Health

J&J’s says its Covid-19 vaccine effectively combats Delta variant

Washington, United States — ( AFP)Johnson and Johnson’s single-shot Covid-19 vaccine is effective against the highly contagious Delta variant, with an immune response lasting at least eight months, the company said Thursday. The antibodies and immune system cells in the blood of eight people vaccinated with the J&J jab effectively neutralized the Delta strain, which was first identified in India, researchers found. A second study with 20 vaccinated patients at Boston’s Beth Israel Medical Center […]

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WHO warns against vaccine favoritism; says all COVID jabs it approved for EUL are “safe and effective”

WHO issues “Joint COVAX Statement on the Equal Recognition of Vaccines” amid some countries’ preference for Western-made jabs     (Eagle News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) called on all countries and regions to recognize the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines included in its emergency use listing (EUL) as these are all “safe and effective.”  WHO said failure by some countries to do so is “undermining confidence in life-saving vaccines.” In a statement, WHO called […]

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Double Covid jab seems to curb Delta variant: EMA

  THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — Two doses of Covid vaccine appear to provide protection against the rapidly spreading Delta variant, the European Medicines Agency said Thursday. The upbeat assessment came as the World Health Organization warned that the coronavirus variant first spotted in India could fuel a new wave of cases in Europe. The EMA’s head of vaccine strategy, Marco Cavaleri, said the Amsterdam-based watchdog was “aware of concerns caused by the rapid spread […]

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France’s Sanofi to invest 2 billion euros in mRNA vaccines

  by Marie-Morgane LE MOEL Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi said Tuesday that it would invest 2 billion euros ($2.4 billion) in the mRNA vaccine technology behind the pioneering Covid-19 jabs developed by rivals BioNTech-Pfizer and Moderna. Sanofi, which was left trailing in the race to break out a Covid vaccine in 2020, said it would invest 400 million euros a year between now and 2025 to develop at […]

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Delta variant mutation – “Delta Plus” variant declared as new variant of concern in India

  (Eagle News) – A new variant of concern was declared in India, known as the “Delta Plus” variant. This new variant of concern is a mutation of the earlier Delta variant which caused the surge in cases in India early this year. India’s Ministry of Health declared that the Delta Plus variant, or AY.1, was observed in three states – Maharashtra, Kerala, and Madhya Pradesh. It said 40 cases had been identified so far. […]

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COVID patients with liver disease, history of alcohol abuse 80% more likely to die from virus: study

by Natalie HANDEL Agence France Presse  PARIS, France (AFP) — A survey of people hospitalised for Covid-19 found those with chronic liver disease and a history of alcohol abuse were 80 percent more likely to die from the virus and less likely to receive life-saving intubation. In research to be presented this week at the International Liver Congress, researchers based in France analysed the national database of 259,000 Covid patients admitted to hospitals in 2020. […]

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Covid-19: How vaccines work against the Delta variant

by Paul RICARD Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) – The Delta variant of the coronavirus, first identified in India, is a cause for global concern with studies showing it is more contagious and resistant to vaccines than other forms of Covid. But there is also evidence vaccines retain important effectiveness against Delta after two doses. Here is what we know about how variants respond to jabs. Fewer antibodies… Several lab tests show that the Delta […]

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Covid-19 vaccine more than 90 percent effective: Novavax

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Novavax’s Covid-19 jab is more than 90 percent effective, including against coronavirus variants, the vaccine maker said Monday after a large-scale US study. The jab “demonstrated 100% protection against moderate and severe disease, 90.4% efficacy overall,” the company said in a statement, adding “the study enrolled 29,960 participants across 119 sites in the U.S. and Mexico to evaluate efficacy, safety and immunogenicity.” The Maryland-headquartered company said it intended to […]

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Moderna seeks US authorization for Covid vaccine in teens

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — American biotech company Moderna said Thursday it was asking the US Foods and Drug Administration for an emergency use authorization for its Covid-19 vaccine to be given to adolescents. The move was widely expected after the company announced in May-early results from a trial of 3,700 12-to-17-year-olds that found the two-dose regimen was safe and highly effective. On Monday, Moderna made similar requests to the European and Canadian regulators. “We […]

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Sinovac’s CoronaVac reduces mortality by 97 percent: Uruguay study

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AFP) — The CoronaVac vaccine reduces coronavirus mortality by 97 percent, according to early results of the immunization campaign in Uruguay, which relies heavily on the Chinese jab. In people who had received two doses, it reduced infection with the coronavirus by 57 percent and intensive care admissions by 95 percent, said a report by the health ministry of the South American nation. Compared to other vaccines in use, there have been few […]

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US approves first new Alzheimer’s drug in almost two decades

by Issam AHMED WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States on Monday approved a drug called Aduhelm to treat patients with Alzheimer’s, the first new medicine against the disease in almost two decades and the first to address cognitive decline linked to the condition. The decision was highly anticipated but also contentious, because an independent expert panel convened by the regulatory Food and Drug Administration last November found insufficient evidence of Aduhelm’s benefit and […]

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New oral experimental drug Tempol identified as potential treatment for COVID-19

Compound targets essential viral enzyme and prevents replication in cells.     The experimental drug TEMPOL may be a promising oral antiviral treatment for COVID-19, suggests a study of cell cultures by researchers at the National Institutes of Health. TEMPOL can limit SARS-CoV-2 infection by impairing the activity of a viral enzyme called RNA replicase. The work was led by researchers at NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). […]

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