WASHINGTONRussian intelligence agencies have mounted a campaign to undermine confidence in Pfizer Inc.s and other Western vaccines, using online publications that in recent months have questioned the vaccines development and safety, U.S. officials said.
An official with the State Departments Global Engagement Center, which monitors foreign disinformation efforts, identified four publications that he said have served as fronts for Russian intelligence.
The websites played up the vaccines risk of side effects, questioned their efficacy, and said the U.S. had rushed the Pfizer vaccine through the approval process, among other false or misleading claims.
Though the outlets readership is small, U.S. officials say they inject false narratives that can be amplified by other Russian and international media.
We can say these outlets are directly linked to Russian intelligence services, the Global Engagement Center official said of the sites behind the disinformation campaign. Theyre all foreign-owned, based outside of the United States. They vary a lot in their reach, their tone, their audience, but theyre all part of the Russian propaganda and disinformation ecosystem.
Researchers is Italy say a new study shows body weight may be a factor with bodys ability to build antibodies after COVID-19 vaccine.
Obesity worsens outcomes from COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control. A new study out of Italy now says adults with excess body weight may respond differently to COVID-19 vaccines.
Researchers at Istituti Fisioterapici Ospitalieri (IFO) analyzed 248 healthcare workers one week following a second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and observed antibody changes based on age, gender, and body mass index. It found that participants at normal - or below normal - weight had a stronger immune response than obese participants.
Dr. Anup Kanodia is a Functional Medicine Specialist at KanodiaMD and a Doctor of Family Medicine at OhioHealth. Kanodia says this research shows the immune response to the vaccine is tied to weight and not pre-existing conditions such as heart disease, Type-2 diabetes, hypertension, kidney and liver disease.
If someone is obese with no other medical problems, they have more inflammation in their body, said Dr. Kanodia. There are changes in their metabolism, they have changes in how they breathe. All those things do what? Affect the immune system. When you affect the immunes system the vaccine doesnt work as well. When you affect the immune system, you cant fight off COVID-19 as well.
In August, Obesity Reviews published a study that found people with a BMI in the obesity range have a 113% higher risk for hospitalization, a 74% higher risk for ICU admission and a 48% higher risk of death with COVID-19.
A study in the Journal of Infection says people with a BMI of more than 30 were more likely to see moderate or severe reinfection of COVID-19 if they had already contracted the virus before.
Dr. Kanodia says there are ways to reduce your weight if you are unable to exercise at a gym, such as a full nights rest.
Number one place to lose weight is when you sleep at night. Get enough hours of sleep at night. If you dont your weight goes up dramatically, said Dr. Kanodia. Number two is to cut the sugar, carbs, all of those things put weight on us.
Changing your diet to anti-inflammatory foods or supplements or foods that support a healthy immune system.
Sugar, alcohol and tobacco all lower the immune system, said Kanodia. Things that boost the immune system are high in colors. Blueberries, raspberries, some of the fruits raise the immune system. When you walk around the outside of the grocery store, not the middle of the grocery store, those things raise the immune system.
JACKSON, MI -- A Jackson community center is becoming the site of a weekly COVID-19 vaccination clinic.
The city of Jackson is partnering with Henry Ford Allegiance Health to host the clinic at the Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center, 1107 Adrian St., to help reach the citys Black population, city officials said.
Henry Ford Allegiance Health began administering COVID-19 vaccines at the center on March 4 and will continue to do so from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursdays for those eligible under latest state guidelines. Currently, anyone age 50 and older with pre-existing conditions is eligible for the shot, along with previously approved groups like those in certain essential occupations.
The hospital sought a location on the citys south side to address COVID-19 pandemic inequities, Director of Community Engagement Myeshia Jones said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have identified evidence that some minority groups are disproportionally affected by COVID-19, and social determinants of health, such as poverty and healthcare access, can change some peoples health outcomes.
Related: New Michigan vaccine data shows disparities along racial lines
The MLK Center is a trusted location in the community where we know Black and brown people feel comfortable and safe coming to, Jones said. Equity is at the center of our work and this shows that our health system cares about our entire community.
Residents who want to be vaccinated at the MLK Center should sign up through their health care provider, officials said. Henry Ford Allegiance Health patients should use the Henry Ford MyChart online platform. However, walk-ins at the MLK Center vaccination site are welcome, officials said.
Jackson resident Ricky Hurst got his COVID-19 vaccination at the first distribution event on March 4, and said he thought access to the vaccine at the community center would encourage others to get it.
I think some people might be afraid to get the shot, but the more we show African Americans like me getting it, I believe more people in the community will be at ease, Hurst said.
In Jackson County, 9,371 residents have contracted COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the Jackson County Health Department, and 217 residents have died.
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The US government is feeling optimistic about vaccines. By the end of May, it should have enough to vaccinate every adult in the country, President Joe Biden said on Tuesday.
Not only that, but Americans are feeling pretty good about the vaccine, too. About 69 percent of Americans had either already gotten the vaccine or were willing to get one when they could, according to a new survey from Pew Research Center.
Thats a huge relief to public health experts. Last year, they watched vaccine polling numbers drop dramatically during just four months. In September 2020, only half of people polled said theyd be willing to take a hypothetical vaccine. Not exactly surprising, given that, at the time, the Trump administration was promising to have vaccines in October, and people were worried that the approval process would be influenced by politics. Now that the vaccines are here and real, and effective more people want to get vaccinated.
The next big challenge will be actually getting that ample vaccine supply into those willing arms. And just because the government predicts it will have enough supplies secured by May 31st, that doesnt mean that every adult in America will be vaccinated in the next 86 days.
The vaccine race now is not a race out of the lab. Its a race to the patient, said Robin Townley, the head of special projects logistics for A.P. Moller-Maersk, in an interview with Science News from December. It is the largest product launch in the history of humankind.
The figurative last mile that separates a patient from their shot is going to be the most involved part of this entire process. Shipping larger amounts of vaccines from a factory to a distribution center is relatively straightforward, even with some of the vaccines needing to stay extremely cold.
But then they have to get from large centers to pharmacies, nursing homes, mass-vaccination sites, and anywhere else thats getting vaccines. That means having enough delivery vehicles on the road and enough freezer and refrigerator space cleared out. It means backup generators and detailed communication plans for the inevitable moment when something goes wrong. It means finding better ways to make vaccine appointments so that people can access vaccine supplies. Above all, its going to need a trained, fast workforce thats able to transport the vaccine, store it, and administer it safely.
Poor planning and delays contributed to a slowed-down US rollout earlier this year, when local officials were mostly left to figure out distribution themselves. As mass-vaccination sites open, and supplies increase, some of those delays are starting to disappear. Back in December, the US had only vaccinated 2.8 million people, falling well short of its 20 million people goal. Now, more than 82 million people have been vaccinated, with about 2 million shots being administered every day, according to NPR.
Over the next few months, the things to watch will be not just the number of vaccines available, but also the number of vaccines administered. Its still going to be a huge challenge, but theres an end in sight. It might still be difficult to make travel plans and the summer could be up in the air but if vaccinations go well, and if we can curb the spread of highly transmissible variants (big if), this fall could look a lot more like normal.
Heres what else happened this week.
Long COVID patients say they feel better after getting vaccinated
Some patients who have been suffering COVID symptoms for months are starting to report to their doctors that they are feeling better after getting vaccinated. Researchers want to gather more data to understand why. (Nicole Wetsman / The Verge)
Why Virus Variants Have Such Weird Names
The variant names for the coronavirus are nearly unpronounceable strings of numbers and letters. Heres why. (Apoorva Mandivalli and Benjamin Mueller / The New York Times)
How Johnson & Johnsons COVID-19 vaccine could narrow equity gaps
Johnson & Johnsons vaccine can be stored at refrigerated temperatures and only requires one dose. That makes it an attractive option for people wanting to increase vaccine equity in the US and around the world. Those vaccines are also proving to be popular at vaccination sites around the country. (Nicole Wetsman / The Verge)
Biden says Merck will help make Johnson & Johnsons Covid vaccine
Earlier this week, pharmaceutical company Merck agreed to start manufacturing their rivals vaccine in a bid to increase supplies later this year. (Berkeley Lovelace Jr / CNBC)
You think Rip Van Winkle had a hard time...I wake up and theres a pandemic. Theres fear in peoples eyes.
Lawrence Garbuz, the first patient in New York State to become seriously ill with COVID-19 on his experience waking up from a coma, as quoted in The Wall Street Journal.
I started taking photos because I needed to. I was photographing the experience of parenting in the pandemic, and then I started doing these portraits. I wasnt thinking about where they would go, but I just really needed to articulate something about what was happening.
Photographer Alice Proujansky on her Born in a Pandemic project. See her work on The Verge.
To the more than 115,913,859 people worldwide who have tested positive, may your road to recovery be smooth.
To the families and friends of the 2,576,079 people who have died worldwide 522,221 of those in the US your loved ones are not forgotten.
Stay safe, everyone.
The messaging that all three authorized vaccines are good options appears to be sinking in around the country. When the first batch of single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccines arrived in States this week, people were excited to take it.
In Connecticut, Hartford HealthCare let people decide which type of vaccine to sign up for, and the Johnson & Johnson shot was more popular than expected. People were also given the choice at a Miami vaccination site. One recipient told CNN that she picked Johnson & Johnson because its one dose; shes afraid of needles and only wanted to do it once. A Minnesota couple told KTTC-TV that they were eager to get a vaccine that was only one dose.
Thats a big relief for experts who worried that the shot faced a communications problem. Even though the vaccine was just as good as the other two authorized vaccines at keeping people out of the hospital and alive, overall, its ability to prevent disease wasnt quite as strong during the trials testing it. They thought there might be the (mostly unfounded) perception that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine wasnt a good option.
We have a vaccine now that has good efficacy that everyone is going to compare to the existing vaccines, and say it doesnt look quite as good, said Eric Rubin, a professor of immunology, during a meeting of the Food and Drug Administrations vaccine advisory committee last week. Experts stressed that people should take whichever vaccine theyre offered first.
But despite those early concerns, people around the country seem eager to line up for the Johnson & Johnson shot. In addition to only requiring one dose so people dont have to take the time for two appointments it can have fewer side effects than the gene-based Moderna and Pfizer / BioNTech products.
Its hard to directly compare the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to the other vaccines. They were tested at different times and in different locations. The gene-based vaccines were tested before coronavirus variants that could make vaccines less effective were widespread. But all three vaccines are similar in one important way: theyre overwhelmingly effective at keeping people from developing severe cases of COVID-19 and out of the hospital. Theyre also all more effective than the flu shot.
The single-dose formulation is also more convenient. Its a hassle having to take time off work, Salome Ruperty told Spectrum News NY1 while lined up at a Johnson & Johnson vaccine site in New York City.
Some people may still turn down the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and seek out either the Moderna or Pfizer / BioNTech shots. But the early reports make it seem less likely that the doses will go unused.
Just under 4 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine were distributed to States this week. The company says it will have 20 million doses ready by the end of March and 100 million by June.
Twitter announced Monday that it will begin applying labels to tweets that include misleading information about COVID-19 vaccines and is introducing a strike policy to curb users from repeatedly violating those rules.
In an effort to root out misinformation surrounding the coronavirus from its platform, Twitter said the labels will first be applied by human moderators. But the goal is to eventually use both humans and artificial intelligence to address content that spreads COVID-19 vaccine misinformation.
"As health authorities deepen their understanding of COVID-19 and vaccination programs around the world, we will continue to amplify the most current, up-to-date, and authoritative information," Twitter said in ablog post.
The company will start with English-language content and plans to expand to other languages over time.
In December, Twitter announced that it may require users to remove tweets that advance harmful, false, or misleading narratives about vaccines, including suggestions that immunizations and vaccines are used to intentionally control citizens.
On Monday, Twitter said that since introducing its COVID-19 guidance in March 2020, it has removed 8,400 tweets for violating policy. In that time period, Twitter said it has also "challenged" - or took steps to verify the information and authenticity - of 11.5 million accounts.
The initial guidance from March required users to remove "content that increases the chance that someone contracts or transmits the virus." That included tweets denying health expert guidance on safety, encouraging the use of ineffective treatments, and other misleading content claiming to be from authoritative sources.
Twitter said in addition to labels, a new 5-strike policy "will help to educate the public" and "further reduce the spread of potentially harmful and misleading" information, especially for repeated violations of rules.
A tweet that includes misinformation but doesn't warrant full removal, will earn the users one strike. Twitter said it would require users to delete tweets with "high-severity" violations of policy that "invoke a deliberate conspiracy by malicious and/or powerful force."
Twitter says it may reduce the visibility of tweets and turn off likes, comments and retweets for content that is labeled with a warning message and determined to be harmful. Tweets with misleading information about the coronavirus will accrue one strike. A user will be issued two strikes if Twitter requires them to delete a tweet.
There is no account level action for one strike, Twitter said. Once a user gets two strikes, their account will be locked for 12 hours. Similarly, three strikes also lead to a 12-hour account lock, the fourth strike leads to a 7-day account lock and the fifth strike means permanent account suspension.
YouTube has a similar strike where accounts that earn three strikes in a 90-day period are permanently removed.
This isn't the first time Twitter has placed labels on false and misleading Tweets. In November, ahead of the 2020 presidential election,Twitter said it would label all Tweets that falsely claim a victory for any candidate.
Social media companies have been ramping up efforts to remove deliberately false and misleading information about the coronavirus and COVID-19 vaccines from their platforms.
Last month, Facebookexpanded the list of false claims about the coronavirus and warned that Pages, Groups, and accounts which repeatedly share debunked claims may be removed altogether.
Where can I get the J&J vaccine in our region?
States and cities in our region received their first shipments at the end of last week. Delaware has received 8,000 doses. Pennsylvania has received 94,000 doses, and pharmacies in the state were allocated another 30,000. Philadelphia, which receives its own allocation, has received 13,000 doses. New Jersey has received about 75,000 doses.
The states do not expect another shipment for at least three weeks.
Delaware operated mass vaccination sites over the weekend in Delaware City and Seaford for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Five thousand doses were earmarked for people over 65 who were already on the states vaccine waiting list. Wilmington Veterans Affairs Medical Center also began administering it over the weekend. Supply of this vaccine is currently limited, and its not known how the federal government will allocate it to the state, pharmacies, and other providers.
Philadelphia will allocate the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to hospitals and community providers that can administer it to hard-to-reach populations. Pennsylvania school districts are working with the National Guard to set up vaccination sites for teachers and staff.
In New Jersey, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be distributed to places such as Acme, ShopRite, and Wegmans supermarket pharmacies, as well as independent pharmacies in the most vulnerable communities. Hospitals will use the vaccine in emergency rooms, which often see vulnerable populations.
Wherry, from the University of Pennsylvania, said members of the public should not get too caught up with registering for one particular vaccine, and should accept whatever they can get.
Its much more important to get vaccinated than pick your type of vaccine based on something youve heard, he said. Right now, the scientific data is that all three of these vaccines are excellent, they will all protect you from the most severe consequences from disease, from being hospitalized, they will likely all prevent you from spreading disease and allow you to get back to more normal activities sooner.
Will authorization of the J&J vaccine help speed up the process?
Officials say theyre hopeful the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will speed up the process because it requires only one dose. The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it anticipated there would be enough vaccines for all adults in the United States by the end of May as opposed to the end of July, the previous forecast.
The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines require two doses, which can take about six weeks to complete. In addition, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has simpler storage requirements, which means it can be distributed to much wider geographic locations.
A single dose also could mean a much simpler distribution process, because providers dont have to worry about follow-up and tracking patients, or run the risk of giving someones second dose to the wrong person.
What about side effects?
Side effects are slightly milder and less commonly reported than with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. The most common side effects are fever and fatigue.
I think its important to distinguish side effects from adverse events. Adverse events are things a drug causes that are unintended and are usually detrimental. The adverse-event profile of all these vaccines is excellent. Its very infrequent that someone has an allergic reaction to Pfizer and Moderna, Wherry said. He stressed that these vaccines are, in fact, designed to produce side effects.
The side effects that were seeing with the vaccination are a reflection of your immune response working. It doesnt necessarily mean stronger side effects are giving you better protection from disease. But it does tell you that your immune response is engaged and is starting to do something in response to the vaccination.
Wherry added that when you have chills and a fever for 24 hours, its not pleasant, but it is a sign your immune response is responding to the vaccine and an indicator that youre generating lasting antibodies that will protect you in the future.
Testing younger groups is more complex, because they may require a different dose or have differing responses.
When will children be able to get COVID-19 vaccines?
It depends on the child's age, but some teenagers could be rolling up their sleeves before too long.
The Pfizer vaccine already is cleared for use starting at age 16. That means some high schoolers could get in line for those shots whenever they become eligible in their area, either because of a medical condition or once availability opens up.
Pfizer and Moderna both have completed enrollment for studies of children ages 12 and older, and expect to release the data over the summer. If regulators clear the results, younger teens likewise could start getting vaccinated once supply allows. The Moderna vaccine is currently cleared for people 18 and older.
Researchers started with older children because they tend to respond to vaccines most similarly to adults. Testing even younger groups is more complex, because they may require a different dose or have differing responses.
Children are not just small adults, said pediatrician Dr. James Campbell of the University of Maryland School of Medicine. The younger you get, the higher the odds are that things could be different.
Children develop serious illness or die from COVID-19 at much lower rates than adults, but can still spread the virus.
Theres no question: we do want to immunize children, said Drexel University pediatrics professor Dr. Sarah Long.
Pfizer and Moderna expect to start studies in children 11 and younger later this year.
Its unlikely we could get community protection without immunizing children, Long added. This is the lynchpin to getting everything back to some kind of normalcy.
From female warriors in the rainforest to infectious disease specialists: COVID-19 in the Amazon The Lancet
by: Darcie Loreno, WJW, Nexstar Media Wire
(Credit: Getty Images)
(WJW) Mothers who have received the COVID-19 vaccination have antibodies in their breast milk that may protect their infants, according to a new study.
The research suggests babiesmay beprotected from COVID-19 by acquisition of antibodiesthrough breast milk following their mothers vaccinations, Dr. Jason Baird, research scientist, said on Providence.org. We dont know how long the antibodies will remain in the mothers or the infants.There is more to learn.
The pilot study, conducted at Providence Portland Medical Center, looked at six lactating women who planned to receive both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine between December 2020 and January 2021.
There were significantly elevated levels of antibodies in their breast milk beginning at Day 7 after the initial vaccine dose, according to the study.
According to Providence.org, the study provides promising results of a potential immunebenefit for infants by lactating mothers who have received a COVID-19 vaccine.
Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, two of the three current COVID-19 vaccine providers, excluded pregnant and breastfeeding women from participating in their clinical trials.
To our knowledge, this study is the first to show that maternal vaccination results in SARS-CoV-2-specific immunoglobulins in breast milk that may be protective for infants, said Bernard Fox, Ph.D. with the Providence Health and Services, a nonprofit health care system.
The researchers involved in the study plan to continue studying the immune response following maternal vaccination.
Research on SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in lactating women and the potential transmission of passive immunity to the infant through breast milk is needed to guide patients, clinicians and policy makers during the worldwide effort to curb the spread of this virus, the study stated.
There are more than 28 million COVID-19 cases in the U.S, with an average of about 2,000 people dying each day, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. That average is down from a high of more than 3,000 a day on average in mid-January. A total of more than 520,000 people have died in the U.S. so far.
**For more on vaccination efforts in Ohio, watch below.
