Good morning, everyone, and welcome to another working week. We hope the weekend respite was relaxing and invigorating, because that oh-so familiar routine of meetings, online calls, and deadlines has predictably returned. But what can you do? The world, such as it is, keeps spinning. So why not give it a nudge with a delicious cup or three of stimulation? Our choice today is salted caramel mocha, which reminds us of the Jersey Shore (you can write us for more details). Meanwhile, here are some tidbits to help you get started. We hope your day is productive and meaningful, and of course, do keep in touch. We enjoy your telegrams and postcards. …
The global pharmaceutical industry is lobbying for wealthy nations to fund a supply mechanism that would secure vaccines for low-income countries without delay in case of a new pandemic, but said the proposal was contingent on free cross-border trade, Reuters writes. An international trade group said global pandemic vaccine distribution needs to be put on a new footing because the world’s poorest countries were forced to wait for shots during the current pandemic. The procurement mechanism needs funding from higher-income countries and could only work if materials and finished products can be shipped without barriers within a globalized supply chain.
Pfizer and BioNTech expect to complete their submission for emergency use authorization of their Covid-19 vaccine for children under the age of 5 this week, after a study of a third dose found it improves the efficacy of the vaccine, STAT tells us. The companies said that, with three doses, the vaccine performed about as well in young children as it does in adults. The vaccine was well tolerated, induced a strong immune response, and was 80.3% effective at preventing Covid infections at a time when the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus was circulating. Children 6 months to 4 years of age are the last group for which Covid vaccines have yet to be authorized.
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