Latest news with #CovidVaccine
Bloomberg
16 hours ago
- Health
- Bloomberg
FDA Weighs Pulling Pfizer's Covid Vaccine for Kids Under Age 5
The Food and Drug Administration is considering revoking Pfizer Inc. 's authorization to sell its Covid vaccine for children under the age of 5, a move that would leave healthy kids with no available shots. The agency told Pfizer it might not renew the pandemic-era authorization covering the youngest children, the company said in a statement. Pfizer has requested the authorization stay in place through the coming fall season and is 'currently in discussions with the agency on potential paths forward,' the company said.
Bloomberg
a day ago
- Health
- Bloomberg
RFK Jr. Visits the CDC Following Deadly Attack on the Agency
By and Rachel Cohrs Zhang Save Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is visiting the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday following the deadly attack on the Atlanta-based agency on Aug. 8, according to people familiar with the plans. It wasn't immediately clear who he would be meeting. CDC Director Susan Monarez confirmed Friday night the attack was on the CDC building in a post to her X account. CDC believes Patrick Joseph White, a resident of a northern Atlanta suburb, targeted the agency because of his views related to the Covid vaccine, the agency's chief operating officer Christa Capozzola said in an email viewed by Bloomberg.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
Pfizer Covid vaccine for young children may not be renewed by FDA
Pfizer's Covid vaccine for young children may not be renewed by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this fall, prompting Moderna to fill possible gaps in supply, according to an email obtained by the Guardian. The move would pull the only remaining Covid vaccine for all children under five from the market. The Moderna vaccine is only approved for children with one or more health conditions, and the pediatric Covid vaccine from Novavax is only available for children aged 12 and up with health conditions. 'It certainly would create a hole in the availability of vaccines,' said Georges Benjamin, the executive director of the American Public Health Association. 'And to do it this late in the season – I think clearly it's inappropriate.' According to an email from the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), Pfizer said the FDA recently informed the pharmaceutical company that it may not renew the emergency use authorization for its pediatric Covid vaccine for the 2025 respiratory season. The email was sent on Friday to state and local vaccination grantees. The Pfizer vaccine is given to children between the ages of six months and four years. Pfizer expects its Covid vaccine for children aged five to 11 to be fully licensed this fall, the email said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is 'in discussions' with Moderna about rapidly increasing its Covid vaccine supply for young children, according to the email. That includes internal planning about volume, timing, and potential supply gaps. 'We are working to ensure there will be sufficient supply,' said Chris Ridley, a Moderna spokesperson. The CDC, the US Department for Health and Human Services (HHS), and Pfizer did not respond to media inquiries by publication time. In July, Moderna received FDA approval of its Covid pediatric shot. But the vaccine was only approved for children with one or more health conditions that make them more vulnerable to Covid. This move could limit access to Covid vaccines. 'We already have a low number of people using the vaccines to start with,' Benjamin said. 'There hasn't been enough promotion of vaccinations for kids, and then you have Mr [Robert F] Kennedy's [Jr] unscientific statements about the safety and efficacy of vaccines, particularly Covid vaccines, for both pregnant women and kids. It has muddied the waters of what people know about the safety and efficacy of the vaccine.' The vaccine is extremely effective, especially against hospitalization and death. Yet only 5.6% of children aged six months to four years are vaccinated against Covid, and about 15% of children aged five to 17 are vaccinated, according to the CDC. While older adults have the highest rates of hospitalization and death, children continue seeing hospitalization rates from Covid similar to rates in 2020 and 2021. And there are other concerns with Covid infection. 'We don't know the long-term impact for kids who have gotten Covid as a disease. We do know it does cause a multi-systemic inflammatory process in a number of kids, which is very severe, and we don't know the long-term implications for long Covid in kids,' Benjamin said. Covid cases are rising in many parts of the US amid other vaccine restrictions proposed and implemented by health officials.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
Pfizer Covid vaccine for young children may not be renewed by FDA
Pfizer's Covid vaccine for young children may not be renewed by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this fall, prompting Moderna to fill possible gaps in supply, according to an email obtained by the Guardian. The move would pull the only remaining Covid vaccine for all children under five from the market. The Moderna vaccine is only approved for children with one or more health conditions, and the pediatric Covid vaccine from Novavax is only available for children aged 12 and up with health conditions. 'It certainly would create a hole in the availability of vaccines,' said Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association. 'And to do it this late in the season – I think clearly it's inappropriate.' According to an email from the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), Pfizer said the FDA recently informed the pharmaceutical company that it may not renew the emergency use authorization for its pediatric Covid vaccine for the 2025 respiratory season. The email was sent on Friday to state and local vaccination grantees. The Pfizer vaccine is given to children between the ages of six months and four years. Pfizer expects its Covid vaccine for children aged five to 11 to be fully licensed this fall, the email said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is 'in discussions' with Moderna about rapidly increasing its Covid vaccine supply for young children, according to the email. That includes internal planning about volume, timing, and potential supply gaps. 'We are working to ensure there will be sufficient supply,' said Chris Ridley, a Moderna spokesperson. The CDC, the US Department for Health and Human Services (HHS), and Pfizer did not respond to media inquiries by publication time. In July, Moderna received FDA approval of its Covid pediatric shot. But the vaccine was only approved for children with one or more health conditions that make them more vulnerable to Covid. This move could limit access to Covid vaccines. 'We already have a low number of people using the vaccines to start with,' Benjamin said. 'There hasn't been enough promotion of vaccinations for kids, and then you have Mr [Robert F] Kennedy's [Jr] unscientific statements about the safety and efficacy of vaccines, particularly Covid vaccines, for both pregnant women and kids. It has muddied the waters of what people know about the safety and efficacy of the vaccine.' The vaccine is extremely effective, especially against hospitalization and death. Yet only 5.6% of children aged six months to four years are vaccinated against Covid, and about 15% of children aged five to 17 are vaccinated, according to the CDC. While older adults have the highest rates of hospitalization and death, children continue seeing hospitalization rates from Covid similar to rates in 2020 and 2021. And there are other concerns with Covid infection. 'We don't know the long-term impact for kids who have gotten Covid as a disease. We do know it does cause a multi-systemic inflammatory process in a number of kids, which is very severe, and we don't know the long-term implications for long Covid in kids,' Benjamin said. Covid cases are rising in many parts of the US amid other vaccine restrictions proposed and implemented by health officials.
Times
4 days ago
- Health
- Times
Police officer dead after ‘antivax' shooter targets CDC headquarters
A suspect who opened fire near the headquarters of America's public health agency blamed an apparent illness on the Covid vaccine, according to a report. The gunman, dressed in black and armed with a long rifle, began firing at the the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) building in Atlanta soon after 4.30pm ET (9.30 BST), shooting out windows and prompting a lockdown of the surrounding area. A DeKalb county police officer who responded to the shooting was critically injured and later died in hospital. The police department named him as David Rose, a former US marine who graduated from the police academy in March. Susan Monarez, the director of the CDC, said the gunman opened fire on at least four buildings. 'A courageous local law enforcement officer gave his life, and another was injured,' she said in a post on X. 'We are actively coordinating with federal, state, and local partners to fully investigate the shooter and this tragic crime.' The nearby Emory University issued an active shooter alert soon after the shooting began. 'Run. Hide. Fight,' the university posted to its X account, echoing the standard survival tactics taught by the FBI during an active shooter situation. Officials said the suspect barricaded himself into the upper floor of a CVS pharmacy, across the road from the main entrance to the CDC campus. About two hours after the shooting began, the Atlanta police department said the gunman had died. The authorities said it was unclear whether he killed himself or was shot by police returning fire. After speaking to the suspect's family, police said that he believed he was sick and blamed his illness on the Covid-19 vaccine, according to CNN. An area of approximately two square miles spanning Emory University, Emory Hospital and the main campus of the CDC in the northwestern suburbs of Atlanta was placed under lockdown for several hours. A barrage of gunfire could be heard on videos posted to social media from near the scene. In one video, eight gunshots ring out in quick succession, followed by another dozen shots. Brandy Giraldo, who works at a nearby delicatessen, said the gunfire 'sounded like fireworks going off, one right after the other'. An Atlanta police department vehicle near the scene appeared to have been hit by more than a dozen bullets on its windscreen and bonnet. The shelter-in-place order was lifted at 6.35pm. Andre Dickens, the Atlanta mayor, described the suspect as a white man who was known to police. 'To the men and women that work at the CDC, we know that you've had a tough go of it in the past year and my heart goes out to you,' he said. Ninety-two children who were at a daycare centre on the CDC campus were being reunited with their parents, Dickens added. On Wednesday an active-duty soldier opened fire at an Army post in Fort Stewart, Georgia. Quornelius Radford wounded five service members before he was subdued by witnesses and taken into custody. 'Twice this week, deranged criminals have targeted innocent Georgians,' Brian Kemp, the governor of Georgia, said in a post on X. Kemp thanked the first responders who 'rushed toward the danger to subdue the shooter and save lives, reminding us of just how crucial they are'. He said: 'We ask that you join us in holding them in our prayers, along with those harmed this evening near the CDC Centre.'
