The Pfizer Inc./BioNTech SE Covid-19 vaccine was 93 percent effective in preventing hospitalizations among those aged 12 to 18, according to an analysis released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Oct. 19.
The World Health Organization is awaiting full clinical data on the antiviral pill made by Merck & Co. Inc. to treat mild-to-moderate Covid-19 patients, a WHO spokesperson said on Tuesday, a day after the company said it had applied for U.S. emergency use authorization.
Merck has submitted data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the company’s antiviral pill molnupiravir.
A protein called CD47 that helps damaged cells avoid destruction by the immune system may be contributing to severe cases of Covid-19, researchers suggested in a report. In other news, Gilead Sciences Inc.’s intravenous antiviral drug remdesivir helped keep high-risk Covid-19 patients out of the hospital in a randomized trial.
A World Health Organization (WHO) panel on Sept. 24 recommended the use of Regeneron and Roche’s Covid-19 antibody cocktail for patients at high risk of hospitalizations and those severely ill with no natural antibodies.
U.S. President Joe Biden on Sept. 16 directed his ire at the governors of Florida and Texas, accusing the Republican leaders of “doing everything they can to undermine the life-saving requirements” he proposed to counter the spread of Covid-19.
A study published in Nature Communications reveals that patients who had been hospitalized with severe Covid-19 might not be totally safe after recovery, as they are more likely to harbor self-attacking antibodies than those who did not have the virus.
Three U.S. studies suggest Covid-19 vaccines offer strong protection against hospitalization and death, even in the face of the highly transmissible Delta variant, but vaccine protection appears to be waning among older populations, especially among those 75 and older.
Indian drug developer Hetero received emergency use approval from the country’s health authorities to make a generic version of Roche Holding AG’s Covid-19 drug.
An advisory panel to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Aug. 30 unanimously recommended the Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE Covid-19 vaccine for people age 16 and older, an important step that could help accelerate vaccine mandates in the United States.