The Mercury Project, a global consortium of researchers dedicated to “combating the impacts of mis- and disinformation on public health,” is being sponsored by the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) of Brooklyn, New York. SSRC announced on Aug. 23, 2022 that it will provide $7.2 million in grant funding teams doing behavioral research aimed at […]
“I would like to let you know that I have tested positive for #COVID19. I am thankful to have received four doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and I am feeling well while experiencing very mild symptoms. I am isolating and have started a course of Paxlovid.” These were the words of Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla […]
On Aug. 4, 2022, the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) reported the death of an individual in South Africa shortly after receiving Johnson & Johnson/Janssen’s adenovirus vectored Ad26.COV2.S COVID-19 vaccine. The agency stated that the death was causally linked to the vaccine.1 2 3 4 5 The name and age of the person […]
On July 25, 2022, a committee of Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare announced that it would provide a lump-sum death benefit of ¥44.2 million ($324,000), plus an additional ¥212,000 for funeral expenses, to the family of an elderly woman who died shortly after receiving a COVID-19 shot. The committee determined there was a […]
For a virus (SARS-CoV-2) that many scientists and public health officials have maintained originated in a bat and accidently crossed over into humans, leading to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is odd that there does not appear to be much concern about producing vaccines that use genetic material from animals. You would think that this would […]
Opinion | The first reported case of polio in the United States since 2013 was confirmed in New York last week. According to New York health officials, a young adult in Rockland County contracted type 2 “vaccine-derived” poliovirus (VDPV2), which may have been transmitted by someone who received the Sabin live attenuated oral polio vaccine (OPV). […]
Opinion | On July 13, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to Novavax to distribute its experimental two-dose NVX-CoV2373 (also known as “Nuvaxovid” and “Covovax”) COVID-19 vaccine for use by adults. The decision was expected, given the favorable recommendation by the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory […]
A new study published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics found that the number of children and adolescents diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the United States has risen to 1 in 30. The study, which was conducted by public health researchers at Guandong Pharmaceutical University in China, looked at data from the annual National […]
On May 24, 2022, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a health advisory to health care providers, public health departments and the general public regarding Pfizer’s antiviral drug Paxlovid, designed to treat symptoms of COVID-19. The advisory warns that some people who take Paxlovid may experience a recurrence of COVID symptoms […]
Opinion | The Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP) is a program of the U.S. government that provide financial compensation for people who have suffered serious injuries or death from vaccines, biologics, antivirals or other drugs, as well medical devices used to “diagnose, prevent or treat a declared pandemic, epidemic or security threat.” The program was […]