second quarter. We believe that a bivalent booster vaccine, if authorized, would create a new tool as we continue to respond to emerging variants." The findings from the first combo shot's tests were reported online and have not been reviewed by independent experts. The antibody increase prompted by the beta combination booster was modest, but these "results really give us hope" that the next combination vaccine will work even better, Moderna Vice President Jacqueline Miller, M.D., told the Associated Press. She said the beta shot's effectiveness against omicron is likely due to the fact that the vaccine includes four mutations found in both beta and omicron. The New York Times Article Associated Press Article
Moderna says redesigned Covid vaccine produced stronger immunity against omicron than current shots https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/19/mod...unity-against-omicron-than-current-shots.html Moderna’s redesigned vaccine includes nine mutations found in the beta Covid variant. A 50-microgram dose doubled the antibodies, which block the virus from infecting human cells, against the omicron variant six months after injection. Moderna is also developing a vaccine that targets 32 mutations present in omicron. The FDA is debating whether the U.S. will need updated Covid shots ahead of an expected wave of infection in the fall. Moderna on Tuesday released clinical data demonstrating that a new version of its Covid-19 vaccine that targets several mutations produced a stronger immune response against the major virus variants, including omicron and delta, than the company’s current shots. The biotech company’s redesigned vaccine targets nine mutations found in the beta Covid variant, as well as the original strain of the virus that first emerged in Wuhan, China, in late 2019. Four of the mutations targeted by the updated vaccine are shared with omicron. Moderna and Pfizer are developing new shots that target multiple virus variants in the hope of producing vaccines that provide longer-lasting protection against infection. The current vaccines were developed to recognize the spike protein, which the virus uses to invade human cells, of the Wuhan strain of Covid. But the more the spike protein has evolved, the less likely the antibodies produced by the vaccine are able to recognize the virus and fight it, which reduces the efficacy of the shots. Two doses of the original vaccines still provide strong protection against hospitalization, though effectiveness against severe illness also has dropped. Third shots of the current vaccine also boost protection against infection and hospitalization. A 50-microgram dose of Moderna’s new vaccine doubled the antibodies, which block the virus from infecting human cells, against the omicron variant six months after injection compared with the original booster at the same dosage, the data indicated. The updated shot also increased antibody levels against the delta variant six months after injection, though they were lower than the response observed with omicron and did not show superior results in comparison to the original booster. The data has not undergone peer review by outside scientists. The most common side effects of the updated 50-microgram shot were injection site and muscle pain, fatigue and headache, according to the data. The clinical trial included 895 participants who received a single booster dose of the updated shot with either a 50-microgram or 100-microgram dosage. The average age of the participants was about 50 years of age, 56% of whom were female. Most of the trial population was white, while 13% were Hispanic and 6% Black in the group that received the 50-microgram dose. Moderna is developing an additional vaccine that includes the Wuhan strain and 32 mutations present in the omicron Covid variant. CEO Stephane Bancel said that shot is the company’s lead candidate for a fall booster in the Northern Hemisphere, which includes the U.S. and Europe. The company expects initial data on that shot in the second quarter of this year. Bancel, in a statement, said the data on the shot with the beta variant demonstrates that updating the vaccines to target mutations is the right strategy to fight Covid moving forward. The Food and Drug Administration’s top vaccine official, Dr. Peter Marks, told the agency’s advisory committee earlier this month that the U.S. has until June to decide whether new Covid shots that target mutations are needed ahead of an expected wave of infection in the fall. However, some FDA committee members were skeptical that new shots are needed right now, noting the current vaccines remain effective at preventing severe illness. Federal officials told the committee that Moderna, Pfizer and other vaccine makers are not currently coordinating their clinical studies on redesigned shots, which could complicate the process of selecting the most effective vaccine for the fall. Several FDA committee members said public health authorities need to develop a unified approach to adopting a new formula for the Covid vaccines, similar to the process for selecting new flu shots every year, in order to target the strain that is most prevalent. “At some level, the companies kind of dictate the conversation here,” Dr. Paul Offit, a committee member, said during the April 7 meeting. “You often hear that the company now has an omicron-specific vaccine, or vaccine they can now link with the influenza vaccine. It shouldn’t come from them, it really has to come from us.” However, developing new shots to target Covid mutations could prove challenging, given how quickly the virus is evolving. Trevor Bedford, a virologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, told the FDA committee that the Covid virus is evolving two to 10 times faster than the flu, depending on which strain of the latter virus is used for comparison.
China’s vaccine makers get stock market jolt as rivalry, price cuts undermine earnings outlook https://www.scmp.com/business/china...ne-makers-get-stock-market-jolt-rivalry-price Competition among vaccine makers and state-driven price cuts are prodding analysts to trim their earnings forecasts Stocks have languished since a bright 55 per cent rally during the first phase of national vaccination programme early last year Chinese vaccine makers have gone flat in the stock market this year, a far cry from the euphoria that greeted them when their shots began to power national vaccination drive last year. Since a 55 per cent stock breakout in the first half of 2021, China’s four key players – Sinopharm Group, Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical, CanSino Biologics and Chongqing Zhifei Biological Products – have limped. This year’s retreat has made investors 85.7 billion yuan (US$13.1 billion) poorer on paper. The sell-off isn’t based on market emotions. At least 15 analysts have trimmed their earnings or price targets for the four over the past six months, according to Bloomberg data. Their best growth may be behind them as new Covid-19 variants and lockdowns open the door for new vaccines to rival two dominant providers in mainland China. “Competition is getting more intense and prices are expected to decline,” said Kay Mai, an analyst at Guotai Junan Securities in Shanghai. “There are uncertain factors as to whether other new vaccines can catch up, but their market share is definitely increasing.” China has approved five vaccines, with inactivated ones by Sinopharm and Sinovac dominating the options over the past year. As the Omicron requires more effective shots, CanSino’s viral vector vaccine and Zhifei’s recombinant protein vaccine have gained wider attention. Fosun and BioNTech’s mRNA type of vaccine is seen as a potent rival, though its approval process has not progressed for months. Third-phase clinical trials from other producers are also in the mix. China’s speedy rate of basic vaccination means the curve could flatten going forward, according to the Bank of China. The sector’s earnings multiple has compressed to pre-epidemic levels, with vaccine makers vying for a smaller market of “booster jabs,” its analyst Deng Zhouyu said in the report this month. Sinopharm and Sinovac have supplied about six billion doses of vaccines globally, or more than half of the global shots, according to the latest statistics. Both are part of COVAX, an international initiative aimed at distributing Covid-19 vaccines. Sinopharm’s earnings rose 24 per cent to 3.6 billion yuan in the first half of 2021 from a year earlier, while Sinovac turned around with a US$5.1 billion net profit from a US$12.6 million loss over the same corresponding period. Sinopharm has suffered a 13 per cent drop in its stock price in Shanghai this year, while Nasdaq-listed Sinovac has been suspended since February 2019 due to an ownership dispute. CanSino has lost half of its market value in Hong Kong, while Chongqing Zhifei slumped 24 per cent in Shenzhen. Underlining the stiffer competition, inactivated vaccines have been found wanting in protecting against Omicron as a fourth booster jab, while recombinant spike protein or mRNA vaccines would be good alternatives, according to a study published by Sun Yat-sen University. Meanwhile, Beijing has been taking measures to lower vaccine prices, spelling troubles for the industry’s profit margins. Through negotiations with domestic vaccine makers, the National Healthcare Security Administration has lowered prices from as much as 90 yuan per dose to 20 yuan, an official said earlier this month. Guotai Junan has trimmed its earnings forecast for Sinopharm by 3.6 per cent for this year while TF securities cut its forecast for CanSino’s revenue to 3.1 billion from 9.1 billion yuan, citing a slump in vaccine prices, among others. “Additional challenges to the industry come from rising oil prices and the Omicron-dominated Covid-19 outbreaks in many cities across China,” its Guotai Junan analyst Mai added. “However, monetary easing and payment settlement policy in 2022 are expected to help reduce the financial pressure.
They should be asking why the unvaccinated are dying of Covid at more than 30 times the rate of the vaccinated? Why the unvaccinated over 50 are dying at 48 times the rate of the vaccinated. And why the elderly unvaccinated are dying at 97 times the rate of the vaccinated. Get back to us with your science based explanation.
Pfizer requests FDA authorization to administer booster dose to children 5-11 https://thehill.com/policy/healthca...horization-for-booster-dose-to-children-5-11/ Pfizer and BioNTech on Tuesday submitted an application to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requesting authorization to administer a booster dose of their COVID-19 vaccine to children aged 5-11. In its announcement, Pfizer cited data from a Phase 2/3 trial, which it says indicated a “strong immune response” in the younger age group after a booster dose was administered six months after primary immunization with its COVID-19 vaccine. The companies intend on submitting this same data to other regulatory agencies around the world, including the European Medicines Agency. A booster dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 shot has been authorized for adults since September, and more than 100 million people have already received an additional shot, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Around half of the people who are eligible for a booster half not gotten one yet. Pfizer COVID-19 booster doses for children as young as 12 have been authorized by the FDA since January. According to the most recent data from the CDC, 28.4 percent of children 5-11 in the U.S. are considered fully vaccinated, and only about 35 percent have received their first dose of a vaccine. Nearly 60 percent of children 12-17 are fully vaccinated. Pfizer’s application to authorize boosters for children comes about a month after the FDA authorized a second booster dose of the company’s vaccine for people over 50 and immunocompromised individuals as young as 12. COVID-19 vaccines are still not authorized for children under the age of 5 in the U.S. The Biden administration has recently indicated the FDA will consider both Pfizer’s and Moderna’s requests for coronavirus vaccine administration for this age group later in the summer, possibly in June.
Here's a question. If China can lockdown a city of 27MM people with less than 100 cases, or whatever it is, how in the hell are they ever going to open back up to the world? Has it not become a generally accepted fact that covid is here to stay? Like forever. This zero covid policy... I just don't see how that's gonna work. This virus is gonna get in. There's no way they can open up to the world and keep it out. What am I missing here?