A COVID-19 booster dose will provide strong and broad antibody protection against Omicron sublineage variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, two new studies using serum from human blood samples suggest. Researchers from Ohio State University in the US tested neutralizing antibody levels against the BA.2 and BA.3 Omicron variants and Deltacron, a recombinant variant created by … Read more
Vaccine major Serum Institute of India (SII) has appealed to the government to reduce the gap between the second and booster dose to six months from nine months at present to safeguard people against emerging COVID variants, according to its CEO Adar Poonawalla. Recalling that they could not meet the commitment of exporting vaccines in … Read more
India’s precautionary dose vaccination, for ages 18 and above, took off on Sunday although some hospital chains postponed inoculations to Monday. Chains such as Apollo (in Delhi and Kolkata), AMRI (in Kolkata), Fortis, Max Healthcare said booster jabs would be administered Monday onwards. While logistics issues and short staffing were cited as a reason, the … Read more
India on Friday opened up precautionary vaccine doses (the third shot) for all aged 18 years and above from April 10. Paid vaccines will be available in private vaccination centers only. All those who are 18 years and above; and have completed nine months post the administration of their second dose, will be eligible for … Read more
The Biden administration will be giving elderly Americans a second COVID-19 booster shot, multiple people familiar with the plan told The New York Times. Those above the age of 50 will be able to get a second booster of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines. However, multiple issues complicate the plan as the administration has … Read more
The number of COVID-19 vaccinations per day in the United States has fallen to the lowest level since the early days of the campaign in 2020, despite many Americans not having received their booster shots. The seven-day average of vaccine doses of all types given in the US fell to 127,000 per day this week, … Read more
Pfizer will ask the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to authorize a second COVID-19 vaccine booster dose for adults over the age of 65, two people familiar with the situation told The New York Times. The sources said the company could request the emergency use authorization as soon as Tuesday, according to the Times. The … Read more
The World Health Organization (WHO) updated its vaccine guidance on Tuesday to recommend the administration of COVID-19 booster shots, marking a reversal from what the UN organization has previously said about additional vaccine doses. In a statement, the WHO said the Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19 Vaccine Composition “strongly supports urgent and broad access to … Read more
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials are “very careful” considering second booster doses of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, according to The Wall Street Journal. FDA spokesperson Alison Hunt confirmed to CNN that the FDA “is indeed continuously looking at the emerging data on the pandemic and variants in the United States and overseas in order … Read more
America’s tidal wave of Omicron infections seems to have reached its peak, but it’s still a bad place. Although coronavirus cases are starting to tick down nationwide, so many Americans have tested positive for COVID since Christmas Day that they account for a quarter of all cases registered in the United States. Thanks to the … Read more