National News - Page 135

Quality issue at Baltimore vaccine plant delays some of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine

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By Jen Christensen Drugmaker Johnson & Johnson said Wednesday it had found a quality problem at a Baltimore plant helping manufacture its single-dose coronavirus vaccine under contract. The New York Times reported Wednesday. that workers at Emergent BioSolutions, the Baltimore plant that has been making Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine, accidentally mixed up some of the ingredients, ruining as many as 15 million potential doses of vaccine and delaying US Food and Drug Administration authorization of the plant. Emergent is also making the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has yet to be authorized for use in this country. Johnson & Johnson said

CDC director says Americans may soon return to everyday activities, but ‘we’re not quite there yet’

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By Christina Maxouris, Jason Hanna and Steve Almasy Though many Americans are eager to return to normal after a year of living through the Covid-19 pandemic, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday reminded Americans that “we’re not quite there yet.” “We are so close — so very close to getting back to the everyday activities we all miss so much, but we’re not quite there yet,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said at a White House Covid-19 Response Team news conference. “This is a critical moment in our fight against the pandemic,” she

Pfizer says Covid-19 vaccine protection lasts at least six months, protects against variants

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By Maggie Fox The ongoing Phase 3 clinical trial of Pfizer/BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine confirms its protection lasts at least six months after the second dose, the companies said Thursday. It’s the first look at how long protection for a coronavirus vaccine lasts, and while six months is a modest target, it’s longer than the 90 days of protection been the best estimate offered to date. The vaccine remains more than 91% effective against disease with any symptoms for six months, the companies said. And it appeared to be fully effective against the worrying B.1.351 variant of the virus, which is

White House says Americans deserve ‘better information’ as allies criticize WHO coronavirus report

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By Nicole Gaouette and Jennifer Hansler President Joe Biden believes Americans “deserve better information” about the origin of Covid-19 and further steps from the global community, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday after the release of a World Health Organization report that said the pandemic is very likely to have started with transmission from one animal to another, and then to humans. “I think he believes the American people, the global community, the medical experts, the doctors — all of the people who have been working to save lives, the families who have lost loved ones — all

Pfizer/BioNTech says its Covid-19 vaccine is 100% effective and well tolerated in adolescents

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By Lauren Mascarenhas Clinical trial results of Pfizer/BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine showed its efficacy is 100% and it is well tolerated in youths ages 12 to 15, the companies said Wednesday. Pfizer/BioNTech plan to submit the data to the US Food and Drug Administration as soon as possible for expanded emergency use authorization of the two-dose vaccine. In a Phase 3 trial of 2,260 participants ages 12 to 15 in the US, the vaccine elicited strong antibody responses one month after the second dose — exceeding those demonstrated in people ages 16 to 25 in previous trials, Pfizer reported. The vaccine

Tuskegee isn’t the only reason why some Black people are hesitant to get the coronavirus vaccine

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By Kristen Rogers To get more Black people vaccinated against coronavirus infections, Dr. Kimberly Manning is determined to keep doing what she has had a conviction to do since before the pandemic hit. “I’m determined to make sure that people who, historically, have not been seen or who have felt undervalued know that they matter, that they are extremely important,” said Manning, a professor of medicine and the associate vice chair of diversity, equity and inclusion in the department of medicine at Emory University in Atlanta. She knows that fewer Black people have been vaccinated against coronavirus than White people.

CDC study finds Pfizer, Moderna vaccines are 90% effective after two doses in real-world conditions

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By Jen Christensen Under real world conditions, the Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines provide highly effective protection, according to a new report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At full vaccination, the vaccines were 90% effective at preventing infections, including infections that had no symptoms. At least 14 days after first dose but before second dose, they were 80% protective, according to the agency’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report published Monday. The CDC said it is the first of many planned Covid-19 vaccine effectiveness studies. The study looked at how the vaccines protected nearly 4,000 health care

Biden says 90% of adults will be vaccine eligible in three weeks

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By Maegan Vazquez, Kate Sullivan and Kaitlan Collins President Joe Biden announced on Monday that 90% of adults will be eligible to get a coronavirus vaccine within the next three weeks as well as have a vaccination site within five miles of where they live. “For the vast, vast majority of adults, you won’t have to wait until May 1. You’ll be eligible for your shot on April 19,” Biden said. The President previously said he was directing states to open eligibility to all adult Americans by May 1. Biden said the US would increase the number of pharmacies participating

As Covid-19 numbers rise, the CDC chief says she’s scared about where US is headed. But it’s not too late to change country’s course

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By Christina Maxouris New Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths are beginning to rise in the US again, one of the country’s top health leaders said Monday. The latest findings, shared by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, may just be the start of what experts have for weeks warned about: another surge. A surge that could come just as the country inches closer to a return to normalcy and officials nationwide race to get as many Covid-19 vaccine shots into arms as possible. So far, about 28.6% of the US population has received at least one

Gender bias against female surgeons fuelling surgical backlogs

By Solarina Ho TORONTO, Ontario (CTV Network) — Female surgeons in Canada have long faced gender-based referral biases that result in large pay gaps, and an inequitable and inefficient environment for patients, Canadian surgeons say, but with the urgency surrounding surgical backlogs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some say the time is ripe for major changes to healthcare. In interviews with five surgeons and conversations with others who declined to participate in the story, CTVNews.ca heard their experiences and views on the inequity and problems within medical care, as well as a solution many believe could be effective in mitigating