Pfizer announced Saturday that tweaking its COVID-19 vaccine to better target the Omicron variant is safe and works — just days before regulators debate whether to offer Americans updated booster shots this fall.

The vaccines currently used in the US still offer strong protection against severe COVID-19 disease and death — especially if people have gotten a booster dose. But those vaccines target the original coronavirus strain and their effectiveness against any infection dropped markedly when the super-contagious Omicron mutant emerged.

Now with Omicron’s even more transmissible relatives spreading widely, the Food and Drug Administration is considering ordering a recipe change for the vaccines made by both Pfizer and rival Moderna in hopes that modified boosters could better protect against another COVID-19 surge expected this fall and winter.

Pfizer and its partner BioNTech studied two different ways of updating their shots — targeting just Omicron, or a combination booster that adds Omicron protection to the original vaccine. They also tested whether to keep today’s standard dosage — 30 micrograms — or to double the shots’ strength.

In a study of more than 1,200 middle-aged and older adults who’d already had three vaccine doses, Pfizer said both booster approaches spurred a substantial jump in Omicron-fighting antibodies.

“Based on these data, we believe we have two very strong Omicron-adapted candidates,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement.

Pfizer’s Omicron-only booster sparked the strongest immune response against that variant.

But many experts say combination shots may be the best approach because they would retain the proven benefits of the original COVID-19 vaccine while adding new protection against Omicron. And Pfizer said a month after people received its combo shot, they had a 9 to 11-fold increase in Omicron-fighting antibodies. That’s more than 1.5 times better than another dose of the original vaccine.

The vaccines currently used in the US still offer strong protection against severe COVID-19 disease and also death.AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File

And importantly, preliminary lab studies show the tweaked shots also produce antibodies capable of fighting Omicron’s genetically distinct relatives named BA.4 and BA.5, although those levels weren’t nearly as high.

Moderna recently announced similar results from tests of its combination shot, what scientists call a “bivalent” vaccine.

The studies weren’t designed to track how well updated boosters prevented COVID-19 cases. Nor is it clear how long any added protection would last.

But the FDA’s scientific advisers will publicly debate the data on Tuesday, as they grapple with whether to recommend a change to the vaccines’ recipes — ahead of similar decisions by other countries.

Source link

Plexiglas is placed around slot machines, gaming tables, and other areas at the Lone Butte Casino in Chandler on May 14, 2020. Casinos under the Gila River Indian Community were planning to reopen during the COVID-19 pandemic with new safety measures on May, 2020.

As of 2 a.m. Thursday, Gila River Hotels & Casinos shuttered all three of its properties for two weeks amid a recent rise in COVID-19 cases in Arizona.

Leaders at Gila River Hotels & Casinos declined The Arizona Republic’s repeated requests to confirm the number of employees who have tested positive for COVID-19, saying that they will not disclose the information to “protect the privacy” of their workers.

The Gila River Indian Community operates Lone Butte and Wild Horse Pass casinos near Chandler and Vee Quiva casino near Laveen.

The announcement comes a week after a security guard at Lone Butte Casino died of complications related to COVID-19, according to his family.

This is the second closure for the casinos. Like other tribal casinos across Arizona, Gila River’s three casinos shut down because of COVID-19 in mid-March. The Gila River casinos initially reopened May 15, the same day Gov. Doug Ducey lifted Arizona’s stay-at-home order.

For more stories that matter, subscribe to azcentral.com.

Casino and tribal leaders had promised to institute new safety measures when they reopened in May, including encouraging patrons to wear masks.

During the two week closure, casino officials will “reassess its current safety standards” after evaluating its safety plan with the Gila River Indian Community Council and receiving “feedback from its community and team members.”

An employee death

On June 11, Robert Washington, a 68-year old security guard at Lone Butte Casino, died in a hospital from complications related to COVID-19, according to his family.

Washington, who lived in Chandler, had returned to work in mid-May. His daughter, Lina Washington of Sacramento, said he was immediately concerned about safety measures at the casino.

“The day after reopening, he was like, ‘Lina, it was awful, it was horrible. The line was around the corner. … Eighty percent of the people weren’t wearing masks,’” Lina Washington said.

Story continues

Unlike some other casinos in the Phoenix area, Gila River Hotels & Casinos were only requiring employees to wear personal protective equipment. Customers were encouraged, but not mandated, to wear masks. Lina Washington said this left her father, who was diabetic and had recently beaten prostate cancer, exposed.

Gila River officials told The Republic that it strengthened its policy last week to mandate all patrons wear masks.

Protecting public health

In a statement, Gov. Stephen Lewis said the temporary shutdown will help protect casino employees and customers, as well as those who live in the Gila River community.

“Like our sister tribes and businesses all over Arizona, we have tried to do what is best for all, while processing new information and new guidelines about the pandemic with little in the way of definitive guidance,” he said.

Last week, the casinos also instituted the mandatory mask policy.

According to a released statement, the casinos will use the closure to implement new safety measures, including:

All employees will continue to be paid in full throughout the closure and will receive full medical benefits, according to Gila River’s statement.

Have a question or tip? Reach the reporter Sasha Hupka at sasha.hupka@arizonarepublic.com or on Twitter: @SashaHupka.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Gila River casinos temporarily close as Arizona COVID-19 cases rise

Source link

Dr. SarahBeth Hartlage oversaw Louisville’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout.

Dr. SarahBeth Hartlage, a former associate medical director of the Louisville Health Department, died from heart disease.

The finding by the Orlando Medical Examiner’s office comes three months after Hartlage’s unexpected death while at a medical conference in Florida.

Hartlage, 36, also suffered from granulomatous lung disease, a condition which affects the body’s ability to fight infection and contributed to the death, according to the medical examiner’s report.

COVID in Louisville: Louisville’s war against COVID-19, women have led the charge. Here are their stories

An autopsy found significant narrowing of the coronary arteries. Hartlage’s death was classified as “natural,” the report said.

Her unexpected death shocked the Louisville health community where Hartlage had become the public face of the campaign against COVID-19, helping set up the LouVax drive-thru vaccine site and appearing regularly at weekly press briefings with Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer.

Her colleagues continue to mourn her death but appreciate her many contributions to public health, said Dr. Jeff Howard, Louisville’s interim health department director.

Howard praised Hartlage as “one of the city’s top leaders during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic,” leading thousands of volunteers and helping to build local reponse efforts “from the ground up.”

“This loss is felt many magnitudes greater by her family,” Howard said. “Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with them, and it is our hope that everyone will provide her family and friends respect and privacy while they continue to grieve her loss.”

Dr. SarahBeth Hartlage oversaw the COVID-19 vaccine rollout throughout the city, including at the American World Center in South Louisville, shown here.

Fischer in March praised Hartlage’s tireless work to make COVID-19 vaccines available.

She “took command of an amazing team of city workers and volunteers to vaccinate tens of thousands of people in a previously unthinkably short amount of time, while also working to ensure vaccines are being distributed equitably throughout the community and communicating facts about their safety in relatable ways to non-medical professionals,” Fischer said.

Story continues

The medical examiner’s report took three months to complete because of laboratory analysis and other tests, the office said.

Hartlage died within a day of leaving Louisville for Orlando.

On March 15, Hartlage reported she was excited to be on an early-morning flight to Orlando where she was to speak at a medical conference.

“5AM sweaty airplane selfie can only mean one thing: I am #HIMSS bound!,” she said on Twitter, referring to the Health Care Information and Management Systems Society meeting.

Later that day, Hartlage reported in another tweet she stepped in to help with a medical emergency on the plane when a passenger became ill.

Hartlage started an IV on the man at 35,000 feet in the air, working with another doctor and nurse also on the flight. The man was taken to the hospital after landing in Orlando.

“Adrenaline is something I’m very used to,” she told The Courier Journal, “but I have never done it on an airplane and certainly not one in turbulent skies.”

The next day, just hours before she was to speak on “Next Gen Public Health,” Hartlage was found dead at her Orlando hotel.

Hartlage was found at about 11 a.m. March 16 after a family member called the hotel saying they had been unable to reach her, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

A report of the incident stated employees at the hotel found Hartlage unresponsive after the caller asked staff to check on her.

The caller expressed concern that Hartlage recently had been  ill with pneumonia and also had other health conditions.

The sheriff’s office reported nothing was suspicious about the death.

This story may be updated.

Reach Deborah Yetter at dyetter@courier-journal.com. Find her on Twitter at @d_yetter. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/subscribe. 

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Medical examiner: Heart disease caused death of Dr. SarahBeth Hartlage

Source link