Vaccines

Dodger Stadium is transitioning from a coronavirus testing location to a vaccination “super site.” Health officials have a goal of vaccinating 12,000 people per day. In Orange County, Disneyland will serve as another mega-site, administering 7,000 doses per day. Logistics make the process extremely…

Vaccines are in short supply and hospitals across the country are having to cancel vaccination appointments. The problem is particularly bad in Texas where cases are increasing by about 20,000 each day. There is much confusion on vaccine distribution because as of Friday, 39.9 million doses were…

Vaccine rollout throughout the globe lags behind previously projected progress. First-world countries were the first to obtain vaccines. Since they are struggling with their vaccine rollouts, health officials worry about how soon low- and middle-income countries will receive vaccine doses. In…

Vaccine distribution has begun across the United States. Despite enormous feats made in vaccine development, the vaccine rollout itself has been disappointing. One such state where rollout has been taking a toll on both the public and health officials alike is Florida. Each county manages their own…

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warn that the variant coronavirus strain first found in Britain could become the dominant strain in the United States by March. The United States is now in a race to vaccinate as many Americans as possible; however, efforts have been inefficient…

As Moderna is set to deliver at least 600 million doses of vaccine in 2021, there are looming questions over how long will vaccine immunity last. Unfortunately, clinical trials are not effective in predicting the precise longevity of the immunity. However, according to Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel,…

Before coronavirus hit, few people have heard of mRNA vaccines. Now with COVID-19 raging, companies are scrambling to produce them, pinning their hope on these vaccines. This is the first time that mRNA vaccines have been authorized for use outside a clinical trial. Under the Trump administration,…

Elite medical centers affiliated with Columbia University, NYU, Harvard, and Vanderbilt are vaccinating staff members who do not have any interactions with Covid-19 patients before vaccinating patients and high risk individuals. The CDC recommended vaccinations are administered to health care…

The Pfizer vaccine is on its way to providers and patients, but what is the distribution plan? The vaccine will go first to workers and patients at skilled nursing facilities, second to health care workers at high risk of infection and primary care, and lastly to health care workers in less risky…

Extensive political polarization has gotten health officials struggling to invoke trust among people as the United States prepares for the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccine. It has been estimated that 60 to 70 percent of the US population will need to get vaccinated to substantially decrease…

As the world holds its breath and waits for the start of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution, there is a looming question about the apparent exclusion of pregnant women in vaccine trials. Pregnant women have been found to be at an increased risk of contracting severe forms of COVID-19. According…

The arrival of the highly anticipated COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna raises questions about how well their effectiveness compares to natural immunity. Natural immunity is greatly dependent on the amount of virus to which the person was exposed, which, in turn, determines the “quality” of…

Data from the Moderna vaccine trial revealed that the vaccine candidate had 94.1% efficacy, a much higher percentage than previously estimated. With the vaccine's success in multiple cohorts, there are high hopes for a method of protecting against the coronavirus. Moderna has applied for Emergency…

The mRNA vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech must be kept at -70 degrees Celsius. So as Pfizer plans to ship 1.3 billion doses next year, dry ice and isothermic boxes will be vital for distribution. Ethanol, a source of CO2 for dry ice, may become a limiting factor. Moreover, areas beyond the cold chain…