Vaccines

Researchers from the New York State Department of Health have found the low-dose version of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine given to children ages 5-11 to be less likely to prevent infection compared to the high-dose version given to people past the age of 12. Although all doses were shown to…

New research has suggested that a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose may not be needed for most people. John Wherry, director of the Institute for immunology at the University of Pennsylvania has said the elderly or people at high risk of infection could benefit from a fourth vaccination but for others,…

The Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus is likely the fastest-spreading virus in human history. Omicron is so contagious that one infection can create six new cases after just four days, and more than 200 cases after 12 days. As a comparison, the measles virus might infect only 15 other people in…

After leading much of the developed world in first and second vaccination rates, the United States is now falling behind other Western countries in booster rates. According to Our World in data 28% of Americans have received a booster compared to 55% of the United Kingdom, 51% of France, and 44% of…

Sweden has joined a small list of nations to recommend a fourth COVID-19 vaccination. On Monday Sweden’s public health agency recommended that people 80 years and older take a second booster shot. Research done by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has shown booster shot efficacy…

Experts in India have begun research on a COVID-19 vaccine that would be applied nasally rather than injected into the bloodstream. With the rise of variants such as Omicron, current COVID-19 vaccines have seen a decrease in long-term protection against the coronavirus. Nasal vaccines could be a…

 On Monday, January 31, 2022, following the long-awaited submission of data, Novavax announced Monday that it had formally filed a request for emergency use authorization of its protein-based COVID-19 vaccine in the United States. If authorized, the Novavax shots could be the first COVID-19…

Pfizer and BioNTech have requested emergency use authorization from the FDA to be able to administer the COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 6 months up to 5 years. The FDA’s vaccine committee is set to meet on February 15 to discuss this submission.  According to Dr. Paul Offit, a member of the…

As of January 11, 2022, more than 145,900 people were in hospitals across the US, surpassing the previous peak from January 2021. The number of hospitalization is a record high, pushing the health infrastructure towards emergency staffing and adding great strain on the health care networks. A high…

The Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine authorized for children 5 to 11 year olds will contain a 10 microgram dose, a third of the dose given to adolescents and adults. According to Pfizer, the vaccine is safe and 90.7% effective against symptomatic Covid-19 for this age group. The goal of the vaccine…

A number of Los Angeles country school employees have expressed their reluctance to get the vaccine. Extensively opposing the vaccination mandate has left these employees out of their beloved jobs. The Los Angeles Unified School District was one of the first schools in the country to require their…

The day that parents, caregivers, teachers, and children have been waiting for has finally come. 28 million Americans who are among the last ones to be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine will finally be able to do so. The vaccine rollout for children is set to begin sometime next week with…

On Wednesday of this week, the CDC announced that individuals with mood disorders would be added to the list of those eligible for a COVID-19 booster vaccine. This comes after recommendations from experts in the field who have argued that the mind-body connection makes those with mental illness at…

Covax, a global initiative by the UN to provide Covid-19 vaccines to low and middle income countries, states it will miss its target to distribute 2 billion doses of the Covid-19 vaccine by the end of the year. It will expect to provide roughly 1.4 billion, a shortfall that is due to export and…