Miss a day, miss a lot. Subscribe to The Defender's Top News of the Day. It's free.

Moderna’s COVID Shot Gets Canada Authorization for Kids Aged 6 to 11

Reuters reported:

Moderna Inc. (MRNA.O) said on Thursday Canada authorized its COVID-19 vaccine for use in children between 6 and 11 years of age. The vaccine, branded Spikevax, was recently cleared for use among kids in the same age group in Australia and the European Union.

Moderna last year said its two-dose vaccine generated virus-neutralizing antibodies in children aged 6-11 years and safety was comparable to that seen in clinical trials of adolescents and adults.

The vaccine, based on messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, is approved in the United States for people aged 18 and above. The company is awaiting a decision from U.S. regulators on the use of its vaccine for children aged 12 through 17 years.

‘They Say It’s Stress’: Sydney Woman Seeks Answers to Migraines and Tinnitus, Six Months After Pfizer

The Courier Mail reported:

A Sydney finance worker suffering severe neurological problems more than six months after her COVID-19 vaccine says she feels abandoned by the government and the medical community.

Daniella Lenarczyk, 34, says she has experienced migraines, tinnitus, neck pain and numbness in her arm since receiving her first Pfizer dose on Sept. 3 — but that doctors have been left “stumped” and unable to give her any answers.

Ms. Lenarczyk, who fears she may have to give up her “dream job” due to her ongoing health problems, has spent close to $4000 on out-of-pocket medical expenses for specialist appointments, tests, scans and medications and still “no one knows what to do.”

Hospitalizations of Young Children Increased Fivefold During Omicron Surge, but Few Died, Says CDC Report

The Washington Post reported:

Young children in the United States were hospitalized at much higher rates this winter as Omicron became the dominant variant than they were during the Delta surge, according to a new report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

At the peak of the Omicron wave, infants and other children under 5 were hospitalized at about five times the rate documented during the Delta wave, although few deaths were reported, the study said. For infants under six months, hospitalizations were about six times higher during the Omicron surge.

Poll: Americans Sour on Government — and Each Other — 2 Years Into Pandemic

Yahoo!News reported:

Two years into the pandemic, nearly half of U.S. residents (43%) say they feel “worse” about their “fellow Americans,” according to a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll. Just 10% say they feel “better.”

The political, social and psychological impact of the pandemic, meanwhile, has been just as extensive. Only 14% of Americans say they’re “better off” now than before the pandemic; more than twice as many (35%) say they’re “worse off.”

Two years later, the numbers for how Americans feel about the federal government (44% worse, 16% better), their own state and local governments (34% worse, 17% better) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (36% worse, 22% better) are similarly negative.

4th COVID Shot Offered ‘Marginal’ Benefit for Israeli Health Workers — Real-World Data Find Higher Antibody Levels, Subpar Vaccine Efficacy With Extra Dose

MedPage Today reported:

A fourth dose of mRNA vaccine offered a boost in antibody levels, but had little effect on vaccine efficacy against the Omicron variant, real-world data from Israel showed.

While a higher percentage of unboosted controls (25%) contracted Omicron versus those who received four doses of Pfizer (18%) or Moderna (21%), vaccine efficacy against any infection was only 30% for Pfizer (95% CI -9 to 55) and 11% for Moderna (95% CI -43 to 44).

This open-label, non-randomized trial included 1,050 healthcare workers who were eligible to receive a fourth dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine administered 4 months after three prior doses of the Pfizer vaccine.

While the team did not assess older and vulnerable populations in this study, they concluded that “a fourth vaccination of healthy young healthcare workers may have only marginal benefits.”

The COVID Booster Debate Is Back

Axios reported:

Pfizer says that at least some Americans will soon need a fourth shot of its coronavirus vaccine. The problem is that, if true, that may raise questions about the utility of the vaccine in the long run.

Regulators want to see more data before they’re convinced another booster is necessary. If the data does show the third shot’s ability to ward off severe disease drops after a few months, that may suggest Americans need a better booster.

In an interview on Sunday with CBS’ “Face the Nation,” however, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla didn’t specify which age groups he thinks will need a fourth shot — which raised plenty of eyebrows. “We know that the duration of the protection doesn’t last very long,” Bourla said. “It is necessary, a fourth booster right now.”

“Pfizer seems to be saying that, because their vaccine isn’t very good, people need more of it. If FDA approves another dose it would make sense to use a stronger vaccine instead, like Moderna or eventually Novavax,” said Cornell virologist John Moore.

A COVID Surge in Western Europe Has U.S. Bracing for Another Wave

The Washington Post reported:

A surge in coronavirus infections in Western Europe has experts and health authorities on alert for another wave of the pandemic in the United States, even as most of the country has done away with restrictions after a sharp decline in cases.

Infectious-disease experts are closely watching the subvariant of Omicron known as BA.2, which appears to be more transmissible than the original strain, BA.1, and is fueling the outbreak overseas.

In all, about a dozen nations are seeing spikes in coronavirus infections caused by BA.2, a cousin of the BA.1 form of the virus that tore through the United States over the past three months.

A New Strategy for Staying One Step Ahead of the Virus

The Atlantic reported:

The hunt for the next big, bad coronavirus variant is on. Scientists around the world are sampling wastewater and amassing nose swabs from the sick; they’re scouring the microbe’s genetic code for alarming aberrations. The world of outbreak surveillance “is all virus,” says Danny Douek, an immunologist at the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

We’re laser-focused on getting eyes on a variant that would be well-equipped to wallop us, then alerting the globe. But that, Douek told me, is just one half of the infectious playing field where offense and defense meet.

The powers of pathogens change over time; so do those of the molecules and cells that our bodies use to fight them, including antibodies and T-cells. Preparedness, Douek said, means keeping good tabs on both. So in the same way we survey viruses to see how they’re evolving over time, we might do well to canvass people too.

Scalise Calls for Fauci to Testify at Upcoming Hearing

The Hill reported:

House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) invited top infectious diseases doctor Anthony Fauci to testify alongside other administration officials at an upcoming hearing about moving beyond the current COVID-19 crisis.

The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis is holding a hearing on March 30 featuring other top administration health officials, including Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy.

Fauci was not included among the witnesses.

Fauci has become a top target of congressional Republicans as they conduct their own investigation into the origins of the coronavirus, seeking to find out whether the U.S. government played a role by funding controversial “gain-of-function” research in Wuhan, China. Several Republicans in both the House and Senate allege Fauci has not been transparent and honest about his agency’s funding activities, accusations he denies.

Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel Has Sold More Than $400 Million of Company Stock During the Pandemic

CNBC reported:

Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel has sold $408 million in company stock since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic — averaging roughly $3.6 million a week — as the company’s stock soared on the development and rollout of its COVID vaccine, according to CNBC’s analysis of the company’s securities filings.

Moderna’s shots are now the second-most commonly used COVID vaccine in the U.S. after Pfizer, with more than 209 million doses administered, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Courtney Yu, director of research at Equilar, said the value of Bancel’s sales speak to how well the company’s stock has performed on the success of its vaccine. Equilar, which provides data on executive compensation, independently verified the value of Bancel’s sales.

NH House Gives Green Light to Ivermectin Without Prior Prescription

New Hampshire Union Leader reported:

A pharmacist would have a “standing order” to prescribe the controversial drug ivermectin to treat patients for COVID-19 without a prior prescription under legislation the New Hampshire House of Representatives passed Wednesday.

The House voted 183-159 to send to the Senate for its review the bill (HB 1022) that promotes the drug the medical establishment has yet to embrace that nonetheless has become a viral sensation for many seeking alternative therapy to getting vaccines or booster shots.

What Is the Hybrid ‘Deltacron’ Variant of the Coronavirus?

NBC News reported:

A hybrid variant of the coronavirus that has characteristics of both the Delta and Omicron strains has been detected in the United States and several European countries, scientists say.

The Delta-Omicron hybrid, informally dubbed “Deltacron,” is what’s known as a recombinant virus, meaning it has melded-together genetic information from both variants. Cases are thought to be rare, but researchers say studying the hybrid and tracking other potential recombinants is crucial for understanding how the coronavirus is changing as the pandemic grinds on.

Here’s what to know about Deltacron.

Alnylam Files Patent Infringement Lawsuits Against Pfizer, Moderna

Reuters reported:

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc (ALNY.O) said on Thursday it has filed separate lawsuits in the Delaware federal court against Pfizer Inc. (PFE.N) and Moderna Inc. (MRNA.O), seeking damages for infringement of a patent in the manufacture and sale of their mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.

Alnylam said it was seeking compensation for use of its lipid nanoparticles (LNP) technology that carries and delivers RNA-based therapeutics or vaccines in the body.

Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines infringe Alnylam’s patent through the use of a lipid formulated into LNPs that protect and deliver the vaccines’ mRNA, the pharmaceutical firm said.

Medicago COVID Shot Faces WHO Rejection Over Company’s Tobacco Links

Bloomberg reported:

Medicago Inc.’s COVID-19 vaccine is poised to become the first western shot to be rejected by the World Health Organization, because of the company’s links to cigarette maker Philip Morris International Inc.

The Canadian biopharma company’s request for pre-qualification of its Covifenz shot wasn’t accepted, according to the WHO’s guidance document dated March 2. That means the WHO is unlikely to approve the vaccine for emergency use, which would also keep it out of the Covax global vaccine-sharing facility.

Covifenz is the world’s first plant-based COVID inoculation. It’s made from proteins, grown in plants, that look like the virus that causes COVID to the human immune system. The vaccine also uses GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s pandemic adjuvant, a substance that boosts the immune system’s response. It was jointly developed by Medicago, which is owned by Mitsubishi Chemical and Philip Morris, and Glaxo. The Canadian government provided $173 million in funding to its development and is so far the only country that has cleared it for use.