The shortest time between coronavirus infections is 20 days, the subunit omicron BA.2.12.1 is gaining ground in the United States and in the Covid-19 news review this week.
Your best resources for Covid-19 vaccines
- Moderna on Thursday asked the FDA to approve its Covid-19 vaccine for children under 6. Based on data from clinical trials, the children’s vaccine, which consists of two doses of 25 micrograms, is 51% effective against symptomatic infection in children between 6 months and 2 years of age and 37% effective in children aged 2 to 6 years. In addition to its vaccine for children under 6, Moderna also asked the FDA to approve its vaccine for children aged 6 to 11 and adolescents aged 12 to 17, with a spokesman saying the company would complete the submission of data for these groups over the next two weeks. During a warm-up for Senate oversight, Peter Marx, who oversees FDA vaccine regulation, suggested that the agency could consider Moderna applications for children under 18 as a whole, rather than individually. Separately, Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the FDA could review data on children’s vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech at the same time to directly compare the two vaccines and not “confuse people.” According to the New York Times, federal regulators are unlikely to review Moderna’s application before June, when an external FDA advisory panel is due to meet on young children’s vaccines. (LaFraniere, New York Times, 4/28; Doherty, Axios, 4/28; AP / Modern Healthcare, 4/28; LaFraniere, New York Times, 4/26)
- On Monday, the FDA extended its approval for IV antiviral Veklury, also known as remdesivir, to children under 12, making it the first Covid-19 treatment approved for this age group. According to MedPage Today, Veklury is already approved for use in children aged 28 days who weigh at least three kilograms. The drug can be used both for hospitalized patients and for those at risk of severe results. “Because COVID-19 can cause serious illness in children, some of whom are currently unable to be vaccinated, there is still a need for safe and effective treatment options for COVID-19 for this population,” said Patricia Cavazzoni, director of the The FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “Today’s approval of the first COVID-19 therapeutic for this population demonstrates the agency’s commitment to this need.” (Chen, Axios, 4/25; Reuters, 4/25; Walker, MedPage Today, 4/25)
- Enhanced protection against hospitalization by Covid-19 decreases after three months, according to a new study by Kaiser Permanente, published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine. For the study, the researchers analyzed Kaiser Permanente’s patient records between December 2021 and February 6, 2022. There were a total of 11,123 hospitalizations or ED visits, and all patients included in the analysis received at least three doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Overall, the researchers found that the booster dose was 80% to 90% protective against hospital admissions and ED visits caused by both delta and omicron variants in the first three months of receiving it. protection against hospitalization by omicron decreases to 55%, while protection against ED visits decreases to 53%. “Increasing doses of Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 significantly improve protection against omicron, although this protection appears to be reduced after three months against emergency room visits and even hospitalization,” said Sarah Tartoff, an epidemiologist in Kaiser Permanente’s research and evaluation department. lead author of the study. “The declining trends compared to delta-related results were generally similar to omicron, but more efficient at each time point than those observed for omicron.” (Carbajal, Becker’s Hospital Review, 4/25)
- The shortest time between coronavirus infections is 20 days, according to a case report presented to the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID). According to researchers, a 31-year-old health worker in Spain first tested positive for Covid-19 in a PCR test on December 20, 2021. She was fully vaccinated and received a booster dose 12 days earlier. After this positive test, the patient, who was asymptomatic, isolated himself for 10 days before returning to work. Then, on January 10, 2022, just 20 days after her initial positive test, the patient began to feel unwell and tested positive for another PCR test. According to the sequencing of the whole genome, there were two different variants of coronavirus, the first being delta in December and the second being omicron in January. “This case highlights the potential of the omicron variant to avoid previous immunity acquired either by natural infection with other variants or by vaccines,” said Gemma Resio, one of the study’s authors. “In other words, people who have had COVID-19 cannot accept that they are protected against re-infection, even if they have been fully vaccinated. (Gleeson, Becker’s Hospital Review, 4/21; ECCMID Press Release, 4/20)
- Pfizer and BioNTech on Tuesday asked the FDA to authorize a booster dose of their Covid-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11. In a statement, Pfizer said data from a phase 2/3 trial showed that children in this group had a “strong immune response” after receiving a booster dose six months after their main vaccine series. If allowed, the dose will be the first booster available for children under 12 years of age. However, some health experts said a third dose may not be needed for children at this time. “It may be that over time, these two doses do not protect against serious illness, in which case a person could reasonably [receive] third dose, “said Paul Ofit, who runs the Vaccine Training Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.” But for now, protection against serious diseases seems to be being maintained. ” age group, according to NPR.Currently, CDC data show that only 28.4% of children aged 5 to 11 years are fully vaccinated and only about 35% have received an initial dose (Chen, Axios, 4/26; Stein , “Shots”, NPR, 4/26; Choi, The Hill, 4/26)
- According to the CDC, the prevalence of the omicron BA.2 subvariant is declining in the United States as the new subvariant continues to spread. For the week ending April 23, BA.2 accounted for 68.1% of all new Covid-19 cases, down 74.9% for the week ending April 9. By comparison, sub-option BA.2.12.1 accounts for 28.7% of new Covid-19s. 19 cases in the week ending April 23, compared to 13.7% in the week ending April 9. Researchers estimate that BA.2.12.1 has a 27% advantage over BA.2, which is now more portable than the original version of the omicron BA.1. BA.2.12.1, as well as the related sub-option BA.2.12, are currently causing an increase in Covid-19 cases in New York. Based on HHS data, Covid-19 cases across the country increased by 53% in the last two weeks to April 25. (Bean, Becker’s Hospital Review, 4/26)
Add Comment