Editor's Note With COVID-19 rates rising again, and winter cold and flu season around the corner, it is time for healthcare personnel to get a COVID-19 booster shot to help protect against illness–and recommend patients to do the same. In a September 2023 TIME Magazine article, doctors weigh in on…

Read More

Editor's Note JAMA Network published a research article on October 27 showing the long-term effects of COVID-19 on adults in the US and evaluating vaccine effectiveness for lasting symptoms, Health Leaders Media October 28 reports. The World Health Organization defines symptoms that last for at least 2 months post-infection as…

Read More

Editor's Note On October 18, the White House released the “National Biodefense Strategy and Implementation Plan for Countering Biological Threats, Enhancing Pandemic Preparedness, and Achieving Global Health Security” (the strategy), Becker's Hospital Review October 19 reports. The strategy includes the objective to create enough vaccines for the US population within…

Read More

Editor's Note On October 12, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) amended the emergency use authorization (EUA) of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines, Bivalent, to authorize their use as a single booster dose in younger groups, Health Purchasing News October 12 reports. The Moderna vaccine is now authorized for…

Read More

Editor's Note The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on October 3 amended the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act declaration for smallpox medical countermeasures to expand the categories of providers authorized to administer vaccines and therapeutics against smallpox, monkeypox, and other orthopoxviruses during the declared emergency, Healthcare…

Read More

Editor's Note China and India approved COVID-10 vaccines given through the nose or mouth, which scientists have claimed to be a “game changer” for the pandemic, BBC News September 5 reports. The novel vaccine targets the mucous membranes and starts an immune response where the coronavirus enters the body. The…

Read More

Editor's Note White House officials said on Wednesday, September 7, that despite worsening racial disparities in reported monkeypox cases, they are optimistic about the decline in cases and the increase in vaccinations. Dr Demetre Daskalakis, deputy coordinator of the White House national monkeypox response, said vaccination will be offered in…

Read More

Editor's Note On Tuesday, White House officials said COVID-19 vaccinations will likely become an annual affair, similar to flu shots, NBC News September 6 reports. "In the absence of a dramatically different variants, we likely are moving towards a path with a vaccination cadence similar to that of the annual…

Read More

Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized updated versions of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines with the goal of protecting against the recent Omicron variant, NPR August 31 reports. The updated booster, called a bivalent vaccine, offers protection from both the original strain of COVID-19 and the most…

Read More

Editor's Note On Friday, August 26, the vaccine manufacturer Moderna sued Pfizer and the German drugmaker BioNTech, accusing its competitors of copying technology that Moderna had developed prior to the pandemic, The New York Times August 26 reports. The patent infringement claims could result in a protracted and expensive legal battle…

Read More