Latest news with #COVIDvaccine
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Editorial: RFK vs. health — COVID vaccine announcement continues kook's assault
Striking a blow for deadly disease and against public health, our dangerous Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., flanked by doctors including National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya — handpicked for his vaccine-skeptic approach — decreed that that the COVID vaccine would no longer be recommended for children and pregnant women. Who will be next? This was not a position following the science, but one more expression of the RFK's nutty and long-standing anti-vaccine activism. Congress has to stop RFK before he puts more American lives at risk if President Donald Trump doesn't have the guts to or is so enamored of his culture wars he doesn't care. And Trump should care, as this vaccine is also perhaps Trump's greatest achievement. For all of Trump's downplaying of the pandemic and failures of management, one thing he did absolutely right in his first term was directing massive federal resources to the development of a vaccine that could help save humanity from a plague that killed millions. The COVID vaccine was developed in record time, a whole-of-government and private industry partnership that managed to meet the moment of total emergency. Why Trump has decided to distance himself from one of his most tremendous accomplishments is a question only he can really answer, though it certainly runs through the never-ending culture war that he and his political constituency feel they must at all times wage, and which has sucked into itself not just culture itself, but science, medicine, economics and all else. RFK himself might be a true believer, but he is still a loyal member of the administration that can be brought to heel if necessary. Trump, who if nothing else does seem to worry about how he is publicly perceived, should realize that the development and widespread adoption of the COVID vaccine can be a legacy-defining moment, and his health secretary is standing in the way of that. If Trump won't reel RFK in, then it should be the other branches, namely, Congress, which has the power to drag the secretary before it and, if need be, impeach him. MAGA legislators may have turned the process of impeachment into one more political football, filing proceedings against not just former President Joe Biden but members of his cabinet over thinly-sourced accusations that boil down to disagreements over broad-strokes policy, as was the case with former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Still, impeachment was intended as and remains a tool to remove high-level public officials who are engaged in gross negligence in the performance of their duties in ways that threaten public order and the polity as a whole. There's hardly a more clear-cut assault on the public than throwing up obstacles in the way of life-saving vaccinations, perhaps humanity's greatest ever medical advancement. Kennedy likes to frame his actions in the language of anti-elitism: the vaccines, in his estimation, are being pushed by an out-of-control Big Pharma establishment and therefore their restriction is inherently an anti-elite move. Tell that to the kids who have been hospitalized and died from measles, following quack Dr. Bobby's Rx to avoid the shots. From smallpox to polio to measles, and yes, also to COVID, vaccines are safe, and have for many decades now driven back illnesses that were once widespread among the population. RFK should change this dangerous course, or be prevented from doing more damage. ___
Reuters
6 days ago
- General
- Reuters
US CDC keeps recommendation of COVID vaccines for healthy kids, report says
WASHINGTON, May 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is still recommending COVID vaccines for healthy children, the Washington Post reported on Friday, citing the CDC's latest published immunization schedule. The schedule, published late on Thursday by the public health agency, comes after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr - alongside the heads of the FDA and the NIH - earlier this week said the U.S. would stop recommending routine COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children and pregnant women.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
MRNA Stock Down on Withdrawal of FDA Filing for COVID-Flu Combo Shot
Shares of Moderna MRNA declined nearly 8% yesterday after it announced that it had voluntarily withdrawn a regulatory filing seeking the FDA's approval for mRNA-1083, its investigational mRNA-based combination vaccine against influenza and COVID. Per the company, the decision was taken in consultation with the agency. This announcement did not come as a surprise since MRNA had already announced earlier this month, alongside its Q1 results, that the FDA had requested 'Phase 3 flu efficacy data.' This setback derailed the company's initial plans to secure a potential FDA approval for the vaccine before this year's end. Moderna plans to resubmit this filing later this year after vaccine efficacy data from the ongoing phase III study on its investigational seasonal influenza vaccine, mRNA-1010, is available. Interim data from this study is expected this summer. This decision also comes a day after the FDA issued new guidance for COVID vaccine boosters. As part of this guidance, COVID vaccine makers will be required to conduct randomized, placebo-controlled clinical studies demonstrating the real-world benefit of yearly COVID vaccine boosters in individuals aged under 65 years. The initial FDA filing, which sought approval for use in older adults aged 50 years and above, was supported by data from a phase III study announced last year. Data from this study showed that mRNA-1083 elicited higher immune responses against influenza and COVID compared with licensed standalone influenza and COVID vaccines. Year to date, Moderna's shares have plummeted 38% compared to the industry's 4% fall. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Apart from Moderna, Novavax NVAX, Pfizer PFE and Sanofi SNY are also developing their respective COVID/flu combination vaccines. NVAX started a late-stage study last year evaluating its experimental COVID-influenza combination (CIC) vaccine candidate. This study is comparing the immunogenicity and safety of the CIC vaccine against separate administrations of Novavax's currently authorized COVID vaccine and a licensed seasonal influenza vaccine. Initial data from this study is expected later this year. Pfizer suffered a major setback in this space last year when it reported data from a phase III study on its investigational mRNA-based COVID/flu combination vaccine. The study missed one of its two primary immunogenicity objectives. PFE is currently evaluating adjustments to its combination vaccine program to improve immune responses against influenza B and plans to discuss the next steps with health authorities. Pfizer is developing this vaccine in collaboration with BioNTech. A recent entrant into this space is Sanofi, which is also developing its own COVID/flu combination vaccines. Last year, SNY announced that the FDA granted fast-track designation to two of its experimental combination vaccines for COVID and influenza, each being evaluated in separate phase I/II studies. While the first combination pairs the Fluzone HD vaccine with Novavax's COVID vaccine, the second combines Sanofi's Flubok influenza vaccine with the NVAX COVID vaccine. Moderna, Inc. price | Moderna, Inc. Quote Moderna currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Sanofi (SNY) : Free Stock Analysis Report Pfizer Inc. (PFE) : Free Stock Analysis Report Moderna, Inc. (MRNA) : Free Stock Analysis Report Novavax, Inc. (NVAX) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Arab News
21-05-2025
- Health
- Arab News
Moderna pulls application for COVID-flu combination shot
NEW YORK: Moderna said on Wednesday it has withdrawn an application seeking approval for its flu and COVID combination vaccine candidate to wait for efficacy data from a late-stage trial of its influenza shot, which is due later this year. The company said it pulled the application in consultation with the US Food and Drug Administration. It is the latest sign of increased regulatory scrutiny of the vaccine approval process since Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took the top US health job earlier this year. Moderna's decision comes a day after the US FDA said it would require new clinical trials for approval of annual COVID-19 boosters for healthy people under 65. The combination shot comprises a new COVID vaccine and an influenza vaccine, both under development by Moderna. The company has previously said it does not expect a delay in the FDA's decision for the next-generation COVID vaccine, which is due by the end of the month. Shares of the company have been battered by declining COVID revenue as well as investor concerns spurred by the appointment of Kennedy, who is a vaccine skeptic, as secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services. Moderna has been banking on revenue from newer mRNA shots to make up for falling sales of its COVID vaccine and less-than-expected uptake of its respiratory syncytial virus vaccine, which sent its shares down nearly 60 percent last year. The company in early May pushed back the time frame for the likely approval of its combination vaccine — meant to protect adults aged 50 and above against both COVID-19 and influenza — to 2026. The FDA last week approved rival Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine more than a month after missing the deadline for the shot's approval, and limited its use to people with conditions that put them at risk due to the illness.
