Coronavirus

This week’s recommendation by the Biden administration for booster shots to combat COVID-19 is a call to action for pharmacists to get ready for the upcoming flurry of activity.

The study results indicated a nearly 9-fold increase in likelihood of survival without ventilation (SWOV) among this population, compared to a 2.5-fold increased likelihood of SWOV in the overall population.

But state-to-state communications and inconsistencies related to licensing present legal issues.

The investigators analyzed a panel of antibodies generated in response to the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine and found that delta was unable to evade all but 1 of the antibodies tested.

Widespread COVID-19 booster shot administration is pending FDA approval and recommendation by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

Amesh Adalja, MD, FIDSA, FACP, FACEP, said that the efficacy of COVID-19 booster vaccines against variants of concern is still relatively unknown, although administering the third shots does increase antibodies as expected.

Specific infection-fighting cells of the immune system found to be downregulated, offering a potential clue to the cause of prolonged COVID-19 illness in children.

An announcement from CDC officials recommending COVID-19 boosters for all adults could come as soon as this week, although doses would only be widely administered once the FDA formally approved the vaccines.

The pandemic taught the pharmacy to provide a deeper level of personalized care and communication than in the past.

The FDA recently authorized COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for immunocompromised individuals, who comprise about 3% of the US population.

CDC publishes a schedule of recommended immunizations, how many doses are required, and at what age they should be administered.

Pharmacists can advocate for teen vaccination by providing informational sessions at local high schools as well as through social media platforms.

The investigators found that antibodies generated by a single dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was less effective at neutralizing variants of concern, but the second dose dramatically increased responses to virus variants.

The FDA is expected to recommend that individuals with compromised immune systems receive a booster shot of either the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

The CDC now recommends COVID-19 vaccination for all individuals 12 years and older in the United States, including those who are pregnant or breastfeeding.

Among those who had hypertension, diabetes, and/or obesity as well as COVID-19, the risk rose to 160%.

Study suggests that immediate onset mRNA vaccine reactions may not be caused by classic allergy, or IgE-mediated hypersensitivity.

The partial immune response observed in these patients can create an environment for immune selection of evolutionary variants, according to the authors of the study.

Patients with COVID-19 who were vaccinated against the flu were found to be significantly less likely to visit the emergency department and be admitted to the intensive care unit.

Anna Legreid Dopp, PharmD, CPHQ, senior director of clinical guidelines and quality improvement at ASHP, said their organization was proud to sign onto a recent statement urging health care organizations to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for their employees.

This week on Pharmacy Times, there are a number of important topics that will be covered and posted throughout the week.

FDA approvals of vaccines usually take 10 to 15 years, but the pandemic necessitates emergency action.

Officials with the CDC updated their COVID-19 guidelines today, urging that vaccinated individuals in areas of substantial and high transmission wear masks in public indoor spaces, including schools, in order to prevent the spread of the Delta variant.

The clinical trial expansion is part of efforts to detect potential adverse effects in children, such as heart inflammation problems.

Two of the studies also found that patients with COVID-19 who received remdesivir had a significantly increased chance of discharge from the hospital by day 28.

One dose of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine (Vaxzevria) was 82% effective against hospitalization or death caused by either the Beta or Gamma variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, according to data from the Canadian Immunization Research Network, currently published as a pre-print.

Joint statement released supporting belief that COVID-19 vaccines are the logical fulfillment of the ethical obligation of all health care workers to put their patients first.

The results indicated that T cell responses—including CD8+ T cells, which seek out and destroy infected cells—persisted over the 8-month timeframe of the study, according to the authors.

Kevin Day, PharmD, president of Day’s Miami Heights Pharmacy in Cincinnati, Ohio, discusses how his independent pharmacy is gearing up for influenza season while continuing to deliver COVID-19 vaccines safely.

The research team analyzed data from the Household Pulse Survey in March 2021, which is an online nationally representative sample of the population conducted by the US Census Bureau and the National Center for Health Statistics and other agencies.