Coronavirus Updates
The US Food and Drug Administration has authorized an updated COVID-19 vaccine, that targets new strains of the coronavirus. The vaccine booster shots made by Pfizer and Moderna approved on Wednesday are combination shots and will contain half of the original vaccine and the other half will offer protection against the newest omicron strains – BA.4 and BA.5, the most contagious so far.
Moderna is suing rival vaccine production company Pfizer, charging it with patent infringement in developing a vaccine against the COVID-19 virus. Moderna says Pfizer copied technology developed by Moderna years before the start of the coronavirus pandemic. “Moderna believes that Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty infringes patents Moderna filed between 2010 and 2016 covering Moderna’s foundational mRNA technology,” according to a statement from Moderna. The amount of monetary damages requested by Moderna has not been disclosed. Moderna and Pfizer both use mRNA technology, which uses a spike protein built on surface of the virus that leads cells to fight the virus. Both Moderna and Pfizer partner BioNTech were working on such technology in the years prior to the coronavirus pandemic. The case could take years to resolve.
A million people have died from COVID-19 in 2022 so far, according to the World Health Organization. Some 6.34 million people have died with COVID-19 since the virus was first identified in late 2019.
US First Lady Jill Biden has tested positive for COVID-19. Biden first tested negative for the virus on Monday during a round of regular testing, but developed cold-like symptoms later in the day, according to a statement from the First Lady’s Communications Director Elizabeth Alexander. A PCR test came back positive. Biden is fully vaccinated, including two booster shots, and is experiencing “mild symptoms,” according to the statement, which also said that she is being treated with the antiviral drug Paxlovid. She is isolating for at least five days at a private residence in South Carolina, where she and the president have been vacationing. She will return home after two consecutive negative COVID tests, according to the statement. President Joe Biden, who recently recovered from the virus, tested negative for COVID-19 on Tuesday, but will wear a mask for the next 10 days when indoors and in close proximity to others, in accordance with CDC guidelines to prevent the virus’ spread.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla has tested positive for COVID-19. It is the first time that Bourla, 60, has come down with the virus. In a statement released by the company on Monday, Bourla siad that he has received four doses of his company’s vaccine and that he is “feeling well while experiencing very mild symptoms,” while “isolating in place.” He said that he has started a course of his company’s Paxlovid antiviral treatment. “We have come so far in the past two years in our efforts to battle this disease that I am confident that I will have a speedy recovery. I am incredibly grateful for the tireless efforts of my Pfizer colleagues who worked to make vaccines and treatments available for me and people around the world,” the statement also said.
Macau in China has ordered its residents to undergo COVID-19 tests after a visitor to the gambling region tested positive for the coronavirus. The two days of testing comes days after Macau eased its restrictions to control the coronavirus. All of the city’s 700,000 residents were required to take rapid antigen tests on Sunday and Monday and upload the results to a government website. Macau reopened public services and entertainment venues and allowed the resumption of in-restaurant dining on August 2.
US President Joe Biden tested negative for COVID-19, after he tested positive for a second time in what is being called a breakthrough case. He must test negative for a second time before he comes out of isolation. Biden first tested positive on July 21 and then emerged from isolation on July 27 after two negative tests. But he tested positive on July 30, which has happened to some people who, like Biden, have taken the anti-viral drug Paxlovid.
New Zealand fully reopened its borders to international visitors. a restriction that was put into place at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. The borders partially reopened in February to allow the free movement of New Zealand citizens, and in May allowed tourists from more than 50 countries to visit. Tourists from non-visa waiver countries, international students, and cruise ships were permitted to enter New Zealand at midnight on Sunday. Visitors will still be required to be vaccinated against the coronavirus and take two tests after arrival; they will not be required to quarantine.
North Korea reported no new cases of the coronavirus for the first time since mid-May, when in uncharicaristic fashion it publicly announced its first outbreak of COVID-19. State media reported on Saturday that there were zero patients with what it calls cases of “fever” in the most recent 24-hour period. According to the state emergency anti-epidemic center, the total number of cases in North Korea since the start of the outbreak is about 4.8 milion, with a 99.99 % recovery rate. Some 74 people have died from COVID. The nubers are suspect, however,
US President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday. The new positive test comes three days after the US president came out of isolation following a previous coronavirus diagnosis. According to the White House, President Biden has has a case of rebound, following treatment with the anti-viral coronavirus drug Paxlovid. President Biden has not experienced a reoccurance of virus symptoms, according to his doctor. Biden will remain in isolation again for at least five days. The president’s wife, Jill Biden, has remained at the family’s home in Wilmington, Delaware since President Biden’s diagnosis. She has continued to test negative for the coronavirus. Generally, patients who experience rebound after taking Paxlovid have only mild symptoms.