Pfizer says it's "laying the groundwork" for vaccine booster against variants

by

, Adam Renton (Adam Renton),

And CNN's Ed Upright

Amanda Sealy from CNN

Pfizer said on Tuesday that it is "laying the groundwork" to develop a vaccine booster that can respond to variants of the coronavirus. 

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said at Bloomberg’s “Annual” event on Tuesday: “We should not be frightened, but I think we need to be prepared.” “Once something is discovered The effect is not so effective. We will produce an enhanced dose very, very quickly, with a small change from the current dose." 

Bourla said the company has discussed various variants in the past and created a process to help it adapt quickly.

In a statement to CNN on Tuesday, Pfizer emphasized that this process will respond, "if the SARS-CoV-2 variant shows evidence that our vaccine can evade immunity." 

"However, with regulatory agencies, there is a consensus that the research needed to evaluate vaccines encoding a newer viral antigen has not yet been determined. We will need to generate data to ensure that any updated vaccines are safe and effective. The statement said: " New vaccines managed by vaccines will be approved or authorized by regulatory authorities. "

Last week, Ugur Sahin, who helped invent the BioNTech vaccine produced and distributed by Pfizer, tested his vaccine against the B.1.1.7 variant that first appeared in the UK. They reported in the preprint report that the research team found "no biologically significant difference in neutralizing activity." But they said it was "prudent" to start adjusting the vaccine just in case.

Vaccine maker Moderna announced on Monday that its two doses of vaccine are expected to protect the newly emerged strains of the coronavirus that have been discovered so far, but out of caution, the company plans to test booster injections.

Josiah Ryan from CNN

New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo today expressed satisfaction with President Biden’s announcement that he will purchase another 200 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, expressing his “satisfaction” with the federal government.

The New York Democrat said: "You have a capable professional federal government, to be honest." "That's the fact, that's the ability, it's about taking responsibility."

Cuomo continued to argue that many of the Trump administration’s mistakes led to chaos in the Empire State Building, and the general improper response to federal measures also resulted in the loss of life. 

"According to federal guidelines, 7 million people (New York) are eligible for the vaccine, but I only got 250,000 doses," Cuomo told CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "So they told 7 million New Yorkers,'You are eligible, but it will take you seven months to get the vaccine.'" 

"That's just crazy," Cuomo continued. "...It seems that an incompetent government will kill people. This is not a joke. More people are dying here than needed."

Michael Nedelman from CNN

Vaccine maker AstraZeneca confirmed to CNN that representatives of the company will speak at an emergency meeting of consultants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday.

CNN previously reported that an unspecified "COVID-19 vaccine manufacturer" was listed on the agenda of the upcoming meeting.

A spokesperson for AstraZeneca did not disclose further details of the discussions planned by its representatives.

The CDC advisory group (called the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)) will discuss many topics in a one-day meeting, including the management of vaccine doses, the safety of vaccines, the testing of vaccines for children, and research on children. The effectiveness of the vaccine.

A CDC spokesperson previously stated that ACIP members are not expected to vote during the meeting.

AstraZeneca’s vaccine has not been authorized for emergency use in the United States, but it has also been approved for use in other countries such as the United Kingdom and India. In September, after a test volunteer in the UK developed neurological symptoms, the trial was suspended in the United States. After a review by the US Food and Drug Administration, it was concluded that it was safe to do so. After about six weeks, the trial resumed in the US.

Maggie Fox from CNN

President Biden announced on Tuesday that the United States will purchase another 200 million doses of coronavirus vaccines, and hopes to use them as part of a series of measures aimed at accelerating and increasing the US vaccine supply by the summer.

He said the United States plans to buy another 100 million doses from Pfizer/BioNTech and 100 million from Moderna.

Biden said the number of orders for each vaccine has increased by 50%, increasing the planned supply from 400 million to 600 million.

Pfizer and Moderna are working hard to increase production.

Biden added that the additional vaccine supply will be enough to vaccinate 300 million Americans in late summer and early fall.

Maggie Fox from CNN

On Tuesday, the Biden administration announced an increase in vaccine supply to states.

In his speech on Tuesday, President Biden said: "First, after reviewing the current vaccine supply and production facilities, I can announce that we will increase the overall weekly vaccination distribution by states, tribes and regions from 8.6 million doses. To at least 10 million doses.".

"From next week. 1.4 million doses will be added every week... Everyone knows that vaccines are allocated to states based on population. It depends on state population. The smaller the state, the fewer vaccines. The larger the state, the more. Therefore, this Thousands of Americans will be vaccinated faster than previously expected. However, we still have a long way to go," he added.

The states have been saying that they do not have enough vaccines, and many states have also said that they have been wondering how many vaccines they have to buy and when they have received information from the federal government.

The official said that the government plans to try to solve this problem. "In order to maintain transparent supply status for state and local leaders, HHS will provide an allocated budget three weeks in advance, and the budget will be constantly updated, so each state must notify at least three weeks in advance to help them plan vaccination and management. "A senior government official said.

This does not include any other vaccines that may be authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for emergency use. The FDA has granted EUA two vaccines-one produced by Moderna and the other produced by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech. Johnson & Johnson is working on a vaccine and hopes to report its clinical trial results within a few weeks.

"Obviously, we hope that there will be more sources of supply. If so, you can be sure that we will use this advantage." The official said.

Jennifer Henderson from CNN

He announced at today's press conference that Ohio Governor Mike DeWine hopes that every child can return to school by March 1.

DeWine said his goal is to get the first dose of the vaccine for everyone working in school at least in February. School employees in Cincinnati will start vaccinating next week.

DeWine added that Ohio has an average of 146,000 vaccines per week. Currently, people over 75 years old and people with certain diseases can be vaccinated. On February 1, employees of K-12 schools aged 70 and above and employees will be eligible to use the vaccine. From February 8th, the vaccine will be vaccinated directly into affordable high-end housing.

Dwyane said that because some nursing home residents and staff chose not to vaccinate, the state will allocate another 77,000 doses of vaccine in the next two weeks. 

DeWine also said that he is considering reducing the current curfew in view of the decline in hospitalization rates in the state. If the number of hospitalized in Ohio stays below 3,500 for 7 consecutive days, the curfew will be moved to 11 pm. -This may happen as early as this Thursday and will last for at least two weeks. If the hospitalization is less than 3,000 for 7 consecutive days, the curfew will last at least two weeks until midnight, and if the hospitalization is less than 2,500 for 7 consecutive days, the curfew will be lifted completely.

Ohio has reported 4,262 new Covid-19 cases, 88 Covid-19 deaths and 295 readmissions. A total of 2,964 people have been hospitalized due to Covid-19.

Sarah Moon from CNN

As some elected officials continue to question the timing of the state’s removal of home order, California Secretary of Health and Human Services Dr. Mark Ghaly said at a press conference on Tuesday that he believes the state will be lifted "in due course." . 

Ghaly explained: "This is not a regional 24/7 service based solely on community transmission rates, but a real focus on what we see in the hospital in a few weeks."

As health officials now expect the bed capacity of the intensive care unit to reach the 15% threshold within four weeks, the state cancelled full-time services in all five districts on Monday.

As health officials reviewed a four-week forecast, Gali said that he had previously mentioned that when the hospital is still conducting a high-level screening of coronavirus patients, it can cancel orders to stay at home.

The state's cases, deaths and hospitalizations continue to decline.

California reported 17,028 new virus cases and 409 additional deaths on Tuesday, both of which were significantly lower than the 14-day average of 28,993 cases and 501 deaths.

Gary said the 14-day test positive rate has also fallen to 9%, a 33% drop since the state reported its highest percentage earlier this month.

In the past two weeks, the hospitalization rate has dropped by more than 20%.

Today is the first anniversary, when the first two cases of the virus have been reported to the California Department of Public Health, one in Los Angeles County and the other in Orange County. In one year, more than 37,500 Californians lost their lives due to the virus, which Gali called "immeasurable losses."

To date, California has a total of 3,153,186 coronavirus cases and 37,527 deaths.

The Biden administration promised on Tuesday that by the end of the summer, it will provide enough coronavirus vaccines for the entire US population.

"Today, the President announced bold steps that will help achieve the goal of managing 100 million vaccines within 100 days and increase vaccine supply as soon as possible. Thanks to these actions, the federal government will provide the entire U.S. population by the end of summer. Sufficient vaccine supply." 

Among the promised actions: The vaccine purchased from the manufacturers Moderna and Pfizer will increase by 50%, and another 200 million doses will be provided by the end of summer. Now, the vaccination dose in each state will increase from 8.6 million doses to 10 million doses per week A week.

"This is not the supply we found when we arrived. As Fauci said (Dr. Anthony), it may take several months to say to Americans that it is the open season. But with today's announcement, we have purchased enough today. The vaccine vaccinates 300 million Americans."

A senior administrative official said on Tuesday that federal officials are working to obtain additional doses of special syringes from vials of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine.

Pfizer’s vaccine was originally shipped in 5-dose vials, but if the correct equipment is used, 6 doses of vaccine can be extracted from the vial. The company has now stated that it will count these bonus doses into its obligations to the United States. 

However, not everyone has the right syringe to do it. A senior government official told reporters that the federal government has been actively striving for more. The official said: "This is a relatively fragile supply chain."

The official said it is important not to disrupt other healthcare needs. The official said the government will use the National Defense Production Law as needed to obtain supplies without disrupting other supply chains.

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