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☆ Omicron BQ Covid variants that threaten people with compromised immune systems are now dominant in U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A person receives a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) test as the Omicron coronavirus variant continues to spread in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., December 22, 2021. The omicron BQ coronavirus subvariants have risen to dominance in the U.S. as people gather and travel for the Thanksgiving holiday, putting people with compromised immune systems at increased risk. The omicron BA.5 subvariant, once dominant, now makes up only a fifth of new Covid cases. The BQ subvariants are more immune evasive and likely resistant to key antibody medications, such as Evusheld and bebtelovimab, used by people with compromised immune systems, according to the National Institutes of Health. President Joe Biden, in an October speech, told people with compromised immune systems that they should consult with their physicians and take extra precautions this winter.

☆ British nurses to stage first strikes on Dec. 15, 20
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jacob King/Pool via REUTERS/File PhotoLONDON, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Thousands of British nurses will go on strike on Dec. 15 and 20 for more pay, their union said on Friday, adding to a winter of industrial action and putting further pressure on the state-run health system. The strikes are the first of possibly several walkouts by National Health Service (NHS) nurses, which come after the government refused to meet demands for pay rises of 5% above inflation. He said the NHS had plans in place to minimise any disruption from the strikes and ensure continuity for emergency services. "Why on Earth is the Health Secretary refusing to negotiate with nurses?" "Patients already can’t get treated on time, strike action is the last thing they need, yet the Government is letting this happen."

☆ Researchers test mRNA technology for universal flu vaccine
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Nancy Lapid | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

It delivers tiny lipid particles containing mRNA instructions for cells to create replicas of so-called hemagglutinin proteins that appear on influenza virus surfaces. A universal vaccine would not mean an end to flu seasons, but would replace the guess work that goes into developing annual shots months ahead of flu season each year. Moderna and Pfizer both have mRNA flu vaccines in late-stage human trials, and GSK (GSK.L) and partner CureVac (5CV.DE) are testing an mRNA flu vaccine in an early-stage safety trial in humans. These vaccines are designed to defend against only four recently-circulating influenza strains but could theoretically be changed up each year. The universal flu vaccine, if successful in human trials, would not necessarily prevent infection.

☆ Fact Check-Graph of unverified data is not evidence of increased miscarriage risk with COVID vaccination
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The graph image has been circulated with remarks including, “THIS IS INSANE…4070% increase in VAERS miscarriage reports from 2019 to 2021. In contrast, VAERS shows 38 miscarriage reports in 2019 with 15 reported stillbirths, for a total of 53. VAERS data is unverified, and reporting rates are known to fluctuate, influenced by a variety of factors, including media attention to a particular illness or a new vaccine. Multiple studies around the world have found no increased risk of miscarriage or stillbirths associated with COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy. Reuters has previously fact-checked claims that COVID-19 vaccination is associated with greater risk of pregnancy loss (here), (here), (here), (here), (here).

People who got the updated booster shots after two or more shots of the original vaccine were compared to another group of people who received only two or more doses of the original vaccine. The updated booster shots performed better in preventing infections in all adult age groups, with higher vaccine efficacy seen in people who waited longer before getting the updated booster, the CDC found. He noted that studies have shown longer intervals between Covid vaccine doses can lead to higher antibody levels. Previous Covid infections may be underreported, the agency said, and low uptake of the updated boosters could have affected the results. New subvariants BQ.1.1 and BQ.1 are on the rise in the U.S., she said, and it’s unclear how the updated boosters will perform against those strains.

Easing Covid measures means accepting a rise in cases that is likely to get worse as winter approaches. Residents buy medications at a pharmacy in Shijiazhuang, China, last week. “There will always be complaints.”Though many people in China still support “zero-Covid,” the strict measures have also stoked growing resentment. China is thus now facing a dual challenge, said Donald Low, a professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. “You’re going to see the Hong Kong story played out on a much larger scale” in mainland China, Low said.

☆ Updated COVID vaccines offer better protection than original -U.S. study
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 22 (Reuters) - Updated COVID-19 boosters offer increased protection against new variants in people who have previously received up to four doses of the older vaccine, a real-world study in the United States showed. The study of over 360,000 people, published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, offers the first evidence that the new vaccines by Pfizer-BioNTech (PFE.N)(22UAy.DE) and Moderna (MRNA.O) provide better protection compared to the original shots. Since their introduction in September, the vaccine boosters, which contain both original and Omicron BA.4/5 coronavirus strain, provided greater benefit to younger adults aged 18-49 years that those in the older age group. The variation in effectiveness was lower, in the range of 28-31%, when the boosters were given 2-3 months apart. The authors warned that the study may not be generalizable to future variants, as the dominant variants keep changing.

☆ The 10 people transforming healthcare, from companies like Moderna, Humana, and Lexeo Therapeutics
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Business Insider | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Elisabeth Bik, microbiologist, scientific integrity consultant, Harbers BikHelynn Ospina/InsiderIn June 2013, as she was working as a research associate at Stanford University, Elisabeth Bik noticed that someone had plagiarized some of her work in a book chapter. Since then, Bik has made a career out of exposing doctored images and other information manipulation in scientific information. "I feel I can be the voice of a lot of people without power to raise these concerns because I don't really care if a person is the dean of a big university or the editor in chief of a journal," she told Insider.

☆ Analysis: The final season of ‘Dead to Me’ is a poignant eulogy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Lisa Respers France | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Believe it or not, one of the things that has been helping me lately is just carving out some chill time. Three things to watch‘Dead to Me’ Season 3Christina Applegate as Jen Harding in a scene from "Dead to Me" on Netflix. Saeed Adyani/NetflixThe new season of “Dead to Me,” starring Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini, will be the dark comedy series’ last. I am especially invested in this last season given Applegate’s revelation that she has multiple sclerosis. ‘The Santa Clauses’Tim Allen (second from right) in a scene from "The Santa Clauses" on Disney+.

☆ Pfizer says omicron booster is better against new subvariants like BQ.1.1 than old shots
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Pfizer said its omicron booster triggers a stronger immune response against a number of emerging Covid subvariants circulating the U.S. Pfizer developed its booster against omicron BA.5 at the request of the Food and Drug Administration. Among the emerging subvariants, the omicron booster elicited the strongest immune response against BA.4.6 with antibodies 11 times higher, and the weakest response against XBB.1 with antibodies about 5 times higher. Moderna on Monday said its omicron booster induces an immune response against BQ.1.1 though the company didn't provide specifics. Pfizer and Moderna's new boosters target both omicron BA.5 and the original strain of Covid that emerged in Wuhan, China in 2019.

☆ This week's best performers include several retail stocks and one exchange operator
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

It hasn't been the best week for the broader market. Several retail stocks bucked the overall market trend, however, on the back of strong quarterly reports. Other retail stocks were also on pace to cap off a positive week. To be sure, not all retailers triumphed during this busy earnings week for the sector. While several retail stocks took top spots in this week's screen, the list offered some variety.

☆ Pfizer/BioNTech's updated COVID shot shows strong response against BQ.1.1
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 18 (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and its German partner BioNTech SE said on Friday their Omicron-tailored shot produced higher virus-neutralizing antibodies in older adults against the emerging subvariant BQ.1.1 than its original vaccine. Antibody levels against the variant rose nearly nine-fold in older adults, aged 55 and above, who received the Omicron shot compared to a roughly 2-fold increase in participants with the original shot, according to data posted on online archive bioRxiv. The variant and related BQ.1 are gaining ground in the United States, and are expected to cause a rise in cases in the winter in Europe. The companies had recently released data that showed their Omicron-tailored shot produced a strong antibody response in older adults than the original shot after one month against the BA.4/5 subvariants. Pfizer and BioNTech said the bivalent shot also produced an immune response against newer Omicron subvariants including BA.4.6, BA.2.75.2 and XBB.1.

LONDON, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Pharmaceutical companies could be made to disclose prices and deals agreed for any products they make to fight future pandemics, under new rules being drawn up by the World Health Organization and reviewed by Reuters. During the pandemic, many deals that governments made with pharmaceutical companies have been kept confidential, giving them little scope to hold drugmakers accountable. A spokesperson for the WHO said it was member states that were driving the current process towards a new agreement. "The process is open, transparent, and with the input from other stakeholders, including any interested stakeholders and public, able to submit comments at public consultations." The draft will be presented to them in full in a meeting on Friday, after being circulated earlier in the week.

☆ German panel recommends COVID shot only for at-risk youngsters
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Ludwig Burger | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The recommendation also covers a version of Moderna's (MRNA.O) Spikevax vaccine for the age group but that product is in short supply in Germany at the moment, the expert panel said. European regulators in October authorised a low-dose version of Pfizer-BioNTech's first-generation vaccine for children from six months to four years, when given as a three-dose series. "When there are parents that absolutely want the vaccine for their healthy children, there are no legal reason for physicians to deny them that," said STIKO's Terhardt. STIKO also reaffirmed a recommendation it issued in May for five- to 11-year-olds, saying one COVID-19 shot was enough for healthy youngsters in that age group because most of them had already had an infection. Only slightly more than 22% of five- to 11-year-old children in Germany have so far received at least one COVID shot.

Two new omicron subvariants have overtaken BA.5 as the prevailing versions of the coronavirus in the U.S.BA.5 became dominant in July, then consistently accounted for the majority of new Covid infections until last week. The two together make up around 44% of new Covid infections, whereas BA.5 makes up just 30%. BQ.1.1 and BQ.1 cases are also rising in the U.K. and elsewhere in Europe. Both of the subvariants are considered part of the BA.5 family — they're sublineages that evolved from BA.5. "There’s nothing in the signature of the clinical cases that are being reported that suggests that anything is changing in terms of symptoms with these omicron subvariants," Pekosz said.

☆ Dolly Parton receives $100 million award from Jeff Bezos: 'I will do my best to do good things with this money'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Cheyenne Devon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Bezos began giving out the award in 2021, and the prize includes $100 million to be distributed within 10 years. Bezos chose Parton this year because "she gives with her heart," he explained in a video posted to his Twitter account. Upon receiving the award, Parton thanked Bezos, saying "I will do my best to do good things with this money." Over the years, Parton has donated money to a number of charitable causes, including education, Covid research and animal preservation. Bezos is also entering the world of charitable giving and has pledged to donate the majority of his $122 billion net worth.

☆ Japan's Daiichi Sankyo says mRNA COVID vaccine successful in booster trial
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Japan's Daiichi Sankyo Co (4568.T) said on Tuesday its mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine had reached its primary endpoint in a trial of the shot as a booster. Based on the results, Daiichi Sankyo will file a new-drug application to regulators in January 2023. Approval would give Japan a home-grown source for mRNA vaccines, which have made up the bulk of its COVID inoculations to date. Japan has relied on imports of shots developed by U.S.-based drugmakers Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and Moderna Inc (MRNA.O). Daiichi Sankyo's shares jumped on the news, rising 3.3% versus a 0.1% advance in the benchmark Nikkei (.n225) gauge.

Moderna’s updated Covid booster appears to increase the immune response to omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5, as well as another subvariant, called BQ.1.1, that's gaining ground in the United States, the company said in a release Monday. The results are based on blood samples taken from 511 adults who got the updated booster, which targets BA.4 and BA.5, along with the original coronavirus strain, in a single shot. In people who got the updated booster, neutralizing antibodies against BA.4 and BA.5 were about fivefold higher in those with a previous Covid infection and sixfold higher in those without a documented infection, the company said. Moderna also said an additional analysis of 40 people found the updated booster demonstrated “robust neutralizing activity” against the subvariant BQ.1.1, though the response wasn’t as strong as what was seen against BA.4 and BA.5. Earlier this month, Pfizer and BioNTech said their updated booster shot generated a stronger immune response against BA.4 and BA.5 compared with their original Covid vaccine.

☆ Moderna’s New Covid-19 Booster Produced Strong Immune Response in Study
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Peter Loftus | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Moderna’s updated booster shot targets both the original strain of the coronavirus and the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, which share an identical surface protein. Moderna Inc.’s new updated Covid-19 booster shot for the U.S. generated strong immune responses in people against Omicron subvariants, according to the first data from a company-sponsored study testing the new doses in volunteers. Moderna said Monday that people receiving the updated booster shot had more than five times the neutralizing antibodies against Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 than people who received Moderna’s original booster shot, which targeted an earlier strain of the coronavirus.

☆ Final Trades: Nucor, Moderna, Palto Alto & more
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailFinal Trades: Nucor, Moderna, Palto Alto & moreThe "Halftime Report" traders give their top picks to watch for the second half.

☆ Moderna says Covid booster better against omicron BA.5, triggers immune response against BQ.1.1
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Moderna's new Covid booster triggered a stronger immune response against omicron BA.5 and also appears to work against the emerging BQ.1.1 subvariant, according to the company. Moderna, in clinical trial data published Monday, found that the new booster triggered five times more antibodies against omicron BA.5 than the old vaccines in people with prior Covid infections. Moderna said it also found the new booster triggered robust immune response against omicron BQ.1.1, an emerging Covid subvariant in the U.S. Pfizer also released data earlier this month indicating that the boosters provide better protection against omicron BA.5 than the old shots. Two independent studies from Columbia and Harvard found that the boosters did not do a much better job against omicron BA.5.

☆ Tiger-cub hedge fund Coatue slashes big Tesla bet, doubles down on chip stocks
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Coatue Management's Philippe Laffont trimmed his big Tesla holding in the third quarter, while ramping up his exposure to semiconductor stocks. The stock has shed 27% in the fourth quarter partly because Musk has been selling billions of dollars worth of Tesla shares to fund his acquisition of Twitter. The hedge fund significantly added to its Nvidia holding, making it the fifth-largest bet at the end of the third quarter, the filing showed. Coatue kept its big Moderna holding unchanged in the third quarter. The hedge fund's other top holdings included Rivian , Uber, PayPal , Amazon and Disney at the end of the third quarter.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Oatly, Amazon, Hasbro and more
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Carmen Reinicke | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Oatly – Shares of the oat-based drinks maker tumbled 11% after the company reported a larger-than-expected quarterly loss and revenue that fell short of consensus. Oatly cited China Covid restrictions, production challenges and a stronger U.S. dollar for the weakness in its performance. Amazon – Amazon fell 1.4% following a report that it plans to lay off about 10,000 employees as soon as this week. The cuts would be the largest in the company's history, and would primarily affect Amazon's devices organization, retail division and human resources, according to The New York Times. Cloud stocks – Cloud stocks slipped Monday as investors took gains off the table.

☆ Moderna's Omicron shots shows better immune response than original COVID vaccine
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 14 (Reuters) - Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) said on Monday its Omicron-tailored vaccines produced a better immune response against the BA.4/5 subvariants in a mid-to-late stage study, when given as a booster dose, compared with its original shot. Data shows that both of Moderna's Omicron-tailored shots, mRNA-1273.214 and mRNA-1273.222, produced a higher antibody response against BA.4/5 subvariants than its original shot in vaccinated and boosted adults, the company said. Moderna, however, said levels of neutralizing antibody response dropped nearly 5-fold against the emerging subvariant BQ.1.1 when compared with BA.4/5, in an analysis of about 40 participants, although the virus neutralizing activity still remained "robust". Rival Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and its German partner, BioNTech SE , said earlier this month their Omicron-tailored shot targeting the BA.4/5 subvariants produced a strong antibody response in older adults than the original shot after one month. Reporting by Bhanvi Satija in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay DwivediOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

In October 2021, Da’Vion Miller was found unconscious in the bathroom of his home in Detroit a week after receiving his first dose of Pfizer's Covid vaccine. Courtesy Da’Vion MillerMiller is one of a very small group of people in the United States who have experienced myocarditis following vaccination with the Pfizer-BioNTech or the Moderna Covid vaccines based on mRNA technology. Video: CDC says waiting longer between Covid vaccine doses could reduce myocarditis risk. Cooper joined an expert advisory panel formed by Moderna to monitor its Covid vaccine safety. The Pfizer study will include people who were previously hospitalized with vaccine-associated myocarditis, and it will also follow those who were more recently diagnosed.

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