Pfizer Poised to Dominate U.S. Market for COVID-19 Biologics
Last week was a bad one for COVID-19 biologics produced by Moderna, Inc. and Johnson & Johnson, Inc. (J&J). News reports began filtering out about new research from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which were published on Apr. 5, 2021 in the journal JAMA and revealed that people who receive Moderna’s […]
Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 Vaccine Suspended After Blood Disorder Reports
A manufacturing plant in Baltimore, Maryland where two experimental COVID-19 vaccines are manufactured has caused the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to delay authorization of the plant’s production lines due to the contamination of 15 million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine.1 Ingredients Used in Two COVID-19 Vaccines “Mixed Up” During Production […]
After Blood Clot Reports, Some Countries Stop Using the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) held an emergency meeting on Mar. 18, 2021 after many European countries suspended use of the Oxford/AstraZeneca experimental COVID-19 vaccine due to reports of severe side effects including blood clots, low platelet counts and death.1 The EMA conducted a preliminary investigation into potential serious side effects and pronounced the vaccine […]
The Biggest COVID-19 Vaccine Skeptics? Frontline Health Care Workers
Opinion | What do frontline health care workers and first responders know about COVID-19 vaccines that politicians and their public health advisers don’t? According to a January analysis by Gallup, 51 percent of health care workers and first responders polled in December 2020 were unconvinced of the merits of getting vaccinated, even if the vaccine “was […]
J&J to Test COVID-19 Vaccine on Babies, Pregnant Women and the Immunocompromised
Pharmaceutical and medical device giant Johnson & Johnson, Inc. (J&J) announced on Feb. 28, 2021 plans to test its experimental Ad26.COV2.S vaccine for COVID-19 on infant children (including newborns), pregnant women and people with compromised immune systems. J&J did not include infants, pregnant women or the immunocompromised in the U.S. population in clinical trials on […]
AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 Vaccine Not Recommended for People Over 65 in Germany
Health officials in Germany have cautioned that the AstraZeneca/Oxford University COVID-19 vaccine (AZD1222) should not be given to people over the age of 65. Germany’s disease control agency, the Robert Koch Institute, only recommends the shot for people between the ages of 18-64 after concluding that there is not enough data available to determine whether the […]