Baltimore vaccine maker hid potential problem, House report says
Cross-contamination of coronavirus vaccines being made for Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca was discovered in March 2021. The company had more than $1.3 billion worth of contracts from the federal government and from Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca to make the vaccines. The hold tags indicated a potential quality problem with the vaccine in the containers, the House panel found. After discovery of cross-contamination, the Biden administration suspended the plantโs production of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in April and permanently halted production of the AstraZeneca vaccine at the plant. But even after the restart in August, problems continued, according to the House report.
washingtonpost.comIran returns donated vaccines because they were made in US
Iran has returned 820,000 doses of coronavirus vaccines donated by Poland because they were manufactured in the United States, state TV reported Monday. TV quoted Mohammad Hashemi, an official in the countryโs Health Ministry, as saying that Poland donated about a million doses of the British-Swedish AstraZeneca vaccine to Iran. โBut when the vaccines arrived in Iran, we found out that 820,000 doses of them which were imported from Poland were from the United States,โ he said.
news.yahoo.comHow China Is Getting Drug Companies to Slash Prices
China has been overhauling its health-care system with the aim of providing broader access to quality drugs for its enormous population. The result: Drug prices are tumbling and the once-high profit margins of drugmakers, both local and foreign, are eroding. For manufacturers, the pressure is set to intensify as China hones its strategy of demanding mega-discounts in exchange for access to the worldโs No. 2 pharmaceuticals market.
washingtonpost.com10 questions about the Omicron variant โ including its symptoms and spread โ answered by an expert
Dr. Leana Wen from George Washington University said the Omicron variant seems to be more contagious than the Delta variant in South Africa. It has at least 50 mutations, which could make existing vaccines and therapies less effective.
news.yahoo.comScientists who first sequenced Omicron on what they are seeing
"This is the Frankenstein of mutations," Alex Sigal from the Africa Health Research Institute in Durban, South Africa, said. CBS News foreign correspondent Debora Patta met the scientists in the lab where Omicron was first discovered.
news.yahoo.comOmicron brings COVID-19 vaccine inequity 'home to roost'
The emergence of the new omicron variant and the worldโs desperate and likely futile attempts to keep it at bay are reminders of what scientists have warned for months: The coronavirus will thrive as long as vast parts of the world lack vaccines.
Taiwan's president receives domestically developed vaccine
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen received her first dose of the island's domestically developed coronavirus vaccine on Monday, launching its rollout to the public. The vaccine, made by Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp., was given emergency approval by regulators in July using a shortcut that prompted fierce opposition from parts of Taiwan's medical and scientific community. Instead, they compared the level of antibodies that Medigen's vaccine was able to generate with that of AstraZeneca's vaccine, which has been approved by many governments and has undergone the full three stages of clinical trials.
news.yahoo.comFully vaccinated people get good protection against Delta, and double-vaccinated people with a previous COVID-19 infection are the best-protected group, real-world data shows
Regardless of previous infection, two shots of Pfizer or AstraZeneca offered good protection against the Delta variant, Oxford scientists said.
news.yahoo.comWHO Africa: COVID-19 booster shots make 'mockery' of equity
The Africa director for the World Health Organization says rich countriesโ decisions to roll out COVID-19 booster shots while so many people across Africa remain unvaccinated โthreaten the promise of a brighter tomorrow" for the continent.
Vaccine deliveries rising as delta virus variant slams Asia
As many Asian countries battle their worst surge of COVID-19 infections, the slow flow of vaccine doses from around the world is finally picking up speed, giving hope that inoculation rates can increase and help blunt the effect of the rapidly spreading delta variant.
2 Australian states urge against under 40s taking AZ vaccine
The Queensland and Western Australia state governments have advised people under age 40 not to take the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine because of the risk of a rare blood clotting disorder, despite the Australian government making those shots available to all adults.