Covid Vaccine Race

The week's most-clicked COVID-19 stories included vaccine updates, new variants, and a pivotal FDA advisory committee vote.

Novavax will update its protein-based COVID-19 vaccine, but maintains the current vaccine is effective against current and future variants.

The FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) voted to move toward a unified strain composition for COVID-19 primary and booster vaccines.

In the CDC’s latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, investigators reported the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech updated vaccines helped prevent acute infection from the latest Omicron mutations.

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was associated with rare instances of myo/pericarditis and acute kidney injury, according to a nationwide study in New Zealand that confirmed the safety profile of the vaccine.

A new study demonstrated continuous neutralization after 3 doses.

“Vaccination coverage among pregnant women remains a priority,” the study authors noted.

In this week’s meeting, FDA is expected to ask their advisory committee to consider changes to simplify the vaccination schedule and look at delivering it annually, much like an influenza vaccine.

What factors contribute to post-COVID-19 conditions (“long COVID”)? Can vaccination before or after a COVID-19 infection decrease the risk of long COVID?

Reported reasons adults had not received a bivalent COVID-19 booster dose differed across age groups.

A retrospective study showed that exercise was found to have a protective association to adverse COVID-19 outcomes.

Interleukin-6 receptor antagonists and antiplatelets are highly likely to improve long-term survival of critically ill adults with COVID-19, a recent study suggests.

This act designed to allow pharmacists and technicians the ability to administer certain vaccines without a prescriber order will lapse next year. A new report looks at vaccination trends in the US and how pharmacists are playing a vital role in administering vaccines.

High levels of mucosal IgA antibodies in the airways were found to protect against COVID-19 reinfection for at least 8 months.

A CDC report looked at 2 vaccine safety surveillance systems for the bivalent boosters in this population and there were no reports of myocarditis or death. Many of the reports were due to vaccine errors and not adverse events.

The two agencies said one of the vaccine surveillance systems prompted an investigation into whether there was a safety concern for ischemic stroke in seniors for this booster.

Good news: across 23 countries, trust in COVID-19 vaccines increased 5.2% from 2021 to 2022. However, vaccine hesitancy remains in key populations.

The company is moving forward with vaccines to address respiratory and latent viruses as well as oncology.

New booster shots, antigen testing, and a shrinking incubation period: these were the top COVID-19 stories of 2022.

Vaccinations and mitigations for COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses have not been made a priority for young children. Let’s change this before the next big surge hits.

The committee will meet on January 26 to discuss whether and how the composition for primary doses of the currently available COVID-19 vaccines should be modified.

In a new CDC report, these immunizations aid against emergency department and urgent care encounters in immunocompetent adults.

Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is happening in people post-virus as well as within a 90-day period post-vaccination.

In addition to avoiding additional infection, illness, and death, the COVID-19 vaccination program likely saved the US $1.25 trillion in medical costs.

The last available COVID-19 monoclonal antibody, bebtelovimab, is now no longer authorized due to suspected inability to neutralize the most dominant COVID-19 variants, Omicron BQ.1.1 and BQ.1.

With an already overwhelming respiratory virus season with RSV and influenza, the hope is to prevent COVID-19 with these vaccines available to younger pediatric populations.

Today, Pfizer-BioNTech filed submitted an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to administer their Omicron BA.4/BA.5-adapted bivalent COVID-19 vaccine booster in children under 5 years of age.

Alternative strategies to increase immunogenicity of COVID-19 vaccines in immunosuppressed kidney transplant recipients are evaluated in clinical trial.

Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline are the latest companies to bring their COVID-19 booster vaccine to the marketplace with the European Commission’s approval of VidPrevtyn Beta.

New clinical findings suggest the Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent booster elicited more neutralizing antibody titers for all tested emerging Omicron sublineages, compared to their original COVID-19 vaccine.