The Food and Drug Administration said this week that vaccine developers would not need to conduct lengthy randomized controlled trials for vaccines that have been adapted to protect against concerning coronavirus variants. From a report: The recommendations, which call for small trials more like those required for annual flu vaccines, would greatly accelerate the review process at a time when scientists…
Tag: flu
Lengthy clinical trials to test vaccines modified for variants won’t be necessary, FDA says
The testing process for modified vaccines will likely be similar to that of the annual flu shot, FDA says. Source: https://www.livescience.com/fda-recommendations-coronavirus-variant-shots.html
Russia reports first cases of humans catching bird flu H5N8
There were no reports of human-to-human transmission, only bird-to-human. Source: https://www.livescience.com/h5n8-avian-flu-russia.html
Next flu season could be extra weird, and potentially very bad
Upcoming flu outbreaks will be less predictable than those of the past. Source: https://www.livescience.com/offseason-flu-respiratory-infections.html
Are Experts Underselling the Effectiveness of Covid-19 Vaccines?
David Leonhardt won a Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 2011. This week in a New York Times newsletter, he argues that early in the pandemic experts around the world mistakenly discouraged mask use because of “a concern that people would rush to buy high-grade medical masks, leaving too few for doctors and nurses. The experts were also [at the time] unsure…
Can mRNA Biotechnology be Adapted to Improve Flu Vaccines and Fight Cancer?
Reuters notes the “miraculous speed” of mRNA vaccines, while also calling it “a glimpse of what’s possible if it can be applied post-pandemic to treat cancer or rare diseases.” The vaccine market alone is worth about $35 billion each year, and investors apparently believe mRNA companies will capture around two-third of that, leading market researcher Bernstein to evalaute the combined worth…
New strain of Covid-19 explained
A new strain of the virus that causes Covid-19 appears to be spreading fast in the the UK. Why it matters that the coronavirus is changing, and what it means for vaccine effectiveness. Source: https://earthsky.org/human-world/new-strain-of-covid-19-explained…
What Scientists Know About the Coronavirus Variant Spreading In the UK
An anonymous reader quotes a report from NBC News: Several European countries have banned flights from the U.K. over fears about a new coronavirus variant that has forced millions of people in Britain to cancel their Christmas plans. Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria and Italy all announced restrictions on U.K. travel. Others will likely follow suit as scientists warned that the…
FDA Panel Recommends Approval of Pfizer’s Covid Vaccine For Emergency Use
A key Food and Drug Administration advisory panel on Thursday recommended the approval of Pfizer and BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine for emergency use in people over 16 years old, the last step before the FDA gives the final OK to broadly distribute the first doses throughout the United States. CNBC reports: If the FDA accepts the nonbinding recommendation from the Vaccines and…
The World’s First DNA ‘Tricorder’ In Your Pocket
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) scientists developed the world’s first mobile genome sequence analyzer, a new iPhone app called iGenomics. By pairing an iPhone with a handheld DNA sequencer, users can create a mobile genetics laboratory, reminiscent of the “tricorder” featured in Star Trek. Phys.Org reports: The iGenomics app runs entirely on the iOS device, reducing the need for laptops or…