Tag Archives: coronavirus vaccine

U.S., Mexico to discuss border reopening, agree on more vaccines

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Senior U.S. and Mexican officials will meet on Tuesday to discuss plans to reopen their shared border, and Washington has agreed to send Mexico up to 8.5 million more coronavirus vaccine doses, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said.

Ebrard told reporters U.S. Homeland Security chief Alejandro Mayorkas and national security adviser Jake Sullivan will meet in Mexico City for talks with their Mexican counterparts as part of a drive to get cross-border activities back to normal.

The meeting comes after Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador spoke to U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday, discussing migration, the fight against COVID-19, and the need to strengthen Central American economies.

During their phone call, the United States agreed to send Mexico 3.5 million doses of drugmaker Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine and up to 5 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, Ebrard told a regular morning news conference.

The vaccines would likely arrive in August, he said.

Ebrard added that he did not expect the U.S.-Mexico land border to reopen by Aug. 21, and that more time would be needed to resume transit for so-called nonessential trips, including for those who cross the border to work or attend school.

Speaking at the same news conference, Lopez Obrador added that Harris agreed with him on the need to reopen their shared land border, but did not provide a specific timetable.

Ebrard said Lopez Obrador and Harris had also discussed plans to revive, in early September, a forum for bilateral talks known as the high-level economic dialogue, which is aimed at improving economic integration and boosting growth.

When asked what such discussions could encompass, Ebrard noted that North America was gearing up for technological changes, such as the transition to electric cars, underlining the importance of companies like Tesla Inc in the industry.

“Obviously we’re interested in being a part of that,” he said.

(Reporting by David Alire Garcia and Raul Cortes Fernandez; Editing by Dave Graham and Jonathan Oatis)

U.S. to announce new warning on J&J coronavirus vaccine for autoimmune disorder -Washington Post

(Reuters) -The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to announce a new warning on Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine related to a rare autoimmune disorder, the Washington Post reported on Monday, citing four people familiar with the matter.

According to the Post, about 100 preliminary reports of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) have been detected in the United States after vaccination with J&J shot, mostly in men, many of whom were 50 or older. Around 12.8 million people have received the one-dose vaccine in the United States.

J&J and the FDA were not immediately available for comment.

GBS is a rare neurological condition in which the body’s immune system attacks the protective coating on nerve fibers. Most cases follow a bacterial or viral infection.

The condition has been linked in the past to vaccinations – most notably to a vaccination campaign during a swine flu outbreak in the United States in 1976, and decades later to the vaccine used during the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic.

Last week, European regulators recommended a similar warning for AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 shot, which is based on a similar technology as Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine.

A warning would be another setback for the J&J shot, which was supposed to be an important tool for vaccinating in hard-to-reach areas and the vaccine hesitant because it requires only one shot and has less stringent storage requirements than the two-dose vaccines from Pfizer Inc/BioNTech SE and Moderna Inc.

But use of the vaccine has already been linked to very rare, potentially life threatening blood clotting condition and slowed by production problems at the main plant where it is being made.

U.S. regulators decided in April that the vaccine’s benefits outweigh the risk from the blood clotting issue.

(Reporting by Lisa Lambert in Washington and Michael Erman in New Jersey; Editing by Chris Reese and Peter Graff)

Coronavirus wave takes Haiti, yet to begin vaccinations, by surprise

By Andre Paultre and Sarah Marsh

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) – For more than a year, Haiti escaped the worst ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic, reporting few cases and fatalities – a rare break for the poorest country in the Americas, which has so often been beset by misfortune.

COVID-19 treatment centers closed for lack of patients, Haitians resumed life as normal, and the government hesitated to even accept its allotment of free AstraZeneca vaccines through the U.N.-backed COVAX mechanism due to safety and logistical concerns.

Now, though, as some countries are already moving into a post-pandemic phase thanks to vaccination campaigns, Haiti is grappling with its first serious outbreak.

And it is one of only a handful of countries worldwide that has yet to administer a single shot of coronavirus vaccine.

Last month, infections and fatalities rose more than fivefold following the arrival of new variants, in what the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) called a “cautionary tale in just how quickly things can change with this virus.”

Officially, Haiti had recorded 15,895 infections and 333 deaths from COVID-19 as of June 5 among its 11 million people – relatively low case numbers compared to elsewhere in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Yet data is limited due to low testing rates and doctors say the real numbers are likely much higher. Every day comes news of deaths from COVID-19 of well-known figures, like a former senator or the head of the pension agency.

And the upwards trend could prove “catastrophic,” according to Laure Adrien, General Director of Haiti’s Health Ministry.

Poor sanitation means disease can spread fast in Haiti. Its slums are densely packed, and its already overwhelmed and shambolic healthcare system is dependent on fickle donations.

Last week, two of the main hospitals treating COVID-19 patients in capital Port-au-Prince announced they were saturated.

“We are overwhelmed with patients,” said Marc Edson Augustin, medical director of St. Luke Hospital.

Jean ‘Bill’ Pape, a top Haitian infectious disease expert, said the country was now not as prepared as it had been.

“We need to reopen new centers to increase the number of dedicated COVID beds,” said Pape.

The new wave also comes amid surging gang violence that is hampering the provision of what little healthcare is available.

The St. Luke hospital warned on Monday it may have to close its COVID-19 unit altogether as violence was making it hard to stock up on oxygen at the production site in the Cite Soleil slum.

Already in February Doctors Without Borders (MSF) shut all but the emergency department at the hospital in Cite Soleil where it last year treated COVID-19 patients.

Wealthier Haitians are paying to be medevaced to Florida or the Dominican Republic.

NOT A PRIORITY

Haitian doctors largely credited their country’s apparent resilience to the coronavirus last year to its relatively young population. Around half of Haitians are under 25 years old.

Many locals dismissed the virus as not a big deal or even doubted its existence. Its importance faded amid a growing humanitarian crisis in the wake of political unrest and extreme weather associated with climate change.

So when reports emerged last month of the arrival of the new variants first identified in Britain and Brazil and an uptick in cases, reaction was initially subdued.

Authorities mandated renewed precautions like masks in public spaces, instituted an overnight curfew, and suspended year-end graduation ceremonies. President Jovenel Moise urged Haitians to drink medicinal tea to ward off the virus, an unproven remedy.

Yet many Haitians continued life as usual, with authorities unwilling or unable to enforce measures. One mayor of a Port-au-Prince district last week staged a music concert attended by thousands not wearing masks.

Pressure is building, though. PAHO Director Carissa Etienne said last week there was “no time to waste” as additional health capacity and preventive measures to curb transmission would be “decisive.”

Businesses are starting to require Haitians to only enter wearing masks and new COVID-19 treatment centers are opening.

“We have to open new structures to take more patients with respiratory difficulties to avoid a catastrophe,” said Ronald Laroche, a doctor who runs a network of low-cost health centers and hospitals, and opened a COVID-19 center this week.

On Monday, the electoral council postponed a referendum on a new constitution that had been scheduled for the end of June.

And next week, Haiti should receive its first batch – 130,000 doses – of COVID-19 vaccines through the World Health Organization’s COVAX vaccination scheme.

Doctors say the challenge now will be convincing Haitians to actually have the vaccine.

Ronald Jean, 38, a restaurant manager in Port-au-Prince, said he was for the first time afraid of the virus.

But “first the authorities should take the vaccine on television, we’ll see how they do,” he said. “And then I will decide whether or not to take it.”

(Reporting by Andre Paultre and Valerie Baeriswyl in Port-au-Prince and Sarah Marsh in Havana; Additional reporting by Anthony Boadle in Sao Paolo; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)

New York Yankees, Mets to give tickets to fans who get vaccinated at their parks, Cuomo says

NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York’s Major League Baseball teams, the Yankees and the Mets, will give free tickets to fans who get vaccinated for the coronavirus at their ballparks before the games, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Wednesday.

“If you get a vaccination, they will give you a free ticket to the game,” Cuomo said at a press briefing.

In a further move toward returning the country’s largest city to pre-pandemic normality, Cuomo also announced that tickets to Broadway shows would go on sale on Thursday for performances beginning on Sept. 14.

Curtains at New York City’s Broadway theaters, which have been mostly dark since March 2020, will go up on a rolling basis but all of them plan to be open in September, state budget director Robert Mujica said.

The offer of free baseball tickets, which follows several other vaccine incentives promoted by state and local officials, also comes with a plan starting May 19 to separate vaccinated from unvaccinated spectators, Cuomo said.

The baseball stadiums would be divided into sections where vaccinated fans could fill the seats without restrictions, while those who have not been vaccinated would need to stay in areas where seating is limited to 33% of capacity, he said.

“So, if you’re vaccinated that’s one category, you’re unvaccinated, that’s another category,” Cuomo said.

“For unvaccinated people, the six-foot distancing applies, with masks,” he said, adding that fans would need to show proof of vaccination, including the state’s “Excelsior Pass,” to be admitted to the ball parks’ unrestricted areas.

The pre-game inoculation sites will use the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, he said.

Like some other elected officials, Cuomo said the baseball tickets were part of an effort prompted by recent slowdowns in the pace of people getting vaccinated, which can be done in New York without appointments.

The battle for the arms of yet-to-be vaccinated will be won with goodies such as free admission to New York’s Museum of Natural History, where visitors can get their shots under the giant blue whale, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Wednesday.

“We’re gonna be looking to do incentives just like that to give people great opportunities when they get vaccinated,” de Blasio told a briefing.

In Chicago, a series of monthly concerts will be offered only to fully vaccinated people, starting on May 22. The third largest U.S. city is expected to offer a “vax pass” to concerts and other events to incentive people to get vaccinated.

In New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy unveiled a plan to ramp up vaccinations, called “Operation Jersey Summer,” which includes “Grateful for the Shot,” a plan to get people to go directly from religious services to a vaccination site.

It also includes “Shot and a Beer,” with 13 New Jersey breweries offering a free beer to anyone age 21 and older who can show they received a vaccination in May.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Texas Governor Greg Abbott and other conservative governors have barred the use of so-called “vaccine passports” that would bestow privileges on people who have been inoculated.

(Reporting by Peter Szekely in New York; Additional reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Chicago and Barbara Goldberg in Maplewood, New Jersey; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall and Alistair Bell)

Canada needs stricter health measures to counter rapid spread of COVID-19 variants – officials

By Steve Scherer and Julie Gordon

OTTAWA (Reuters) – COVID-19 variant cases are increasing rapidly in several parts of Canada and longer-range forecasts show that stronger public health restrictions will be required to counter the spread of the disease, health officials said on Friday.

Canada is expecting enough coronavirus vaccine doses to double its supply by the end of next week as it ramps up its vaccination program. But more transmissible variants now account for a high proportion of new cases, health officials said.

“Increasing case counts, shifting severity trends and a rising proportion of cases involving variants of concern is a reminder that we are in a very tight race between vaccines versus variants,” Canada’s chief medical officer, Theresa Tam, told reporters.

While Canada has handed out first shots to many of the most vulnerable and very elderly, recent data shows that young adults between 20 and 39 years of age are driving new cases now, health officials said.

Many parts of the country have begun to relax some health restrictions put in place to beat back a second wave, but Tam said Canadians should buckle down now to avoid a sharp rise in cases and a third wave.

“We are closer now than ever, but it is still too soon to relax measures and too soon to gather in areas where COVID-19 is still circulating in Canada,” Tam said.

“So as Passover, Easter and Ramadan approach, make plans to celebrate safely, including having virtual celebrations to protect each other as we make this the last big push to keep the path clear for vaccines,” she said.

As of Thursday, Canada had reported 22,790 deaths and 951,562 total coronavirus cases. On Friday, the officials told reporters that new modeling showed the domestic death toll could rise to between 22,875 and 23,315 by April 4, with total cases rising to between 973,080 and 1,005,020.

(Reporting by Steve Scherer and Julie Gordon; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

New York lowers coronavirus vaccine eligibility age to 50

NEW YORK (Reuters) -New York will join a handful of U.S. states that have lowered their eligibility age for coronavirus vaccines to 50, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Monday.

The state, the country’s fourth most populous, had restricted eligibility to residents who are at least 60 years old, have pre-existing health conditions or are essential workers, especially those who come in contact with the public.

“We are dropping the age and vaccinating more people,” Cuomo said at a church in Mount Vernon, New York, where he launched a campaign to encourage houses of worship to make themselves available as vaccination sites.

With the change, which takes effect on Tuesday, New York joins Florida, the third largest state, which lowered its eligibility age on Monday, and a handful of other states that have made vaccines available to healthy people who are 50 years old or younger.

In Arizona, Governor Doug Ducey lowered the eligibility age to 16 at state-run vaccination sites in three populous southern counties, effective Wednesday. Three other counties already have eligibility at 16, but most are at 55.

Alaska has the lowest statewide eligibility age at 16. Its vaccination rate is among the highest in the country, with 31.5% of its residents having received at least one dose, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

New York has administered at least one dose to 26.1% of its residents and Florida has administered it to 23.8%, according to the CDC, which updated its data on Sunday.

Nationwide, the CDC said 24.9% of U.S. residents have received at least one dose of a vaccine, and 13.5% are fully vaccinated.

(Reporting by Peter Szekely in New York; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

Moderna says possible allergic reactions to COVID-19 vaccine under investigation

(Reuters) – Moderna Inc said on Tuesday it had received a report from California’s health department that several people at a center in San Diego were treated for possible allergic reactions to its COVID-19 vaccine from a particular batch.

The company’s comments come after California’s top epidemiologist on Sunday issued a statement recommending providers pause vaccination from lot no. 41L20A due to possible allergic reactions that are under investigation.

“A higher-than-usual number of possible allergic reactions were reported with a specific lot of Moderna vaccine administered at one community vaccination clinic. Fewer than 10 individuals required medical attention over the span of 24 hours,” the epidemiologist said in a statement.

The vaccine maker said it was unaware of comparable cases of adverse events from other vaccination centers which may have administered vaccines from the same lot or from other lots of its vaccine.

A total of 307,300 doses from the lot remain in storage, Moderna said, of the total 1,272,200 doses that were produced in the batch.

Moderna said it was working closely with U.S. health regulators to understand the cases and whether pausing the use of the lot was warranted.

Nearly a million doses from the lot have already been distributed to about 1,700 vaccination sites in 37 states, Moderna said.

(Reporting by Manojna Maddipatla in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi and Shinjini Ganguli)

Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine faces U.S. FDA expert panel review

(Reuters) – A panel of outside advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to endorse emergency use of Moderna Inc’s coronavirus vaccine during a meeting on Thursday, as the nation prepares to roll out a second vaccine.

The panel vote on whether the vaccine’s benefits outweigh its risks is likely to come some time after 3 pm ET (2000 GMT), with an FDA authorization expected as soon as Friday.

This is the same committee of expert advisers that last week backed the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer Inc and German partner BioNTech SE, clearing the way for the FDA emergency use authorization (EUA) a day later.

That vaccine is being distributed throughout the country. A massive inoculation program began at U.S. hospitals on Monday.

The Moderna vaccine uses similar messenger RNA technology but with less onerous cold storage requirements than the Pfizer/BioNTech shot, making it a better option for remote and rural areas. Both vaccines were about 95% effective in preventing illness in pivotal clinical trials.

The FDA advisory committee is likely to discuss Moderna’s reports of side effects from its 30,000-person trial, which were more frequent than those reported by Pfizer. These were primarily relatively short-lived reactions to the vaccination rather than serious adverse events.

SVB Leerink analysts said the Moderna vaccine appears less tolerable than the Pfizer/BioNTech shot, but noted that is not a proper comparison across trials and unlikely to stand in the way of an EUA.

The FDA staff did not raise any serious concerns about safety in documents published on Tuesday in preparation for the meeting. It said a link between Bell’s palsy, which causes temporary paralysis of facial muscles, and the vaccine could not be ruled out after some cases were reported in trials of both vaccines.

Pfizer and BioNTech said those cases occurred at the same rate as in the general population.

Moderna is seeking authorization for people aged 18 and older. That could sidestep the lively discussion last week among panel members about whether there was enough data to authorize use of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in adolescents aged 16 and 17. They ultimately voted to back that vaccine for those 16 and older.

Initial Moderna vaccine supply would likely go to the United States, which has signed deals to secure as many as 200 million doses and is expecting the first 20 million this month. The vaccine is administered in two doses about four weeks apart.

The company has also signed supply deals with Canada, the European Union and the UK. The vaccine is undergoing a “rolling review” by regulators for all three.

(Reporting by Manas Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Caroline Humer and Bill Berkrot)

U.S. COVID deaths smash daily record amid pleas to trim back Christmas

By Susan Heavey and Maria Caspani

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – The daily U.S. death toll from COVID-19 has surpassed 3,000 for the first time, prompting pleas for Americans to scale back Christmas plans even with vaccines on the cusp of winning regulatory approval.

COVID-19 deaths reached 3,253 on Wednesday, pushing up the U.S. total since the start of the pandemic to 289,740. A record 106,219 people were hospitalized with the highly infectious respiratory disease.

Healthcare professionals and support staff, exhausted by demands of the pandemic, have been watching patients die alone as millions of Americans refuse to follow medical advice to wear masks and avoid crowds to contain the spread.

Nursing home residents and staff have also felt the burden.

“This is a pandemic that no one has ever experienced in our lifetimes,” Stephen Hanse, president of the New York State Health Facilities Association and the New York State Center for Assisted Living, told Reuters on Thursday.

The one-day death toll exceeded the number of lives lost from the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, underscoring the human toll and the call for Americans to redouble efforts.

“No Christmas parties. There is not a safe Christmas party in this country right now,” Dr. Michael Osterholm told CNN on Thursday.

“It won’t end after that but that is the period right now where we could have a surge upon a surge upon a surge,” Osterholm said.

Potentially helping to rein in the outbreak, a vaccine could start reaching healthcare workers, first responders and nursing home residents within days in what Hanse called “light at the end of the tunnel.”

A panel of independent medical experts was due to decide on Thursday whether to recommend to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration a vaccine from Pfizer Inc and German partner BioNTech SE for emergency use authorization.

A vote was expected some time after 3:10 p.m. EST (2010 GMT).

FDA consent could come as early as Friday or Saturday, followed by the first U.S. injections on Sunday or Monday, Moncef Slaoui, chief adviser to the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed vaccine development program, told Fox News.

A second vaccine developed by Moderna is a week behind.

Biden, who succeeds President Donald Trump on Jan. 20, has set a goal of vaccinating 100 million people within the first 100 days of his administration.

In the meantime, intensive care units at hundreds of hospitals across the country were at or near capacity, data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services showed.

Ten mostly rural counties in California reported having no ICU beds on Wednesday, according to state health figures analyzed by Reuters.

Besides the human cost, the pandemic has forced millions out of work as state and local officials impose restrictions on social and economic life to contain the outbreak.

Congress, meanwhile, has struggled to end a months-long stalemate over economic assistance.

Disagreements remain over business liability protections demanded by Republicans and aid to state and local governments sought by Democrats before a final deal is reached on pandemic assistance.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey, Maria Caspani, Sharon Bernstein and Lisa Shumaker; Writing by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Bernadette Baum, Steve Orlofsky and Tom Brown)

Two coronavirus vaccines available in U.S. in coming weeks: health secretary

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The first two vaccines against the novel coronavirus could be available to Americans before Christmas, Health Secretary Alex Azar said on Monday, after Moderna Inc became the second vaccine maker likely to receive U.S. emergency authorization.

The Food and Drug Administration’s outside advisers will meet on Dec. 10 to consider authorizing Pfizer Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine. That vaccine could be approved and shipped within days, with Moderna’s following one week behind that, Azar said.

“So we could be seeing both of these vaccines out and getting into people’s arms before Christmas,” Azar said on CBS’ “This Morning.”

The federal government will ship the vaccines through its normal vaccine distribution system, with state governors determining where they should go first, Azar said.

“They will be determining which groups to be prioritized. I would hope that the science and the evidence will be clear enough that our governors will follow the recommendations that we will make to them,” Azar said.

He said he and Vice President Mike Pence will speak to all the nation’s governors later on Monday to discuss the vaccines and which groups of people should be prioritized to get them first.

(Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Kevin Liffey)