John Bacon
USA TODAY
J & J’s COVID vaccine has some notable differences from other vaccines
Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine will be released to the public soon, and there are some big changes you should know about.
Staff video, USA TODAY
Pfizer-BioNTech will begin testing a booster shot to combat COVID-19 variants, the companies announced Thursday.
The announcement came a day after new research published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine reduce symptomatic COVID-19 cases by 94% in all age groups.
Now, the partnership with two companies has asked 144 volunteers who took part in the earliest phase of the clinical vaccine trials last year to volunteer again for the booster, a third injection of the same vaccine designed to see if it will help them to get new, more contagious variants that have come into circulation in recent months.
Pfizer-BioNTech is also looking to study another vaccine that would specifically target the B.1.351 variant, originally seen in South Africa. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration would have to approve any modification to the vaccine or its delivery.
The news follows an announcement Wednesday afternoon by Moderna, the other company that makes one of two authorized COVID-19 vaccines, that it is starting a clinical trial on a new vaccine designed to combat the B.1.351 variant. Other vaccine manufacturers, including Novavax, have also said they are developing alternative versions of their vaccines to address potential variants.
It is not yet clear whether a new vaccine or booster will be needed to address the known variants. But companies want to be prepared if studies show that a new vaccine is needed.
“While we have not seen any evidence that the circulating variants result in a loss of protection from our vaccine, we are taking several steps to act decisively and be ready in case a strain becomes resistant to the protection provided by the vaccine,” Albert Bourla, Pfizer’s chairman and CEO, said in a prepared statement.
– Karen Weintraub
Also in the news:
►Country music star Trisha Yearwood is “under the greatest concern” at home after contracting the virus, her husband, Garth Brooks, said in a statement. The press release says Yearwood is dealing with unspecified symptoms, but “doing well so far.”
► About a quarter of the 1 million students of the nation’s largest school district will be back in class on Thursday when New York City reopens public high schools. The move will allow in-class learning for an additional 62,000 students whose parents have opted out of distance education.
►President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will honor 50 million COVID-19 vaccination shots at a ceremony at the White House on Thursday afternoon.
►Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has tested positive for COVID-19 and has mild symptoms, his agency said Wednesday. Dunleavy, a 59-year-old Republican, began to feel symptoms on Tuesday evening and was tested Wednesday morning.
►More than 150,000 Americans have died of COVID-19 in less than two months this year, according to a USA TODAY analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University. The US initially recorded its 150,000th COVID fatality on July 28, five months after the country’s first death and six months after the first reported case.
►Dr. Anthony Fauci says a new relaxed guideline for people vaccinated should come soon from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Today’s figures: According to data from Johns Hopkins University, there are more than 28.3 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 505,800 deaths in the US. Global totals: more than 112.5 million cases and 2.49 million deaths. According to the CDC, more than 88.6 million vaccine doses have been distributed in the US and approximately 66.4 million have been administered.
What we read: Surgery for a child, car loan, electricity bills: We asked Americans how they would spend $ 1,400 on incentive checks. This is what they said.
USA TODAY follows COVID-19 news. Please keep refreshing this page for the latest updates. Are you in the clubhouse? If so, tune in to our live discussion on COVID-19 Thursday at 7pm EST.
Less than 14% of the US population has received the vaccine, and preliminary data suggests that people of color are less likely to get vaccinated than white Americans. Chelsea White, executive director of the Dallas Bethlehem Center, said the community has historically had no faith in the government or outside groups, especially when it comes to health care.
“COVID is bad enough for everyone, but if you have this kind of crisis in this neighborhood, it’s just catastrophic and will hit this neighborhood for years to come,” White said. “They will promise too much, deliver too little and then leave.”
The Ad Council’s $ 500 million campaign to promote the COVID-19 vaccines launched Thursday, targeting the 40% of Americans who have not yet decided to get vaccinated. It will slowly change as the landscape shifts of who is eligible for vaccine and what questions they have.
“We are dealing with the biggest problems of our lives,” said Lisa Sherman, the president and CEO of the Ad Council. “We recognized quite quickly that unless people can learn more about the vaccine and receive education, they may not be using it. And we wouldn’t be any better off next year than this year. “
The ads, which will appear on TV, radio and online, will feature images of people holding hands, families on a child’s birthday, people walking into church together, or friends sharing pizza side by side, a reminder of how many things there are in a year.
Everyone’s slogan is “It’s up to you.” Not to be vaccinated, but to be informed, Sherman said.
– Elizabeth way
Detailed information on a Johnson & Johnson vaccine candidate for COVID-19 does not raise safety concerns, according to a report released early Wednesday. An advisory committee from the Food and Drug Administration is holding an all-day meeting Friday to review the data and will likely give the vaccine a thumbs up. That could lead to an FDA authorization for the vaccine within days. J&J Vice President Richard Nettles has said the company will make 20 million doses of the vaccine available by the end of March.
The J&J vaccine is different from the two already approved in that only one injection is recommended instead of two, and it does not need to be stored in the freezer.
The FDA advisory committee, called the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, or VRBPAC, is expected to sign the vaccine because it appears to have met all the criteria for authorization set by the FDA last year.
– Karen Weintraub
Contributions: The Associated Press