American scientists who publicly attributed the COVID-19 pandemic to natural origins rather than human engineering were far less confident in private, transcripts and notes from previous meetings show.
news.yahoo.comLeading British and US scientists thought it was likely that Covid accidentally leaked from a laboratory but were concerned that further debate would harm science in China, emails show.
news.yahoo.comOutgoing National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins took aim at the makers of the 'The Great Barrington Declaration,' refusing to step down from calling them “'fringe epidemiologists' while arguing 'hundreds of thousands' would have died of COVID-19 if the country followed their advice
news.yahoo.comThe Omicron variant could drive the U.S. toward U.S. hitting a million COVID-19 cases per day if Americans are not vigilant about mitigation strategies, outgoing National Institutes of Health director Francis Collins warned on NPR's "Weekend Edition" Sunday.Driving the news: The variant has been detected in 89 countries and is driving COVID-19 cases to double every 1.5 to 3 days in areas where there is community spread, according to the World Health Organization.Stay on top of the latest market
news.yahoo.comPreview: Head of National Institutes of Health tells "CBS Sunday Morning" he tried staying out of partisan debates over last administration's coronavirus response, but was willing to quit rather than compromise scientific principles under former president.
cbsnews.comJapan announced Monday it will suspend entry of all foreign visitors from around the world as a new coronavirus variant spreads, prompting an increasing number of countries to tighten their borders. “We are taking the step as an emergency precaution to prevent a worst-case scenario in Japan,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said. The decision means Japan will restore border controls that it eased earlier this month for short-term business visitors, foreign students and workers.
news.yahoo.comThe National Institutes of Health director says a U_S_ government advisory panel’s decision to limit Pfizer COVID-19 booster shots to Americans 65 and older as well as those at high risk of severe disease is a preliminary step and predicts broader approval for most Americans “in the next few weeks.”.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. intelligence community said Thursday that it was divided over the exact origin of Covid-19 in China. "After examining all available intelligence reporting and other information, though, the IC remains divided on the most likely origin of Covid-19. Four agencies said they had low confidence that the virus had a natural emergence, according to the report. In May, President Joe Biden ordered a closer intelligence review of what he described as two likely scenarios of the origins of the Covid-19. "Not to say that it could not have been under study secretly at the Wuhan Institute of Virology and got out of there, we don't know about that.
cnbc.comDirector of National Institutes of Health pleads with Americans to get their shots as Delta variant ravages the country Dr Francis Collins, director of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), center, speaks during a Senate hearing in Washington on 26 May 2021. Photograph: Stefani Reynolds/EPA The US could soon see Covid-19 cases return to 200,000 a day, a level not seen since among the pandemic’s worst days in January and February, the director of the National Institutes of Health warned on
news.yahoo.comNational Institutes of Health director says 1,450 kids in hospital Teachers union shifts, calls for vaccine mandates for teachers NIH director Francis Collins holds up a model of the coronavirus as he testifies before a Senate appropriations subcommittee on Capitol Hill on 26 May 2021. Photograph: REX/Shutterstock Amid increased fears that children are now both victims and vectors of the latest Covid-19 variant surge, National Institutes of Health director Francis Collins signaled on Sunday that
news.yahoo.comFormer President Obama is hosting a 60th birthday bash for himself and hundreds of guests on Martha’s Vineyard this coming weekend amid heightened public health concerns — locally and nationally — about the COVID-19 Delta variant.Why it matters: The recent breakthrough cases in nearby Provincetown, Massachusetts, after the July Fourth holiday showed the continued risk of spread even between vaccinated people — prompting new masking guidelines from the CDC.Get market news worthy of your time with
news.yahoo.comReports of athletes, lawmakers and others getting the coronavirus despite vaccination may sound alarming but top health experts point to overwhelming evidence that the shots are doing exactly what the[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]
sanmarcosrecord.comPatricia Hailes Fears, pastor of the Fellowship Baptist Church in Washington, is administered with the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine during a gathering of a group of interfaith clergy members, community leaders and officials at the Washington National Cathedral, to encourage faith communities to get the COVID-19 vaccine, Tuesday, March 16, 2021, in Washington. AdFollowing a moment of prayer for COVID-19 victims, the socially distanced attendees applauded when the Rev. Ad“We often get asked, can you get COVID-19 from the vaccine? It is impossible to get COVID-19 from the vaccine," Fauci said, sporting a gray face mask with drawings of laboratory beakers. In Washington, Black residents account for a little under half the population but nearly three-fourths of COVID-19 deaths.
On the same day a global pandemic was declared, she developed symptoms of COVID-19. The same day a global pandemic was declared, she developed symptoms of COVID-19. The Texas woman is one of thousands of self-described long-haulers, patients with symptoms that linger or develop out of the blue months after they first became infected with coronavirus. Is it a condition unique to COVID-19, or just a variation of the syndrome that can occur after other infections? Pinpointing whether these symptoms are directly linked to the virus or perhaps to some preexisting condition is among scientists’ tasks.
This Dec. 2, 2020 photo provided by Johnson & Johnson shows vials of the COVID-19 vaccine in the United States. (Johnson & Johnson via AP)WASHINGTON – The U.S. is getting a third vaccine to prevent COVID-19, as the Food and Drug Administration on Saturday cleared a Johnson & Johnson shot that works with just one dose instead of two. Like other COVID-19 vaccines, the main side effects of the J&J shot are pain at the injection site and flu-like fever, fatigue and headache. All COVID-19 vaccines train the body to recognize the new coronavirus, usually by spotting the spikey protein that coats it. It’s the same technology the company used in making an Ebola vaccine, and similar to COVID-19 vaccines made by AstraZeneca and China’s CanSino Biologics.
President Joe Biden speaks during a visit to the Viral Pathogenesis Laboratory at the National Institutes of Health, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021, in Bethesda, Md. – President Joe Biden said Thursday that the U.S. will have enough supply of the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of the summer to inoculate 300 million Americans. He toured the Viral Pathogenesis Laboratory that created the COVID-19 vaccine now manufactured by Moderna and being rolled out in the U.S. and other countries. The U.S. is on pace to exceed Biden’s goal of administering 100 million vaccine doses in his first 100 days in office, with more than 26 million shots delivered in his first three weeks. On the tour, Biden was shown the lab bench where researchers sequenced the virus and developed the precursor of the Moderna vaccine.
FILE - In this Jan. 15, 2021 file photo President-elect Joe Biden speaks during an event at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del. Biden also named two prominent female scientists to co-chair the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Biden picked Alondra Nelson of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, a social scientist who studies science, technology and social inequality, as deputy science policy chief. The president-elect noted the team's diversity and repeated his promise that his administration's science policy and investments would target historically disadvantaged and underserved communities. The job as director of science and technology policy requires Senate confirmation.
President-elect Joe Biden picked a pioneering geneticist to be his science advisor and elevated the job to his Cabinet. Saying “science will always be at the forefront of my administration,” Biden said he is boosting the science advisor post to Cabinet level, a first in White House history. The job as director of science and technology policy requires Senate confirmation. Science organizations were also quick to praise Lander and the promotion of the science post. Biden chose Alondra Nelson of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, a social scientist who studies science, technology and social inequality, as deputy science policy chief.
Some 30,000 volunteers are needed to prove if the shot — a different kind than its Pfizer and Moderna competitors — really works and is safe. Both vaccines must be kept frozen, the Pfizer shot at ultra-low temperatures that complicate its delivery to poor or rural areas. TROJAN HORSE VACCINESThe next big vaccine news may come from Johnson & Johnson, which is aiming for a one-dose COVID-19 vaccine. Companies in China and Russia also are producing adenovirus-based vaccines and began administering them before the results of final testing came in. China has three such “inactivated” COVID-19 vaccines in final testing in several countries and has allowed emergency use in some people ahead of results.
FDA’s decision could help pave the way for other countries that are considering the Moderna vaccine, the first-ever regulatory clearance for the small Cambridge, Massachusetts, company. Britain, Canada and a few other countries already have cleared the Pfizer-BioNTech shot, with a European Union decision due Monday. The FDA’s main messages:Both the new Moderna vaccine and the Pfizer-BioNTech shot require two doses several weeks apart. In a study of 30,000 volunteers, the Moderna vaccine was more than 94% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 in people 18 and older. Like with the Pfizer-BioNTech shot, expect sore arms, fever, fatigue and muscle aches, which are signs the immune system is revving up.
The U.S. is poised to give the green light as early as Friday, Dec. 18, to a second COVID-19 vaccine, a critical new weapon against the surging coronavirus. FDA’s decision could help pave the way for other countries that are considering the Moderna vaccine, the first-ever regulatory clearance for the small Cambridge, Massachusetts, company. The FDA’s main messages:--Both the new Moderna vaccine and the Pfizer-BioNTech shot require two doses several weeks apart. --In a study of 30,000 volunteers, the Moderna vaccine was more than 94% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 in people 18 and older. But there was a hint that Moderna’s shot might provide some protection against asymptomatic infection.
“I feel like healing is coming.”With a countdown of “3-2-1,” workers at Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center gave initial injections to applause. High-risk health care workers were first in line. It just represents a moral failing,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, a public health researcher at Johns Hopkins. And later this week, the FDA will decide whether to greenlight the world’s second rigorously studied COVID-19 vaccine, made by Moderna Inc. “We’re also in the middle of a surge, and it’s the holidays, and our health care workers have been working at an extraordinary pace,” said Sue Mashni, chief pharmacy officer at Mount Sinai Health System in New York City.
Moderna Inc. and competitor Pfizer Inc. recently announced preliminary results showing their vaccines appear more than 90% effective, at least for short-term protection against COVID-19. Instead, the vaccines are made with a brand-new technology that injects a piece of genetic code for the spike protein. TROJAN HORSE VACCINESA different way to target the spike protein: Use another, harmless virus to carry the spike gene into the body. Once again, the body produces some spike protein and primes the immune system. But inactivated vaccines give the body a sneak peek at the germ itself rather than just that single spike protein.
We can’t take another hit.”___MIAMI - Florida has reported a slight uptick in daily confirmed COVID-19 cases, adding 3,449 to its total caseload on Friday. There were 3,861 new coronavirus cases reported in Wisconsin on Friday, breaking the previous record set just a day earlier of 3,747. The report, released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, looks at coronavirus-associated deaths reported between May 1 and August 31. The deaths reported Friday include 10 women and eight men, all in their 60s or older. With 222 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, Spain’s total has reached 33,775.
French scientist Emmanuelle Charpentier and American Jennifer A. Doudna have won the Nobel Prize 2020 in chemistry for developing a method of genome editing likened to 'molecular scissors' that offer the promise of one day curing genetic diseases. “There is enormous power in this genetic tool,” said Claes Gustafsson, chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry. In 1911, Marie Curie was the sole recipient of the chemistry award, as was Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin in 1964. ___Read more stories about Nobel Prizes past and present by The Associated Press at https://www.apnews.com/NobelPrizes___This story was first published Oct. 7, 2020. It was updated on Oct. 8, 2020, to correct the aim of clinical trials that are underway with the gene-editing tool CRISPR.
Several drugs have proved useful and doctors know more about how to care for the sickest patients in hospitals, he said. People who have died from COVID-19, especially ones who took part in studies, have helped reveal what drugs do or do not help. Two anti-inflammatory drugs, one used in combination with remdesivir — the drug Wang helped test — also have been reported to help although results of those studies have not yet been published. In hospitals, doctors know more now about ways to avoid using breathing machines, such as keeping patients on their bellies. “Prevention is the most important step right now as we’re waiting for a vaccine and we’re improving treatment,” Goodman said.
President Donald Trump is pushing for a faster timeline, which many experts say is risky and may not allow for adequate testing. FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn pledged that career scientists, not politicians, will decide whether any coronavirus vaccine meets clearly stated standards that it works and is safe. In one of the largest studies yet, Johnson & Johnson aims to enroll 60,000 volunteers to test its single-dose approach in the U.S., South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. J&J’s vaccine is made with slightly different technology than others in late-stage testing, modeled on an Ebola vaccine the company created. Going forward, “we need uniformity throughout the country.”In a testy exchange, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky insisted public health officials were wrong that a lockdown could change the course of the pandemic.
– In front of baskets of tomatoes and peppers, near a sizzling burrito grill, the “promotoras” stop masked shoppers at a busy Latino farmers market: Want to test a COVID-19 vaccine? Many thousands of volunteers from minority groups are needed for huge clinical trials underway or about to begin. Scientists say a diverse group of test subjects is vital to determining whether a vaccine is safe and effective for everyone and instilling broad public confidence in the shots once they become available. Together they make up nearly 40% of the U.S. population, and an equitable vaccine study would match those demographics, though health officials would like to see even greater numbers. —-The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education.
AstraZeneca announced Monday its vaccine candidate has entered the final testing stage in the U.S. Final testing, experts stress, must be in large numbers of people to know if theyre safe enough for mass vaccinations. Instead, theyre made with the genetic code for the aptly named spike protein that coats the surface of the coronavirus. Chinas government authorized emergency use of CanSino Biologics adenovirus shots in the military ahead of any final testing. Competitor SinoPharm has announced plans for final testing in some other countries.
Who gets to be first in line for a COVID-19 vaccine? Huge studies this summer aim to prove which of several experimental COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective. But a COVID-19 vaccine decision is so tricky that this time around, ethicists and vaccine experts from the National Academy of Medicine, chartered by Congress to advise the government, are being asked to weigh in, too. Indeed, the risks for health workers today are far different than in the pandemics early days. Now, health workers in COVID-19 treatment units often are the best protected; others may be more at risk, committee members noted.
The director of the National Institutes of Health has already said there needs to be 30,000 participants in the Phase 3 clinical trials. "Each vaccine needs to be tested on about 30,000 volunteers," Dr. Francis Collins told CNN. Some vaccine experts worry that even if a company intends to enroll those numbers, the Trump administration will prematurely approve their vaccines before their trials are over. Phase 3 trials vary in sizePhase 3 trials can vary in size. CNN reached out to all six companies asking what size they planned for their Phase 3 trials.
(CNN) -- While coronavirus keeps spreading and killing with impunity, the world waits for a vaccine that could quash the pandemic. Here's the latest on where we stand in the race for a vaccine:When will a Covid-19 vaccine be available to the public? "By the beginning of 2021, we hope to have a couple of hundred million doses," Fauci said. But many doctors say getting an effective vaccine out by January is a highly ambitious goal. Researchers say at this point, there's no way to predict how effective or long-lasting a novel coronavirus vaccine would be.
Of those, 1,036 deaths were reported in the past 24 hours. And by late Thursday, the virus had killed more than 108,000 people in the United States and infected at least 1.8 million, according to Johns Hopkins University. Officials fear those numbers will rise following the protests, and are urging those taking part to get tested for coronavirus. Those characteristics differ from those of classic Kawasaki disease, according to the study. Pepcid could ease coronavirus symptomsA common, over-the-counter drug used for treating heartburn may have provided relief to coronavirus patients.
