The EU Digital COVID Certificate Regulation entered into application on 1 July 2021. EU citizens and residents will now be able to have their Digital COVID Certificates issued and verified across the EU.
Learn how to get the certificate from your national health authority by selecting your country on the interactive map below.
As of 1 February 2022, there are new rules in place that establish a binding acceptance period of 9 months for vaccination certificates, used for travel within the EU .
Member States must accept vaccination certificates for a period of 9 months following the administration of the last dose of the primary vaccination. For the Johnson&Johnson vaccine this means 270 days from the first and only shot. For a two-dose vaccine it means 270 days from the second shot, or, in line with the vaccination strategy of the Member State of vaccination, the first and only shot after having recovered from the virus.
Member States should not provide for a different acceptance period for the purposes of travel within the European Union. The standard acceptance period does not apply to certificates for booster doses.
These rules apply only to the vaccination certificates used for the purpose of travel in the EU. Member States may apply different rules when using the EU Digital COVID Certificate in a domestic context, but are invited to align with the acceptance period set at EU level.
A person who has a valid EU Digital COVID Certificate should in principle not be subject to additional restrictions, such as tests or quarantine, regardless of their place of departure in the EU.
Persons without an EU Digital COVID Certificate should be allowed to travel based on a test carried out prior to or after arrival. In addition, they might be required to undergo quarantine/self-isolation when they arrive from particularly affected (dark red) areas.
Any measures restricting free movement must be non-discriminatory and proportionate. Member States should, in principle, not refuse entry to persons travelling from other Member States.
An EU Digital COVID Certificate is a digital proof that a person has either
Yes, children can get an EU Digital COVID Certificate.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has given its green light to the use of the BioNTech Pfizer vaccine Comirnaty and the Moderna vaccine Spikevax for children of 12-17 years. Children can also receive a test or recovery certificate. These certificates can also be received by their parents and stored on the parents' smartphone app.
EU Member States also agreed that minors travelling with parents should be exempt from quarantine when the parents do not need to undergo quarantine, for example due to vaccination. Children under 12 should also be exempt from travel-related testing.
National authorities are in charge of issuing the certificate. It could, for example, be issued by test centres or health authorities, or directly via an eHealth portal.
Information on how to get the certificate should be provided by the national health authorities.
The digital version can be stored on a mobile device. Citizens can also request a paper version. Both will have a QR code that contains essential information, as well as a digital signature to make sure the certificate is authentic.
Member States have agreed on a common design that can be used for the electronic and paper versions to facilitate the recognition.
Select your country on the interactive map below to learn how to get the certificate from your national health authority.
So far, 49 non-EU countries (and territories) have joined the EU Digital COVID Certificate system, based on EU equivalence decisions.
The COVID certificates issued in those 49 countries (and territories) are accepted in the EU under the same conditions as the EU Digital COVID Certificate. Likewise, the EU Digital COVID Certificate is accepted by those 49 countries.
The EU Digital COVID Certificate is accepted in all EU Member States. It helps ensure that restrictions currently in place can be lifted in a coordinated manner.
When travelling, the EU Digital COVID Certificate holder should in principle be exempt from free movement restrictions: Member States should refrain from imposing additional travel restrictions on the holders of an EU Digital COVID Certificate, unless they are necessary and proportionate to safeguard public health.
In such a case for instance as a reaction to new variants of concern that Member State would have to notify the Commission and all other Member States and justify this decision.
Yes. The EU Digital COVID Certificate should facilitate free movement inside the EU. It is not a pre-condition to free movement, which is a fundamental right in the EU.
Without a certificate, you might however be subject to restrictions like testing or quarantine. Member States can introduce travel restrictions. Please check Re-openEU for the latest updates.
To ensure that there is no discrimination against individuals who are not vaccinated, the EU Digital COVID Certificate also covers test certificates and certificates for persons who have recovered from COVID-19. This way everyone can benefit from the EU Digital COVID Certificate.
In January 2022, rules on coordination of safe and free movement in the EU were updated to take into account the status of the person instead of the epidemiological situation at regional level, with the exception of areas where the virus is circulating at very high levels.
Frequently asked questions on the EU Digital COVID Certificate, vaccinations and travel restrictions
The Council agreed on an updated framework on 22 February 2022, further facilitating travel to the EU. Member States agreed to apply these updates as of 1 March 2022.
Under this approach, non-EU travellers who are vaccinated with an EU or WHO-approved vaccine should be able to travel to the EU, provided they have received the last dose of the primary vaccination series at least 14 days and no more than 270 days before arrival, or provided they have received a booster dose.
In addition, those who recovered from COVID-19 within 180 days prior to travelling to the EU should be able to travel to the EU if they can prove their recovery with an EU Digital COVID Certificate or a non-EU certificate deemed equivalent to the EU Digital COVID Certificate.
Persons travelling from a country or territory included on the list of countries from where all travel should be possible and who hold proof of a negative PCR test should also be able to travel to the EU. The Council regularly reviews and, where relevant, updates a list of such countries, based on an evaluation of the health situation. All travel to the EU from countries included on this list should be possible, regardless of vaccination status.
In addition, EU citizens and residents, and their family members, as well as those who have an essential reason to come to Europe should continue to be able to do so.
The purpose of the EU Digital COVID Certificate is to help facilitate free movement and travel within the EU for both EU citizens and non-EU nationals already in the EU.
When it comes to proving vaccination status for those travelling from outside the EU, EU Member States could accept vaccination certificates from non-EU countries containing the necessary data (identification of the person, type of vaccine and date of vaccination), taking into account the ability to verify the authenticity, validity and integrity of the certificate.
The EU can also decide to automatically recognise certificates issued by other countries. Currently this is the case for 49 countries and territories. The list of these countries can be found in the section Non-EU countries (and territories) that have joined the EU Digital COVID Certificate system on this page. The COVID Certificates issued in these countries are accepted in the EU under the same conditions as the EU Digital COVID Certificate.
Lastly, an EU Member State may, upon request, issue an EU Digital COVID Certificate to a non-EU national wishing to travel to the EU, provided that all reliable proof of vaccination, has been presented, but it is not obliged to do so.
For more details about what rules are in place for non-EU nationals entering from outside the EU, you can consult the Re-open EU website.
Vaccination certificates will be issued to a vaccinated person for any COVID-19 vaccine. The certificate should clearly indicate the name of the vaccine administered.
When it comes to waiving free movement restrictions, Member States only have to accept vaccination certificates for vaccines which received EU marketing authorisation. Member States may also decide to waive restrictions for travellers that received another vaccine, for instance those included on the WHO emergency list, but they are not obliged to. If you have been vaccinated with a vaccine not authorised in the EU, we advise you to check which vaccines are accepted by the respective Member State prior to your travel.
Fully vaccinated persons with the EU Digital COVID Certificate should be exempted from travel-related testing or quarantine 14 days after having received the last dose of a COVID-19 vaccine approved for the entire EU. The same is true for recovered persons with the certificate.
Yes, an EU Digital COVID certificate should be issued already after the first vaccination dose. The number of doses administered will be clearly stated on the vaccination certificate. Member States might not accept a partial vaccination for lifting travel restrictions. Please check national travel restrictions prior to your travel with the national authorities.
Yes. For example if you received doses in two separate Member States, the Member State in which you received the first dose should issue an EU Digital COVID Certificate indicating the first dose. The Member State, which administered the second dose, will then issue an EU Digital COVID Certificate indicating the second dose, once you provide to the authorities there the information confirming the first dose previously received. The same rule applies to the booster shots.
Most Member States have already started to administer COVID-19 vaccine booster doses. An EU Digital COVID Certificate must be issued after the administration of each dose. This means that Member States must also issue a vaccination certificate in the EU Digital COVID Certificate format after the administration of an additional dose.
As of 1 February, new rules also have to be implemented as regards the encoding of booster shots in Certificate. Boosters will be recorded as: 3/3 for a booster dose following a primary 2-dose vaccination series; 2/1 for a booster dose following a single-dose vaccination or a one dose of a 2-dose vaccine administered to a recovered person.
Persons with a negative test in the EU Digital COVID Certificate format should be exempted from possible quarantine requirements, except when they come from areas heavily affected by the virus. The Member States agreed on a standard validity period for tests: 72 hours for PCR tests and, where accepted by a Member State, 48 hours for rapid antigen tests.
Only so-called NAAT tests (including RT-PCR tests) and rapid antigen tests featured in the common list established on the basis of Council Recommendation 2021/C 24/01 are eligible for a test certificate issued under the EU Digital COVID Certificate Regulation. Each Member State can decide whether it accepts rapid antigen tests, or only NAAT tests (such as RT-PCR tests).
Certificates of recovery (indicating that a person has recovered from an infection with COVID-19) can only be issued following a positive NAAT (nucleic acid amplification test) such as RT-PCR test. They can be issued 11 days after the date of the initial test.
The EU Digital COVID Certificate contains necessary key information such as name, date of birth, date of issuance, relevant information about vaccine/ test/recovery, and a unique identifier. This data remains on the certificate and is not stored or retained when a certificate is verified in another Member State.
The certificates will only include a limited set of information that is necessary. This cannot be retained by visited countries. For verification purposes, only the validity and authenticity of the certificate are checked by verifying who issued and signed it. All health data remains with the Member State that issued an EU Digital COVID Certificate.
A valid EU digital COVID certificate includes:
a vaccination certificate where at least 14 and no more than 270 days have passed since the last dose of the primary vaccination series or if the person has received a booster dose
OR
a negative PCR test result obtained no more than 72 hours before travelling or a negative rapid antigen test obtained no more than 24 hours before travelling
OR
a certificate of recovery indicating that no more than 180 days have passed since the date of the first positive PCR test result
At this stage, the Commission does not propose a validity period for certificates issued based on booster shots. This means that the 9-month validity period should not apply to certificates issued following booster shots. It can be expected that protection from booster vaccinations may last longer than that resulting from the primary vaccination series.
The Commission will closely monitor newly emerging scientific evidence on this issue. On this basis, the Commission may, at a later stage, propose if necessary to introduce a validity period also for vaccination certificates issued following a booster if necessary.
EU law covers the use of the EU Digital COVID Certificate to facilitate safe free movement inside the EU.
Member States can also use the COVID-19 certificates for domestic purposes, such as access to events or venues, but this is not regulated at the EU level.
In case a Member State adopts a system of COVID-19 certification for domestic purposes, it should ensure that the EU Digital COVID Certificate is also fully accepted. This is to make sure that travellers going to another Member State do not have to obtain an additional national certificate.
Currently, the Regulation on the EU Digital COVID Certificate applies for 12 months from 1 July 2021. In February 2022, the Commission proposed to extend it by a year, until 30 June 2023. Extending the Regulation would ensure that travellers can continue using their COVID Certificate when travelling in the EU even when Member States maintain certain public health measures.
Find up-to-date information on travel and health measures in European countries, including on quarantine and testing requirements for travellers, to help you exercise your right to free movement. The information is updated frequently and available in 24 languages. This should help you plan your travel in Europe, while staying safe and healthy.
Visit Re-open EU
25 January 2022
Council adopts a revised recommendation on measures ensuring coordination of safe travel in the EU, based on the individual situation of persons and no longer on the region of origin.
21 December 2021
The Commission adopts rules establishing a binding acceptance period of 9 months of vaccination certificates for the purposes of intra-EU travel.
1 July - 12 August 2021
Phase-in period: if a Member State is not yet ready to issue the new certificate to its citizens, other formats can still be used and should be accepted in other Member States.
1 July 2021
The EU Digital COVID Certificate enters into application throughout the EU.
mid-June 2021
Revised Council Recommendation on travel within the EU.
1 - 30 June 2021
Warm-up phase:Member States can launch the certificate on a voluntary basis provided they are ready to issue and verify certificates, and have the necessary legal base in place.
1 June 2021
EU Gateway (interconnection of national systems) goes live.
20 May 2021
The European Parliament and the Council agreed on the EU Digital COVID Certificate.
7 May 2021
The Commission started the pilot test of the EU interoperability infrastructure (EU Gateway) that will facilitate the authentication of the EU Certificates.
22 April 2021
Member States' representatives in theeHealth Networkagreed onguidelinesdescribing the main technical specifications for the implementation of the system. This was a crucial step for the establishment of the necessary infrastructure at EU level.
14 April 2021
The Council adopted its mandate to start negotiations with the European Parliament on the proposal.
17 March 2021
The Commission proposed alegislative textestablishing a common framework for an EU certificate.
27 January 2021
Guidelines laying out interoperability requirements of digital vaccination certificates were adopted, building on discussion held between the Commission and Member States in theeHealth Networksince November 2020.
*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.
Thank you for subscribing to The Corona Letter!
When we sent out the first edition of this newsletter on March 20, 2020, we had a clear mandate to bring the latest, verified information on Covid-19 to keep you safe.
Cases in India had begun to rise from under 10 to about 20 a day and we had seen three deaths due to Covid-19 by then. Though the World Health Organisation had declared it a global pandemic a week earlier, there was more panic than information about the virus and how it spreads. We hoped to fill that gap. Our motto: Caution Yes, Panic No.
Over the next couple of months as the crisis unfolded, we realised how crucial the role of reliable information was. We decoded the virus, its variants, vaccines, symptoms, new research and more, and your feedback and suggestions helped us get better at it every day.
While the virus is still floating around, most of us are fully vaccinated (many have taken the booster dose as well) and more aware of the virus and what to expect. As the spread of the virus eases, we have decided to make The Corona Letter a weekly, instead of a daily, offering. The newsletter will now reach your inbox every Sunday.
Our mandate remains the same. The message for you stays the same too be prepared, stay safe. And remember, its not over, yet.
We look forward to your comments and suggestions to make ourselves more relevant to you.
The Corona Letter Team
Written by: Rakesh Rai, Sushmita Choudhury, Jayanta Kalita, Prabhash K DuttaResearch: Rajesh Sharma
In a recent study published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases, researchers assessed the efficacy of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines in people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
Study: Immunogenicity and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines in people living with HIV: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Image Credit:Corona Borealis Studio/ Shutterstock
The morbidity, mortality, complications, and significant economic disruption caused by COVID-19 have sped up the discovery of highly effective vaccines to previously unheard-of levels. There is, however, a shortage of information on the effectiveness and safety of vaccines in the people living with HIV (PLWH) groups since vaccine trials did not publish data concerning persons living with HIV. These individuals are of particular interest since the original illness or any concomitant treatments may have suppressed or overactivated their immune systems. In addition, since viral shedding and infection have been noted to be more severe and persistent in PLWH, data on this population are urgently needed.
In the present study, researchers compared the immunogenicity and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccinations in PLWH with healthy individuals.
The team electronically searched the Cochrane Library, PubMed/Medline, and EMBASE for published articles. First, the research papers were screened by title and abstract, followed by screening the article's full text. Then, two researchers examined each title, abstract, and entire text separately.
The team conducted a meta-analysis of prospective studies that fulfilled the following requirements: patients who received a COVID-19 vaccine of any brand and type; individuals living with HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS); articles that included and documented data related to a control group comprising individuals who are not HIV-infected; and studies reporting a minimum of one case of either seroconversion or serological titer values after COVID-19 vaccination.
The team performed a post hoc amendment to include articles that reported data related to prospective observational; qualitative analysis, or experimental studies involving human subjects, all of whom were COVID-19-vaccinated with any vaccine brand and type; studies involving individuals living with HIV/AIDS, and studies that published seroconversion rates of PLWH either with or without a control group.
The setting of the study, primary and secondary outcomes, sample size, inclusion and exclusion criteria, dropout and non-response rates, and study design were all included in the data on study characteristics. Age, sex, and medical history, including immunosuppressive medication history, were all included in the participant information. Eight vaccine types and brands, a dosage schedule, the number of participants who received each kind and brand of vaccination, and the median or mean interval between doses were among the information related to the intervention. Assay type, antibody tested, measurement method, sample collection intervals, and the number of measurements were among the outcome-related variables. Seroconversion following the first and second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine was the primary outcome of interest.
The total number of studies included in the meta-analysis of seroconversion rates was 22. Ten of the 22 studies employed messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines, including BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273; six used inactivated vaccines, including CoronaVac and BBIBP-CorV; five used viral vector vaccines, including AZD1222 and Ad26.CoV2.S; and one used recombinant spike protein nanoparticle vaccines co-formulated with a saponin-based adjuvant, Matrix-M. Among the viral vector vaccines, four studies used AZD1222, including three where it served as the only vaccine, while Ad26.COV2.S was only used in one.
Compared to healthy controls, seroconversion was documented in PLWH in seven investigations following the first dose of the vaccination. The seroconversion rate between healthy controls and PLWH was similar. After receiving a second dose of the vaccine, seroconversion rates among the PLWH were lower than those of healthy controls in 20 studies, including 2,068 PLWH and 4,454 healthy controls. After receiving a second dose of the vaccine, individuals' antibody titers did not appear to be significantly altered or decreased.
After the first and second doses, subgroup analyses were carried out for trials including only mRNA and non-mRNA vaccines. The effects of mRNA vaccinations and non-mRNA vaccines on seroconversion were not noticeably different after the initial dosage. After the second dose, there were no discernible differences in the effects of the mRNA and non-mRNA vaccines on seroconversion.
Overall, the study findings showed that in PLWH, COVID-19 vaccinations exhibited positive immunogenicity and effectiveness. Even though the seroconversion post-second vaccination was marginally lower in PLWH compared to healthy individuals, a second dosage is consistently associated with improved seroconversion. Additional measures, such as a follow-up dose of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, could enhance these individuals' seroprotection.
Journal reference:
Washington. A new Omicron variant of the corona virus seems to be spreading rapidly in America. In a new media report, citing the latest released federal data regarding the Covid-19 virus, there are fears that this new variant could cause big problems. The Wall Street Journal reported in its report that according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates released Friday, 11.4% of the total Covid infection cases found in the United States as of mid-October, both sub-variants of Omicron BQ. 1 and BQ. It was only 1.1.
CDC data shows that both subvariants of Omicron are linked to the ba.5 variant, which was responsible for about 68% of the most recent cases detected in the United States. Experts are also tracking another variant, ba.2.72.2, which in the latest CDC report was found to be responsible for around 1.4% of covid infections.
Also read Corona will wreak havoc again in winter! 2 more dangerous variants of Omicron found in ChinaThe Wall Street Journal quoted Dan Baruch, director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, as saying that this rapid increase in the BQ subvariant indicates that is BA.5. Compared to the variants, they have increased their transmission capacity or their immunity to the vaccine.
Also read Omicrons new XBB sub-variant has also caused a stir in India, so far 71 cases found in 4 states
Previously, a non-peer-reviewed study suggested that BQ.1.1. And other new subvariants might be more resistant to certain antibody therapies.
The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in the United States has fallen sharply since the increase in the BA.5 variant since late July. However, the report indicates that in parts of Europe, the number of Covid infections and hospitalizations due to the BA.5 subvariant are increasing again.
Be the first to read the latest news in America News84Media America | Todays Breaking News, Live Updates, Read Most Trusted America News Website News84Media America |
Tags: Coronavirus cases, Covid-19 cases, Omicron variant
FIRST POST: October 15, 2022, 4:29 p.m. HST
,
(Sarpy County, NE) -- The first case of the monkeypox virus is confirmed in the Sarpy/Cass Health Department jurisdiction.
The Health Department says the case was diagnosed in a man, 35-44 years old, who is a Sarpy County resident. The department says the man is isolating at home and a contact investigation is underway to inform people who may have been exposed.
The risk to the public continues to remain low, but anyone with a characteristic monkeypox rash that looks like pimples or blisters should contact their healthcare provider. Other symptoms may include fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, and exhaustion. Monkeypox can spread to anyone regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Monkeypox is spread through close and personal skin-to-skin contact with an infected persons rash, scabs, body fluids, respiratory secretions, or during intimate physical contact, such as kissing, cuddling, or sex. Some people have been infected by handling objects such as clothing or linens used by a person with monkeypox.
Antivirals that are used to treat smallpox may be used to help patients with a monkeypox infection. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), nearly 27,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported in the United States and 31 cases have been reported in the state of Nebraska.
MSDH is providing Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19vaccines in the County Health Department Clinics for children and adults 6moand older. Please read the instructions before making an appointment fora first shot, second shot, third or additional shot for people with weakenedimmune systems, and booster shots.
You can now make anappointment to receive the updated COVID-19 Bivalent booster shot to provide betterprotection and boost immunity. The updated booster shot includes protectionagain currently circulating COVID-19 variant strains Omicron BA.4 and BA.5.
If you have any questions or would like totalk with someone to help you make your appointment, call the MSDH COVID-19Hotline at877-978-6453.
Primary SeriesThere are 2 vaccines available at MSDHCounty Health Departments: Pfizer and Moderna.
Eligibility:
Children and adults 6 months of age and olderare eligible to receive a primary series of Pfizer or Moderna at MSDH CountyHealth Departments
Pfizer: 2 shots given 3 weeks (21 days) apart(a third dose of Pfizer 8 weeks after the second dose is required to completethe primary series in children 6 months through 4 years of age)
Moderna: 2 shots given 4 weeks (28 days) apart
Both are safe, tested, and effective atreducing your risk of severe illness.Learn more about COVID-19 vaccines.
Additional ShotAnAdditional shot of Pfizer orModerna for People with Weakened Immune Systems (Primary Series)isavailable at MSDH County Health Departments.Eligibility:
Children 6 months and older and adults whohave a weakened immune system are eligible for an additional shot in theprimary series.
Booster ShotBooster shots ofPfizer or Moderna are available at MSDH County Health Department Clinics.
Eligibility:-
Anyone age 5 years and older is eligible for a COVID-19booster shot. If youve been fullyvaccinated with Pfizer, Moderna, Novavax, or Johnson and Johnson (Janssen) andits been the appropriate amount of time since your last shot, youre eligibleto get your COVID-19 booster.
Individuals 12 years and older are eligible for the updatedBooster shot if its been at least two months since completion of the primaryseries of COVID-19 vaccine or its been at least 2 months since the last boostershot.
If you received Johnson & JohnsonsJanssen, you can get a first booster shot with Pfizer or Moderna at least 2months after you completed your primary series with Johnson and Johnson
NOTE: You may mix and match your boostershot, which means get a booster dose with a vaccine that is different from theone you received during your primary series.Seebooster shot information for more information.
MSDH is not providing Johnson and Johnson(Janssen) vaccine shots at County Health Department Clinics. However, youcan still get a booster shot of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine if you got Johnsonand Johnson vaccine as your first shot. If you want to get Johnson andJohnson (Janssen) vaccine as your booster shot, please go to https://www.vaccines.gov/search/to find a provider who is giving boostershots of Johnson and Johnson (Janssen).
Childrens Vaccine Children ages 6mo through 17 years areeligible for Pfizer or Moderna vaccine Seevaccine recommendations for children andteenagers.
Please remember to bring your COVID-19 vaccinecard to your appointment if you have received prior shots of COVID-19 vaccine.
If you have any questions or concerns aboutthe COVID-19 vaccine or need assistance in making an appointment, please callthe MSDH COVID-19 Hotline:877-978-6453
Over many decades of medical breakthroughs, every now and then we hear hopeful news of possible cancer cures. But for many people, especially those who lost loved ones, the hope has been frustrated. Now, there's another positive development to report on. It concerns cancer vaccines.
Dr. Nora Disis is a University of Washington professor of Medicine and Oncology, and the director of the UW Medicine Cancer Vaccine Institute. She told KUOWs Kim Malcolm about her work.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
Kim Malcolm: You had a mention this week in a New York Times article. It had a rather provocative headline, "After Giving Up on Cancer Vaccines, Doctors Start to Find Hope." Is that an accurate overview? Did you and other doctors you know give up on cancer vaccines?
Dr. Nora Disis: I think that was a very provocative title. I at least have not given up on cancer vaccines, but I do have to say that cancer vaccines have not enjoyed the success that we've seen with other forms of cancer immunotherapy, such as immune checkpoint inhibitor monoclonal antibodies. I think in the field, people like to go where drugs are working. To date, that hasn't been cancer vaccines. We only have one approved vaccine, for prostate cancer, that was actually developed here in Seattle. But we haven't had more vaccines approved for other diseases. I think that's why they started that title with people flocking away from cancer vaccines, but there's a core group of people that have been steadily working to try to figure out how to make cancer vaccines a viable treatment option for people with cancer.
We know that vaccines work by triggering an immune response in our bodies. Are these vaccines designed to work in the same way?
Absolutely. In fact, that is one of the understandings that really brought us kind of a tipping point for cancer vaccines. We now know what portions of cancer are capable of stimulating the immune system. When you think of the Covid vaccine, we had to know what parts of Covid we could target the immune system to that would be effective. We now know for a lot of common solid tumors what portions we should target with a vaccine to direct the immune response to.
Including that, are there also other areas where you're starting to see new hope for the future development of cancer vaccines?
Definitely. Now that we know what to target the immune response to. One of the other big understandings over the last decade is the type of immune response you need to kill cancer. And unlike the vaccines we get for infectious disease, which really try to create an antibody response, we know that for cancer we need to stimulate a T cell response, a cytotoxic or Killer T cell response, that can directly kill the cancer. And then the final thing, I think, that you've seen with the Covid vaccine, is we have much better vaccine delivery technologies, like messenger RNA or DNA, that give the immune system an additional tweak.
Are there specific cancers that you're focused on?
Our institute is really focused on the common cancers that most people die from-- breast, ovarian, prostate, colon, and lung cancer. And we also have a bladder cancer vaccine in development. These are vaccines that would cover about 50% of all cancers diagnosed, and those cancers are responsible for about 50% of all cancer deaths.
How far away are you from being able to develop a vaccine for any one of those cancers?
With some of them, we're pretty close. We actually have vaccines in phase one and phase two clinical trials. Others of them are still in development, but we usually hope to get a vaccine into the clinic within two years of starting to work on it. We look at vaccines in three different ways. Using a vaccine to actually treat cancer-- that's giving the vaccine to someone who currently has cancer. Usually, in that case, we team up the vaccine with other types of anti-cancer therapies. Then our largest programs are in vaccines to prevent cancer from coming back. In many of these tumors, take breast cancer, you can make the cancer go completely away, but at certain stages, or with certain types of breast cancer, you're at very high risk of that cancer coming back. I think vaccines will fit right into that niche of being used in patients who've received optimal treatment to prevent disease from reoccurring.
But a big breakthrough is within the last five years. Our group and others have started seeing if we could develop vaccines to prevent the development of cancers. We would target those for people at high risk, let's say people with a genetic mutation that puts them at high risk for developing cancer, or people who've had lesions that predispose you to develop cancer, like an adenoma predisposing you to develop colon cancer, for example.
It sounds like you've got more and more grounds for hope as you continue your work with your colleagues. I'm wondering what you need to make progress at this point on cancer vaccines.
I think the biggest thing we need is patients enrolling in clinical trials. Those are the real heroes. We can do everything in the lab, create a vaccine and manufacture it, and write a clinical trial. But if we don't have the right patient populations enrolling, it really slows down the work. And more and more, were identifying these targets. Vaccines are becoming or will probably be like precision medicine, where they're going to be targeted to a specific patient population. But that money, patients enrolling in clinical trials, and money to get the work through, those are the things that really speed up advancement and vaccine development.
As you know, vaccines have become a political battleground for quite a few people in recent times. Is that a concern for you, that just even having the term vaccine out there, or clinical trial, that people would shy away from it and not want to get involved?
I used to think about that, but we have a very important word before the vaccine. That word is cancer. In my experience, the fear of cancer trumps any fear of vaccines. We actually have lots of patients who are interested in cancer vaccines. Our issue is just having the right vaccine that a patient would qualify for. But we haven't had people turn us down over fear of vaccines because I think most people who are coming to us are really trying to survive their cancer, or improve their chances of surviving their cancer. So far, we haven't seen that phenomenon of being afraid to get a vaccine. And usually, the vaccines have many fewer side effects than something like chemotherapy, so people are pleasantly surprised at how easy they are to take.
When do you think cancer vaccines will become widely available? And who do you think could benefit from them first?
I think cancer vaccines will become more widely available within the next five to eight years. The reason why I say this is that if you looked at active clinical trials in the United States, clinical trials with cancer vaccines are pretty up there in terms of being common, with many people adding them to current immunotherapy for cancer.
The people who will first benefit are those who are undergoing cancer treatment, where people will use cancer vaccines to try to help boost the immune response even further with other immune therapies. I think we're also going to make traction with that group of patients where we're trying to prevent disease recurrence. Those are the two populations that I think in the next five to eight years, we'll see cancer vaccines becoming part of standard of care.
With that third group, where we're trying to develop vaccines to just prevent the development of cancer, and people who have not yet had cancer, I think we still have a little way. We might be talking about 10 years from now before we see a vaccine for patients at high risk for a particular cancer.
I'm wondering if you think that you will still be working in this field if and when these vaccines become widely available to the public. And I'm wondering what that would be like for you.
I will definitely still be working in this field. And it will really be a dream. I mean, when I started in this field 25 years ago the big question was, does the immune system have anything to do with cancer? Can cancer be recognized by the human immune system? That was the big question. And just in that 25 years, we've gone from that being the major question, to immune therapies, those immune checkpoint inhibitor therapies, now being standard of care treatment for many types of cancers, and their sole function is to stimulate the immune system. So, I think we're very close to cancer vaccines following up on that success of those immune checkpoint inhibitor therapies. And to think that in one career, we went from zero to 100%. I mean, that's just indicative of how fast science and technology moves. It's been a ride, let me tell ya!
Listen to the interview by clicking the play button above.
Were about halfway through October and San Diego County health officials are saying 1,000 flu cases have already been reported. Thats a quarter of last years entire season.
Traditionally, the effectiveness of the flu vaccine is around 40-60%, according to the CDC, which is a range that is important to keep people out of the hospital. Despite the statistic, not everyone gets the shot.
On the heels of a flu outbreak at Patrick Henry High School and Del Norte High School, Deputy Health Directory Cameron Kaiser told NBC 7 Thursday the flu is here and its here early.
Its cold and flu season again, which means you could be left wondering which virus is causing your symptoms. Heres what you need to know.
For locals like Greg Liewald, hes only received the flu vaccine once and doesnt plan to do it again.
I dont feel like it has affected me in such a negative way, Liewald said. Its such a crapshoot that the strains correct anyway, I believe. Thats at least from what I know. Or what I think I know, I guess. Thats probably better said.
Edna Wright and Charles VanRickely say the opposite and believe its whats kept them from getting the virus.
Ive never gotten the flu, so that doesnt mean it will keep me from getting the flu but it certainly helps, so I believe in getting the flu shot, Wright said.
But what about the vaccine itself? It takes months to manufacture, so every year, medical researchers making the formula try to predict which strain will be the prominent one come flu season. So, hows it doing this year? Its too early in the flu season to tell, according to the county, but the best line of defense remains the same not only to get the flu shot, but to protect yourself by washing your hands frequently, disinfecting surfaces, and if youre sick, limiting contact with others.
For those who do contract it, the following symptoms are possible: fever, coughing, sore throat and muscle aches.
Ive not gotten sick and it always makes, makes me feel like Im protecting myself and thats good, Wright said.
VanRIckley says it gives him peace of mind, too.
Just more comfortable, VanRickley said.
With two schools in the county experiencing flu outbreaks, county officials say they would not be surprised if others emerge.
While the season is off to a strong start, the CDC says the flu seasons peak between December and February, but could last as late as May. Since the start of the pandemic, the timing and duration of flu activity have been less predictable.
For 20 years, MIA has existed at the intersection of vilification and vindication. The London-born, Sri Lanka-raised rapper and singer has spent her entire career fighting perceived injustices in the world, from the underreporting and whitewashing of the Tamil genocide to the incarceration of her friend, the WikiLeaks whistleblower Julian Assange. She also has terminal foot-in-mouth disease, and is prone to flippant, occasionally outright offensive trolling in the press and on Twitter.
At the heart of it all has been the music itself an electrifying body of work that is innovative, influential and, to this day, totally singular. Travis Scott, one of the most successful living rappers, has listed her as one of his favourite artists; in 2020, she was awarded an MBE for services to music.
Her sixth album, Mata, which is out today, is her most reflective record yet, looking over the ups and downs of her career with an attitude that suggests no love is lost for those who criticised her views. I tried to make you see I was telling the truth, she sings on her new single, Beep, and, given her warnings about the overreach of tech companies and her pioneering of abrasive noise-pop years ahead of Yeezus and the likes of 100 Gecs youre inclined to believe her. Still, all that reflection doesnt mean she has lost her confrontational spirit, nor deterred her from tweeting a statement on Wednesday night, about the rightwing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, that left many people aghast: If Alex jones pays for lying shouldnt every celebrity pushing vaccines pay too?
Anyone who has been following MIA, born Mathangi Arulpragasam, at any point in her career knows that this kind of comment is par for the course. Speaking over Zoom from Los Angeles two days before Mata is released and about an hour after the Jones tweet the 47-year-old rapper is often erudite and, just as frequently, profoundly troubling and confusing, prone to going on tangents about the blob what she calls the unruly, manipulative version of the internet we use today and sharing ultra-detailed history lessons on Assanges extradition and the history of the Sri Lankan civil war.
The album itself doesnt take up much of our conversation her answer to a question about one song ends up down a rabbit hole that leads to were going to go to Mars and were going to evolve the human species. Instead MIA gives full rein to her opinions on other topics, from her newfound Christianity and identity politics to, yes, Covid vaccines. Unlike many stars of her ilk, she doesnt shy from answering any question, and the team who linger throughout the Zoom call her publicist and a rep from Salxco, her new management firm, which also represents the Weeknd and Doja Cat never attempts to intervene, even when the conversation turns to thornier topics.
Mata may be MIAs most contemplative record, recalling lyrical themes from every part of her career but its very clearly not an attempt to re-enter the mainstream pop world she was orbiting in the 2010s. Its a rhythmic, sample-driven album that often eschews simple pop melody for anarchic schoolyard chants and beats that recall reggaeton and funk carioca, as well as lyrics that seem to reference the prescience of her past work. But she says that she hasnt wasted time stewing over the fact that history has proved her right on some of the subjects she talked about years ago, such as the NSA spying on US citizens, or the plight of the Tamil people. No matter who you are, the universe is moving so fast these days that its almost like your history is irrelevant, she says. I feel vindicated when I look at the craziness of the modern-day world, and Im like: Oh, 10 years ago, if they didnt put that guy in jail [Assange], and kill that dude [it is unclear who she means], we wouldnt really have this now.
During the process of making Mata, MIAs sense of self was in a state of intense upheaval. In 2015, after shooting a video in India for the single Borders, she fell ill and experienced a vision of Jesus Christ that caused her to become very confused creatively. She thinks the vision was a result of someone doing some sort of mantra on her. I didnt think it was effective and it turned out that it was effective. As she slowly began to surrender to the idea that she might die, I said: OK, thats fine, Im happy that I lived and Ive experienced and did my best. As Id given in to dying, then I had the vision.
After that, MIA felt a tension between the Hinduism she had embraced in recent years and her new Christianity. Its not like I was into the deity in Hinduism that was about wealth I was specifically into Matangi, a deity about creativity and arts, she says. Faced with having to cut that off and embrace the concept of Jesus Christ, I was having an existential crisis.
Mata, then, is partially about surrendering into the idea that the conflict is within myself, she says. Some songs, such as The One, seem to embrace the idea of existing on a righteous path; others, such as FIASOM (which stands for Freedom Is a State of Mind, and is pronounced fearsome) and Zoo Girl, channel what she calls the vibrancy of her Tamil heritage. Two years after her vision, she points out, came the pandemic. That narrative is very Christian its not a Hindu thing, its a Christian thing, and I think thats why it happened, she says. It prepares you for something thats about to come. You have to use a different rulebook to understand what is happening.
It would have been easy for MIA to mount a comeback based on the idea that she was mistreated by the media and the general public in the early days of her career; in recent years, it has been acknowledged that the early treatment of confrontational female stars such as Sinad OConnor and the Chicks was awash with misogyny. Everyone is more scared of me than any of those artists, she says. Were living through a time where people are seeing the hyper-inflated nature of capitalism and the destruction it causes, and even though I dont have that kind of monetary power, I do feel like people fear me for some reason.
She has an idea about why the media has been so reluctant to rehabilitate her. Outrage over comments such as her Alex Jones tweet, she says emphatically, ignores the fact that lying and truth have been constant themes in her career. Although she has been vocal about specific issues, such as human rights in Bangladesh and the Tamil war, her ultimate goal, she says, has been to expose the fact that people in power are constantly operating through the use of deception. Im not here to discuss things with ignorant people who dont know what Ive done, she says. I took a hit for [talking about the Tamil genocide], because it wasnt cool enough for 15 years before identity politics and this word oppression became a buzzword. It wasnt cool. So I was deleted all through that 15 years.
Of Jones, she says, today, youve got some white guy who apparently lied and made some families feel terrible, who now has to pay $1bn because he denied someones real experience, real loss and real emotional trauma. Although she believes its terrible that the Sandy Hook families were subjected to Joness slander about the murder of their children, she invokes the 146,000 unaccounted-for Tamil civilians who dont get the same kind of empathy. If were going to have a scapegoat in society where somebodys going to pay for [lying about atrocities], then I would like to bring the same sort of court case against every western publication that said only 40,000 Tamils were killed in the last days of the war.
MIA is acutely aware of the blowback she will get for her tweets about Jones, but its clear that her resentment runs deeper than any outrage cycle or Twitter spat the result, she says, of 15 years of media coverage saying that Tamils dont count, our feelings dont count, we dont care about our dead ones or the ones that are missing. Im gonna have to deal with, like, a bunch of ignorant sheeples going she puts on an American accent Oh my God, girl, delete your Twitter. What are you talking about? You cant say that to me after I have paid real prices throughout my career.
So why is she a vaccine sceptic? Over the course of our conversation, she repeatedly links the subject to big pharma and the US medical system, the cost of living crisis and the general publics access to information, areas of vital basic human need that are exploited for monetary gain.
The language they use to attack anybody is to say: Oh, shes an anti-vaxxer or blah blah blah. And its like, no, not really, she says. I know three people who have died from taking the vaccine and I know three people who have died from Covid. This is in my life, in my experience. If anyone is going to deny that experience and gaslight me, saying: No, thats not your experience, then what is the point of anything?
(In March 2022, a major study by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found no link between the number of deaths following vaccination and receiving two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine; in figures published in February 2022, 15 people in the UK died following receiving the vaccine. The WHO reports the Covid worldwide death toll to be in excess of 6.5m.)
MIA continues: What is the existence that you are trying to protect by giving me a vaccine if I cant even have an experience and process that information in my own brain and come to some sort of conclusion? And live within a society where I have to make choices every day?
This idea of a freedom without any genuine choice comes up several times in our conversation. Theres this weird idea that were all free, and that we fight for everything, and we can say what we want, but on the other hand, I feel like theres even more of a crackdown on that.
Along the same lines, she sees identity politics as ignoring fundamentals of human existence, which still arent being met. I feel like there has to be priorities the basic human need is food, water, shelter and clothing, she says. Identity politics and all this other stuff comes after you have the comfort of those things. Once you have healthy food and your brains working properly and your bodys working properly, then you can sit there and think about whether you want to have a drink and go out or be a certain thing or think a certain way.
She cites the example of the movement to defund the police in the US, suggesting that this will cause poverty and hardship. Even [with] the police force, who were supposed to not like, you had people losing their livelihoods and losing their jobs and cant pay rent, families losing their houses because theyre threatened with this choice of following orders or not following orders, she says. That is actually really happening on our doorstep, like this is not happening in Sri Lanka, this is happening in the west, this is happening in your neighbourhood.
This is the problem, she says, with cancel culture. I think everyone should be having open conversations we dont all have to, like, build effigies of people and burn them in the street for saying something, going after them like Guy Fawkes, because of fear of being seen as the other.
Our time is up. As has been the case throughout her career, this conversation with MIA sparks more questions than answers. If theres a sympathetic angle on some of her more alarming views, its that after experiencing the displacement of her family in Sri Lanka and the discombobulating effects of fame, it is understandable that she would search widely to make sense of her experiences not least in her embrace of Christianity. There may never be enough time for her to explain how she feels about the state of the world, but one truism holds, she says: Id like to be there when the shit goes down revolution.
Mata is out now on Island
This article was amended on 14 October 2022. MIA was born in London and spent her childhood in Sri Lanka, not the other way around as a previous version said.
Patient deaths: 1,064,798
Total vaccine doses distributed: 871,852,135
Patients whove received the first dose: 265,111,489
Patients whove received the second dose: 226,200,755
% of population fully vaccinated (both doses, not including boosters): 68.1%
% tied to Omicron variant: 100%
% tied to Other: 0%
