Coronavirus Breaking News

Understanding Adverse Events (AEs) associated with COVID-19 vaccination has various public health implications, especially future vaccine hesitancy.

A recent study conducted in the United Kingdom focused on whether individuals with prior history of COVID-19 were more likely to experience AEs after a new vaccination than those without previous COVID-19.

These researchers found of 974 respondents, 27% reported a previous COVID-19 infection.

The proportion of people (81% female, mean age 48) reporting one moderate/severe symptom was higher in the previous COVID-19 group (56% v 47%, OR=1.5 [95%CI, 1.1–2.0], p=.009), with fever, fatigue, myalgia-arthralgia, and lymphadenopathy significantly more common.

In the smaller sensitivity analysis cohort (412 people), similar findings were obtained, although only myalgia and arthralgia remained significant.

This non-peer-reviewed study's finding indicates 'prior COVID-19 infection but not ongoing Long-COVID symptoms, were associated with an increase in the risk of self-reported adverse events following BNT162b2/Pfizer vaccination.'

'And COVID-19 illness-vaccination interval did not significantly influence AEs.'

'This data can support education around vaccine-associated AEs and, through improved understanding, help to combat vaccine hesitancy,' stated these researchers.

Funding for the CHOIS study was from the North East and North Cumbria Academic Health Sciences Network and Siemens Healthcare Ltd, who provided biomarker and serological assays, but had no input into the study design, analysis, or interpretation.

Novavax, Inc. today announced that it had finalized an advance purchase agreement (APA) with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi), for the Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine.

Under the new APA, Novavax is expected to manufacture and distribute 350 million vaccine doses of NVX-CoV2373 to countries participating under the COVAX Facility. NVX-CoV2373 is a protein-based vaccine candidate engineered from the genetic sequence of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 disease.

Under the APA, Novavax expects to deliver doses with antigen and adjuvant manufactured at facilities directly funded by the $400 million investment Novavax received from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.

Under a separate APA with Gavi, the Serum Institute of India is expected to manufacture and deliver the balance of the 1.1 billion doses of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine.

Stanley C. Erck, President, and CEO, Novavax, commented in a press release issued on May 6, 2021, "This arrangement is the culmination of a collaboration among CEPI, Gavi, Serum Institute, and Novavax, who are partnering in our urgent mission to deliver significant amounts of vaccines to all countries, regardless of income level."

Gaithersburg-based Novavax, Inc. (Nasdaq: NVAX) is a biotechnology company that promotes improved health globally by discovering, developing, and commercializing innovative vaccines to prevent serious infectious diseases.

Ottawa-based Health Canada today announced the mRNA Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine 'is now safe to give to children ages 12 and up.'

Canada is the first country to sign off on giving shots to these younger age groups.

“After completing a thorough and independent scientific review of the evidence, the department determined that this vaccine is safe and effective when used in this younger age group,” said Health Canada’s chief medical adviser Dr. Supriya Sharma.

Health Canada's authorization was based on Pfizer-BioNTech’s Phase 3 clinical trial results involving 2,260 adolescents aged 12 to 15, conducted in the USA.

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA vaccine was issued the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration emergency authorization for individuals 16 years of age and older on December 11, 2020.

Media reports indicate the U.S. CDC is considering a similar expanded use for this vaccine.

The JAMA published an Original Investigation on April 29, 2021 that reviewed the 'Association of Maternal SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Pregnancy With Neonatal Outcomes' of 88,159 infants from Sweden.

A SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy was significantly associated with a higher risk of any neonatal respiratory disorder (2.8% vs. 2.0%; odds ratio, 1.42) and some other neonatal morbidities. But not neonatal mortality (0.30% vs 0.12%; odds ratio, 2.55).

This study could neither confirm nor rule out an association between maternal SARS-CoV-2 test positivity and increased fetal distress during delivery or birth asphyxia.

All SARS-CoV-2–exposed infants underwent SARS-CoV-2 PCR testing at least once (those admitted for neonatal care were tested 3 times), and a majority tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 in the neonatal period.

And, given that mothers and their infants were kept together, the results presented herein suggest that the risk of viral transmission from mothers to their newborns and older infants is low. Should it occur, infants are not severely affected. These findings suggest that routine interventions such as mother-infant separation and stopping breastfeeding may not be necessary.

An additional message of this study is that SARS-CoV-2 test positivity in mothers did not prolong hospital stay for families.

Given the small number of events for many of the outcomes and the large number of statistical comparisons, the findings should be interpreted as exploratory, stated these researchers.

'The COVID-19 pandemic continues to create stress and anxiety for many Canadians, particularly those who do not have ready access to their regular support networks,' stated Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, on May 3, 2021.

'As COVID-19 activity continues in Canada, we are tracking a range of epidemiological indicators to monitor where the disease is most active, where it is spreading and how it is impacting the health of Canadians and public health, laboratory, and healthcare capacity.

The latest national-level data show a 7-day average decrease of 7% compared to the previous seven days. For the week of April 18-24, 2021, 6.6% of tests were positive for COVID-19, decreasing from 7.4% the week prior.

However, the nationwide mortality trend is still on the rise, with the 7-day average of 50 deaths reported daily.

The vast majority of COVID-19 cases were reported in Ontario.

Canadians are urged to remain vigilant, continue following local public health advice, and consistently maintain individual practices that keep us and our families safer,' concluded Dr. Tam's comments.

Dr. Theresa Tam was named Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer on June 26, 2017.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and the Public Health Agency of Sweden studied newborn babies whose mothers tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 during pregnancy or childbirth. The results show that although babies born of test-positive mothers are more likely to be born early, and extremely few were infected with COVID-19.

"By cross-referencing the three registries, we've been able to monitor and report outcomes for the neonates in real-time during both the first and second waves of COVID-19," stated these researchers.

The study published in the journal JAMA on April 29, 2021, supports the Swedish recommendation not to separate mother and baby after delivery.

The population-based study in Sweden comprised 92% of all neonates - almost 90,000 births.

The results show a slightly higher level of morbidity in neonates whose mothers tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, including an increased risk of respiratory disorders, which were largely due to the higher number of preterm births in this group. No direct correlation between maternal infection and neonatal respiratory infection or pneumonia could be observed.

A total of 2,323 babies were born to SARS-CoV-2-positive mothers.

Only 21 (0.9%) of the babies of these women tested positive for the virus at some point during the newborn period (the first 28 days), the majority without displaying any symptoms; a few babies were treated for other reasons than COVID-19.

Mikael Norman, professor of pediatrics at the Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet, and one of the researchers leading the study, said in a press release, "Our study suggests that mother and baby can be cared for together and that nursing can be recommended without danger to the baby's health."

"This is good news for all pregnant women, their babies, and postnatal and neonatal staff."

The study was made possible through daily reports to three Swedish registries: the National Quality Register for Pregnancy, the National Quality Register for Neonatal Care, and the Communicable Diseases Register.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported today the current 7-day moving average of daily new COVID-19 cases (52,528) decreased 16.2% compared with the previous 7-day moving average.

Compared with the highest peak on January 8, 2021 (249,669), the current 7-day average has decreased by 79%.

The CDC confirmed a total of 32 million COVID-19 cases had been reported in the USA during the pandemic as of April 28, 2021.