New research released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday shows that effectiveness of the Moderna vaccine is staying es strong.
Moderna recipients ranked 93% in terms of their ability to keep people out of the hospital because of COVID. This was based on five months of research that took place from March through August. Pfizer’s effectiveness was overall 88% and J&J’s was 71%.
Pfizer’s efficacy dropped to 91% from 77% after 120 days. Moderna’s efficiency did not experience a similar decrease. Moderna only saw a 92% drop in initial effectiveness from 93% to 93%.
“Although these real-world data suggest some variation in levels of protection by vaccine, all FDA-approved or authorized COVID-19 vaccines provide substantial protection against COVID-19 hospitalization,” The researchers concluded.
Researchers concluded.
Also in the news:
► A New York City restaurant hostess was allegedly assaulted by a group of customers visiting from Texas when she asked them for proof they had been vaccinated. According to the New York City Fire Department, she was repeatedly punched and her necklace was broken. Three suspects were taken into arrest.
► An Arizona couple, Frank Robert Montoya and Victoria Parra-Carranza, were given jail time after they coughed on Walmart employees who asked them to wear masks, then fought with police.
►A federal judge has again blocked Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee prevented parents from opting out of school mask restrictions that were intended to reduce coronavirus infections.
► A child died of COVID-19 in Louisiana, state health officials announced on Friday. The child was between 5-11 years old and is the 15th victim of the virus in Louisiana since the outbreak.
📈Today’s numbers:The U.S. has recorded more than 41.9 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 672,000 deaths,according to Johns Hopkins University data. Global totals: More than 227.7 million cases and 4.6 million deaths. More than 180.5 million Americans — 54.4% of the population — have been fully vaccinated,according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
📘What we’re reading: Joe Biden’s plan to combat COVID-19 is more than a vaccine mandate. It is also a mandate for testing. Read the full story.
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FDA panel recommends Pfizer boosters only for elderly, high-risk
After hours of discussion and a request to revise the question they were being asked, a key federal advisory committee on Friday recommended a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine six months after full vaccination for people aged 65 and older and those at high risk of severe COVID-19.
Pfizer’s initial question would have allowed the booster to be available to anyone 16 or older.
There isn’t yet sufficient evidence to show boosters for people under 65 are necessary, said members of the Food and Drug Administration’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee.
Those at high risk would include health care workers, first responders and people likely to be exposed to the virus at work, committee members said.
– Elizabeth Weise and Karen Weintraub, USA TODAY
British government simplifies COVID travel rules after complaints
Amid complaints that its rules regarding international travel were too complicated, England on Friday announced a modification to the regulations in place to prevent the spread of COVID.
Instead of a red, amber, or green-light system for classifying countries based upon their COVID levels, which could cause confusion for travelers, England will introduce a two-tier system in October.
The new system will make it possible for countries to be either open or red. This week, all countries were removed from the red-list, including Pakistan, Oman Oman, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Egypt.
Travelers from open countries will be able to travel without any additional testing requirements if they are fully vaccinated.
Facebook overrun by COVID vaccine lies, report says
Anti-vaccine activists flooded Facebook to sow doubt about the COVID-19 vaccines, overwhelming efforts to stop them, even as the company told the world that it was not responsible for vaccine hesitancy, a new report from the Wall Street Journal has found.
A document discovered by the newspaper revealed that only half of the 150,000 Facebook users were involved in posting COVID-19 misinformation to Facebook Groups. 1,400 people invited half of the new members.
The report paints a picture of a company outfoxed by a small but wily group of anti-vaccine activists that it called “big whales.”
Facebook researchers in May compared the problem to QAnon and allegations of election fraud, “with a relatively few number of actors creating a large percentage of the content and growth.”
– Brett Molina and Jessica Guynn, USA TODAY
Contributing: The Associated Press
