
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>Three doses of a Covid-19 vaccine provide stronger protection against the highly contagious omicron variant than two primary series doses, according to a new Danish study, a finding that provides more support for the effectiveness of boosters as the U.S. government prepares to roll out shots specifically targeting the omicron strain.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>Primary series Covid vaccines provided weak protection against omicron infections, according to the&nbsp;<a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1003992" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a>, which was published in&nbsp;<em>PLOS Medicine</em>: Among those aged 12 to 59, two doses were only 40% effective in preventing omicron infections 14 to 30 days after vaccination, which fell to 12.6% four months after inoculation.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Three Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine doses, meanwhile, provided 55.1% protection against omicron infection among those ages 18 to 59, which fell to 52.3% after four months, with similar rates observed in those 60 years and older, according to researchers, who examined data on Denmark residents 12 years and older.</p>



<p>A booster shot also appeared to provide stronger protection against omicron hospitalizations: Vaccines were 83.3% effective at preventing hospitalizations four months after a third shot among those 60 and older, compared to 77.6% protection four months after two doses among those ages 18 to 59 (those 60 and older with only two shots weren’t included, as nearly all had opted for a third dose by the omicron wave).&nbsp;</p>



<p>The study indicates a third dose “is necessary to maintain protection” against coronavirus infections for a longer time and to guard against hospitalizations in light of the new omicron variant, the authors wrote.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">NEWS PEG</h2>



<p>The Biden administration could roll out new Covid booster shots targeting omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 as soon as Labor Day weekend. The Food and Drug Administration&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/madelinehalpert/2022/08/31/booster-shots-targeting-omicron-are-now-fda-approved-heres-what-you-need-to-know/">authorized</a>&nbsp;Pfizer and Moderna’s updated shots this week, which, after approval from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will be available to all Americans 12 years and older two months after their last shot.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>Previous research has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2022/01/21/what-you-need-to-know-about-how-well-vaccines-protect-you-against-omicron/?sh=74bb70803575">found</a>&nbsp;only primary series vaccination or a previous Covid infection provide little protection against symptomatic omicron infections, while other&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7104e3.htm?s_cid=mm7104e3_w" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">studies</a>&nbsp;have demonstrated booster doses provide extra protection against hospitalizations, emergency room and urgent care visits. The omicron variant, first reported in South Africa in November 2021, fueled a surge in winter coronavirus infections in the U.S. that led to a spike in Covid hospitalizations and deaths. The variant has specific mutations in its spike proteins—the part of the virus that binds to the human cell—that helps it evade the immune system as well as antibodies from previous coronavirus infections and vaccines. The Biden administration is hoping to stave off a winter Covid surge with new shots targeting omicron substrains BA.4 and BA.5, which have quickly become dominant after making their way to the U.S. in late March.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/madelinehalpert/2022/08/31/booster-shots-targeting-omicron-are-now-fda-approved-heres-what-you-need-to-know/">New Covid Booster Shots Targeting Omicron Are Now FDA Authorized—Here’s What You Need To Know&nbsp;</a>(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2022/01/21/what-you-need-to-know-about-how-well-vaccines-protect-you-against-omicron/?sh=74bb70803575">What You Need To Know About How Well Vaccines Protect You Against Omicron</a> (Forbes)</p>



<p><strong><em>By Madeline Halpert, Forbes Staff</em></strong></p>


More Australians Eligible For Fourth COVID-19 Vaccination Booster Following ATAGI Recommendation

Three Covid Vaccine Doses Better Than Two Against Omicron Infections, New Study Reinforces


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>The immune response generated by previous exposure to common colds could protect against Covid-19, according to a new peer reviewed study&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-27674-x" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published</a>&nbsp;in<em>&nbsp;Nature Communications</em>&nbsp;Monday, an early but promising finding researchers say could pave the way to more long-lasting vaccines that protect against current and future variants of coronavirus.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>People with high levels of T cells—a type of white blood cell that is a key part of the immune system—from other coronavirus infections like the common cold are less likely to contract the virus that causes Covid-19, according to a study by researchers at Imperial College London.</p>



<p>For the study, which took place in September 2020 (before most in the U.K. had been infected or vaccinated against Covid-19), the researchers followed 52 people living with someone who had Covid-19, half of whom went on to contract the disease.&nbsp;</p>



<p>For the half that did not get infected, blood samples taken shortly after exposure revealed higher levels of T cells from previous coronavirus infections, such as colds, that could also recognize proteins in the virus that causes Covid-19, the researchers said.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Professor Ajit Lalvani, the study’s senior author,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/233018/cells-from-common-colds-cross-protect-against/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;the findings provide “the clearest evidence to date that T cells induced by common cold coronaviruses play a protective role against” Covid and could hold the key to developing a universal vaccine that protects against current and future variants</p>



<p>The study said the T Cells attack proteins inside the virus, rather than the spike protein (targeted by most widely-used vaccines) on its surface, which Lalvani said mutate much less and make for more “broadly protective vaccines” between various variants.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>While not all people who are exposed to Covid become infected, the precise mechanism behind this is not clear. Broader immune responses to Covid, such as those with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02260-9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">previous coronavirus infections</a>, have also indicated a more nuanced role of immunity than we currently understand. While the finding is an important one, first author Dr. Rhia Kundu said “it is only one form of protection… that no one should rely on” alone. Kundu said the best way to protect against Covid-19 “is to be fully vaccinated, including getting your booster dose.”&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h2>



<p>The role of T cells could be important. They last in the body far longer than the antibody responses after vaccination, which diminish after months. Lalvani,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/01/10/common-cold-might-have-given-britons-protection-covid-pandemic/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according to</a>&nbsp;the&nbsp;<em>Telegraph,&nbsp;</em>said a vaccine provoking a T cell response across variants could cut down the need for boosters. We’re in this awful position where we need boosters every three months, but with T cells you could cut it down to every year or two years.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-for">WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h2>



<p>Scientists in the U.S. Army are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2021/12/22/armys-vaccine-could-protect-against-all-coronavirus-variants/?sh=57cbe2e42eec">developing</a>&nbsp;a Covid-19 vaccine designed to protect against current and future variants. The experimental shot uses multiple spike proteins to prime the immune system to recognize many types of coronavirus. Results from early human trials are expected within weeks.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-27674-x" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cross-reactive memory T cells associate with protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection in COVID-19 contacts</a>&nbsp;(Nature Communications)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2020/04/11/the-secret-history-of-the-first-coronavirus-229e/?sh=451b475371d6">The Secret History Of The First Coronavirus</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/08/magazine/universal-vaccines.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">We’re Getting Close to ‘Universal’ Vaccines. It Hasn’t Been Easy.</a>&nbsp;(NYT)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2021/12/22/armys-vaccine-could-protect-against-all-coronavirus-variants/?sh=57cbe2e42eec">Army’s Vaccine Could Protect Against All Coronavirus Variants</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><em><strong>By Robert Hart, Forbes Staff</strong></em></p>


Sick woman video chatting with doctor on laptop

Common Cold Could Protect Against Covid Infection, Study Suggests


<p><strong>South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has tested positive for COVID-19 amidst a rising fourth wave of infections in the country.&nbsp;&nbsp;</strong></p>



<p>South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has tested positive for COVID-19 and is receiving treatment for mild symptoms, according to a press release issued by the Presidency.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;<br>&#8220;The president is in good spirits but is being monitored by the South African Military Health Service of the South African National Defence Force&#8221;&nbsp;said Minister of the Presidency&nbsp;Mondli&nbsp;Gungubele. &nbsp;<br>&nbsp;<br>Ramaphosa reportedly began feeling unwell after having attended the state memorial service of former South African President FW de Klerk in Cape Town earlier in the weekend. Ramaphosa had also recently been on a tour of four West African states, where the delegation had been tested regularly, including on their return to South Africa.&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;<br>However, the presidency has encouraged all persons who had contact with Ramaphosa during the memorial service to watch for symptoms and get tested.&nbsp;</p>



<p>“Today’s proceedings in Cape Town were undertaken in compliance with health regulations pertaining to hand hygiene, the wearing of face masks and social distancing… President Ramaphosa says his own infection serves as a caution to all people in the country to be vaccinated and remain vigilant against exposure” said the presidency in a statement. <br> <br>The President is now in isolation and has handed over his duties to Deputy President David Mabuza for the week – Ramaphosa’s positive results coming amidst a striking fourth wave of infections in South Africa and the recent discovery of the Omicron variant, with 18 035 new daily cases recorded as of Sunday, and an additional 19 840 retrospective cases which had not been previously counted in daily totals previously.*<br><br>*<em>An earlier version of this story erroneously reported the new daily total number of cases as 37 875, which included both the daily cases and retrospective cases together &#8211; the article has been corrected to reflect these separately. </em><br><br>  </p>


TOPSHOT-SAFRICA-HEALTH-VACCINE-VIRUS

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa tests positive for COVID-19


<p><strong>As the fear of the new Omicron variant spreads along with the virus itself, many countries and businesses worldwide have implemented or begun to discuss implementing vaccine mandates, restricting access to services or work to only those who have received their jabs.  </strong></p>



<p>Are you vaccinated against COVID-19? Depending on where you are in the world, you may not have access to certain government services&nbsp;or be able to continue employment&nbsp;without proof of vaccination as vaccine mandates are deliberated and&nbsp;potentially&nbsp;rolled out around the world.&nbsp;</p>



<p>As the Omicron variant sparks&nbsp;fears around the possibility of increased mortality and transmissibility, some nations&nbsp;and businesses&nbsp;have made&nbsp;COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory, with more nation states considering their implementation.&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;<br>“I think it is understandable and appropriate to lead this discussion now…. how we can encourage and potentially think about mandatory vaccination within the European&nbsp;Union,” said&nbsp;Ursula von der Leyen,&nbsp;European Commission President,&nbsp;during a press conference yesterday.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;<br>Some European&nbsp;Union&nbsp;nations have already implemented&nbsp;their own form of&nbsp;mandates, with Italy and France requiring all healthcare workers to provide proof of vaccination, and many other countries implementing fines and restricting&nbsp;interprovincial and international&nbsp;movement for the unvaccinated.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Similar&nbsp;actions are underway on the African continent, with Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa considering&nbsp;or implementing&nbsp;mandates, with&nbsp;South African President Cyril Ramaphosa&nbsp;announcing deliberations during a national address on November&nbsp;28:&nbsp;&#8220;Government has set up a task team that will undertake broad consultations on making vaccination mandatory for specific activities and locations.&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;<br>Despite&nbsp;having previously&nbsp;stated&nbsp;that&nbsp;“nobody will be forced to take this vaccine. Nobody will be forbidden from traveling, from enrolling at school, or from taking part in any public activity if they have not been vaccinated” in an earlier address, the President seems to have adjusted the&nbsp;government’s&nbsp;position due to economic pressure as a result of increased travel restrictions due to the Omicron variant, which has seen much of the world implement a travel&nbsp;ban on&nbsp;southern Africa in the run-up to the holiday period.&nbsp;The South African Rand dropped to&nbsp;its&nbsp;weakest level in over a year with the discovery of the&nbsp;new variant.&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;<br>Other countries on&nbsp;the continent have already made the move to implement.&nbsp;Kenya, which has seen over a quarter of a million cases of COVID-19, will require&nbsp;people to provide proof of vaccination to enter businesses, restaurants, schools and transport services as of 21 December 2021 – a move which has seen both praise and criticism, as business associations and civil society say that a nation with an 8.8% vaccination rate will not be able to meet sufficient targets&nbsp;and will cause further economic damage.&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;<br>Nigeria has recently extended the vaccination deadline for civil servants to&nbsp;31 December 2021, after which the unvaccinated will see themselves barred access from any public buildings or offices.&nbsp;</p>



<p>However, with only 1.7% of the country’s population vaccinated, it seems unlikely to reach the Federal Government’s earlier set goal of 50% of the population vaccinated by January 2022.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>Some South African businesses have already begun implementing mandates of their own, with health and finance conglomerate Discovery&nbsp;making vaccination mandatory for staff&nbsp;by early 2022, the announcement of which caused a surge in uptake of the vaccines within the&nbsp;organization, rising from barely 20% to 94%.&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;<br>“Ultimately, as a science-led organization,&nbsp;we feel a strong moral imperative to do this, given the need to curb the loss of life and the indisputable proof that vaccines work in doing so,” said Discovery CEO Adrian Gore in an op-ed published in South Africa’s&nbsp;<em>Business Day</em>.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>Universities and other large businesses in South Africa have followed suit.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Worldwide, the implementation&nbsp;or announcement of mandates&nbsp;have&nbsp;seen backlash and protests.&nbsp;The Biden administration in the United States has seen setbacks recently, with federal courts halting attempts to roll&nbsp;out vaccine mandates for healthcare workers and federal government contractors.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>In Australia, thousands in Melbourne protested outside Parliament House yesterday as a wide-reaching vaccine mandate was implemented, with many workers in public service leaving their uniforms on the steps of the House in protest against the mandate. <br> <br>Similar protests have occurred throughout the globe, including South Africa, which has seen anti-vaccination protestors demonstrate outside healthcare and government facilities over the last year. <br> <br>With COVID-19 cases growing globally and uncertainty around the impact of the Omicron variant, it remains to be seen whether vaccine mandates will be able to be successfully implemented, and if they will contribute successfully to the fight against the pandemic. <br> <br></p>


Vaccination centers in South Africa continue administering Covid-19 vaccines

Vaccine Mandates – ‘No Jab, No Work’ May Become Reality Amid Omicron Fears


<p><strong>TOPLINE</strong> British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca Wednesday announced it will transition to “modest profitability” for sales of its Covid-19 vaccine, departing from previous commitments to sell the shot on a not-for-profit basis during the pandemic.  </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>AstraZeneca&nbsp;<a href="https://www.astrazeneca.com/content/dam/az/PDF/2021/q3/Year-to-date_and_Q3_2021_results_announcement.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;it intends to move towards profitability as new orders for its Covid-19 vaccine come in.</p>



<p>The drugmaker anticipates profiting on the vaccine this quarter, according to a trading update released Friday, as it fulfills news sales commitments and those made during the pandemic.&nbsp;</p>



<p>AstraZeneca said the jab, which it developed alongside the University of Oxford, will still be supplied to poorer nations on a not-for-profit basis and profits will be used to offset costs from its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2021/10/11/astrazenecas-injectable-antibody-cocktail-halves-risk-of-death-or-developing-severe-covid-trial-finds/?sh=4fbe706842ce">Covid-19 antibody treatment</a>.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h2>



<p>$1.05 billion. That’s how much AstraZeneca made from sales of its Covid-19 vaccine in the third quarter. This is up from $894 million and $275 million in the second and first quarter, respectively, and the company said it and sub-licensees have delivered 1.5 billion doses by the end of September. In contrast, Pfizer and Moderna&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/cae4eb5f-1369-4eec-88ec-6fd3afe352ab" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">booked</a>&nbsp;around $13 billion and $5 billion from vaccine sales in the third quarter.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>Unlike other major drugmakers, AstraZeneca pledged to sell its Covid-19 shot at cost during the pandemic. The company’s entrance into the vaccine race took many by surprise, mostly due to the fact it had produced just one vaccine before, a nasal flu spray. The actual duration of the pledge—which has been a drag on profits—is unclear, though executives indicated they may evaluate countries on a case-by-base basis and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/c474f9e1-8807-4e57-9c79-6f4af145b686" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">agreements</a>&nbsp;seen by the<em>&nbsp;Financial Times</em>&nbsp;revealed a clause enabling the company to decide itself after a certain period of time. The vaccine was originally framed as a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/astrazeneca-vaccine-covax-world-clots/2021/04/15/da05b424-9876-11eb-8f0a-3384cf4fb399_story.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">world-saver</a>, a more practical and cheaper alternative to the mRNA shots of Pfizer and Moderna. Though it is safe and effective, a litany of issues including mistakes in clinical trials,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2021/05/06/new-study-finds-small-blood-clot-risk-after-one-astrazeneca-vaccine-dose-rates-are-higher-than-expected-for-general-population/?sh=542edee13265">concerns</a>&nbsp;about rare blood clots and trouble&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2021/04/26/astrazeneca-sued-by-eus-executive-branch-over-covid-vaccine-delivery-delays/?sh=10aa1d6b2b35">delivering</a>&nbsp;doses on time have knocked the vaccine’s—and AstraZeneca’s—reputation worldwide, though it remains a staple of the global Covax vaccine sharing initiative. Following the success of its coronavirus shot, the drugmaker is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/36cbdad9-7dd9-4ba5-a4ef-818c41cfadb3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">creating</a>&nbsp;a division dedicated to vaccines and antibody therapies.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/cae4eb5f-1369-4eec-88ec-6fd3afe352ab" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">AstraZeneca to take profits from Covid vaccine sales</a>&nbsp;(FT)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanvardi/2021/03/19/astrazenecas-pascal-soriot-was-the-hottest-ceo-in-pharma-now-hes-in-the-hot-seat/?sh=3b2e4b7f10e6">AstraZeneca’s Pascal Soriot Was The Hottest CEO In Pharma. Now He’s In The Hot Seat.</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2021/10/11/astrazenecas-injectable-antibody-cocktail-halves-risk-of-death-or-developing-severe-covid-trial-finds/?sh=4fbe706842ce">AstraZeneca’s Injectable Antibody Cocktail Halves Risk Of Death Or Developing Severe Covid, Trial Finds</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><strong><a href="https://www.forbes.com/coronavirus/">Full coverage and live updates on the Coronavirus</a></strong></p>



<p><em><strong>By Robert Hart, Forbes Staff</strong></em></p>


Young woman getting vaccinated

AstraZeneca Will Now Profit From Covid Vaccine After Pledge To Sell At Cost During Pandemic


<p><a href="https://policies.google.com/privacy" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"></a><strong>TOPLINE</strong> People who previously contracted Covid-19 have about the same level of protection against contracting the disease as those fully inoculated with two key vaccines, according to the findings of a study published Monday which adds to a growing and sometimes contradictory body of research on natural immunity.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/articles/coronaviruscovid19infectionsurveytechnicalarticleimpactofvaccinationontestingpositiveintheuk/latest" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a>&nbsp;published by the U.K.’s Office of National Statistics (ONS) looked at more than 8,000 positive coronavirus tests across Britain between May and August, when delta was the dominant variant.&nbsp;</p>



<p>During this time, people who had previously recovered from Covid-19 were about 71% less likely to contract it a second time, the analysis found.&nbsp;</p>



<p>This represents about the same level of protection the study found was offered by two doses of the vaccines made by Pfizer and AstraZeneca, which have been prominently used in Europe’s inoculation drive.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Two doses of the Pfizer vaccine reduced the risk of contracting Covid-19 by around 73% compared to 62% for AstraZeneca’s vaccine.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The overlap in confidence intervals meant there “was no evidence” that full vaccination was any more effective in preventing Covid-19 than previous natural infection, the researchers concluded.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The study, which has not been peer reviewed, found previous infection was similarly effective at preventing symptomatic Covid-19, but did not delve into the differences between natural infection and vaccines in preventing severe disease.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND&nbsp;</h2>



<p>There have been dozens of studies conducted on natural immunity, with many coming up with different results. A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.08.24.21262415v1.full.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a>&nbsp;out of Israel last month indicated people with two vaccine shots actually had a six-fold higher chance of getting infected with the delta variant than those who had previously contracted Covid-19. In this study, vaccinated people also had a higher risk of symptomatic infection, and a 6.7-fold higher chance of being hospitalized. However, other studies have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/18/health/if-youve-had-covid-do-you-need-the-vaccine.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">signaled</a>&nbsp;that mRNA vaccines produce more antibodies, more reliably than previous infection from Covid-19 does. Regardless, scientists are still strongly&nbsp;<a href="https://www.science.org/content/article/having-sars-cov-2-once-confers-much-greater-immunity-vaccine-vaccination-remains-vital" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">recommending</a>&nbsp;the previously infected get vaccinated against Covid-19 because of the many remaining questions about natural immunity, its level of protection and how long it can last.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE&nbsp;</h2>



<p>Studies have also consistently shown that vaccination on top of previous infection offers even higher levels of immunity. As&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.ons.gov.uk/2021/10/18/vaccine-effectiveness-against-covid-19-what-can-the-covid-19-infection-survey-tell-us/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">highlighted</a>&nbsp;by Sarah Croft, the head of analysis for the U.K. study, “the highest protection was found among those who had experienced a past infection followed by two vaccines.”&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT&nbsp;</h2>



<p>The study also found both vaccines were less effective at preventing Covid-19 during the delta wave than during the previous alpha wave of the virus. The efficacy of two doses of the Pfizer vaccine was 80% during the earlier period, compared to 76% for AstraZeneca’s vaccine. Croft said this trend may be further evidence of the waning immunity of vaccines as the data “includes results from participants who had experienced a longer average time period since their second Covid vaccination.”&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/18/health/if-youve-had-covid-do-you-need-the-vaccine.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">“If You’ve Had Covid, Do You Need the Vaccine?”</a>&nbsp;(The New York Times)</p>



<p><strong><a href="https://www.forbes.com/coronavirus/">Full coverage and live updates on the Coronavirus</a></strong></p>


SAFRICA-HEALTH-VIRUS-VACCINE

Prior Covid Infection Is As Effective At Preventing The Virus As Vaccination, U.K. Study Suggests


<p id="h-topline"><strong>TOPLINE</strong> People who received Johnson &amp; Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine may benefit more from a Moderna or Pfizer booster shot, preliminary data from a U.S. study showed on Wednesday, a finding that comes as the Food and Drug Administration raised <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2021/10/13/fda-says-jj-covid-booster-likely-boosts-immunity-but-evidence-isnt-full-proof/?sh=466febb770cb">concerns</a> about the trial data of J&amp;J’s booster shots.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>The National Institutes of Health-funded&nbsp;<a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.10.10.21264827v1.full.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a>&nbsp;on mixing and matching Covid-19 vaccines featured 458 adults who received one of the three U.S. approved vaccines—Pfizer, Moderna or J&amp;J—and received booster shots later.</p>



<p>The researchers then analyzed antibody levels among participants 15 days after the booster shot.</p>



<p>Among people who originally received a J&amp;J shot, antibody levels were four times higher after a J&amp;J booster, 35 times higher after a Pfizer booster and 76 times higher after a Moderna booster.</p>



<p>The study also found that Moderna recipients had higher antibody levels “irrespective of the booster vaccine administered,” when compared with those who had initially been inoculated with the Pfizer or J&amp;J vaccine.</p>



<p>The study found no safety concerns with mixing and matching the vaccines.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h2>



<p>14.9 million. That’s the total number of people in the U.S. who have received the single dose J&amp;J Covid-19 vaccine,&nbsp;<a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations_vacc-total-admin-rate-total" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according to</a>&nbsp;the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC’s tracker also shows that 10,029 people have received a J&amp;J booster dose even though this has not been formally approved by the FDA.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-for">WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h2>



<p>The NIH-funded study’s findings and the FDA’s mixed review of J&amp;J’s booster shots data may lead to debates about what booster shots will be offered to nearly 15 million recipients of the single-dose vaccine. So far, the supply of Pfizer and Moderna’s mRNA vaccines has far outstripped that of J&amp;J’s shot. According to the CDC’s data, Pfizer has delivered more than 273 million doses and Moderna has delivered more than 191 million doses compared to J&amp;J’s 23.5 million.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>Earlier on Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2021/10/13/fda-says-jj-covid-booster-likely-boosts-immunity-but-evidence-isnt-full-proof/?sh=ea6d48270cbf">published</a>&nbsp;its analysis of J&amp;J’s vaccine booster and noted that it appeared to be beneficial, but the regulator questioned the sensitivity of a test the company used in its trials. Data shared by the vaccine maker showed that a second dose of the J&amp;J shot given two months after the first dose boosted its effectiveness in preventing disease to 75%. However, J&amp;J’s data was not submitted in time for the regulator to independently verify the company’s analysis, the FDA said in its document. The authors of the FDA document raised concerns that the test used by the company to measure immune responses in some trial participants may not have been sensitive enough and therefore could have inflated the efficacy. An FDA advisory panel will meet on Friday to consider whether to recommend the use of a J&amp;J booster shot. Last month, the agency&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/joewalsh/2021/09/22/fda-authorizes-pfizer-covid-booster-shots-for-seniors-and-high-risk-patients---but-not-for-all-americans/?sh=2307be7b5468">authorized</a>&nbsp;Pfizer booster doses for seniors and other high-risk patients.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/13/health/johnson-vaccine-booster-fda.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">People who received a J.&amp;J. vaccine may be better off with a Moderna or Pfizer booster, a study finds.</a>&nbsp;(New York Times)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/13/jj-covid-vaccine-recipients-are-better-off-getting-pfizer-or-moderna-booster-nih-study-suggests.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">J&amp;J Covid vaccine recipients are better off getting Pfizer or Moderna booster, NIH study suggests</a>&nbsp;(CNBC)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2021/10/13/fda-says-jj-covid-booster-likely-boosts-immunity-but-evidence-isnt-full-proof/?sh=ea6d48270cbf">FDA Says J&amp;J Covid Booster Likely Boosts Immunity, But Evidence Isn’t Foolproof</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><strong><em>By Siladitya Ray, Forbes Staff</em></strong></p>


US-HEALTH-VIRUS-VACCINE

J&J Covid-19 Vaccine Recipients May Benefit More From Pfizer Or Moderna Boosters, Study Finds


<p>Access to vaccines remains a problem for Africa due to manufacturing and logistical issues, rendering vaccine targets increasingly uncertain.<br></p>



<p>In the air, after a long time, positivity and relief, at least for now.</p>



<p>The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) in South Africa officially announced the end of the third wave of Covid-19 infections on September 25, with lockdown restrictions looking likely to loosen to include a later curfew and increased leisure and travel activities.<br><br>“Nationally, we have exited the third wave according to the current definition. The national seven-day moving average of daily case numbers, positivity rate and testing rate continue to decrease, with sustained decreases seen in all provinces [in South Africa],” said the NICD in a statement at the weekend.</p>



<p>But the rate of administration would need to increase strongly for the country to avoid a fourth wave of infections projected to occur at the end of the year, with the number of doses needing to almost double over the course of the next two-and-a-half months in order to meet this goal.<br><br>“As we know, our target is that we must vaccinate 70% adults by mid-December to avoid severe further infections when the fourth wave strikes. We are currently short of 17 million more people over 18 years to be vaccinated,” said South African Minister of Health Dr Joe Phaahla in a recent press briefing.<br><br></p>



<p>While South Africa currently stands at almost 17 million doses administered and some 8.4% (according to the Electronic Vaccination Data System or EVDS) of the population fully vaccinated, this stands in stark contrast to over 50% for the United States and the European Union.</p>



<p>A similar difference can be seen for most countries on the continent, as vaccine access looks to be a serious challenge in the months to come.<br><br>These differentiated rates are laying bare several logistical and political challenges presented to an equitable rollout to access to vaccines, making it increasingly unlikely that many nations on the continent will reach the WHO’s target of vaccination of 10% of their populations by the end of September.<br><br>COVAX, the facility aimed at increasing lower-income countries access to vaccines, has had to adjust its delivery targets for the end of the year. Originally standing at 2 billion doses to be delivered, this has been adjusted to 1.425 billion doses, with vaccine export restrictions and manufacturing issues cited as the primary reason for the change, amongst other challenges.<br><br>“In the critical months during which COVAX was created, signed on participants, pooled demand, and raised enough money to make advance purchases of vaccines, much of the early global supply had already been bought by wealthy nations,” read a statement issued by COVAX earlier this month.</p>



<p>While the continent’s second biggest economy can rest more peacefully knowing that the third wave has finally been surmounted, challenges remain.</p>


Third Wave Officially Over In South Africa, But Vaccine Access Challenges Remain On The Continent


<p id="h-topline"><strong>TOPLINE</strong> Pfizer plans to imminently submit its data on Covid-19 vaccinations for five- to 11-year-olds for governmental approval, CEO Albert Bourla said Sunday, which means the shots could potentially be available for kids later this fall after initial data <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2021/09/20/pfizer-prepares-to-seek-us-eu-approval-for-its-covid-vaccine-in-kids-as-young-as-five/?sh=91f3a3b2f154">suggested</a> the vaccine produces a “strong immune response” in children.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>Bourla&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1442132591855951873" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;on ABC’s&nbsp;<em>This Week</em>&nbsp;that the company intends to submit its trial data for five to 11 year olds for approval “pretty soon,” adding it is “a question of days, not weeks.”</p>



<p>Once they submit the data, it will be “up to the [Food and Drug Administration]” to determine whether the vaccine should be approved, Bourla said, but Pfizer “will be ready with our manufacturing to provide this new formulation of the vaccine” if it is.</p>



<p>Pfizer released&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2021/09/20/pfizer-prepares-to-seek-us-eu-approval-for-its-covid-vaccine-in-kids-as-young-as-five/?sh=91f3a3b2f154">initial trial data</a>&nbsp;earlier this week, which has not yet been peer reviewed, that found the child Covid-19 vaccine—which is one-third the dose that’s given to adults—is “safe” and “well tolerated” among five- to 11-year-olds.</p>



<p>The data suggested the vaccine provokes an immune response in children similar to that of fully vaccinated 16- to 25-year-olds despite the smaller dose, and also similar mild side effects like pain at the site of the injection, fever, fatigue and chills.</p>



<p>Former FDA head Dr. Scott Gottleib, who serves on Pfizer’s board,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/transcript-dr-scott-gottlieb-covid-19-booster-09-26-2021/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;on CBS Sunday he expects the agency’s review of the Pfizer data to take approximately four to six weeks, putting the timeline for potential approval somewhere between Halloween and mid-November.</p>



<p>U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2021/09/12/covid-vaccines-for-kids-could-be-approved-by-halloween-under-best-case-scenario-gottlieb-suggests/?sh=4b3f5832378a">said</a>&nbsp;earlier in September the government is ready to “process that [data] quickly” as soon as Pfizer submits it.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h2>



<p>5.5 million. That’s the approximate number of Covid-19 cases that have been reported in children as of September 16,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aap.org/en/pages/2019-novel-coronavirus-covid-19-infections/children-and-covid-19-state-level-data-report/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a>&nbsp;to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the most recent&nbsp; date for which data is available. Children make up 15.7% of all U.S. Covid-19 cases, but cases have been particularly on the rise among kids in recent months amid the highly infectious delta variant’s spread. The AAP reports child cases made up 25.7% of the cases reported the week of September 9-16, and the total number of Covid-19 cases in children since the start of the pandemic increased by 9% just in the span of two weeks, between September 2 and September 16.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-for">WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h2>



<p>Moderna is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/leahrosenbaum/2021/03/16/moderna-starts-covid-19-vaccine-trial-in-kids-younger-than-12-years-old/?sh=2ef4fd411d5b">testing</a>&nbsp;Covid-19 vaccines in children but has not yet released any of its findings, and Pfizer is also undergoing trials of its shot in children under five years old. That trial data is expected to come by the end of the year, Pfizer said earlier this week. Johnson &amp; Johnson is so far only&nbsp;<a href="https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/pharmacy/how-pfizer-moderna-j-j-are-testing-their-vaccines-in-children.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">testing</a>&nbsp;its vaccine among adolescents, and AstraZeneca has also started trials of its vaccine in children as young as six, though it was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/04/06/coronavirus-covid-live-updates-us/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">paused</a>&nbsp;in April pending a safety review due to concerns about blood clots.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>Bourla’s comments Sunday are in line with previous estimates on the FDA approval process for child vaccines, with Gottleib&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2021/09/12/covid-vaccines-for-kids-could-be-approved-by-halloween-under-best-case-scenario-gottlieb-suggests/?sh=4b3f5832378a">predicting</a>&nbsp;earlier in September the shots could be approved by Halloween under a “best-case scenario,” which he reiterated Sunday. Leaders at BioNTech, which developed the vaccine with Pfizer, also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2021/09/10/pfizer-biontech-to-seek-approval-for-first-covid-vaccine-for-young-children-in-next-few-weeks/?sh=384f8eba2337">said</a>&nbsp;September 10 they planned to seek approval for their vaccine “in the next few weeks.” Covid-19 vaccines in children have become a particularly urgent issue in light of the delta variant, which has fueled numerous outbreaks of the coronavirus in schools—particularly those&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisakim/2021/09/24/students-in-schools-with-masking-requirements-less-likely-to-get-covid-cdc-studies-show/?sh=786b6e4a8381">without</a>&nbsp;mask mandates and other mitigation measures—and left unvaccinated populations like children particularly vulnerable. Studies have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01897-w" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">indicated</a>&nbsp;children are less susceptible to severe illness and death from Covid-19, but pediatric&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2021/08/20/alabama-sets-new-record-for-kids-hospitalized-with-covid/?sh=3f88ae3173f1">hospitalizations</a>&nbsp;have nevertheless been on the rise, and children are also at risk of developing “<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2021/07/09/heres-what-we-know-about-long-covid-the-debilitating-lingering-illness-that-could-affect-millions/">long Covid</a>,” in which debilitating symptoms may persist for months. (Recent research&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2021/09/17/long-covid-less-common-than-feared-as-studies-suggest-many-confuse-other-symptoms-with-condition/?sh=6428dc2a64b4">suggests</a>&nbsp;the incidence of long Covid may be lower than previously thought, but the data remains inconclusive.) Parents have pushed for more information on the FDA approval process and for the vaccine to be available to kids as soon as possible as a result, with more than 100 lawmakers sending a&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/RepKatiePorter/status/1427687260305063937" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">letter</a>&nbsp;to the FDA in August seeking answers about the timeline for the shot.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h2>



<p>Bourla also&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1442135576111636485" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;Sunday he believed “within a year,” people will be able to “come back to within normal lives” despite Covid-19, echoing&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/moderna-chief-executive-sees-pandemic-over-year-newspaper-2021-09-23/v" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">comments</a>&nbsp;made earlier this week by Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel, though he believes new variants of the coronavirus will continue to emerge. While Bourla acknowledged “we don’t know really” what the future of the pandemic will look like, the CEO suggested future Covid-19 vaccines designed to combat emerging variants could “last at least a year” and predicted people will have annual Covid-19 vaccinations.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2021/09/20/pfizer-prepares-to-seek-us-eu-approval-for-its-covid-vaccine-in-kids-as-young-as-five/?sh=91f3a3b2f154">Pfizer Prepares To Seek U.S., EU Approval After Study Shows Vaccine Is Safe For Five To 11-Year-Olds</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2021/09/12/covid-vaccines-for-kids-could-be-approved-by-halloween-under-best-case-scenario-gottlieb-suggests/?sh=4b3f5832378a">Covid Vaccines For Kids Could Be Approved By Halloween Under ‘Best Case Scenario,’ Gottlieb Suggests</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2021/09/10/pfizer-biontech-to-seek-approval-for-first-covid-vaccine-for-young-children-in-next-few-weeks/?sh=384f8eba2337">Pfizer-BioNTech To Seek Approval For First Covid Vaccine For Young Children ‘In Next Few Weeks’</a> (Forbes)</p>



<p><strong><em>By Alison Durkee, Forbes Staff</em></strong></p>


Female doctor giving covid-19 vaccine to a boy

Child Covid-19 Vaccine Data Will Be Submitted To FDA Within ‘Days,’ Pfizer CEO Says


<p><strong>TOPLINE</strong> Vaccines for children ages 5 to 11 could potentially come as soon as October under a “best-case scenario,” Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) chief who serves on Pfizer’s board, said Sunday—faster than an earlier timeline Gottlieb gave two weeks ago that projected the shots would likely roll out closer to early winter.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>Gottlieb said on CBS’&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/transcript-scott-gottlieb-face-the-nation-09-12-2021/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Face the Nation</em></a>&nbsp;that Pfizer should have data on child vaccinations “before the end of September” and may potentially file for FDA approval “within days of having that data.”</p>



<p>The FDA has said they will make a determination based on that data in a “matter of weeks, not months,” Gottlieb said, which he expects to be approximately four to six weeks, and that means “in a best-case scenario&#8230;you could potentially have a vaccine available to children aged 5 to 11 by Halloween.”</p>



<p>Gottlieb previously&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/transcript-dr-scott-gottlieb-on-face-the-nation-08-29-2021/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;August 29 on&nbsp;<em>Face the Nation</em>&nbsp;that he believed Pfizer would file its application “potentially as early as October,” which would mean vaccines would likely be available for kids in “late fall, more likely early winter.”</p>



<p>U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said on CNN Sunday that child vaccinations are the agency’s “top priority” and when the FDA does receive data from the manufacturers, they are ready to “process that quickly.”</p>



<p>Dr. James Versalovic, the pediatrician-in-chief at Texas Children’s Hospital, backed up Gottlieb’s timeline on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/transcript-dr-james-versalovic-face-the-nation-09-12-2021/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Face the Nation</em></a>, saying the hospital is “certainly&#8230;aiming for that timeline in October” regarding submitting data from its trials on child Covid-19 vaccinations.</p>



<p>The Texas Children’s Hospital’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bcm.edu/healthcare/clinical-trials/h-49597" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">trials</a>, which are being conducted among children ages 6 months to 11 years with both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, are “moving ahead well” and are “well into phase two-three,” Versalovic said, and while children are getting a different dosage of the vaccine than adults, it’s “safe and effective.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h2>



<p>“Thus far we are on track, and I certainly would agree with Dr. Gottlieb that we are doing all we can to get vaccines to children in the fall,” Versalovic said regarding the hospital’s October goal for its vaccine trials. “In the meantime, use masking and other measures to keep our children safe and reassure parents that help is on the way in the form of vaccines for children under 12.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h2>



<p>Approximately 5 million. That’s the number of Covid-19 cases in children since the pandemic began as of September 2,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aap.org/en/pages/2019-novel-coronavirus-covid-19-infections/children-and-covid-19-state-level-data-report/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a>&nbsp;to the American Academy of Pediatrics. More than 250,000&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2021/09/07/at-least-250000-kids-tested-positive-for-covid-last-week-as-school-year-surge-continues/?sh=28e0d6c8765f">cases</a>&nbsp;were recorded between August 19 and September 2, the most recent week for which data is available, which the organization reports is the largest weekly increase since the pandemic began.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>Child Covid-19 vaccinations have become an increasing concern as the delta variant has left children ineligible for vaccination particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus. Children now&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2021/09/07/at-least-250000-kids-tested-positive-for-covid-last-week-as-school-year-surge-continues/?sh=28e0d6c8765f">make up</a>&nbsp;more than a quarter of new Covid-19 cases in the U.S. and the rate of child and teen hospitalizations increased by five times in mid-August, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimberleespeakman/2021/09/03/teen-and-children-covid-hospitalization-increases-by-almost-5-times-cdc-reports/?sh=69d12e8d1b30">study</a>&nbsp;by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Schools&nbsp;<a href="https://www.khq.com/news/medical-lake-high-school-goes-remote-following-covid-outbreak-on-football-team/article_6f65ee88-1281-11ec-9444-f772367e4eed.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">across</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.9news.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/covid-outbreaks-80-colorado-schools/73-0bc78de6-393d-46bc-8ca1-6fa01b2fae65" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://triblive.com/local/valley-news-dispatch/covid-19-outbreak-closes-apollo-ridge-middle-school/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">country</a>&nbsp;have been hit by Covid-19&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/coronavirus/coronavirus-by-the-numbers-more-than-100-covid-outbreaks-reported-in-illinois-schools/2609697/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">outbreaks</a>&nbsp;in recent weeks, ramping up the urgency for children to get vaccinated now that they’re back in school. Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) led 106 lawmakers in August in&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/RepKatiePorter/status/1427687260305063937" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">asking</a>&nbsp;the FDA to provide answers about when kids can get the shot in light of the new anxieties over child Covid-19 transmission. “Parents need to know when their kids will be able to get vaccinated,” the lawmakers wrote. Gottlieb’s comments Sunday about Pfizer soon seeking FDA approval come after the founders of BioNTech, which developed the vaccine with Pfizer, similarly&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2021/09/10/pfizer-biontech-to-seek-approval-for-first-covid-vaccine-for-young-children-in-next-few-weeks/?sh=58408ba42337">said</a>&nbsp;last week they would be seeking approval globally for child vaccinations “over the next few weeks.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2021/09/10/pfizer-biontech-to-seek-approval-for-first-covid-vaccine-for-young-children-in-next-few-weeks/?sh=58408ba42337">Pfizer-BioNTech To Seek Approval For First Covid Vaccine For Young Children ‘In Next Few Weeks’</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2021/09/07/at-least-250000-kids-tested-positive-for-covid-last-week-as-school-year-surge-continues/?sh=28e0d6c8765f">At Least 250,000 Kids Tested Positive For Covid In The U.S. Last Week As School Year Surge Continues</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimberleespeakman/2021/09/03/teen-and-children-covid-hospitalization-increases-by-almost-5-times-cdc-reports/?sh=69d12e8d1b30">Teen And Children Covid Hospitalization Increases By Almost 5 Times, CDC Reports</a> (Forbes)</p>



<p><strong><em>By Alison Durkee, Forbes Staff</em></strong></p>


Opening of the Primary School Year in Granada, Spain amid the coronavirus pandemic

Covid Vaccines For Kids Could Be Approved By October Under ‘Best Case Scenario,’ Gottlieb Suggests


<p>While most cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus have been reported in the U.S. , Europe, and China, the virus is spreading rapidly across the African continent. </p>



<p>The confirmed worldwide cases for the virus have surpassed 200 million with the current figure being at 222,262,640</p>



<p>The death toll continues to rise globally now surpassing 4 million. It is currently at 4,593,598.</p>



<p>The world is currently dealing with a new variant of the virus known as the &#8216;Delta Variant&#8217;. The variant is known to be in over 85 countries globally. </p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow"><p>A<em>frica has just marked the continent’s most dire pandemic week ever. But the worst is yet to come as the fast-moving third wave continues to gain speed and new ground. The end to this precipitous rise is still weeks away. Cases are doubling now every 18 days, compared with every 21 days only a week ago. We can still break the chain of transmission by testing, isolating contacts and cases and following key public health measures.”</em> <strong><em><em>said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa</em></em></strong> <strong><em>on July 8 2021</em></strong></p></blockquote>



<p>The U.S. leads with 666,627 deaths. Brazil comes second with 583,866. India&#8217;s deaths are at 441,433; Mexico is with 263,470 deaths, and Peru is with 198,523.</p>



<p>China, where the virus originated from, maintains that the country&#8217;s death toll is at 4,634.</p>



<p>The figure of the global recoveries stands at 198,882,734.</p>



<p>The African continent now has a total figure of 8,003,746 confirmed cases of Covid-19, while the death toll stands at 200,275. The continent has made 7,162,070 recoveries. </p>



<p>World Health Organization Regional Director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti said in an online briefing Thursday (1 July) that &#8220;The speed and scale of Africa’s third wave are like nothing we’ve seen before.&#8221;  </p>



<p>&#8220;The continent is on the verge of exceeding its worst week ever in this pandemic,&#8221; Moeti said</p>



<p>Here are the country-wide numbers for Africa:</p>



<figure id="main_table_countries_today" class="wp-block-table"><table><thead><tr><th>Country</th><th>Total<br>Cases</th><th>Total<br>Deaths</th><th>Total<br>Recovered</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Africa</td><td>8,003,746</td><td>200,275</td><td>7,162,070</td></tr><tr><td>Algeria</td><td>198,313</td><td>5,445</td><td>135,232</td></tr><tr><td>Angola</td><td>48,790</td><td>1,282</td><td>44,054</td></tr><tr><td>Benin</td><td>16,946</td><td>135</td><td>11,890</td></tr><tr><td>Botswana</td><td>162,186</td><td>2,309</td><td>155,403</td></tr><tr><td>Burkina Faso</td><td>13,851</td><td>171</td><td>13,575</td></tr><tr><td>Burundi</td><td>12,585</td><td>38</td><td>773</td></tr><tr><td>Cabo Verde</td><td>36,012</td><td>316</td><td>34,725</td></tr><tr><td>Cameroon</td><td>84,210</td><td>1,357</td><td>80,433</td></tr><tr><td>CAR</td><td>11,296</td><td>100</td><td>6,859</td></tr><tr><td>Chad</td><td>4,996</td><td>174</td><td>4,816</td></tr><tr><td>Comoros</td><td>4,086</td><td>147</td><td>3,909</td></tr><tr><td>Congo</td><td>13,588</td><td>183</td><td>12,421</td></tr><tr><td>Djibouti</td><td>11,785</td><td>157</td><td>11,592</td></tr><tr><td>DRC</td><td>55,307</td><td>1,061</td><td>30,858</td></tr><tr><td>Egypt</td><td>290,395</td><td>16,801</td><td>242,623</td></tr><tr><td>Equatorial Guinea</td><td>9,939</td><td>129</td><td>8,971</td></tr><tr><td>Eritrea</td><td>6,648</td><td>38</td><td>6,601</td></tr><tr><td>Eswatini</td><td>44,234</td><td>1,156</td><td>38,871</td></tr><tr><td>Ethiopia</td><td>316,174</td><td>4,785</td><td>284,895</td></tr><tr><td>Gabon</td><td>26,177</td><td>168</td><td>25,775</td></tr><tr><td>Gambia</td><td>9,789</td><td>328</td><td>9,379</td></tr><tr><td>Ghana</td><td>121,307</td><td>1,069</td><td>113,267</td></tr><tr><td>Guinea</td><td>29,877</td><td>358</td><td>27,742</td></tr><tr><td>Guinea-Bissau</td><td>5,902</td><td>121</td><td>4,967</td></tr><tr><td>Ivory Coast</td><td>57,056</td><td>477</td><td>54,804</td></tr><tr><td>Kenya</td><td>241,134</td><td>4,800</td><td>229,762</td></tr><tr><td>Lesotho</td><td>14,395</td><td>403</td><td>6,830</td></tr><tr><td>Liberia</td><td>5,459</td><td>148</td><td>2,715</td></tr><tr><td>Libya</td><td>318,069</td><td>4,363</td><td>230,995</td></tr><tr><td>Madagascar</td><td>42,884</td><td>957</td><td>41,311</td></tr><tr><td>Malawi</td><td>60,852</td><td>2,217</td><td>49,374</td></tr><tr><td>Mali</td><td>14,942</td><td>542</td><td>14,135</td></tr><tr><td>Mauritania</td><td>34,297</td><td>737</td><td>31,832</td></tr><tr><td>Mauritius</td><td>11,466</td><td>32</td><td>1,854</td></tr><tr><td>Mayotte</td><td>19,925</td><td>175</td><td>2,964</td></tr><tr><td>Morocco</td><td>886,008</td><td>13,145</td><td>828,148</td></tr><tr><td>Mozambique</td><td>148,054</td><td>1,881</td><td>137,891</td></tr><tr><td>Namibia</td><td>125,772</td><td>3,414</td><td>120,812</td></tr><tr><td>Niger</td><td>5,888</td><td>199</td><td>5,624</td></tr><tr><td>Nigeria</td><td>195,890</td><td>2,556</td><td>184,882</td></tr><tr><td>Rwanda</td><td>90,145</td><td>1,134</td><td>45,362</td></tr><tr><td>Réunion</td><td>50,346</td><td>342</td><td>47,752</td></tr><tr><td>Saint Helena</td><td>2</td><td></td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td>Sao Tome and Principe</td><td>2,692</td><td>37</td><td>2,461</td></tr><tr><td>Senegal</td><td>73,257</td><td>1,812</td><td>64,582</td></tr><tr><td>Seychelles</td><td>20,323</td><td>108</td><td>19,767</td></tr><tr><td>Sierra Leone</td><td>6,374</td><td>121</td><td>4,364</td></tr><tr><td>Somalia</td><td>17,947</td><td>1,005</td><td>8,896</td></tr><tr><td>South Africa</td><td>2,824,063</td><td>83,617</td><td>2,599,667</td></tr><tr><td>South Sudan</td><td>11,526</td><td>120</td><td>11,195</td></tr><tr><td>Sudan</td><td>37,715</td><td>2,837</td><td>31,675</td></tr><tr><td>Tanzania</td><td>1,367</td><td>50</td><td>183</td></tr><tr><td>Togo</td><td>22,625</td><td>197</td><td>17,669</td></tr><tr><td>Tunisia</td><td>675,191</td><td>23,846</td><td>639,708</td></tr><tr><td>Uganda</td><td>120,714</td><td>3,061</td><td>95,679</td></tr><tr><td>Western Sahara</td><td>10</td><td>1</td><td>8</td></tr><tr><td>Zambia</td><td>207,294</td><td>3,620</td><td>202,500</td></tr><tr><td>Zimbabwe</td><td>125,671</td><td>4,493</td><td>117,036</td></tr></tbody></table><figcaption><a href="https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/">Data From World O Meter</a></figcaption></figure>



<p><em>Note: The numbers will be updated as new information is available. </em></p>


South African truck drivers receive COVID-19 vaccine

[IN NUMBERS] Coronavirus Update: COVID-19 In Africa


<p><strong>TOPLINE</strong> The U.S.’s planned rollout of Covid-19 booster shots for the general public—initially slated to start September 20—remains up in the air pending approval from governmental regulators, but White House officials said Sunday at least Pfizer shots will likely be ready on time and the administration is prepared for a quick rollout whenever the shots are approved.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>The Biden administration&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanponciano/2021/08/18/biden-administration-plans-to-begin-providing-covid-19-vaccine-booster-shots-sept-20/?sh=6a7f765f5155">announced</a>&nbsp;in mid-August that booster shots for Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna recipients will start on September 20, but the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/03/us/coronavirus-booster-shots.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>New York Times</em></a>&nbsp;reported this week that timeline may be in doubt, as the shots still have not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the vaccine advisory panel at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).</p>



<p>Dr. Anthony Fauci acknowledged on CBS’&nbsp;<em>Face the Nation</em>&nbsp;it’s “conceivable” that only Pfizer’s shot will be approved by the 20th and Moderna’s shot will be delayed “at the most a couple of weeks,” as the FDA&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-04/fda-pushes-for-moderna-booster-shot-data-in-weighing-dose?sref=LfZwdw4Z" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">seeks more data</a>&nbsp;from the company.</p>



<p>Exactly who will be eligible for the booster shot will depend on the exact terms that are approved by the FDA and CDC, he said.</p>



<p>Studies are underway on if people can “mix and match” booster doses—and get a Pfizer booster if their first two doses were of Moderna, for instance—but Fauci said the government is still “suggesting” as of now that people get a booster shot of the same vaccine as their initial dose.</p>



<p>White House Chief of Staff Ronald Klain said on CNN the Biden administration is prepared to have booster shots available to the public “probably the very same day” as they’re approved, and the administration has adequate supply and a “distribution plan” to ensure widespread availability of the third shots when they’re ready to go.</p>



<p>Fauci&nbsp;<a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/health-officials-sticking-month-covid-booster-shot-timeline/story?id=79700212" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;last week health officials are sticking with the recommendation that people get a booster shot eight months after their second dose—after President Joe Biden suggested it could potentially be after six—though it ultimately depends on what the FDA and CDC determine is best.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h2>



<p>“We still are hopeful that at least one of the vaccinations could be available” on September 20 and the Biden administration is “ready to go as soon as the approval for the boosters comes,” Klain said on CNN, adding the FDA and CDC ultimately “will decide which of the vaccines are approved to be used as boosters.” “They will decide when that approval comes. They will decide who will get it under those approvals.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-we-don-t-know">WHAT WE DON’T KNOW</h2>



<p>When booster shots for those who received the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2021/08/22/johnson--johnson-booster-shot-likely-will-be-necessary-surgeon-general-says-possibly-with-a-different-vaccine/?sh=6428c6ef67dc">Johnson &amp; Johnson vaccine</a>, an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/health/johnson-johnson-covid-19-vaccine.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">adenovirus-based shot</a>&nbsp;that uses a different technology than Pfizer and Moderna’s mRNA vaccines, will be approved. Federal health officials have said it’s “likely” that the one-dose vaccine will also require a booster shot, but they’re waiting until more data is in to make an official recommendation, including on whether the vaccine could be mixed with a booster shot of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. Johnson &amp; Johnson&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2021/08/25/second-booster-shot-of-johnson--johnson-covid-vaccine-provokes-strong-immune-response-company-says/?sh=6cd8ac14328e">released</a>&nbsp;data in late August suggesting a second shot of the vaccine produces a “rapid and robust increase” in antibodies that protect against the coronavirus, which could be a promising sign for the booster shot’s approval.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-surprising-fact">SURPRISING FACT</h2>



<p>The fact that booster shots haven’t been officially approved yet for the general population hasn’t stopped some people from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2021/09/03/vaccinated-travelers-covid-19-booster-shots-counterproductive/?sh=29602d12d99a">getting them anyway</a>, despite health officials&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/national/cdc-head-warns-against-unauthorized-booster-shots/2021/08/12/658395bf-7936-4b00-bb7b-eb6e48da4a25_video.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">advising</a>&nbsp;against it. The delta variant surge has reportedly provoked many Americans to take it upon themselves to get a third shot, such as by making a vaccine appointment and claiming to be unvaccinated. An internal CDC document&nbsp;<a href="https://abc7news.com/unauthorized-booster-shots-third-covid-vaccine-shot-pfizer-moderna/10944718/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>&nbsp;by ABC News on August 11 found an estimated 1.1 million people had already gotten an unauthorized booster shot, a figure the outlet notes is likely an undercount.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>Fauci’s acknowledgement of Moderna’s potential approval delay is in line with previous reporting suggesting Moderna’s shot may not be ready in time, with a source familiar with the approval process telling&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/graisondangor/2021/09/03/moderna-will-likely-miss-booster-deadline-pfizer-only-shot-expected-for-sept-rollout/?sh=3f99e7683026"><em>Forbes</em></a>&nbsp;earlier this week that only Pfizer is expected to be ready for a September 17 FDA meeting on the booster shots. The holdup over Moderna’s vaccine approval is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-04/fda-pushes-for-moderna-booster-shot-data-in-weighing-dose?sref=LfZwdw4Z" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reportedly</a>&nbsp;largely based on the booster shot’s dosage, as Moderna submitted data based on a lower 50 microgram dose but the FDA is reportedly seeking data on a 100 microgram dose equal to the initial shots of the vaccine. Pfizer’s approval process is also speedier in part because the company has substantial data from Israel’s booster shot rollout using its vaccine, the Associated Press&nbsp;<a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-booster-plan-faces-complications-potential-delay/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reports</a>. The U.S. has already&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/graisondangor/2021/08/13/heres-who-should-get-an-extra-covid-19-vaccine-dose/?sh=7be5a14830a6">approved</a>&nbsp;third doses of the vaccines for immunocompromised groups that make up approximately 3% of the population, and the country’s planned booster rollout follows other&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/02/world/covid-booster-shots-delta.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">countries</a>&nbsp;like Israel, France, Germany and the Czech Republic that have started administering or plan to administer booster shots to at least some groups. The booster shots are a response to fears that the Covid-19 vaccines will wane in effectiveness as time goes on, which some&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2021/08/25/vaccine-protection-wanes-within-six-months-of-second-covid-shot-study-warns-but-theyre-still-effective-against-delta/?sh=69134bea5a80">studies</a>&nbsp;have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2021/08/19/covid-vaccines-less-effective-against-delta-variant-and-pfizers-effectiveness-wanes-rapidly-large-study-finds/">suggested</a>&nbsp;is likely. The vaccines have also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/leahrosenbaum/2021/07/27/how-good-are-covid-19-vaccines-at-protecting-against-the-delta-variant/?sh=21b769a21a6f">shown</a>&nbsp;diminished effectiveness at preventing infection against the delta variant, though they still remain highly protective against severe illness, hospitalization and death.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chief-critic">CHIEF CRITIC</h2>



<p>The World Health Organization (WHO) has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2021/08/23/who-leader-pleads-against-booster-shots-questioning-efficacy-and-highlighting-risk-of-more-potent-variants/?sh=4857b0ee131b">criticized</a>&nbsp;wealthy nations distributing booster shots before many countries around the world have even inoculated a large percentage of their population with initial doses. This is due to concerns about vaccine inequity, questions about the efficacy of booster shots and fears that more dangerous variants of the coronavirus could emerge from countries with low vaccination rates.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/graisondangor/2021/09/03/moderna-will-likely-miss-booster-deadline-pfizer-only-shot-expected-for-sept-rollout/?sh=3f99e7683026">Moderna Will Likely Miss Booster Deadline—Pfizer Only Shot Expected For Sept. Rollout</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2021/08/25/more-than-three-quarters-of-vaccinated-americans-plan-to-get-covid-19-booster-shot-poll-finds/?sh=74a7d46f2319">More Than Three-Quarters Of Vaccinated Americans Plan To Get Covid-19 Booster Shot, Poll Finds</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2021/09/03/vaccinated-travelers-covid-19-booster-shots-counterproductive/?sh=29602d12d99a">Some Vaccinated Travelers Are Already Getting Covid-19 Booster Shots—But Experts Say That May Be Counterproductive</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>


COVID-19 Booster Shot

When Can You Get A Covid-19 Booster Shot?


<p><strong>TOPLINE</strong> The World Health Organization <a href="https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/weekly-epidemiological-update-on-covid-19---31-august-2021" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a> it has identified a new coronavirus “variant of interest,” named mu—also known by its scientific name, B.1.621—in its weekly pandemic update Tuesday, warning it was becoming increasingly prevalent in Colombia and Ecuador and shows signs of possible resistance to vaccines.  </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>Since mu was first identified in Colombia in January 2021, there have been “sporadic reports” of cases and outbreaks in South America and Europe, the WHO said.&nbsp;</p>



<p>While the global prevalence of mu among sequenced Covid-19 cases has fallen below 0.1%, the WHO said its prevalence has “consistently increased” in Colombia and Ecuador, where it is now responsible for around 39% and 13% of infections, respectively.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Reports on the variant’s prevalence should be “interpreted with due consideration” given the low sequencing capacity of most countries, the agency said.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Mu has a number of mutations that suggest it could be more resistant to vaccines, the health agency warned, but said further research would be needed to confirm this.</p>



<p>Preliminary data show a reduced effectiveness of vaccines “similar to that seen for the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/19/health/beta-variant-covid-19.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">beta</a>&nbsp;variant,” the WHO said.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>All viruses mutate over time and most mutations have little to no impact on the virus’ behavior. The WHO keeps&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/en/activities/tracking-SARS-CoV-2-variants/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">track</a>&nbsp;of “variants of interest,” those which have mutations “predicted or known to affect virus characteristics” like transmissibility, resistance to vaccines and disease severity. Mu is the fifth variant of interest to be monitored by the WHO since March. There are also four “variants of concern” the health agency tracks—alpha, beta, gamma and delta—which, in addition to meeting the criteria to be a variant of interest, have more significant changes, such as reducing the effectiveness of vaccines. The WHO&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/31-05-2021-who-announces-simple-easy-to-say-labels-for-sars-cov-2-variants-of-interest-and-concern" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">introduced</a>&nbsp;a naming convention concerning variants in May to avoid the stigma and consequences when a variant is named after where it was first discovered.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-for">WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h2>



<p>While wealthy countries hoard limited vaccine supplies for booster campaigns, many parts of the world have not yet had a chance to begin vaccinating. Limited vaccine coverage and the rapid spread of the coronavirus makes an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2021/08/18/stockpiling-vaccines-risks-new-variants-emerging-and-rising-covid-cases-study-finds-as-us-readies-booster-campaign/?sh=3a255afa132a">ideal</a>&nbsp;environment for new virus variants to emerge. The WHO said it would be monitoring “the epidemiology of the mu variant in South America, particularly with the co-circulation of the delta variant… for changes”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h2>



<p>3,857. That’s how many genome sequences—analyzed samples of the virus taken from patients that can be used to track how it moves through the population—on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gisaid.org/hcov19-variants/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">GISAID</a>, an open source genome repository, have been designated as mu in the past four weeks. The vast majority of these—1,544—have been reported in the U.S., and Colombia (844), Mexico (352) and Spain (351) also report a high number of sequences. This figure will be affected by both sequencing capacity, surveillance and the total number of cases in an area.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2021/07/23/a-new-covid-variant-is-being-investigated-in-the-uk-after-being-detected-in-countries-including-the-us-and-japan/?sh=6631f8a03298">A New Covid Variant Is Being Investigated In The U.K. After Being Detected In Countries Including The U.S. And Japan</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/williamhaseltine/2021/08/12/a-new-killer-on-the-loose-b1621/?sh=44e2aacf3d1f">A New Covid Variant On The Loose: B.1.621</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.statnews.com/2021/08/30/inside-pfizer-labs-variant-hunters-race-to-stay-ahead-of-pandemic-2/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Inside Pfizer’s labs, ‘variant hunters’ race to stay ahead of the pandemic’s next twist</a> (STAT News)</p>



<p><strong><em>By Robert Hart, Forbes Staff</em></strong></p>


Scientist in a protective suit holds and compares two different Coronavirus of different color in his hands. Creative image.

WHO Tracking New Covid Variant Named Mu, Warns It Could Be More Resistant To Vaccine

Thailand Rolls Out Pfizer Vaccine

Covid’s Forgotten Hero: The Untold Story Of The Scientist Whose Breakthrough Made The Vaccines Possible


<p><strong>The shortage, stockpiling and slow deployment of Covid-19 vaccines means the pandemic is far from over for the continent. Where do the poorer countries stand?</strong></p>



<p>Computer engineer David Osei recalls how he passionately argued with his friends when they debated whether getting the Covid-19 vaccines was a smart idea or not six months ago. Osei believed it was not. His argument at that time was that there was a wider conspiracy going on where wealthy nations would trial non-tested doses on people in developing countries.</p>



<p>“I said it was too quick to create a vaccine for a disease that was still developing and no one knew how it would turn out. In fact, I still had my doubts about whether Covid was real or not,” recalls Osei.</p>



<p>But then Covid-19 took the lives of two of his closest friends and his fiancé within the space of a month. Now, he has joined the rush to get vaccinated in Ghana. The problem is, there are not enough vaccines for him and millions of Africans on the continent.</p>



<p>“I believe it is important to protect ourselves as nobody knows how things will turn out tomorrow. I am afraid of how bad things can get for everyone,” says Osei.</p>



<p>According to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the continent has now received more than 103 million Covid-19 vaccine doses with about 70% of these vaccines already distributed. However, this accounts for just 1.7% of the African population. For that number to reach 10%, the World Health Organization (WHO) says the continent needs another 183 million more doses by the end of 2021.</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-style-large is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow"><p>“More than half of the vaccines that have been received so far in Africa is through bilateral donations from other wealthy countries like the United States or the United Kingdom. So yet again, Africa is now relegated to depending on donations and the charity of developed economies to save lives.”</p></blockquote>



<p>Dr Ngozi Okonko-Iweala, the newly-appointed Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in a recent FORBES AFRICA interview highlighted the importance of African nations receiving vaccinations on time so as not to get left behind as in pandemics of the past such as H1N1.</p>



<p>To ensure this doesn’t happen again to Africa, Okonjo-Iweala and her team have developed the Access to Covid-19 Tools (ACT) accelerator with the WHO, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to look at vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics for impoverished countries.</p>



<p>Within this framework, the organization has also developed the Covax facility, which is the vaccines pillar of the ACT accelerator to make vaccines available to poor countries.</p>



<p>But this has not gone exactly according to plan. For one, wealthier countries had already signed multi-million dollar deals with manufacturers for vaccines as early as July 2020 while they were still in development and undergoing trials.</p>



<p>“Big pharma will always prioritize those who have money to pay and unfortunately that means that the Covax scheme will never get the required doses they need until those who have deeper pockets are</p>



<p>serviced. Africa was always going to be playing catch-up to these vaccines,” says Dr Jason Lamptey, a pulmonologist operating in Ghana.</p>



<p>These deep-pocketed countries have vaccinated over 40% of their population, while Africa, with an estimated population of over 1.3 billion people, has only managed to vaccinate about 2% of the population, according to the WHO.</p>



<p>The WHO is now reviewing its vaccination targets for Africa estimating that nine out of 10 African countries will not manage to inoculate 10% of their populations by September, according to a report published by the BBC.</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-style-large is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow"><p>“Why are some states stock-piling the few vaccines we have until they expire and we have to destroy them when there are people who urgently need it?”</p></blockquote>



<p>Under the Covax program, which started in February, the goal was to deliver some 520 million doses to Africa by the end of 2021. These vaccines were initially acquired from the Serum Institute of India but that plan went sideways when India stopped vaccination export due to the devastating effects of the pandemic in the country. The effect of this has led to a reported shortage of 225 million vaccine doses.</p>



<p>“More than half of the vaccines that have been received so far in Africa is through bilateral donations from other wealthy countries like the United States or the United Kingdom. So yet again, Africa is now relegated to depending on donations and the charity of developed economies to save lives,” says Lamptey.</p>



<p>The African Union has a target to supply 400 million vaccine doses to Africa and by so doing reaching a third of the population.</p>



<p>According to Phionah Atuhebwe, the New Vaccines Introduction Medical Officer at WHO’s regional office in the Congo, 12 million doses of vaccines were supplied through Covax in July.</p>



<p>“We are continuing to push to get more delivered within the next couple of months. Vaccines came to a halt after the issues with India but we are building new partnerships that will see more positive inflow of the vaccines,” says Atuhebwe.</p>



<p>Africa has some 7.2 million confirmed Covid-19 cases as of August, according to figures from the Africa CDC.</p>



<p>While hundreds of millions of vulnerable Africans wait for their first shot, rich countries now have the luxury to moot booster doses.</p>



<p>“We cannot accept countries that have already used most of the global supply of vaccines using even more of it while the world’s most vulnerable people remain unprotected,” said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a press briefing reported by Reuters.</p>



<p>This has led the WHO to call for a moratorium on all booster shots until the end of September to enable poorer countries in Africa to reach their minimum goal of a 10% vaccination rate.</p>



<p>One year into the Covid-19 pandemic, the threat of the Delta Variant is real in addition to the vaccine shortage coupled with fear sparked by fake studies and conspiracy theories.</p>



<p>According to the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), just over 718,412 Nigerians and foreigners alike have received the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine.</p>



<p>“Even with the changing variants of Covid-19, I believe the biggest problem we have is the slow reaction from health protocols as well as the even slower distribution of these vaccines. Why are some states stock-piling the few vaccines we have until they expire and we have to destroy them when there are people who urgently need it?” says Dr Joshua Hayman, a medical practitioner based in Victoria Island, Lagos.</p>



<p>Professor Oyewale Tomori, a virologist and Chairman of the Expert Review Committee on Covid-19, concurs with that assessment.</p>



<p>“I have said it several times that Nigeria is a place where the impossible happens and that is not exactly a good thing when it comes to Covid-19. We have mass hoarding of vaccines by officials and people who are supposed to be receiving priority not getting the doses in time. We have no clear monitoring system to determine who gets the vaccine in time and when. The whole system is flawed and needs an overhaul to ensure we save lives.”</p>



<p>The country’s minister of state for health, Olorunnimbe Mamora, in a virtual conference on ‘Nigeria and the next pandemic: preparedness, response and vaccines’ asserted that Nigeria will be focusing on vaccine development to cater for the shortage of vaccines in the country through a joint venture between the government and a private firm called Bio-Vaccine Nigeria Limited. Hopefully, more lives will be saved then.</p>


Tag: Covid-19 Vaccine

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