J&J Cuts Enrollment For Single-Dose Vaccine Trial, Eyes Feb. Authorization
Media reports look at protection from one shot of Pfizer's vaccine and more vaccine news.
Stat:
J&J Cuts Size Of Covid-19 Vaccine Study Due To Prevalence Of Disease
Johnson & Johnson is cutting the size of its pivotal U.S. Covid-19 vaccine trial — the only major study testing a single dose of a Covid vaccine — from 60,000 volunteers to 40,000 volunteers. The change is being made possible by the fact that Covid-19 is so pervasive across the country, according to a person familiar with the matter. The more virus there is in the U.S., the more likely it is that participants will be exposed to it, meaning researchers will be able to reach conclusions based on a smaller trial. (Herper, 12/9)
Boston Globe:
One Dose Of Pfizer’s COVID-19 Vaccine Offers Some Protection. But Experts Say You Still Need The Second Shot
Some bright news amid the gloom of the pandemic: A single dose of the coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech, confers some protection against COVID-19, according to a new analysis of the clinical trial data by the Food and Drug Administration. But infectious disease experts caution that doesn’t mean people should skip or delay their second shot. (Pan, 12/9)
In other COVID vaccine developments —
AP:
EU Drug Regulator Hacked, Data On COVID-19 Vaccine Accessed
German pharmaceutical company BioNTech and its U.S. partner Pfizer say data on their coronavirus vaccine were “unlawfully accessed” during a cyberattack on the servers of the European Medicines Agency. The Amsterdam-based agency, which is considering requests for conditional marketing authorization for several coronavirus vaccines to be used in the 27-nation European Union, said earlier Wednesday that it had been the target of a cyberattack. (12/10)
Reuters:
How The Novel Coronavirus Has Evolved
As the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has swept across the world, killing more than 1.5 million people over the past year, it has mutated into seven major groups, or strains, as it adapted to its human hosts. Mapping and understanding those changes to the virus is crucial to developing strategies to combat the COVID-19 disease it causes. (Wardell, Scarr and Chowdhury, 12/10)
Los Angeles Times:
Infected After 5 Minutes, From 20 Feet Away: South Korea Study Shows Coronavirus’ Spread Indoors
Dr. Lee Ju-hyung has largely avoided restaurants in recent months, but on the few occasions he’s dined out, he’s developed a strange, if sensible, habit: whipping out a small anemometer to check the airflow. It’s a precaution he has been taking since a June experiment in which he and colleagues re-created the conditions at a restaurant in Jeonju, a city in southwestern South Korea, where diners contracted the coronavirus from an out-of-town visitor. Among them was a high school student who became infected after five minutes of exposure from more than 20 feet away. (Kim, 12/9)
