British PM says new variant may carry higher risk of death

 British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday the new English variant of COVID-19 may be associated with a higher level of mortality although he said evidence showed that both vaccines being used in the country are effective against it.

Johnson said that the impact of the new variant, which is already known to be more transmissable, was putting the health service under “intense pressure”.

“We’ve been informed today that in addition to spreading more quickly, it also now appears that there is some evidence that the new variant - the variant that was first discovered in London and the southeast (of England) - may be associated with a higher degree of mortality,” he told a news briefing.

Johnson said however that all the current evidence showed both vaccines remained effective against old and new variants.

Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance said the evidence about mortality levels was “not yet strong”, and came from a “series of different bits of information”, stressing there was great uncertainty around the data.

He said that once people reached hospital, there was no greater risk, but there were signs that people who had the UK variant were at more risk overall.

“There’s no real evidence of an increase in mortality for those in hospital. However, when data are looked at in terms of those who’ve been tested positive... there is evidence that there’s an increased risk for those who have the new variant, compared to the old virus,” he said.

He said that for a man in his sixties, the average risk was that 10 in 1,000 people who got infected would be expected to die, but that this rose to roughly 13 or 14 people in 1,000 with the new variant.

“I want to stress that there’s a lot of uncertainty around these numbers and we need more work to get a precise handle on it,” he said.

“But it obviously is a concern that this has an increase in mortality as well as an increase in transmissibility.”

The warning about the higher risk of death from the new variant, which was identified in England late last year, came as a fresh blow after the country had earlier been buoyed by news the number of new COVID-19 infections was estimated to be shrinking by as much as 4% a day.

Data published earlier on Friday showed that 5.38 million people had been given their first dose of a vaccine, with 409,855 receiving it in the past 24 hours, a record high so far.

England and Scotland announced new restrictions on Jan. 4 to stem a surge in the disease fuelled by the highly transmissible new variant of the coronavirus, which has led to record numbers of daily deaths and infections this month.

The latest estimates from the health ministry suggest that the number of new infections was shrinking by between 1% and 4% a day. Last week, it was thought cases were growing by much as 5%, and the turnaround gave hope that the spread of the virus was being curbed, although the ministry urged caution.

But the Office for National Statistics estimated that the prevalence overall remained high, with about one in 55 people having the virus.

Britain has recorded more than 3.5 million infections and nearly 96,000 deaths - the world’s fifth-highest toll - while the economy has been hammered. Figures on Friday showed public debt at its highest level as a proportion of GDP since 1962, and retailers had their worst year on record.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-britain/british-pm-says-new-variant-may-carry-higher-risk-of-death-idUSKBN29R0QQ

Over 100 National Guard in DC for inauguration test positive for coronavirus

 Between 100 and 200 National Guard deployed to Washington D.C to provide security for President Joe Biden’s inauguration have tested positive for the coronavirus, a U.S. official said on Friday.

The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the number could rise but was still a small percentage of the more than 25,000 troops that were in city over the past few days.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-military/more-than-100-national-guard-in-washington-for-inauguration-test-positive-for-coronavirus-official-idUSKBN29R2N2

Where Our Current Covid-19 Vaccination Rate Will Take Us

 The U.S. has been administering doses of the Covid-19 vaccine since mid-December. As health departments across the country get their vaccination efforts up and running -- some more successfully than others -- President Biden's administration is hoping to quicken the process.

As of mid-January, there was an average of almost 900,000 people getting their first doses of the vaccine each day. This pace might change, but based on the recent rate, it might take a year -- until January 2022 -- for every American to get at least one shot, according to data analyzed by The Wall Street Journal. The projection provides a snapshot at the current trajectory, although it is conceivable that not everyone will receive a vaccine. The projection overstates the current progress because the two vaccines currently approved for emergency use in the U.S. -- one made by Pfizer Inc. and its partner BioNTech SE and the other developed by Moderna Inc. -- require two doses for full vaccination.

Since mid-December, more than 14 million people -- about 4% of the population -- have received at least one dose as of Jan. 20, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A vaccine from Johnson & Johnson, which could seek U.S. emergency-use authorization as soon as February, only requires a single dose and could shorten the projection. Moreover, the rate of vaccination has been improving, with the first three weeks of the rollout averaging about 216,000 a day.

Last week Mr. Biden gave details of his $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief plan, which includes a move to provide funding to states for improved distribution and to help set up community vaccination sites. He has said his administration aims to deliver 100 million doses administered in his first 100 days in office. If such a pace continued, and if each of the shots was given to someone who hasn't received the vaccine yet, it could take until early December for everyone to receive at least one shot.

What would it take to get everyone at least one dose by the middle of the year? The average daily rate would need to almost double to 1.96 million doses a day from a rate of about one million doses a day.

But is it necessary to vaccinate everyone in the U.S.? So far there isn't consensus on whether herd immunity is feasible or on what number of people vaccinated would be needed to achieve it. Many infectious-disease experts estimate that the percentage of the population requiring a vaccine to achieve herd immunity is at least 70% or higher.

Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient proportion of a population has been immunized by vaccination or after being infected, shielding even those who haven't been vaccinated from disease. The threshold at which herd immunity is achieved varies between diseases. Precautions such as wearing masks and social distancing can reduce the share of people who need to be vaccinated to affect transmission, according to epidemiologists.

Plans for administering the vaccine have evolved over the past few weeks to increase the rate of vaccinations. Last week federal guidelines were expanded to recommend vaccinating anyone age 65 and older, and states were urged to release doses that were originally held in reserve for the second shots.

While changes widened the gates for more doses to be administered, there is still friction in the process because of a lack of the necessary staff and vaccines to get shots into many people's arms quickly.

The process of administering the vaccines has largely been left to the state and local governments. A look at vaccination rates in some of the most populated states shows the difference in projections.

Notes: Data as of Jan. 20, 2021. Projections are based on the number of people who have received at least one dose.

Sources: CDC (vaccine doses administered); Census Bureau (population)

https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/PFIZER-INC-23365019/news/Where-Our-Current-Covid-19-Vaccination-Rate-Will-Take-Us-32254920/

Severe allergic reactions to Moderna vaccine 'appear rare' - CDC

 Severe allergic reactions to Moderna Inc's coronavirus vaccine appear to be quite rare, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Friday, after over 4 million people had received their first dose.

Based on the data, the CDC said anaphylaxis, a life-threatening allergic reaction, occurred at a rate of 2.5 cases per 1 million shots administered.

The agency cautioned that the risk of anaphylaxis was difficult to compare to non–COVID-19 vaccines because it is still so early in the vaccination program.

As of Jan. 10, there were 10 cases of anaphylaxis reported among 4.04 million people who received their first doses of Moderna's two-shot vaccine, according to the agency's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. (https://bit.ly/3973U4N)

The CDC said the characteristics of severe allergic reactions to Moderna's vaccine were similar to those reported with the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer Inc and partner BioNTech SE.

Earlier this month, the CDC reported severe allergic reactions to the Pfizer/BioNTech shot occurred at a rate of 11.1 per 1 million vaccinations.

For both vaccines, symptoms presented within minutes after vaccination and were more common among women. Many of those who suffered anaphylaxis after receiving either vaccine had a history of allergies or allergic reactions, and several had an anaphylaxis episode in the past, the CDC said.

The agency said locations administering COVID-19 vaccines should screen recipients, have necessary supplies and staff members to manage anaphylaxis, and immediately treat suspected cases with an epinephrine injection, the same drug in EpiPens.

https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MODERNA-INC-47437573/news/Moderna-Severe-allergic-reactions-to-Moderna-vaccine-appear-rare-CDC-report-32256760/

Bharat COVID-19 shot safe, gets immune response in early human trial

 Indian drugmaker Bharat Biotech's coronavirus vaccine, which has been authorized for use in the country, proved safe and produced an immune response in a small group of adults aged 18 to 55, according to a study published in The Lancet medical journal.

The vaccine, developed with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), is being evaluated in a separate 25,800 person trial, which started in November. Bharat Biotech said on Friday 13,000 people participating in the late-stage trial had been given the second dose.

The interim data published https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(20)30942-7/fulltext in the journal included three different vaccine formulations and a placebo group among 375 adults.

Two formulations of the vaccine, called COVAXIN, have been selected for more advanced stages of testing and further efficacy trials are warranted, the report said.

COVAXIN is an inactivated vaccine that introduces dead virus into the body to trigger an immune response.

This is the first peer reviewed data for the vaccine that has come under scrutiny after widespread criticism over the lack of transparency on the approval process for the shot.

The vaccine was granted emergency approval by the drugs controller general of India this month along with another vaccine, Covishield, developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University.

India, which has reported the highest number of coronavirus infections after the United States, kicked off its own vaccination drive on Saturday in what the government called the "world's largest vaccination program."

https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/ASTRAZENECA-PLC-4000930/news/AstraZeneca-Bharat-Biotech-s-COVID-19-shot-safe-produced-immune-response-in-early-human-trial-T-32256818/

Trudeau, Pfizer CEO talk COVID-19 vaccine shortage

 Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday he had talked to Pfizer Inc Chief Executive Albert Bourla about shortages of the firm’s COVID-19 vaccine and said the next few weeks would be challenging.

Trudeau told reporters that despite the current shortfall in deliveries Bourla had assured him the firm would be able to stick to its commitment to ship 4 million doses to Canada by the end of March.

https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-canada/canada-pm-trudeau-said-he-talked-to-pfizer-ceo-about-covid-19-vaccine-shortage-idUST5N2HE02E

iBio gains on Cantor coverage

 Shares of iBio (NYSEMKT:IBIO) surged on Friday following positive analyst commentary. As of 1:35 p.m. EDT, the biologics manufacturer's stock was up more than 14%. 

Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Kristen Kluska placed an overweight rating on iBio's stock after the market close on Thursday. She sees the biotech's shares rising roughly 80% from their current price near $1.66, to $3.

Kluska says iBio's stock is largely under the radar of most investors and that its current price fails to reflect the company's position as a leader in plant-based biologics manufacturing. 

iBio's FastPharming system uses plants to produce proteins used in biological vaccines and medicines. It's a fast process (projects can go from gene sequencing to protein production in just three weeks) that allows therapeutics producers to rapidly and cost-effectively scale production. 

Due in part to these benefits, iBio has signed manufacturing agreements with several biopharmaceutical companies in recent months. If it can continue to strike more deals (and the company's latest contract wins suggest it will), its stock price could quickly rise toward Kluska's $3 target.

https://www.fool.com/investing/2021/01/22/why-ibio-stock-soared-today/