FDA okays vaccination with Pfizer BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19 from age 12 years and above. Once CDC gives a green light, children 12-15 years can receive their COVID-19 shots from their pediatricians. As cases in the US hit a 7-month low and vaccination rates increase this is a major milestone towards getting majority of Americans vaccinated and filling the vaccination gap in the very important segment of the population. Vaccination offers the best scientific promise of getting ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic and society return to normalcy. Currently at least 80% of the US population is within 5 miles of at least one of the 3 vaccines.

All the three vaccines offered in the USA received Emergency Use  Authorization (EUA) following clinical studies that focused on proving their safety, immunogenicity  and above all effectiveness in preventing serious illness, hospitalization and death from COVID-19 infection. A fourth vaccine, NOVAVAX*, is on track to come into use in the USA.

Reuters 6/26/19 (Jonathan Stempel)

The drug maker is asking the courts to intervene in its effort to provide financial assistance to Medicare patients afford two of its very expensive drugs, Vindaqel and Vindamax  ( also known as Tafamidis). The two are used for treatment of transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy, a rare heart disorder at an annual cost of $225,000 for treatment.

The drug maker argues that the office of the US HHS is blocking this assistance as it views such assistance as an illegal kickback.

It will be recalled that Pfizer has come under criticism for the prizing of this drug . A study in February from the American Heart Association said tafamidis was the most expensive cardiovascular drug launched in the United States, and its long-term cost effectiveness was "uncertain." Read More.

As COVID-19 virus remains front and center of our existence, vaccine hesitancy presents an unusual challenge in the race to get ahead of a pandemic. Experience shows hesitancy to reside everywhere, even among the most unlikely demographics, persons least expected to reject vaccination. Even more surprising is the prevalence among healthcare workers ,doctors etc, and of course regular folks .  Questions abound about the the COVID-19 vaccines, and frequently from those who have received at least one or more vaccines in the past without questioning vaccine or vaccination. Many have received vaccines before like those required for enrollment in elementary schools , college attendance  and even to gain employment in hospitals and healthcare environment. Some of the questions and theories are directed at companies behind the vaccines, companies like Pfizer, many a times  by the same folks who embraced viagra, a Pfizer product, as a bedtime snack. Many questions are legitimate and deserve carefully offering of reasoned explanation by proponents. Commonly encountered questions are about the speed of vaccine development etc, , effect on reproductive health, suspicions arising from historical missteps, racism and unethical conduct of human trial around people of color. Yet a good amount of hesitancy is fueled by myths and rooted in political and religious misinformation culture. Conspiratorial themes are abundant and many are quite head spinning such as the claim of insertion of surveillance, monitoring chips, mind altering timed devices by authorities through vaccination.  Notwithstanding all these challenges the needle appears to be swinging in the right direction. As hard as it is, the world will overcome and overtake the virus, and where it not for the challenges presented it would have cost fewer lives.

All the three vaccines offered in the USA received Emergency Use  Authorization (EUA) following clinical studies that focused on proving their safety, immunogenicity  and above all effectiveness in preventing serious illness, hospitalization and death from COVID-19 infection. A fourth vaccine, NOVAVAX*, is on track to come into use in the USA. 

The Pfizer (BioNTech SE) Vaccine:

Type of Vaccine

• A messenger RNA

Efficacy 95%.

Proven to prevent serious COVID-19 illness, hospitalization and death.

FDA approved - NO (Pending, submitted May 7th)

FDA Authorization For Emergency Use  (EUA)- YES (December 11th 2020)

# of shots 2, at least 21 days apart.

Who should get it ? - persons ages 16 years and older 

FDA Authorization (EUA) in 12-15 years old submitted YES Approved YES today May 5th 2021

EUA in 5 to 11 years old ? NO (Expected to be submitted in mid-September).

EUA in 2 to 5 years old ? NO. (Expected to be submitted in mid-September)

EUA 6 months to 2 years ? NO (Expected submission to FDA in late November).

The Moderna Vaccine:

Type of Vaccine

• A messenger RNA

Efficacy 94.1%

Proven to prevent serious COVID-19 illness, hospitalization and death.

FDA approved - NO 

FDA Authorized For Emergency Use - YES Dec. 18, 2020 

# of shots 2, at least 28 days apart.

Who should get it ? Persons 18 years and older

FDA Authorization (EUA) in 12 to 17 years old - NO  - pending - Clinical study completed.

FDA Authorization (EUA) in 6months 11 years old - NO  - Clinical study enrolling.

Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ)COVID-19 vaccine:

Type of vaccine

• Adenovirus vector-based, one dose.

Efficacy 66.3 %

Proven to prevent serious COVID-19 illness, hospitalization and death.

FDA Authorization EUA - YES-  Feb. 27, 2021

# of shots 1.

Who should get it ? 18 years old and older.

In our next post we will discuss in the interest of our readers abroad some of the other vaccines including AstraZeneca, Sinovac, Sputnik V and Curevac.

There may be reason to be on the acid reducers for serious and correctly diagnosed conditions such as peptic ulcer and severe acid reflux. It is widely held in the medical community that these drugs have been over prescribed. These medications include omeprazole, pantoprazole dexilant to name some of the most notable, generally called proton pump inhibitors (PPI). A second class of medications is H2RA that include famotidine, ranitidine etc.

READ MORE :

Total Support Walk-In Clinics on Google: