2,222 Fully Vaccinated Massachusetts Residents Have Died of COVID + More
The Defender’s COVID NewsWatch provides a roundup of the latest headlines related to the SARS CoV-2 virus, including its origins and COVID vaccines.
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2,222 Fully Vaccinated Massachusetts Residents Have Died of COVID
International Business Times reported:
More than 2,000 fully vaccinated residents in Massachusetts have died of COVID-19 since vaccinations began in 2020, state data showed.
Approximately 2,222 vaccinated individuals have died from breakthrough COVID-19 since health officials began rolling out vaccine shots in the state on Dec. 14, 2020. Of the total deaths, 190 occured between Feb. 5 and Feb. 12, 2022.
The latest report also showed that a total of 440,888 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the state despite being fully vaccinated. At least 6,494 were reported between Feb. 5 and 12. The total number of cases now represents 8.4% of Massachusetts’ vaccinated population.
Fauci Says Future Requirement for Additional COVID Boosters Being Monitored
White House chief medical adviser and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci on Wednesday said that future requirements for additional boosters or shots are being monitored, just days after he suggested that annual COVID-19 booster shots may not be needed for every American.
“The potential future requirement for an additional boost or a fourth shot for mRNA or a third shot for J&J is being very carefully monitored in real time. And recommendations, if needed, will be updated according to the data as it evolves,” Fauci said during a press briefing by the White House COVID-19 response team.
His comments came just days after he suggested that annual booster shots may not be needed for every American, the Financial Times reported.
Teen Traveled to Philly to Get Vaccinated Against His Parents’ Wishes
High school junior Nicolas Montero and his parents are separated by a widening political and cultural rift: His parents are a part of a small but vocal minority who oppose COVID-19 vaccinations and have refused to let him get the shots.
The impasse eventually led to an act of quiet defiance: Nicolas traveled to Philadelphia, where a little-known regulation permits children 11 and older to be vaccinated without parental consent.
Not all states require parental consent for vaccination. Alabama allows teenagers 14 and up to consent to their own medical care, including inoculations. In Oregon, the age is 15; Rhode Island and South Carolina allow 16-year-olds to get COVID shots on their own. In Delaware, you need to be only 12 to get vaccines related to sexually transmitted infections.
California lawmakers are considering a bill to let children 12 and up give consent for FDA-approved vaccines, which they can currently do only for immunizations against some STIs. San Francisco already lets kids who are at least 12 consent to the COVID-19 shot.
South Carolina Doctors Can Prescribe Ivermectin, Hydroxychloroquine for COVID, AG Says
South Carolina doctors can prescribe Ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine and other off-label drugs for COVID-19, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said Friday.
Sen. Shane Martin and Rep. Bill Taylor requested an opinion from Wilson on whether or not South Carolina law allows doctors to prescribe those drugs. Wilson said in general, doctors can provide “off-label” medications as long as the patient is informed and consents to it, according to a news release.
Wilson also added that “state law strongly protects the medical judgment of the physician in this circumstance. It is clear that an attending physician possesses especially broad discretion to prescribe what he or she deems the appropriate medication in a given situation.”
The U.S. Is Getting Closer to a Time When COVID Is ‘No Longer a Crisis,’ a White House Official Says
U.S. health officials are indicating the country is nearing a time when COVID-19 is “no longer a crisis,” as one put it.
Speaking at a press briefing Wednesday, Jeff Zients, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, said: “We’ve been clear that, as a country, we’re making strong progress toward moving to a time when COVID is no longer a crisis.”
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Omicron cases were declining. “We are all cautiously optimistic about the trajectory we are on,” she said.
The optimistic predictions from the CDC align with those from Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel, who said Wednesday that it was “reasonable” to consider the COVID-19 pandemic almost over, citing a belief that the coronavirus was most likely to evolve to be less virulent than Omicron.
Pregnant During COVID, Women Struggle to Reconcile Conflicting Advice
Ashley Mink, a physician assistant in Dayton, Ohio, became eligible for her COVID-19 vaccination in December 2020. Pregnant with her third child at the time, she had kept a close eye on the vaccine trials and knew that pregnant women hadn’t been included in them — a concern she took to her obstetrician.
“You’re not supposed to eat turkey lunch meat,” Mink said of her feelings at the time, “but you’re recommending that I get a vaccine that hasn’t been studied yet.”
But even after her OB’s suggestion, Mink still didn’t get the shot.
Pfizer and BioNTech Omicron-Targeted Vaccine Delayed — BioNTech CEO
Delivery of Pfizer (PFE.N) and BioNTech SE’s vaccine to combat the Omicron COVID-19 variant was delayed by several weeks due to a slower-than expected data gathering process, BionTech Chief Executive Ugur Sahin told Germany’s Bild on Thursday.
Once the vaccine is ready, the company would assess whether it was still needed, Sahin said.
“If the wave ends, that does not mean it can’t begin again,” he told Bild in a video interview, adding that BioNTech was in a position to continue creating new vaccines as variants emerged if needed.
Moderna Eyes COVID Booster by August, Not Clear yet if Omicron-Specific Needed
An Omicron-specific booster could be ready by August, the CEO of U.S. biotech firm Moderna (MRNA.O) told Reuters, but the firm is still gathering clinical data to determine whether that vaccine would offer better protection than a new dose of the existing jab.
Last month Moderna began clinical trials for a booster dose specifically designed to target Omicron but initial results from studies in monkeys show the Omicron-specific shot may not offer stronger protection than a new dose of the existing vaccine.
Moderna chief executive Stephane Bancel said in an interview the company aimed to have a booster ready by August 2022, before next autumn when he said more vulnerable people may need it.
COVID Data Will Not Be Published Over Concerns It’s Misrepresented by Anti-Vaxxers
Public Health Scotland will stop publishing data on COVID deaths and hospitalizations by vaccination status — over concerns it is misrepresented by anti-vaxx campaigners.
The public health watchdog announced the change in policy in its most recent COVID statistical report, saying the frequency and content of the data would be reviewed. Instead, officials will focus on publishing more robust and complex vaccine effectiveness data.
The report published on Wednesday will be the last weekly publication to include the data on infection rates among the vaccinated and unvaccinated.
Canada Approves Novavax’s COVID Vaccine for Adults
Canada on Thursday approved Novavax Inc’s (NVAX.O) COVID-19 vaccine for people aged 18 years and older, making it the fifth such shot to be cleared for use in the country.
The vaccine‘s safety and effectiveness in people younger than 18 years have not yet been established, Health Canada said in a statement.
Novavax’s recombinant protein vaccine, Nuvaxovid, uses a more established technology than mRNA, the novel method behind the two most commonly used COVID-19 vaccines – from Pfizer-BioNTech (PFE.N) and Moderna (MRNA.O).
Moderna Patent Application Raises Fears for Africa COVID Vaccine Hub
Moderna Inc. has applied for patents in South Africa relating to its COVID-19 vaccine, prompting fears the company could eventually seek to prevent a new African vaccine manufacturing hub from making its own version of the mRNA shot.
Moderna (MRNA.O) spokesperson Colleen Hussey confirmed it had filed for patents “related to both the COVID-19 vaccine and Moderna’s platform technology” in South Africa and elsewhere, after a group of 60 Africa-based charities raised concerns about them, but said the move would not block vaccine distribution in Africa.
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