AP: Extra safety scrutiny planned as virus vaccine worries grow. “Facing public skepticism about rushed COVID-19 vaccines, U.S. health officials are planning extra scrutiny of the first people vaccinated when shots become available — an added safety layer experts call vital.”
vaccines
MIT Technology Review: One doctor’s campaign to stop a covid-19 vaccine being rushed through before Election Day
MIT Technology Review: One doctor’s campaign to stop a covid-19 vaccine being rushed through before Election Day. “After being released from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on October 5, US President Donald Trump praised the doctors who treated him for covid-19 and promised that the public would soon have a vaccine against the deadly coronavirus. ‘We have the best medicines in the world, and very shortly they are all getting approved, and the vaccines are coming momentarily,’ he said in a video statement shared with millions of Twitter followers. Across the country, in California, a doctor named Eric Topol was responding in real time on social media. He questioned the president’s health, his doctors’ actions, and even his mental status.”
New York Times: First, a Vaccine Approval. Then ‘Chaos and Confusion.’
New York Times: First, a Vaccine Approval. Then ‘Chaos and Confusion.’. “The first vaccines may provide only moderate protection, low enough to make it prudent to keep wearing a mask. By next spring or summer, there may be several of these so-so vaccines, without a clear sense of how to choose from among them. Because of this array of options, makers of a superior vaccine in early stages of development may struggle to finish clinical testing. And some vaccines may be abruptly withdrawn from the market because they turn out not to be safe.”
Fierce Pharma: No need to panic about COVID-19 trial halts, FDA chief says. They show the system is working
Fierce Pharma: No need to panic about COVID-19 trial halts, FDA chief says. They show the system is working. “Headlines about COVID-19 vaccine and drug trial pauses may ring alarm bells for millions of people watching their progress, but FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, M.D., has another point of view. The breaks in the action actually show the development process is working as intended, Hahn told Bloomberg.”
Exclusive: Moderna vaccine trial contractors fail to enroll enough minorities, prompting slowdown (Reuters)
Reuters: Exclusive: Moderna vaccine trial contractors fail to enroll enough minorities, prompting slowdown. “Private contractors hired by Moderna Inc to recruit volunteers for its coronavirus vaccine trial failed to enroll enough Black, Latino and Native American participants to determine how well the vaccine works in these populations, company executives and vaccine researchers told Reuters.”
Washington Post: The pandemic is amplifying the U.S. anti-vaccine movement — and globalizing it
Washington Post: The pandemic is amplifying the U.S. anti-vaccine movement — and globalizing it. “A nephew of President John F. Kennedy rallied a German crowd against big pharma and Bill Gates. American conspiracy theories have spurred anti-vaccine protests in Canada and Britain. A California-made video seeded ‘plandemic’ panic around the world. The coronavirus crisis is energizing America’s anti-vaccine movement and expanding its reach.”
New York Times: ‘I Won’t Be Used as a Guinea Pig for White People’
New York Times: ‘I Won’t Be Used as a Guinea Pig for White People’. “Recruiting Black volunteers for vaccine trials during a period of severe mistrust of the federal government and heightened awareness of racial injustice is a formidable task. So far, only about 3 percent of the people who have signed up nationally are Black. Yet never has their inclusion in a medical study been more urgent.”
STAT News: 7 looming questions about the rollout of a Covid-19 vaccine
STAT News: 7 looming questions about the rollout of a Covid-19 vaccine. “The design, testing, and mass production of multiple vaccines has never been attempted on this type of timeline, making this moment a turning point in the development of vaccines to respond to new disease threats. But the complexity of that work may pale in comparison to what comes next — the rollout of hundreds of millions of doses of never-before-used vaccines across the United States and, eventually, around the world.”
New York Times: Covid-19 Vaccines Are Chance at Salvation, Financial and Beyond, for Drug Makers
New York Times: Covid-19 Vaccines Are Chance at Salvation, Financial and Beyond, for Drug Makers. “For a long time, drug makers have been the most hated industry in America. Companies are blamed for gouging prices on lifesaving drugs and enriching themselves through the opioid crisis, among other sins. Now, with pharmaceutical companies racing to find vaccines to end the coronavirus pandemic, the industry is hoping to redeem itself in the public’s mind.”
CNET: Facebook bans ads that discourage people from getting vaccinated
CNET: Facebook bans ads that discourage people from getting vaccinated. “Facebook said Tuesday it will bar ads that discourage people from getting vaccinated, a move that shows the company is cracking down on health misinformation amid the coronavirus pandemic.”
BBC: US pauses Covid vaccine trial due to ill volunteer
BBC: US pauses Covid vaccine trial due to ill volunteer. “Johnson & Johnson has paused its Covid vaccine trial to investigate why one participant in the study fell ill. The company said an independent review would check if the person’s unexplained symptoms were related to the jab.”
WRAL: Three flu vaccines are available. Get one now, doctors say
WRAL: Three flu vaccines are available. Get one now, doctors say. “Medical experts say now more than ever is the best time to get vaccinated to prevent the flu. This year, there are new flu vaccine options for all ages and for those at highest risk of the infection.”
STAT News: New document reveals scope and structure of Operation Warp Speed and underscores vast military involvement
STAT News: New document reveals scope and structure of Operation Warp Speed and underscores vast military involvement. “…Operation Warp Speed is largely an abstraction in Washington, with little known about who works there other than its top leaders, or how it operates. Even pharmaceutical companies hoping to offer help or partnerships have labored to figure out who to contact. Now, an organizational chart of the $10 billion initiative, obtained by STAT, reveals the fullest picture yet of Operation Warp Speed: a highly structured organization in which military personnel vastly outnumber civilian scientists.”
ProPublica: How to Tell a Political Stunt From a Real Vaccine
ProPublica: How to Tell a Political Stunt From a Real Vaccine. “There is a small chance that Pfizer’s vaccine trial will yield results by Nov. 3. But it could still take weeks for FDA review. Here’s everything that has to happen and how to tell a political stunt from a real vaccine.”
New York Times: White House Blocks New Coronavirus Vaccine Guidelines
New York Times: White House Blocks New Coronavirus Vaccine Guidelines. “The F.D.A. proposed stricter guidelines for emergency approval of a coronavirus vaccine, but the White House chief of staff objected to provisions that would push approval past Election Day.”