Tech

Despite unknowns, FDA officials make the case for annual fall COVID shots

Enlarge / Dr. Peter Marks, Director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research within the Food and Drug Administration, testifies during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on the federal coronavirus response on Capitol Hill on March 18, 2021 in Washington, DC. (credit: Getty | Pool) The pandemic coronavirus will likely […]

COVID 19 Tech

Pfizer CEO pushes for fourth shots as anxiety over BA.2 subvariant rises

Enlarge / Pfizer Chairman and CEO Dr. Albert Bourla speaks onstage at the 2022 SXSW Conference at JW Marriott Austin on March 14, 2022 in Austin. (credit: Getty | Chris Saucedo) While US health experts closely monitor upticks of COVID-19 cases in Europe as well as the global rise of the omicron subvariant BA.2, Pfizer […]

COVID 19 Tech

Florida’s latest anti-health political stunt is to cast doubt on kids’ vaccines

Enlarge / Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Rosen Shingle Creek on February 24, 2022, in Orlando, Florida. (credit: Getty| Joe Raedle) Sometimes fighting a common enemy can unite a country, inspiring solidarity, bravery, and sacrifice. Ordinary citizens become heroes; leaders become icons. But sometimes—like in the […]

Tech

Why covering anti-evolution laws has me worried about the future of vaccines

Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson) Prior to the pandemic, the opposition to vaccines was apolitical. The true believers were a small population and confined to the fringes of both major parties, with no significant representation in the political mainstream. But over the past year, political opposition to vaccine mandates has solidified, with a steady stream of […]

COVID 19 Tech

For T-cells, omicron is nothing unusual

Enlarge / False-color image of a T-cell (orange) latching on to a cell in preparation for killing it. (credit: Getty Images) From the start, the omicron variant had people worried because its version of the spike protein carried mutations in many of the sites that are recognized by antibodies. This meant that antibodies generated to […]

COVID 19 Tech

Omicron may have FDA rethinking vaccine strategy for kids under 5

Enlarge / A child getting a vaccination on February 19, 2021, in Bonn, Germany. (credit: Getty | Ute Grabowsky) The Food and Drug Administration may be reconsidering its criteria for authorizing COVID-19 vaccine doses for children under age five, according to Scott Gottlieb, a former FDA commissioner and a current board member of vaccine-maker Pfizer. […]