Wbc booster shot

NEW YORK (AP) — Three studies released Friday offered more evidence that COVID-19 vaccines are standing up to the omicron variant, at least among people who received booster shots. They are the first large U.S. studies to look at vaccine protection against omicron, health officials said. The papers echo previous research — including studies in Germany, South Africa and the U.K. — indicating available vaccines are less effective against omicron than earlier versions of the coronavirus, but also that boosters doses rev up virus-fighting antibodies to increase the chance of avoiding symptomatic infection. The first study looked at hospitalizations and emergency room and urgent care center visits in 10 states, from August to this month. It found vaccine effectiveness was best after three doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines in preventing COVID-19-associated emergency department and urgent care visits. Protection dropped from 94% during the delta wave to 82% during the omicron … [Read more...] about Booster shots needed against omicron, CDC studies show

Ahead of the upcoming Budget, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Sunday recommended introduction of an additional 1% corporate social responsibility (CSR) levy for a 12-month period to be used for providing ‘precautionary’ shots of COVID-19 vaccine. The industry body also urged the State governments to lift restrictions on economic activity. It reasoned that the occupancy rate of hospital beds due to the Omicron variant of coronavirus was well within the manageable level. The CII, in a statement, said it had written to the Chief Ministers to consider curbs at micro-containment zones only when hospitalisation rates crossed 75%. “Hospitalisation rates in the present wave stand at manageable levels and therefore, industry feels that COVID-related restrictions can be removed to enable the robust recovery process to continue,” T.V. Narendran, president, CII, said. Mr. Narendran added that the CII had suggested to the government that an additional 1%, apart from the … [Read more...] about India Inc proposes additional 1% CSR levy for booster shots

Michigan's state health department is requiring nursing homes to provide on-site COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots to residents. The order , issued on Thursday by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), says nursing homes must begin offering the shots within 30 days. It does not require nursing home residents to be vaccinated but orders nursing homes to document whether each resident offered a vaccine accepted or refused their dose. Should a resident be unable to make their own medical decisions, nursing home staff must contact the person legally responsible for their care and make them aware of the option to receive the shot on-site, MDHHS said. ADVERTISEMENT "With the Omicron variant rapidly spreading across our state and cases of COVID-19 continuing to remain high, we want to make sure our most vulnerable Michiganders are protected from the virus," Elizabeth Hertel, the MDHHS director, said in a statement . "The COVID-19 vaccine is … [Read more...] about Michigan nursing homes required to offer COVID-19 booster shots on-site

The World Health Organization announced Friday that COVID-19 vaccine booster shots should be available, starting with vulnerable groups, reversing earlier views that they were not necessary for healthy people. The United Nations health organization said at a press briefing in Geneva that it will recommend Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine boosters four to six months after receiving a second dose, the Associated Press reported. The organization said the booster rollout should start with the most high-risk groups. Dr. Kate O'Brien, the WHO 's director of immunization, vaccines and biologicals, said at the briefing, adding that while boosters are "part of the vaccination program," that should not mean "unfettered use to all ages." "We continue to have highest focus on vaccination of highest-priority groups," she said. According to the WHO West Pacific's website, people over ago 60, people with underlying health conditions like heart disease and people with conditions affecting their … [Read more...] about WHO says COVID boosters should go to most vulnerable, reversing previous stance

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla on Saturday said people getting COVID-19 booster shots every four to five months is "not a good scenario" and argued that an annual vaccine would be a better approach to fighting the virus. Bourla told the Hebrew publication N12 News in an exclusive interview that the best way to combat COVID-19 is a vaccine that can be administered every year, not with boosters received every few months, according to Reuters . "This will not be a good scenario," he said when asked about people getting booster shots every four to five months, per the wire service. "What I'm hoping [is] that we will have a vaccine that you will have to do once a year." ADVERTISEMENT "Once a year — it is easier to convince people to do it. It is easier for people to remember," he continued. "So from a public health perspective, it is an ideal situation." Bourla said Pfizer was seeking to create a vaccine that could counter omicron in addition to other strains of the virus … [Read more...] about Pfizer CEO says frequent boosters ‘not a good scenario,’ hopes for yearly vaccine

Adults ages 65 and older who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 are nearly 50 times more likely to be hospitalized than seniors who have received a full vaccine course and a booster shot, according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The data shows that unvaccinated seniors are 49 times more likely to go to the hospital than those that have been boosted. Similarly, unvaccinated adults ages 50-64 are 44 times more likely to go to the hospital compared to their vaccinated and boosted counterparts, according to the data . The data was collected from Nov. 6 to Dec. 25. This is the first time the CDC has posted hospitalization rates based on vaccination status. ADVERTISEMENT Vaccinated adults without the booster were found to still have significantly lower rates of hospitalization than the unvaccinated. Unvaccinated seniors above the age of 50 were 17 times more likely to end up in the hospital than fully vaccinated … [Read more...] about CDC: Unvaccinated seniors 50 times more likely to be hospitalized than those with boosters

2 California’s 2 million health care workers will have to get a COVID booster shot by Feb. 1, and those who have yet to be boosted will have to undergo testing twice a week until they do, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday. Newsom also announced a state schools testing program that will provide one to two rapid tests for every K-12 student in public schools as they return to classrooms from winter break. The state will also expand operating hours at state-run testing centers that have reached capacity. The announcement comes as California appears on the verge of an omicron-fueled wave of new infections, with case rates doubling over five days in San Francisco and the trajectory expected to rise sharply in the coming days. Public health officials believe omicron is the culprit. One Bay Area laboratory is already reporting about 71% of samples are omicron, which echoes the CDC’s estimate that the vast majority of new cases in the country are omicron. … [Read more...] about Newsom says over half of California cases are omicron as he lays out plan for testing, boosters

January 04, 2022 08:19 U.S. health regulators moved again Monday to expand eligibility for booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine. The Food and Drug Administration said 12- to 15-year-olds could get the shots as part of an effort aimed at protecting them as schools try to reopen or stay open amid the surging threat posed by the omicron variant of the coronavirus. In addition, the FDA said everyone who was at least 12 years old could get a booster five months after receiving the second Pfizer-BioNTech shot, compared with the current six-month waiting period. The agency also authorized boosters for some children ages 5 to 11 who have compromised immune systems. The agency's authorizations are now slated for review Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and its panel of outside vaccine advisers. Assuming the panel agrees with the FDA's assessment, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky could officially recommend their use later the same day. … [Read more...] about U.S. Agency Approves COVID Boosters for Children Aged 12-15

Amid rising demands to vaccinate children against coronavirus infection, World Health Organisation (WHO) Chief Scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan has said that there is “no evidence at all" that healthy children need to receive Covid-19 boosters. During a press briefing on Tuesday, she said, “The aim is to protect the most vulnerable, to protect those at highest risk of severe disease and dying, those are our elderly population, immunocompromised with underlying conditions and also health care workers." “There is no evidence right now that healthy children or healthy adolescents need boosters. No evidence at all," Hindustan Times quoted her as saying. She said more research needs to be done to ascertain who needs booster doses against coronavirus infection. The statement comes at a time when several countries have started vaccinating booster doses to people in view of the waning immunity from the primary two shots and inoculating Covid vaccines to children and adolescents too. … [Read more...] about No Evidence That Healthy Kids Need Covid Boosters, Says WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan

GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization says that coronavirus vaccine boosters should now now be offered to people, starting with the most vulnerable, in a move away from its previous insistence that boosters were unnecessary for healthy adults and an acknowledgment that the vaccine supply is improving globally. At a press briefing on Friday, the U.N. health agency said it was now recommending booster doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, beginning in the highest-priority groups, about four to six months after receiving the first two doses, in line with guidance from dozens of countries that embarked upon booster programs months ago. Last year, WHO pleaded with rich countries to declare a moratorium on offering booster doses until the end of 2021, an appeal that went almost entirely ignored. The agency said its expert vaccine group assessed the increasing data about booster doses and noted the waning of immune protection over time. Numerous studies have shown in recent … [Read more...] about WHO: COVID boosters should start with most vulnerable