Skip to main content

New top story from Time: Pfizer-BioNTech Announces They Will Test a Third Dose of Their COVID-19 Vaccine

https://ift.tt/3uxRRGn

Pfizer-BioNTech has begun testing a third dose of its COVID-19 vaccine in a small group of people. The vaccine is currently authorized in several countries in a two-dose regimen, given 21 days apart, and has proven in studies to be about 95% effective in protecting against COVID-19 disease. But as new (and more infectious) genetic variants of the COVID-19 virus start circulating—so far, scientists have identified three major strains, first found in the U.K., South Africa, and Brazil, respectively—questions about how well authorized vaccines can still thwart the virus have become more urgent.

Pfizer-BioNTech have already done studies testing blood serum from people vaccinated with their original shot against some of these variants, and found that the immune response triggered by the two doses is still quite protective. In fact, in the case of the U.K. variant (referred to as B.1.1.7), levels of antibodies produced by the vaccine regimen, an important immune defense against the virus, were similar to levels against the original, non-mutated virus. However, the researchers found that the level of antibodies produced by the original vaccine were lower against the South African variant (referred to as B.1.351). Pfizer-BioNTech hasn’t yet completed the same level of rigorous testing against the Brazilian variant (referred to as P1).

“So far we haven’t heard any reports of breakthrough cases [among vaccinated people] related to any of the new variants,” says Mikael Dolsten, chief scientific officer at Pfizer, referring to serious infections with the variant viruses among vaccinated people. “But we always want to be one step ahead of the virus. That made us think about generating data on a third boost. We are going to give people who were part of our Phase 1-2 study from last summer a boost with another dose of the current vaccine. We expect that the antibody levels may rise against current variants to strengthen protection.”

Only a clinical trial will prove that. Pfizer-BioNTech plans to vaccinate 144 people who were enrolled in the companies’ early phase studies, who received their second dose between six and 12 months ago.

In the event that the additional dose does not enhance people’s protection, Dolsten says Pfizer has also developed a new vaccine targeting the South African variant, which has shown the most resistance to vaccine-induced immunity so far. Because the mRNA technology on which the original vaccine was built only requires the right genetic sequence to build a new version, Dolsten says developing a new vaccine targeting the South African variant only took six to eight weeks. In about a month or so, he says, Pfizer plans to begin a trial in which researchers will give participants who got two doses of the original vaccine a third dose—of the new variant vaccine.

It’s all part of a dry run for what might become a routine process in coming years: shifting to new versions of the vaccine after a few months, or a year or so, similar to the way seasonal flu vaccines change depending on which strains are circulating each influenza season. Producing the new COVFID-19 vaccine and testing it, Dolsten says, “paves the way for more rapid changes in the future. If the virus mutates beyond what we see today, we will already have data on how to do a strain shift and rapidly change production. We could just feed the production process with a different mRNA and everything else would be the same.”

He stresses that the original vaccine that received U.S. Food and Drug Administration emergency use authorization continues to protect well against all variants of the virus, but that all of these measures are ways to “constantly have options to stay ahead of the virus and move very fast if we see less protection against any new [mutant] strains.”

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Destination San Francisco: Muni Gets You to All the Sights

Destination San Francisco: Muni Gets You to All the Sights By 39 Coit servicing Coit Tower at Telegraph Hill – one of the routes that will be returning in August 2021 as part of Muni’s next service changes. San Francisco is reopening and the  SFMTA is supporting economic recovery by providing Muni access to 98% of the city.  By August 2021, a majority of our pre-COVID routes will be back in service connecting residents and visitors with world-class shopping and dining experiences, off-the-beaten-path local flare, diverse neighborhoods and almost boundless outdoor activities.  Shops, Markets & Dining in Diverse Neighborhoods  Virtually every neighborhood in San Francisco has its own boutique shopping and dining experiences, as well as unique farmers markets showcasing local shops and amenities....

Safer and Easier Parking in Every City-Owned Facility

Safer and Easier Parking in Every City-Owned Facility By Pamela Johnson Parking at any of our 22 city-owned facilities is now easier and safer than ever. Late last month we completed the Parking Access Revenue and Control Systems (PARCS) project. This four-year effort replaced aging parking equipment with modern technology and significant operational upgrades. Customer using new PARCS kiosk at North Beach parking garage Patrons will notice enhanced lighting, new wayfinding signs, audible alarms, cameras, gate arms, and payment machines with two-way digital intercoms . Behind the scenes is an all-new parking management system and 24/7 command center, connected to every machine. Can’t find your ticket to pay for parking?  No worries! Thanks to license plate recognition technology, cameras located at every facility’s entrance capture patrons’ plate numbers as they arrive . If a customer loses her ticket, the manager is able to re-issue a ticket based on her license plate...

Muni Service Changes Starting June 13

Muni Service Changes Starting June 13 By Mariana Maguire Beginning Saturday, June 13, the SFMTA will increase Muni service and frequency, add select routes into service and extend some current routes to continue to support essential trips. A key goal of these service increases is to support the community’s economic recovery by providing more connections to neighborhood commercial districts as businesses begin to reopen. We are also adding more frequent service on targeted routes to help address crowding and improve onboard physical distancing. These service changes will improve transit access through Chinatown, SoMa and the Excelsior neighborhoods, identified by the Muni’s Service Equity Strategy as neighborhoods that rely on transit service the most based on the percentage of households with low incomes, private vehicle ownership and race and ethnicity demographics. Although Muni continues to be for essential trips only, many people have no choice but to use transit to r...

New top story from Time: ‘We’re Nowhere Close to the Deal’. Coronavirus Aid Package Talks Break Down as Trump Rejects Help for Cities

https://ift.tt/3098lHW WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Wednesday dismissed Democratic demands for aid to cash-strapped cities in a new coronavirus relief package and lashed out at Republican allies as talks stalemated over assistance for millions of Americans. Another lawmaker tested positive for the virus. Republicans, beset by delays and infighting, signaled a willingness to swiftly approve a modest package to revamp a $600 weekly unemployment benefit that’s running out. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., roundly rejected that approach as meager, all but forcing Republicans back to the negotiating table. Without action, the aid expires Friday. “We’re nowhere close to the deal,” said White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. He said they’re “miles apart.” Stark differences remain between the $3 trillion proposal from Democrats and $1 trillion counter from Republicans, a standoff that is testing Trump and Congress ahead of the November election and putting...

How Improving Muni Also Makes Life Better for Drivers

How Improving Muni Also Makes Life Better for Drivers By Andrea Buffa Photo credit: We Ride Australia If you mostly drive to get around San Francisco, you may be wondering, “what has the SFMTA done for me lately?” San Francisco is a “ transit first ” city, so at the SFMTA we focus our resources on making it easier for San Franciscans to get around by public transit as well as by biking, walking and personal mobility device. While it may seem like adding transit lanes and protected bike lanes doesn’t have anything to do with driving, in fact, it does.  Since San Francisco doesn’t have room to give more space to roads, we have to change the way we use the limited space on our existing streets. (Not that adding more roads reduces traffic anyway – check out this article .) City Traffic Engineer Ricardo Oleo puts it this way: “When you have a city like San Francisco that was built with density in mind, having everyone drive is not a viable option. There’s not enough room to have th...

Gene Henderson: Honoring Muni’s First Black Division Manager

Gene Henderson: Honoring Muni’s First Black Division Manager By Jeremy Menzies In recognition of Black History Month, we bring you the story of Gene Henderson, the first Black man to become the head of a Muni bus division, Muni’s Kirkland Division. Henderson’s Background Gene Henderson was born in Houston, Texas, in 1916. He married his wife Naomi in 1939 and then served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Following the war, Gene and his family moved to San Francisco where he began his career at the San Francisco Municipal Railway. Early Career On February 1, 1946, Henderson was hired as a streetcar motorman out of Sutro Division, which was located on the corner of 32nd Ave. and Clement St. He was hired just five years after Muni’s first Black transit operator, Audley Cole, had successfully fought to integrate the carmen’s union in 1941. In his early days at Muni, Gene worked one of the three lines running out of Sutro Division from the Ferry Building to the Richmond District o...

FOX NEWS: 6-year-old girl died after theme park ride operators failed to buckle her in: report A new report revealed the apparent cause of a tragic accident at a Colorado theme park earlier this month.

6-year-old girl died after theme park ride operators failed to buckle her in: report A new report revealed the apparent cause of a tragic accident at a Colorado theme park earlier this month. via FOX NEWS https://ift.tt/39Ix5eg

Residents Overwhelmingly Support Slow Streets

Residents Overwhelmingly Support Slow Streets By Eillie Anzilotti After over a year of Slow Streets providing safe, low-volume corridors for people to walk, bike, play and travel during the pandemic, we’re excited to share our first comprehensive evaluation of the program . The key takeaway? San Franciscans are overwhelmingly in support of Slow Streets. Slow Streets are designed to limit through traffic on certain residential streets and allow them to be used as a shared roadway for people traveling by foot and by bicycle. Since introducing Slow Streets in April 2020 in response to the Mayor’s Emergency Health Order, SFMTA has designated around 30 corridors covering 47 miles of roadway as Slow Streets. The program has evolved from a critical component of San Francisco’s pandemic response and recovery to a potential new avenue to further the city and SFMTA’s goals around climate action and sustainable transportation. As the Slow Streets program has grown, we wanted to make sure we...

New top story from Time: 1 Million People Have Died of COVID-19. It’s a Reminder That We Still Have So Much to Do

https://ift.tt/2S7i3Wv With an ever-climbing tally of COVID-19 infections, deaths, and calculations about how quickly the virus is spreading, the numbers can start to lose meaning. But one million is a resonant milestone. According to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center , the world has now lost one million lives to the new coronavirus. It’s easy to draw analogies— one million people dying of COVID-19 would be the equivalent of just over the entire population of a country like Djibouti, or just under the populace of Cyprus. Perhaps more sobering would be to think of that number less as an entity and more in terms of the precious individual lives it represents. It’s a chance to remind ourselves that each of those deaths is a mother, a father, a grandmother, a grandfather, a friend, a loved one . It’s also a warning to learn from these deaths so they haven’t occurred in vain. When the novel coronavirus burst into the world last winter, the best virus and public h...

Last Chance - 2022 Muni Service Network Survey Closes October 1, 2021

Last Chance - 2022 Muni Service Network Survey Closes October 1, 2021 By Mariana Maguire SFMTA staff talks with customer about 2022 Muni service options at farmer’s market pop-up event. The SFMTA recently introduced three options for increasing Muni service in early 2022. We launched efforts to get community input on them, including a brief survey that closes Friday, October 1. If you haven’t taken the survey yet, there are still a few days left! You can find the survey link at SFMTA.com/2022Network. We’ve received more than 4,000 survey responses so far and a few hundred calls to our hotline and feedback to our TellMuni@SFMTA.com email. You can also provide feedback on the shortened J Church route and changes to the 23 Monterey, 57 Parkmerced, 35 Eureka and 48 Quintara/24th Street by contacting TellMuni@SFMTA.com or 415.646.2005. All three alternatives to increase Muni bus service in early 2022 have the same amount of total bus service – they’re just arranged differently. Th...