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      Texas sues Pfizer with COVID anti-vax argument that is pure stupid

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Monday, 4 December - 23:13

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

    Enlarge / Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. (credit: Getty | Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle )

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Pfizer last week, claiming the pharmaceutical giant "deceived the public" by "unlawfully misrepresenting" the effectiveness of its mRNA COVID-19 vaccine and sought to silence critics.

    The lawsuit also blames Pfizer for not ending the pandemic after the vaccine's release in December 2020. "Contrary to Pfizer’s public statements, however, the pandemic did not end; it got worse" in 2021, the complaint reads .

    "We are pursuing justice for the people of Texas, many of whom were coerced by tyrannical vaccine mandates to take a defective product sold by lies," Paxton said in a press release. "The facts are clear. Pfizer did not tell the truth about their COVID-19 vaccines."

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      Vaccine mandates work, especially when they’re done right

      WIRED · news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Saturday, 28 August, 2021 - 11:07 · 1 minute

    Vaccine mandates work, especially when they’re done right

    Enlarge (credit: Mario Tama | Getty Images)

    On Monday, the US Food and Drug Administration gave formal, full approval to the Covid-19 vaccine made by the drug companies Pfizer and BioNTech. You might’ve already gotten a dose of it, of course; millions of Americans have, thanks to an “ emergency use authorization awarded in December 2020. But the new designation was more than just a formality. “If you’re one of the millions of Americans who said they will not get the shot until it has full and final approval from the FDA, it has now happened,” President Joe Biden said when he announced the approval. And, in the same speech: “If you’re a business leader, a non-profit leader, a state or local leader who has been waiting for full FDA approval to require vaccinations, I call on you now to do that—require it.”

    Pretty much right away, a lot of places did. Vaccines are safe, effective, and free, but somewhere around 30 percent of Americans haven’t got their shots. Carrots didn’t work; here come the sticks. And they might be able to crush the fourth wave of the Covid pandemic in the US—if they’re done right.

    Like the other vaccines still available under EUA, the Pfizer drug is extraordinarily good at keeping people from getting really sick or dying from Covid. But with more than 100,000 people in the hospital with Covid in the US—the most since January—and with the vast majority of them unvaccinated, it’s clear that alone isn’t enough. States, localities, and businesses have tried inducements like prizes, cash, or lotteries , little tricks designed to corral people into doing what’s good for them. In the language of behavioral economics, that’s called a nudge. But in states with low vaccine uptake, those nudges didn’t change the momentum. So now, it’s time for mandates . If you’re one of the 30 percent or so of Americans who haven’t gotten vaccinated yet, get ready for a good hard shove.

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      FDA authorizes Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds

      Beth Mole · news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Monday, 10 May, 2021 - 23:08

    An illustration picture shows vials with COVID-19 Vaccine stickers attached, with the logo of US pharmaceutical company Pfizer, on November 17, 2020.

    Enlarge / An illustration picture shows vials with COVID-19 Vaccine stickers attached, with the logo of US pharmaceutical company Pfizer, on November 17, 2020. (credit: Getty | JUSTIN TALLIS )

    The US Food and Drug Administration has authorized the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in adolescents between the ages of 12 to 15, the agency announced Monday evening .

    In the announcement, acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock called the authorization “a significant step in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic” that will bring the country “closer to returning to a sense of normalcy and to ending the pandemic.”

    Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, echoed that sentiment. He called the ability to vaccinate children and teens “a critical step” in the fight against COVID-19.

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      AstraZeneca’s troubled vaccine not renewed in EU; Pfizer gets big, new deal

      Beth Mole · news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Monday, 10 May, 2021 - 17:16

    Vials with COVID-19 Vaccine labels showing logos of pharmaceutical company Pfizer and German biotechnology company BioNTech.

    Enlarge / Vials with COVID-19 Vaccine labels showing logos of pharmaceutical company Pfizer and German biotechnology company BioNTech. (credit: Getty | Photonews )

    The European Union has declined to renew orders for AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, an EU official said Sunday. The decision comes after a series of production and safety troubles with AstraZeneca’s vaccine—and news on Saturday that the EU signed a deal to have Pfizer and BioNTech provide up to 1.8 billion doses of their vaccine between 2021 and 2023.

    Last month, the EU took legal action against AstraZeneca, alleging that the company had failed to live up to its contract to supply the bloc with doses. The contract ends in June.

    "We did not renew the order after June,” European Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said in a Sunday French radio interview, which was reported by Reuters . “We’ll see what happens," he added, leaving open the possibility of future orders.

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      Pfizer vaccine rollout might get a lot easier—ultra-cold storage not required

      Beth Mole · news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Friday, 19 February, 2021 - 21:47

    A picture taken on January 15, 2021 shows a pharmacist holding with gloved hands a vial of the undiluted Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for COVID-19.

    Enlarge / A picture taken on January 15, 2021 shows a pharmacist holding with gloved hands a vial of the undiluted Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for COVID-19. (credit: Getty | JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER )

    In a bit of good news, Pfizer and BioNTech announced today that their highly effective COVID-19 vaccine does not require ultra-cold storage conditions after all and can be kept stable at standard freezer temperatures for two weeks.

    The companies have submitted data to the US Food and Drug Administration demonstrating the warmer stability in a bid for regulatory approval to relax storage requirements and labeling for the vaccine.

    If the FDA greenlights the change, the warmer storage conditions could dramatically ease vaccine distribution, allowing doses to be sent to non-specialized vaccine administration sites. The change would also make it much easier to distribute the vaccine to low-income countries.

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      Les effets secondaires des vaccins anti-Covid que l'ANSM demande de surveiller

      Le HuffPost avec AFP · news.movim.eu / HuffingtonPost · Friday, 12 February, 2021 - 08:59 · 3 minutes

    Vaccins Pfizer/BioNTech, 11 février 2021. (JORGE GUERRERO / AFP)

    SANTÉ - Les 73 cas d’hypertension artérielle, de courte durée, déclarés depuis le début de la vaccination avec le vaccin Pfizer/BioNTech contre le Covid-19, ne remettent pas en cause sa sécurité, mais “constitue un signal qui doit être surveillé” a estimé, jeudi 11 février, l’Agence du médicament ANSM.

    Pour le vaccin AstraZeneca destiné au moins de 65 ans, l’ANSM relève “un signal potentiel”, avec 149 déclarations de syndrome grippal, souvent de forte intensité (fièvre élevée, courbature, maux de tête), touchant pour la plupart des professionnels de santé d’âge moyen de 34 ans, parmi les quelque 10.000 personnes vaccinées entre le 6 et le 10 février 2021. “Ces effets indésirables sont connus et décrits avec les vaccins”, indique l’ANSM.

    Un problème rencontré notamment au CHRU de Brest où des syndromes grippaux avec maux de tête et fortes fièvres, ont obligé 20 à 25 % des personnels vaccinés à se mettre en arrêt de travail, rapporte Le Télégramme . Au CHU de Rennes, deux personnes ont eu une température supérieure à 39°C. La manifestation de “ce type d’effets secondaires” évoque “un défaut de communication sur les effets indésirables transitoires”, confie l’infectiologue François Bénézit au quotidien régional. Selon lui, ces effets sont “désagréables mais pas très graves”.

    Le professeur Alain Fischer, monsieur vaccination du gouvernement, a confirmé sur franceinfo la possibilité de tels symptômes mais il recommande non pas de suspendre mais d’espacer la vaccination.

    “Les établissements de santé sont informés de ce signal potentiel” avance l’ANSM et pour “limiter le risque” de perturbation du fonctionnement des services de soin, il est recommandé de vacciner de façon échelonnée le personnel d’un même service, indique l’agence sanitaire en recommandant, si besoin, de privilégier l’utilisation du paracétamol à la dose la plus faible et le moins longtemps possible.

    Ne pas hésiter à faire des contrôles

    L’ANSM précise que le lot de ce vaccin, utilisé depuis le 6 février, qui a fait l’objet d’un contrôle strict avant sa commercialisation, “a été utilisé dans 21 autres pays de l’UE” et “qu’à ce jour, il n’y a pas de déclarations équivalentes dans d’autres pays”.

    Concernant le vaccin Comirnaty de Pfizer/BioNTech, les 73 cas d’augmentation de la tension artérielle, immédiatement après la vaccination ou de façon différée, ont été de courte durée et d’évolution favorable, détaille l’ANSM.

    Devant tout symptôme évocateur d’une hypertension artérielle tel qu’un malaise des maux de têtes, des vertiges, l’ANSM recommande aux personnes vaccinées d’effectuer un contrôle de la pression artérielle pour une prise en charge médicale la plus précoce possible, si cela s’avère nécessaire.

    Les informations concernant ces deux vaccins ont été transmises à l’Agence européenne du médicament (EMA), indique l’agence. “À ce jour, il n’y a pas de signal de sécurité avec le vaccin Moderna ”, ajoute l’ANSM.

    À voir également sur Le Huffpost: Cette députée veut un “passeport sanitaire” pour relancer le tourisme

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      GSK eyes next-gen COVID vaccine as it inks deal to help boost current supply

      Beth Mole · news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Wednesday, 3 February, 2021 - 20:58

    A needle is inserted into a vial held by a gloved hand.

    Enlarge / A vaccine syringe and vial in front of the GSK (GlaxoSmithKline) logo. (credit: Getty | Anadolu Agency )

    After its own COVID-19 vaccine setback, GlaxoSmithKline has inked a $180 million deal to help German biotech CureVac manufacture 100 million doses of its mRNA vaccine, which is currently under development. The deal also lays the groundwork for the two to cook up a next-generation vaccine that would protect against several concerning coronavirus variants at the same time.

    The partnership is the latest example of a pharmaceutical giant teaming up with a peer—in some cases a rival—to help address the global shortage of desperately needed COVID-19 vaccines.

    On January 27, Sanofi—one of the world’s leading vaccine makers—announced that it would use its manufacturing prowess to produce vaccine developed by rivals Pfizer and BioNTech, which has already been authorized for use in the US and the EU. Sanofi will begin producing over 125 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine from its plant in Frankfurt, Germany, later this year.

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      Chez Pfizer, des élus veulent "lever les brevets" sur les vaccins

      Le HuffPost · news.movim.eu / HuffingtonPost · Wednesday, 3 February, 2021 - 14:42 · 1 minute

    COVID-19 - Les vaccins, “bien commun pour l’humanité”? Plusieurs dizaines de militants et élus communistes ont manifesté, ce mercredi 3 février, devant les sièges de Pfizer à Paris et de l’Organisation mondiale de la santé (OMS) à Lyon pour réclamer la “libération des brevets” du vaccin contre le Covid-19 , comme vous pouvez le voir dans notre vidéo ci-dessus .

    “Pas de profits sur la pandémie, pas de propriété sur les brevets”, a martelé face aux journalistes le secrétaire général du Parti communiste Fabien Roussel, exhortant Pfizer et “Big Pharma” à “lever les brevets qui protègent les vaccins qui doivent devenir des génériques”.

    Même slogans à Lyon où une vingtaine de militants s’est aussi aussi réunie devant les bureaux de l’ Organisation mondiale de la santé (OMS) . “Le sujet est trop grave pour laisser les brevets aux mains d’intérêts privés”, a expliqué  Raphaël Debû, secrétaire départemental du parti et conseiller à la métropole de Lyon.

    On voit bien que le privé ne répond pas aux besoins humains. Laurence Cohen, sénatrice (PCF)

    Si les fabricants ne répondent pas à cet appel, les élus communistes demandent à la France et à l’Union européenne “d’enclencher une procédure de licence publique” qui obligerait les laboratoires à transmettre leurs brevets, qui courent normalement sur une vingtaine d’années.

    “L’industrie pharmaceutique a touché des milliards d’euros d’argent public. Donc, nous sommes en droit de demander à cette industrie de libérer les brevets”, a justifié Fabien Roussel, ajoutant qu’une compensation devrait tout de même être offerte en échange aux laboratoires.

    Dans une tribune au Monde publiée ce mercredi, le médecin psychiatre Carlos Parada voit dans ces brevets un “droit dépassé” aujourd’hui par l’urgence sanitaire. “Le délai de vingt ans de monopole privé appliqué aux vaccins anti-Covid-19 serait si absurde, si peu adapté à la situation planétaire, que seules nos ornières idéologiques nous empêchent de le remettre en cause”, estime-t-il.

    À voir également sur Le HuffPost : À Nancy, les premiers vaccinés du public déterminés

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      Pfizer, Feds reach deal for additional 100M COVID-19 vaccine doses

      Kate Cox · news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Wednesday, 23 December, 2020 - 19:53

    Extreme close-up photograph of fingers holding a tiny glass jar.

    Enlarge / A nurse in the UK holds a vial of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on December 22, 2020. (credit: Lindsey Parnaby | AFP | Getty Images )

    The Federal government has reached a deal with drugmaker Pfizer to secure an additional 100 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine before the end of July, the company said today.

    Under the terms of the new agreement , the government will pay $1.95 billion for the additional doses. Of the new vaccine doses, 70 million are due by June 30, with the remaining 30 million to be delivered no later than July 31. The agreement also provides US authorities with the option to order up to 400 million additional doses of the vaccine later.

    Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement that the additional Pfizer vaccine "can give Americans even more confidence that we will have enough supply to vaccinate every American who wants it by June 2021," when added to the 100 million doses the US government has already agreed to purchase from Pfizer, as well as the recently approved Moderna vaccine .

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