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☆ FDA approves updated Covid vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna as hospitalizations rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved updated Covid vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna , putting the shots on track to reach Americans within days as U.S. hospitalizations from the virus rise. The updated vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna won't be available to Americans just yet. The Biden administration said in August that it expects new single-strain vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax targeting XBB.1.5 to be available to the public in mid-September. The upcoming arrival of updated vaccines offers some reassurance to Americans as the nation sees an increase in Covid cases and hospitalizations. Bourla and Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel, in a separate statement, urged Americans to receive their updated Covid shot during the same appointment as their annual flu shot.

Persons: Biden, Pfizer's, Albert Bourla, Stéphane Bancel, hospitalizations Organizations: Pfizer, BioNTech, Peabody Institute Library, Drug Administration, Moderna, FDA, CDC, Covid, EG Locations: Peabody , Massachusetts, U.S

☆ Biden administration to provide free Covid vaccines to uninsured Americans this fall through end of 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Biden administration on Thursday announced a program to provide free Covid vaccines to uninsured Americans through December 2024 after the federal government's supply of shots runs out this fall. Those free shots, which the government is purchasing at a discount, will be available to the uninsured at pharmacies and 64 state and local health departments. There are between 25 to 30 million uninsured adults in the United States and other Americans whose insurance will not cover free Covid products this fall, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the fall, the companies will begin selling shots directly to health providers, and the government's supply is expected to run out. Earlier this year, the World Health Organization declared an end to the global Covid public health emergency earlier this year.

Persons: Biden Organizations: Pfizer, BioNTech, Peabody Institute Library, The, Human Services Department, for Disease Control, Moderna, World Health Organization, HHS Locations: Peabody , Massachusetts, United States, Novavax

☆ Here’s what Pfizer and Moderna say is next for their Covid vaccines
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Scott Olson | Getty ImagesThree years and billions of Covid vaccinations into the pandemic, Pfizer and Moderna say their work is far from over. Here's what Moderna and Pfizer say is next for their Covid shots. Annual Covid shotsPfizer and Moderna aim to keep up with a shift in the U.S. toward annual Covid shots rather than frequent booster doses. Miller, who helped lead the development of Moderna's Covid shot in 2020, said the advantages of using mRNA became evident earlier on in the pandemic. 'Next-generation' Covid shotsPfizer's and Moderna's Covid vaccines both deliver robust protection against the virus, but that immunity can start to fade after four to six months.

☆ Here's why Covid vaccines will still be free for uninsured Americans as public health emergency ends
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Vanessa Leroy | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesBut the vast majority of Americans will not have to pay out of pocket for Covid vaccines even after the federal government's stockpile runs out. Insured Americans will be able to access Covid shots as part of their coverage, without having to pay out of pocket. Under the arrangement, the CDC will continue to purchase Covid vaccines at a discount and distribute them through 64 state and local health departments. That HHS effort will leverage the "public commitments" by drug manufacturers to provide free Covid vaccines and treatments to uninsured people. Pfizer and Moderna have not said whether they would supply free shots to pharmacies.

☆ If you had Covid before you were vaccinated, you might have less immunity than you think, study says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Co-funded by the National Institutes of Health, the study released Monday challenges older research that suggested a prior Covid infection enhanced a vaccinated individual's immune response — a phenomenon known as hybrid immunity, which some scientists believe provides the best protection against reinfection. In the study, researchers from Stanford University analyzed how immune cells found in the blood called CD4+ T cells and CD8+ T cells respond to Covid infection and vaccination. The study found that vaccinating people who had never been infected with Covid before produced "robust" CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses to the virus. Vaccination in those people also generated cell-signaling molecules that recruit other immune cells to help fight Covid, they said. Ray said the study, while interesting, needs to factor in long-term knowledge about how Covid immunity works: "It's probably not the last chapter in this story."

Shortly after the opening bell, we will be buying 50 shares of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) at roughly $161.81 apiece. Shares of Johnson & Johnson were hit hard Monday after a federal appeals court rejected the company's bankruptcy strategy for tens of thousands of lawsuits related to the company's talc-based baby powder. J & J stock closed down 3.7% Monday, at $162 a share. Johnson & Johnson has won the majority of talc cases brought against it since these lawsuits began. Johnson & Johnson has won the majority of talc cases brought against it since these lawsuits began.

☆ Omicron boosters probably aren't very effective against mild Covid illness, but will likely prevent hospitalizations, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The new omicron Covid boosters probably aren't very effective at preventing Covid infections and mild illness, but they will likely help keep the elderly and other vulnerable groups out of the hospital this winter, experts say. For seniors, the booster was 19% effective at preventing mild illness when administered as their fourth dose, compared to the unvaccinated. It was 23% effective against mild illness when given as their fifth dose. Though the vaccine's effectiveness against mild illness was low, people who received the boosters were better off than those who did not. Moore said people at higher risk from Covid have every reason to get a booster since it modestly increases protection.

☆ Covid vaccination linked to slight increase in menstrual cycle, NIH study confirms
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

However, the longer menstrual cycle, typically about a month long, didn't necessarily increase the number of days of bleeding, according to NIH. A change in menstrual cycle length of eight days or less is considered within the normal range of variation, according to NIH. Women who received both vaccine doses in a single menstrual period saw their cycle increase by 3.91 days. The changes in menstrual cycle length did not differ between vaccines. The researchers had released preliminary findings in January suggesting an association between Covid vaccination and increased menstrual cycle length, but the study published this week confirmed the link.

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