FDA Fully Licenses Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 Vaccine

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Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) fully licensed Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine – now named “Comirnaty” – for those 16 years of age and older. The agency first authorized the vaccine for emergency use in this age group in December after clinical trials showed it was safe and effective for at least two months. Now that researchers have the safety and efficacy data of approximately 44,000 people from the clinical trials, the FDA has confirmed that the benefits of the vaccine greatly outweigh the risks. The mRNA vaccine has cleared the benchmarks for licensure the FDA set last year Read More …

Gov. Carney Declares August Immunization Awareness Month in Delaware

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On Friday, August 20, 2021, Governor John Carney declared August Immunization Awareness Month in Delaware. The Governor encouraged all Delaware families to vaccinate their children according to guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and to fully vaccinate anyone eligible against COVID-19.  August is National Immunization Awareness Month. 

Governor Carney Announces Mask Requirement in K-12 Schools

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WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney on Tuesday announced that everyone kindergarten-age and older in K-12 schools and child care homes and centers must wear face coverings indoors effective on Monday, August 16 – regardless of vaccination status. The requirement covers both public and private schools in Delaware. Child care centers and homes are strongly encouraged to require masks for children 2 years old to kindergarten inside their facilities to prevent spread of COVID-19. Children younger than 2 years old should not wear masks due to risk of suffocation.  The statewide mask requirement in schools, which will be formalized later this week, is consistent with guidance from Read More …

Updated COVID-19 Recommendations

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Dover (Aug. 3, 2020) – Governor John Carney, the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH), and the Delaware Emergency Management Agency (DEMA) are providing updates to Delaware’s COVID-19 testing program. COVID-19 vaccines are effective against severe disease and death from variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 currently circulating in the United States, including the Delta variant. Infections happen in only a small proportion of people who are fully vaccinated, even with the Delta variant. When these infections occur among vaccinated people, they tend to be mild. With COVID-19 cases increasing in the state and nation, and the majority of Read More …

COVID-19 Vaccines and Rare Heart Condition

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U.S. scientists said Wednesday that there was a “likely association” between mRNA Covid-19 vaccines and an elevated risk of heart issues in adolescents and young adults, the strongest statement yet on the link between the two. Younger groups, particularly men under 30, have higher rates of myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) and pericarditis (inflammation of the lining around the heart) following vaccination with the shots from Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech. Most cases have occurred soon after the second shot of the two-dose regimens. Read more

COVID-19 Booster for Transplant Patients?

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A small study of 30 transplant patients offers the first hint that an extra dose of Covid-19 vaccines just might give some organ transplant recipients a needed boost in protection. Even as most vaccinated people celebrate a return to near normalcy, millions who take immune-suppressing medicines because of transplants, cancer, or other disorders remain in limbo — uncertain how protected they really are. It’s simply harder for vaccines to rev up a weak immune system.

Racial Disparities and the July 4 Benchmark

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The government wants to see 70% of eligible people vaccinated by July 4. Will we reach it?  While 70% of Asian Individuals might very well make the deadline, we likely won’t reach 70% of Hispanic Individuals until the end of July, and it will take until the beginning of September to vaccinate 70% of Black individuals. Read more

Childhood Vaccinations Still Not at Pre-Pandemic Levels

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While many routine childhood vaccinations were missed during the early part of the pandemic in the U.S., a new CDC report finds that these vaccinations didn’t return to pre-pandemic levels with the lifting of stay-at-home orders. The report includes data from 10 U.S. states and cities — including New York City and Michigan.  Read more

Johns Hopkins Infectious Diseases COVID-19 Grand Rounds

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Hosted by Drs. Michael Melia and Natasha Chida, COVID-19 Grand Rounds presents clinical cases, in-depth literature reviews, and infectious disease expertise within the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine to provide clinicians with relevant and timely information about the care of patients with COVID-19. All case presentations in this program have been standardized and quality assured in selection, presentation and discussion. Our goal is to publish and build a library of cases that will aid providers treating patients with COVID-19 in a rapidly changing landscape.    NOTE: COVID-19 Grand Rounds is an educational resource intended solely for healthcare providers. It is not to be Read More …

COVID-19 Vaccine Speed

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Will the speed of COVID-19 vaccine development reset industry norms?  New drugs and vaccines typically take several years to hit the market. In fact, the average time to develop a drug or vaccine has been eight to ten years — until recently. In a new analysis, McKinsey reviews what it took to shorten that timeline to less than a year. It examines the funding, operational, technological, and regulatory factors that allowed for fast development of Covid-19 vaccines, revealing which variables will remain relevant for future efforts — and which won’t.