CDC Says Pfizer Vaccine 93% Effective Against Serious Illness For Ages 12-18

The Hill: CDC Data Finds Pfizer Vaccine 93 Percent Effective Against Hospitalization For Youth
The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine has been found to be 93 percent effective against hospitalization for 12- to 18-year-olds, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) research from when the delta variant was predominant. Researchers calculated the vaccine efficacy using data from 464 hospitalized patients, including 179 with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 and 285 controls without the virus, across 19 pediatric hospitals between June and September.  (Coleman, 10/19)

USA Today: Pfizer Shot 93% Effective Avoiding Hospitalization For COVID For 12-18
Even in the throes of the summer spike in coronavirus cases across the U.S. fueled by the delta variant, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine proved 93% effective at keeping adolescents 12 to 18 out of the hospital, according to an analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published Tuesday. The report may help boost uptake of the vaccine among children ages 5-11 once it's authorized, likely in the coming weeks. "Findings reinforce the importance of vaccination to protect U.S. youths against severe COVID-19,'' the authors wrote. (Ortiz, Miller and Tebor, 10/19)

In other news about vaccine development —

Axios: J&J Still Expects $2.5 Billion Of COVID-19 Vaccine Sales This Year
Johnson & Johnson registered $502 million of global revenue from its COVID-19 vaccine in the third quarter, bringing year-to-date vaccine sales to $766 million. J&J, which is selling the vaccine at a not-for-profit price of $7.50 per dose, still expects to generate $2.5 billion of COVID vaccine sales this year, executives said Tuesday. But that total will still dwarf the use and sales of the vaccines made by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna. (Herman, 10/19)

The Washington Post: In Secret Coronavirus Vaccine Contracts With Governments, Pfizer Took Hard Line In Push For Profit, Report Says
The rapid proliferation of the [Pfizer] vaccine, under contracts negotiated between the company and governments, has unfolded behind a veil of strict secrecy, allowing for little public scrutiny of Pfizer’s burgeoning power, even as demand surges amid new negotiations for one of the world’s most sought-after products. A report released Tuesday by Public Citizen, a consumer rights advocacy group that gained access to a number of leaked, unredacted Pfizer contracts, sheds light on how the company uses that power to “shift risk and maximize profits,” the organization argues. (Taylor, 10/19)

Politico: ‘They Rushed The Process’: Vaccine Maker’s Woes Hamper Global Inoculation Campaign 
The world’s vaccine distributor has been counting on U.S. companies to provide more than 2 billion doses to lower and middle-income countries by the end of 2022 — a crucial step in ending the Covid-19 pandemic. But the campaign run by the international consortium known as COVAX, which has already been delayed significantly because of production lags, is now likely to fall short by more than 1 billion doses as a key supplier faces significant hurdles in proving it can manufacture a shot that meets regulators’ quality standards, according to three people with direct knowledge of the company’s problems. (Owermohle, Banco and Cancryn, 10/19)

And more news on the vaccine rollout —

The Hill: Cincinnati Zoo Announces COVID-19 Vaccination Of 80 Animals 
The Cincinnati Zoo announced on Monday that 80 animals have been vaccinated against the coronavirus. The zoo said they have been preparing the animals for months by making them comfortable with what they would see and feel when they were given the Zoetis COVID-19 vaccine. (Lonas, 10/19)

Axios: Puerto Rico Leads U.S. COVID Vaccination Rates 
Puerto Rico has the highest percentage of people fully vaccinated against the coronavirus in the United States as of Oct. 19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The island has managed to accomplish such feats amid frequent power outages, earthquakes and high dependence on imports of health technologies from outside the region. (Reyes, 10/19)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Average Daily COVID-19 Vaccine Doses At Lowest Mark Since 2020
The state Department of Health Services reported a seven-day average of just under 4,200 COVID-19 vaccine doses a day Tuesday — the lowest mark since the vaccine was first available. The state reported a seven-day average of more than 6,000 doses a day on Oct. 1. On Monday, the state reported 2,500 vaccine doses were administered in Wisconsin. Just shy of 55% of all Wisconsinites are fully vaccinated, according to the state. (Bentley, 10/19)

WJCT News: COVID Vaccinations Hit A New Low In Duval County 
Fewer Duval County residents got vaccinated against COVID-19 last week than at any time since May. The 2,700 people vaccinated show that vaccination rates have fallen stagnant since COVID cases and vaccinations spiked at the beginning of August. Just 63% of Duval residents over age 12 have been vaccinated, compared with 72% statewide. (Heddles, 10/19)

CNN: Covid Vaccine Misinformation: These Doctors Are Part Of The Problem 
She was a frequent guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show -- an Ivy League-educated OB-GYN who often spoke about women's health and holistic medicine. She was a media darling, and in 2013 made Reader's Digest's annual list of 100 most trusted people in America. If you go to Dr. Christiane Northrup's Facebook page, her posts dispensing advice on health and aging to her 558,000 followers seem consistent with that persona of several years ago. But Northrup also uses her Facebook page to direct followers to Telegram, where another side of her is apparent. (Kuznia, Bronstein, Devine and Griffin, 10/19)