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 […]
Minority Populations Targeted for Early COVID-19 Vaccination
Story Highlights Minority populations including Blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 in the U.S., with evidence indicating they have a higher risk of being infected and/or are at an increased risk of serious disease and death from the infection. Many agencies, public figures and states are advocating that such at-risk […]
Moderna, Pfizer Test mRNA Experimental Biologics on Children
On Dec. 10, 2020, American biotechnology company Moderna, Inc., which is pioneering the development of experimental messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines, gave a 12-year old a dose of the company’s mRNA-1273 vaccine in a Phase 2/3 study of the new vaccine. Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said, “Our goal is to generate data in the […]
Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 Vaccine Approved for Pregnant Women in Israel
Story Highlights The World Health Organization issued a Jan. 26, 2021 statement recommending that pregnant women should not be vaccinated with Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine, approved for use under emergency authorization, citing a lack of data in pregnancy. Previously, most countries were in agreement with that opinion, but Israel is now recommending that pregnant women should […]
Amazon, Google, Walmart and Starbucks Partnering with Local Governments to Distribute COVID-19 Vaccines
Several major U.S. corporations are partnering with local governments and medical providers to help distribute and administer COVID-19 vaccines approved for release by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under Emergency Use Authorization (EUA).1 Some of these corporations include Amazon, Google, Walmart, Starbucks, Honeywell, Microsoft and Costco.2 3 4 Public-Private Partnerships Between Government and […]
Hammerin’ Hank’s COVID-19 Vaccination: A “Double-Edged Sword”?
When baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron was given a COVID-19 vaccination at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia on Jan. 5, 2021, it came across as an event meant to encourage other people, particularly African-Americans, to also get vaccinated. Shortly after getting Moderna’s experimental mRNA-1273 vaccine, Aaron told The Associated Press, “[Getting vaccinated] […]