Medical Testing

South Africa suspends AstraZeneca vaccine drive following small clinical trial

Mon, 2021-02-08 02:56 — mike kraft

South Africa suspends AstraZeneca vaccine drive JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa has suspended plans to inoculate its front-line health care workers with the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine after a small clinical trial suggested that it isn't... AP NEWS

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UK backs CureVac effort to make vaccine for COVID variants U.S. rushes to catch up

Fri, 2021-02-05 15:15 — mike kraft

UK backs CureVac effort to make vaccine for COVID variants LONDON (AP) — The U.K. government announced Friday that it plans to work with a German biopharmaceutical company to develop vaccines targeting emerging variants of COVID-19 as public health... AP NEWS

LONDON (AP) — The U.K. government announced Friday that it plans to work with a German biopharmaceutical company to develop vaccines targeting emerging variants of COVID-19 as public health officials call for new tools to keep the virus in check as it mutates.

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UK detects S.African coronavirus variant in people with no travel links

Mon, 2021-02-01 15:32 — mike kraft

UK detects S.African coronavirus variant in people with no travel links Eleven people in different regions have tested positive for the South African coronavirus variant without having any links to people who have travelled recently, prompting mass testing in the areas to contain the outbreak. Reuters Staff U.S.

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‘Like Wartime’: Canadian Companies Unite to Start Mass Virus Testing

Sun, 2021-01-31 18:13 — mike kraft

TORONTO — As frustration mounts in Canada at the leaden weight of lockdowns and the glacial pace of vaccinations, a consortium of some of the country’s largest companies has launched a rapid testing program with the aim of protecting their 350,000 employees and publishing a playbook for businesses across Canada on how to reopen safely.

The program is believed to be the first of its kind among the Group of 7 industrialized nations, and has already attracted the attention of the Biden administration.

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ANALYSIS: How the Search for Covid-19 Treatments Faltered While Vaccines Sped Ahead

Sat, 2021-01-30 17:43 — mike kraft

Nearly a year into the coronavirus pandemic, as thousands of patients are dying every day in the United States and widespread vaccination is still months away, doctors have precious few drugs to fight the virus.

A handful of therapies — remdesivir, monoclonal antibodies and the steroid dexamethasone — have improved the care of Covid patients, putting doctors in a better position than they were when the virus surged last spring. But these drugs are not cure-alls and they’re not for everyone, and efforts to repurpose other drugs, or discover new ones, have not had much success.

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CDC is currently conducting research to determine if two masks are better than one

Sat, 2021-01-30 01:30 — mike kraft

CDC is currently conducting research to determine if two masks are better than one The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is currently experimenting to find out about the effectiveness of wearing two masks. However, what is most critical is that as many people as possible wear one, Dr. John Brooks, chief medical officer for the CDC Covid-19 Response, said during an Infectious Diseases Society of America briefing Friday. By Zahid Mahmood, Hannah Strange, Julia Hollingsworth and Adam Renton, CNN CNN

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Antibody Drugs Could Act as a Temporary Covid-19 Vaccine

Fri, 2021-01-29 16:56 — mike kraft

Antibody Drugs Could Act as a Temporary Covid-19 Vaccine Results from clinical trials show promising signs Emily Mullin Medium

Lab-made antibodies are showing promise for preventing Covid-19 infection in those at high risk of contracting the disease. With vaccines in short supply in the United States and elsewhere, the drugs could be used to provide short-term protection until people can get vaccinated.

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In a major setback, Merck to stop developing its two Covid-19 vaccines and focus on therapies

Mon, 2021-01-25 15:25 — mike kraft

In a major setback, Merck to stop developing its Covid-19 vaccines - STAT Merck announced it is stopping development of both of the current formulations of the Covid-19 vaccines the company was working on. Matthew Herper STAT

Merck said Monday it will stop developing both of the current formulations of the Covid-19 vaccines the company was working on, citing inadequate immune responses to the shots.

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Single Covid vaccine dose in Israel 'less effective than we thought'

Fri, 2021-01-22 00:09 — mike kraft

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/19/single-covid-vaccine-dose-in-israel-less-effective-than-we-hoped

Israel’s coronavirus tsar has warned that a single dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine may be providing less protection than originally hoped, as the country reported a record 10,000 new Covid infections on Monday.

In remarks reported by Army Radio, Nachman Ash said a single dose appeared “less effective than we had thought”, and also lower than Pfizer had suggested.

By contrast, those who had received their second dose of the Pfizer vaccine had a six- to 12-fold increase in antibodies, according to data released by Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer on Monday.

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