The Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Foundation announced today that it's investing up to $5 million in Ohio-based Clarametyx Biosciences to develop a drug that could help CF patients clear difficult-to-treat bacterial infections.
The money will support development of CMTX-101, a monoclonal antibody that has shown the ability to disrupt biofilm formation across several species of bacteria, including the species that tend to cause chronic infection in CF patients, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Burkholderia cepacia, and nontuberculosis mycobacteria.
CF patients with chronic P aeruginosa infections are currently being enrolled in a phase 1b/2a clinical trial that will investigate the safety and tolerability of CTXM-101 in combination with inhaled tobramycin.
Because of the mucus that builds up in their lungs, CF patients are prone to bacterial infections that can exacerbate their condition. Most of those infections involve bacteria that form biofilmscommunities of microbes that can grow on human tissue, medical devices, and prosthetic joints and form a protective layer around the bacteria, shielding them from the immune system and antibiotics.
CTXM-101 is designed to collapse biofilms by targeting a region of proteins that help stabilize and maintain biofilm integrity. Without the protection of the biofilm, the bacteria causing the infection become more susceptible to antibiotics. CF Foundation officials say the approach may also reduce the inflammation that results from chronic infections in CF patients.
"We hope that this potential therapy will ultimately help people with CF clear many different types of difficult-to-treat infections," JP Clancy, MD, senior vice president of clinical research at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, said in a press release. "This could provide a crucial new tool that could be used alongside traditional antibiotics in the fight against antimicrobial resistance."
CTXM-101 is among the antibacterial candidates that have received pre-clinical funding from CARB-X (the Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator).
This could provide a crucial new tool that could be used alongside traditional antibiotics in the fight against antimicrobial resistance.
A German man has been hit with a $3,300 fine after expressing some unconventional views on COVID-19 vaccines. Deutsche Welle reports that the unnamed vocational-college teacher, a 62-year-old from Berlin, heard his financial fate on Thursday from the Tiergarten Local Court, where a presiding judge slammed him for comparing coronavirus vaccinations to the Holocaust. The man had posted footage online that showed the Nazi slogan "Arbeit macht frei" ("work sets you free"), often found posted at World War II concentration campsexcept he'd altered it to sarcastically read "Vaccination sets you free."
In a second video, he attacked his home country's government for its COVID mitigation measures, also comparing them to the Holocaust. Deutsche Welle notes it's illegal in Germany to deny the Holocaust, in which about 6 million Jewish people died, or to minimize it or spread Nazi propaganda. The man's actions were "a trivialization," the presiding judge said Thursday before handing down the consequences. "Any other interpretation is far-fetched."
The teacher had hauled his case before a labor court after he was let go from his job in August 2021. That court decided the city of Berlin no longer had to employ him, though he was awarded a severance payout of nearly $80,000. (We've had similar instances of comparing vaccines, vaccine mandates, and COVID restrictions to the Holocaust or Nazi Germany here in the States.)
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Secretary Becerra reminded leaders of their obligations to offer and educate residents and staff on vaccines in order to increase low COVID-19 vaccination rate among nursing home residents and staff
On Wednesday, January 3, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra met virtually with long-term care facility (LTCF) leaders to express concerns about low vaccination rates among nursing home residents and remind industry leaders of their obligations to offer the COVID-19 vaccine to residents and staff.
Todays conversation was a follow-up call from a previous HHS virtual meeting on December 21 with LTCF leaders to discuss the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDC) December 2023 report finding that just 33% of long-term care facility residents were up to date with their COVID-19 vaccinations. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) requires all nursing homes to offer COVID-19 vaccines to residents and staff and educate them on their benefits.
During the call, Secretary Becerra expressed his appreciation to long-term care providers for understanding the urgency of this issue and requested that member facilities share their best practices with HHS and any information that they could as to why residents or their guardians may be declining COVID-19 vaccinations this season. Secretary Becerra underscored that older Americans who are not vaccinated face greater risk of serious illness. He also stressed that it is imperative that these leaders do their part by offering vaccinations and education on vaccine protections. Secretary Becerra also reiterated that HHS would continue to work with leaders on this issue.
The Biden-Harris Administration has made historic progress in our nations ability to manage COVID-19 so that it no longer meaningfully disrupts the way we live our lives. For the first time, vaccines are available to protect older adults in the United States against all three winter respiratory illnesses: COVID-19, flu, and RSV.
HHS continues to work closely with the CDC and other federal, state, and local partners to ensure that all providers are encouraging uptake amongst their populations particularly amongst older Americans who are not vaccinated and at greater risk of serious illness. HHS has supported vaccination efforts in long-term health care facilities through:
The following representatives participated in the meeting:
Flu is a common illness during the winter. But it can be severe, especially in children younger than age 5 and adults ages 65 and older, pregnant women, and those with compromised immune systems and chronic conditions, such as diabetes or asthma. It attacks the respiratory system, causing fever, body aches, cough, headache, and sore throat.
How to prevent the flu: Get the annual flu shot, which is available to everyone ages 6 months and older. Although the CDC recommends getting the shot by the end of October for peak protection, it is given throughout the season, which usually peaks between December and February, and can extend until May.
Most people ages 6 months and older need only one dose of the flu vaccine; however, some children, ages 6 months through 8 years, may require two doses for the best protection.
Some people will still get the flu after getting the vaccine, Dr. Gleeson says. But data suggests that if you do, the vaccine decreases the risk of severe disease and hospitalization. You might feel bad, but not as dramatically ill as you would have been if you didn't get the vaccine.
This year, special measures for flu vaccination are no longer recommended for people with egg allergies, regardless of the severity of a previous reaction to egg. This is based on studies that show those severe allergic reactions are rare, according to the CDC, which also recommends all vaccines be given in settings where allergic reactions can be recognized and treated quickly. People with allergies to other vaccine ingredients should talk to their providers.
If you get the flu: The CDC recommends staying home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone. The fever should go away on its own without over-the-counter medication, according to the CDC. Also, children and teenagers should not take aspirin or products that contain salicylate to treat flu symptoms, since that ingredient can cause a rare condition called Reyes syndrome in people 18 and younger.
You can talk to your doctor about getting a prescription for an antiviral drug, such as Tamiflu, especially if you are 65 or older, pregnant, or have a medical condition such as asthma or heart disease. Children can take these medications as well. Antiviral drugs, including pills, inhaled powders, and solutions delivered intravenously, fight the flu virus in your body, and they work best when you start taking them early, one or two days after symptoms start. Antivirals can help reduce symptoms, shorten your illness by one or two days, and prevent pneumonia and other serious complications, including death.
The winter COVID-and-flu season is ramping up in California and nationwide, with doctors and other experts saying the worst of the respiratory illness season is still to come.
New data show pronounced recent jumps in the rate at which coronavirus and flu tests are coming back positive, as well as the number of hospital-admitted patients testing positive for the viruses. Workplaces are also seeing higher numbers of employees call in sick due to infections.
National wastewater data suggest this winter could see the highest number of coronavirus infections occurring during any given week since the first Omicron wave began in fall 2021.
And were probably not quite to the zenith of it yet, said Dr. Elizabeth Hudson, regional chief of infectious diseases at Kaiser Permanente Southern California. Looking at some of the data that we can extrapolate out from the wastewater, by the time we get to about Jan. 10 or so, were probably going to be seeing, within the U.S., about 2 million cases a day.
The good news is the number of people becoming seriously ill remains lower than last year, when hospitals were deluged by a tripledemic of COVID, flu and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.
The peak of the 202122 Omicron wave crested at about 5 million cases a day, according to Hudson.
This winter, by contrast, there are far fewer critically ill COVID-19 patients requiring intensive hospital care, even though plenty of people are sick.
Flu is also making its presence felt in a major way.
Theres just this dramatic rise in influenza, said Dr. Caroline Goldzweig, chief medical officer of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Network.
In terms of the demand for outpatient care, Were definitely seeing a huge amount, said Dr. Chris Hiromura, associate program director for the family medicine residency at Adventist Health White Memorial hospital in Boyle Heights.
Theres definitely a huge spike in the outpatient COVID numbers, and just general viral illnesses, he said, as well as a more modest uptick in respiratory illnesses severe enough to require hospitalization.
The rates at which tests for the coronavirus and flu are coming back positive have been rising over the last month in Los Angeles County. For the week that ended Dec. 30, 18% of tests at county surveillance labs were coming back positive for flu, up from 10% a month earlier. As for the coronavirus, 13.5% were coming back positive, up from 9.9% a month earlier.
Our emergency department is very busy, as well as our inpatient units, said Dr. Graham Tse, chief medical officer for MemorialCare Miller Childrens & Womens Hospital Long Beach. Its a mixture of the three viruses influenza, COVID and RSV but theres also many other respiratory viruses that were also seeing that are always more prevalent during the winter.
Nationally, there were 34,798 new coronavirus-positive hospital admissions for the week that ended Dec. 30, a 20% jump over the prior week and the highest one-week total in nearly a year. Last winter peaked at 44,542 new hospital admissions for the week ending Dec. 31, 2022.
California recorded 3,516 new coronavirus-positive hospital admissions for the week that ended Dec. 30, a 7% increase from the previous week, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The states peak last winter was 5,260 new hospital admissions for the final week of 2022.
Since Oct. 1, the CDC has reported an average of about 1,400 COVID-19 deaths a week nationally. Over the same time period last year, there were about 2,400 weekly COVID-19 deaths.
Seven California counties Friday joined the CDCs medium level of coronavirus-positive hospitalizations from the low level: Orange County; Alameda and Contra Costa counties in the Bay Area; and in the Central Valley and Sierra, Stanislaus, Merced, Tuolumne and Mariposa counties. Los Angeles County and the four-county Sacramento area were already in the medium level.
A more contagious subvariant may be aiding the spread of COVID-19. Nationally, the subvariant JN.1 was estimated to account for 62% of coronavirus specimens for the two-week period that ended Saturday; it accounted for 39% of specimens for the prior comparable period.
Last winters viral tripledemic taxed hospitals, with the burden of RSV weighing particularly heavily on pediatric facilities. Though there are a lot of cases of RSV this winter, Hudson said, its not quite as severe as it was last winter.
In general, whats different this year is this really does seem to be something that is impacting adults a lot more particularly those who are over the age of 65, Hudson said.
Even if someones bout with COVID is relatively mild, it poses a risk of exacerbating underlying health problems. For instance, a person with a lung disease like emphysema who comes down with COVID-19 may need hospitalization to get additional oxygen, Hudson said.
Flu is also putting many patients out of commission.
We are definitely seeing a pretty big uptick in flu ... mostly on the outpatient side, Hudson said. But, you know, flu is pretty miserable. If youve never had it, I always describe it as being hit by a Mack truck, because its the only way that you can really understand how crummy you can actually feel with it.
Flu has also forced concert cancellations in recent months, waylaying performances by Christina Aguilera and the rock band KISS.
One complication Hudson has noticed in recent months is that people might have COVID-19, but its taking longer for rapid tests to return a positive result. It used to be that someone might test positive for the coronavirus one or two days after the onset of symptoms using a rapid test, Hudson said. Now, positive results might not show up until perhaps the fourth day after symptoms start.
People who initially test negative for COVID-19 despite having symptoms and dont retest later could be getting a false sense of security that they dont have COVID when they actually do, and are contagious, Hudson said.
The delay in accurate test results is probably a result of people having accumulated immunity from COVID-19 over the years, whether from vaccination or previous infection, that is prolonging the testing window, according to Hudson.
Its important that people take steps to limit their risk of getting or developing severe complications from COVID-19, flu or other viral illnesses, doctors say. Those include getting a fresh COVID-19 and flu vaccine this winter, which many people have not yet done. For babies, pregnant people and older adults, an RSV immunization is also available.
People who are diligent and get the updated vaccinations as they come out, theyre just going to be less likely to have severe disease, Goldzweig said.
Its important to realize that COVID-19, despite being less deadly than the pandemics more harrowing phases, is no mere common cold virus.
We still see people getting long COVID even if theyve had COVID before, even if theyve been vaccinated, Goldzweig said.
Even people who are younger face about a 20% increased risk of heart attacks and stroke within six months of a COVID illness, which for people who are in their 30s and 40s is a pretty big increase, Hudson added. So while for some COVID infections might feel like a regular cold, it can potentially have longer-lasting impacts that were only really starting to understand.
Its not about living in fear. Its just about understanding that there are more risks to this than just a run-of-the-mill sore throat, Hudson said.
The latest wave has also continued to infect the diminishing number of people who had never had COVID-19 previously, including Dr. Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla.
Topol, who got it last month, has remained careful about trying to avoid the coronavirus, but was infected after a colleague with whom he shares an office came down with COVID-19. That colleague was similarly cautious, so neither wore masks while sharing their office, Topol said. The colleague doesnt know how he was infected.
Its picking off a lot of new hosts right now, Topol said.
In an op-ed published in The Times, Topol wrote that the coronavirus, with its ongoing ability to accumulate mutations, has proved to be highly resilient and has not been transformed to common cold status.
To truly get back to normal will require new oral, inhaled vaccines that can achieve high levels of mucosal immunity and protection against infections, which would be variant-proof, Topol wrote. Also helpful would be improved, variant-proof shots with better protection and durability. He said these efforts are not getting the urgent priority they need to be completed this year.
Weve got to come up with a way to, as soon as possible, stop infections and transmission, Topol said in an interview. Thats what were missing now. Thats how we get to normal. Thats how we get variant-proof. And then we can rest and feel really good about it.
Tallahassee, Fla. On December 6, 2023, State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo sent a letter to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Robert M. Califf and Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Mandy Cohen regarding questions pertaining to the safety assessments and the discovery of billions of DNA fragments per dose of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 mRNA vaccines.
The Surgeon General outlined concerns regarding nucleic acid contaminants in the approved Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, particularly in the presence of lipid nanoparticle complexes, and Simian Virus 40 (SV40) promoter/enhancer DNA. Lipid nanoparticles are an efficient vehicle for delivery of the mRNA in the COVID-19 vaccines into human cells and may therefore be an equally efficient vehicle for delivering contaminant DNA into human cells. The presence of SV40 promoter/enhancer DNA may also pose a unique and heightened risk of DNA integration into human cells.
In 2007, the FDA published guidance on regulatory limits for DNA vaccines in the Guidance for Industry: Considerations for Plasmid DNA Vaccines for Infectious Disease Indications (Guidance for Industry). In this Guidance for Industry, the FDA outlines important considerations for vaccines that use novel methods of delivery regarding DNA integration, specifically:
On December 14, 2023, the FDA provided a written response providing no evidence that DNA integration assessments have been conducted to address risks outlined by the FDA themselves in 2007. Based on the FDAs recognition of unique risks posed by DNA integration, the efficacy of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines lipid nanoparticle delivery system, and the presence of DNA fragments in these vaccines, it is essential to human health to assess the risks of contaminant DNA integration into human DNA. The FDA has provided no evidence that these risks have been assessed to ensure safety. As such, Florida State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo has released the following statement:
The FDAs response does not provide data or evidence that the DNA integration assessments they recommended themselves have been performed. Instead, they pointed to genotoxicity studies which are inadequate assessments for DNA integration risk. In addition, they obfuscated the difference between the SV40 promoter/enhancer and SV40 proteins, two elements that are distinct.
DNA integration poses a unique and elevated risk to human health and to the integrity of the human genome, including the risk that DNA integrated into sperm or egg gametes could be passed onto offspring of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine recipients. If the risks of DNA integration have not been assessed for mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, these vaccines are not appropriate for use in human beings.
Providers concerned about patient health risks associated with COVID-19 should prioritize patient access to non-mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and treatment. It is my hope that, in regard to COVID-19, the FDA will one day seriously consider its regulatory responsibility to protect human health, including the integrity of the human genome.
In the spirit of transparency and scientific integrity, State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo will continue to assess research surrounding these risks and provide updates to Floridians.
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L.L. Bean has just added a third shift at its factory in Brunswick, Maine, in an attempt to keep up with demand for its iconic boot.
Orders have quadrupled in the past few years as the boots have become more popular among a younger, more urban crowd.
The company says it saw the trend coming and tried to prepare, but orders outpaced projections. They expect to sell 450,000 pairs of boots in 2014.
People hoping to have the boots in time for Christmas are likely going to be disappointed. The bootsare back ordered through February and even March.
"I've been told it's a good problem to have but I"m disappointed that customers not getting what they want as quickly as they want," said Senior Manufacturing Manager Royce Haines.
Customers like, Mary Clifford, tried to order boots on line, but they were back ordered until January.
"I was very surprised this is what they are known for and at Christmas time you can't get them when you need them," said Clifford.
People who do have boots are trying to capitalize on the shortage and are selling them on Ebay at a much higher cost.
L.L. Bean says it has hired dozens of new boot makers, but it takes up to six months to train someone to make a boot.
The company has also spent a million dollars on new equipment to try and keep pace with demand.
Some customers are having luck at the retail stores. They have a separate inventory, and while sizes are limited, those stores have boots on the shelves.
The holidays have come and gone, and once again Americans are riding a tide of respiratory ailments, including Covid. But so far, this winters Covid uptick seems less deadly than last years, and much less so than in 2022, when the Omicron surge ground the nation to a halt.
Were not seeing the signs that would make me think that were heading into another severe wave, said Caitlin Rivers, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. So far, were in relatively good shape.
Still, there are few masks in sight, and just a fraction of the most vulnerable people have received the latest Covid shots, she noted.
Its not too late, Dr. Rivers added. We have not even reached peak yet for Covid, and once you reach peak, you still have to get down the other side. That leaves plenty of time for the vaccine to provide some protection.
Federal officials are relying on limited data to measure this years spread. After the end of the public health emergency in May, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stopped tracking the number of Covid infections. The agency now has only partial access to information from states about vaccination rates.
But trends in wastewater data, positive tests, emergency department visits, hospitalization rates and deaths point to a rise in infections in all regions of the nation, according to the C.D.C. These patterns have prompted many hospitals to reinstate mask policies, after initially resisting a return to them this fall.
As in previous years, the numbers have steadily been rising all winter, and are expected to increase further after holiday travel and get-togethers.
Many of the infections are caused by a new variant, JN.1, which has rapidly spread across the world in recent weeks. I think that theres no doubt its helping drive, pretty substantially, this winter wave, said Katelyn Jetelina, a public health expert and author of a widely read newsletter, Your Local Epidemiologist.
Unfortunately, its coming at the same exact time as us opening up our social networks due to the holidays, she said, so theres kind of a perfect storm going on right now.
Some scientists have pointed to rising levels of the virus in sewage samples as an indicator that infections are at least as high this year as they were at this time last year. But Dr. Rivers urged caution in interpreting wastewater data as a proxy for infections and said hospitalizations were a more reliable metric.
In the week that ended on Dec. 23, hospitalizations rose by nearly 17 percent from the previous week. There were about 29,000 new hospital admissions, compared with 39,000 the same week last year and 61,000 in 2021.
And weekly hospitalizations are increasing more slowly than in previous years, Dr. Rivers said.
Covid is still claiming at least 1,200 lives per week. But that number is about one-third the toll this time last year and one-eighth that in 2021.
We are in this pretty big infection surge right now, but whats really interesting is how hugely hospitalizations have and continue to decouple from infections, Dr. Jetelina said.
She said she worried most about hospitals buckling under the weight of multiple epidemics at once. Even in years before the pandemic, outbreaks of just influenza and respiratory syncytial virus could strain hospitals; rising Covid rates now overlap both illnesses, adding to the burden.
The C.D.C. estimates that so far this season, there have been at least 7.1 million illnesses, 73,000 hospitalizations and 4,500 deaths from the flu.
While Covid tends to be mild in children and young adults, influenza and R.S.V. are most risky for young children and older adults. All three diseases are particularly dangerous for infants.
Emergency department visits for Covid are highest among infants and older adults. While R.S.V. has leveled off in some parts of the country, hospitalization rates remain high among young children and older adults.
The JN.1 variant accounts for nearly half of all Covid cases in the United States, nearly six times the prevalence just a month ago. The variant has one mutation that gives it a greater ability to sidestep immunity than its parent, BA.2.86, which was limited in its spread.
JN.1 may in fact be less transmissible than previous variants. But its immune evasiveness, coupled with the disappearance of preventive measures like masks, may explain its exponential growth worldwide, said Dr. Abraar Karan, an infectious disease physician and postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University.
Still, JN.1 does not appear to cause more severe illness than previous variants, and the current vaccines, tests and treatments work well against all of the current variants.
Experts urged all Americans including those not at high risk of severe illness to opt for vaccines against both Covid and flu, to use masks and air purifiers to prevent infections, to be tested and treated and to stay home if they become ill.
Even those who do not become severely sick run the risk of long-term complications with every new viral infection, researchers noted.
Im not at high risk, to be honest Im young and vaccinated, Dr. Rivers said. But I continue to take precautions in my own life because I do not want to deal with that disruption, and the risk that I could develop a longer-term illness.
But few Americans are following that advice. As of Dec. 23, only 19 percent of adults had received the latest Covid vaccine, and about 44 percent had opted for the annual flu shot. Just over 17 percent of adults aged 60 and older had received the vaccine for R.S.V.
Even among those 75 and older, who are at highest risk from Covid, only about one in three have received the latest shot, according to the C.D.C.
Many people dont realize that shots that protect against the newest variants are available, or that they should be vaccinated even if they are not at high risk, said Gigi Gronvall, a biosecurity expert at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.
Even if the Covid vaccine does not prevent infection, it can shorten the duration and severity of illness, and minimize the risk of long-term symptoms, including brain fog, fatigue, movement problems and dizziness collectively known as long Covid.
Im sure also there are plenty of people who are actively hostile to the idea, but most of the people I encounter, they just dont even know about it, Dr. Gronvall said.
Poor availability of the shots, particularly for children and older adults, has also limited the vaccination rates.
Dr. Gronvall struggled to find a Covid vaccine for her teenage son. Dr. Jetelina has yet to find any for her young children. She said her grandparents, who are both in their mid-90s, also had an incredibly challenging time.
One of them is in a nursing home and still hasnt been immunized because she happened to be sick the one day the vaccines were offered.
Many nursing home residents and staff members remain unvaccinated, because the staff doesnt understand the benefits, said Dr. Karan, who worked with nursing facilities in Los Angeles County.
Financial incentives can improve vaccine coverage, but the lack of awareness about the benefits is a major problem, he said.
Experts also urged people who develop symptoms to take a test and ask for antiviral drugs Tamiflu for influenza, Paxlovid for Covid especially if they are at high risk of complications.
Paxlovid is still available free of charge to most people, but many patients and even doctors avoid it out of a mistaken belief that it causes Covid symptoms to rebound, experts said. Recent studies did not find a relationship between antiviral drugs and symptom rebound.
For many viruses, including the flu, we know that earlier use of antivirals is going to be beneficial, Dr. Karan said. You stop viral replication quickly, you have less of an immune dysregulation thereafter.
This is a video synopsis/summary of a panel discussion involving Tina Q. Tan, MD, FAAP, FIDSA, FPIDS, and Rodney Rohde, PhD, MS, SM(ASCP)CM.
The focus of the discussion is on the impact of different viral subtypes of the SARS-CoV-2 virus on the development of long COVID-19 symptoms. The speaker emphasizes that there is no specific data pinpointing a particular viral variant responsible for long COVID-19, but observations suggest a potential correlation. Recent data show a decrease in long COVID-19 cases, possibly attributed to a larger population immunity and changes in the virus's virulence over time.
The conversation delves into factors influencing long COVID-19, such as immune status, genetic predisposition, and vaccination. The speaker underscores the importance of vaccination in preventing COVID-19 infection and reducing the severity of its impact, subsequently lowering the risk of long COVID-19. Vaccine hesitancy, a growing concern, is discussed in the context of its potential contribution to the increased occurrence of long COVID-19.
The dialogue transitions to a discussion about available COVID-19 vaccines, specifically focusing on mRNA vaccines like Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, as well as the protein subunit vaccine Novavax. Vaccination recommendations, particularly for different age groups and immune-compromised individuals, are highlighted. The updated COVID-19 vaccine is recommended for individuals aged 5 years and older, with specific dosing guidelines provided based on prior vaccination history.
Overall, the discussion emphasizes the role of vaccination in preventing COVID-19 infection and reducing the likelihood of long COVID-19. The speaker provides insights into the evolving understanding of the virus and vaccination recommendations based on the latest data and situations.
Video synopsis is AI-generated and reviewed by PatientCare editorial staff.
