Coronavirus Breaking News

Beijing-based Sinovac Biotech Ltd. announced that the China National Medical Products Administration has granted conditional marketing authorization to Sinovac for CoronaVac, Sinovac’s COVID-19 vaccine.

The company stated in a press release issued on February 8, 2021, the approval is based on the results of the two-month data of phase III clinical trials. The final results are not yet available, and the efficacy and safety results shall be further confirmed.

Mr. Yin Weidong, Chairman, President, and CEO of Sinovac, commented, "The COVID-19 pandemic continues around the world, and the fight is far from over. We look forward to providing safe and effective vaccines to as many individuals as possible to combat this epidemic by increasing the vaccination rate. It is our sincere hope that people’s lives and social and economic activities can return to normal as soon as possible and that we can wear a smile without masks."

CoronaVac is being used under emergency use approval in Indonesia, Brazil, Turkey, and Chile.

Because it is challenging to formulate remdesivir (Veklury) as a stable drug, the U.S. FDA stated it is concerned that compounded remdesivir products could be of low quality, potentially resulting in patient harm. Furthermore, the FDA announced on February 4, 2021, that heightened interest in remdesivir due to its use in COVID-19 patients might increase the risk that a substandard or counterfeit API is sold to compounders.

Given these risks, FDA cautions against compounding remdesivir drug products under section 503A of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act).

Furthermore, the FDA says compounded drugs should only be used in patients whose medical needs cannot be met by an FDA-approved drug.

The US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III announced on February 5, 2021, that 1,110 active duty service members will support five Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) vaccination centers.

Each team will include service members from across the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines, and will be composed of: 15 service members for command and control; 80 for administering vaccinations; 15 registered nurses; 57 clinical staff; and 55 general purpose personnel.

FEMA will determine which site each team supports, Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby stated in a press release.

The widespread acceptance of a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 will be the next major step in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. Achieving high vaccine uptake will be a challenge, impeded by online scientific-sounding misinformation, stated researchers in a new study published by the journal Nature on February 5, 2021.

To inform successful vaccination campaigns, these researchers conducted a randomized controlled trial of 8,000 people in the UK and the USA to quantify how exposure to online misinformation around COVID-19 vaccines affects an intent to vaccinate.

This study found that in both countries—as of September 2020—fewer people would ‘definitely’ take a COVID-19 vaccine than is likely required to achieve herd immunity. In the USA, females are more likely than males to lower their intent to vaccinate to protect others upon exposure to misinformation.

Furthermore, relative to factual information, recent misinformation induced a decline in the intent of about 6.3% among those who stated that they would definitely accept a COVID-19 vaccine.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 27,905,197 first-dose COVID-19 vaccines had been administered, and the number of people receiving 2 vaccine doses has reached 6,926,050, as of February 4, 2021.

According to Our World in Data, the USA leads all other countries with over 35.2 million total vaccine doses administered, followed by China at 31 million, and the UK with 10.99 million doses administered.

Furthermore, the CDC issued Interim Clinical Considerations for the use of mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines Currently Authorized in the United States on January 21, 2021. And the CDC's Frequently Asked Questions about COVID-19 Vaccination are found at this link.

University of Missouri (UM) School of Medicine researchers announced on February 4, 2021, they have discovered that children who receive a seasonal influenza vaccination are less likely to suffer symptoms from a COVID-19 infection.

This study's finding comes from a review of more than 900 children diagnosed with COVID-19 in 2020.

Anjali Patwardhan, M.D. said in a UM press statement, “It is known that the growth of one virus can be inhibited by a previous viral infection."

“This phenomenon is called virus interference, and it can occur even when the first virus invader is an inactivated virus, such as the case with the flu vaccine," added Dr. Patwardhan, professor of pediatric rheumatology and child health at UM.

The UM study, “The Flu Vaccination May Have a Protective Effect on The Course of COVID-19 in the Pediatric Population: When Does Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2) Meet Influenza,” was published in the journal Cureus on January 6, 2021.

The U.S. CDC recommends annual influenza vaccinations for most people over six months of age.

The UN News services published on February 2, 2021, 'More than a year since the COVID-19 crisis began, its impact on cancer care has been stark, with “50% of governments (having) cancer services partially or completely disrupted because of the pandemic”, said Dr. André Ilbawi, from the World Health Organization (WHO) Department of Noncommunicable Diseases.

“Delays in diagnosis are common. Interruptions in therapy or abandonment have increased significantly,” Dr. Ilbawi continued. "To state it simply, the consequences of the pandemic on cancer control efforts have been profound.”

Amid uncertainty over which COVID-19 vaccine might be most suitable for cancer patients, Dr. Ilbawi added 'that data from ongoing clinical vaccine trials had yet to be published.'

“We do appreciate that cancer patients are being noted in these clinical trials because evidence has shown that cancer patients are at greater risk for COVID-related morbidity and mortality because of their immuno-suppression,” he said.