new is raising concerns about the effectiveness of the being used in the United States and other parts of the world.The work, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, found that two doses of the vaccine induced relatively low levels of neutralizing antibodies against the monkeypox virus, and those antibodies had poor neutralizing capacity.The researchers noted the so-called correlates of protection — what is needed, in terms of immune system weaponry, to be protected against monkeypox — are not known. Still, the evidence of low levels of neutralizing antibodies raises questions about how much...…new is raising concerns about the effectiveness of the being used in the United States and other parts of the world.The work, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, found that two doses of the vaccine induced relatively low levels of neutralizing antibodies against the monkeypox virus, and those antibodies had poor neutralizing capacity.The researchers noted the so-called correlates of protection — what is needed, in terms of immune system weaponry, to be protected against monkeypox — are not known. Still, the evidence of low levels of neutralizing antibodies raises questions about how much...WW…

s the Covid-19 pandemic over?President Biden told Scott Pelley of “ it was. The Sunday night interview aired just days after the director-general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the end may be in sight — though Tedros clearly didn’t mean it was days away when he predicted it.But how confident can we be that the pandemic is or will soon be over? How can we know we’ve reached “over” when the disease we’ve been fighting isn’t going away?advertisementReaching the end of a pandemic is not like driving out of one county into the next. There is no fixed...…s the Covid-19 pandemic over?President Biden told Scott Pelley of “ it was. The Sunday night interview aired just days after the director-general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the end may be in sight — though Tedros clearly didn’t mean it was days away when he predicted it.But how confident can we be that the pandemic is or will soon be over? How can we know we’ve reached “over” when the disease we’ve been fighting isn’t going away?advertisementReaching the end of a pandemic is not like driving out of one county into the next. There is no fixed...WW…

he response to the coronavirus pandemic in the United States and other countries has been hobbled by a host of factors, many involving political and regulatory officials. Resistance to social distancing measures, testing debacles, and longtime failures to prepare for the possibility of a pandemic all played a role.But a subtler, less-recognized factor contributed to the wasting of precious weeks in January and February, when preparations to try to stop the virus should have kicked immediately into high gear.Magical thinking — you could call it denial — hampered the ability of even...…he response to the coronavirus pandemic in the United States and other countries has been hobbled by a host of factors, many involving political and regulatory officials. Resistance to social distancing measures, testing debacles, and longtime failures to prepare for the possibility of a pandemic all played a role.But a subtler, less-recognized factor contributed to the wasting of precious weeks in January and February, when preparations to try to stop the virus should have kicked immediately into high gear.Magical thinking — you could call it denial — hampered the ability of even...WW…

early two weeks have passed since President Trump from the World Health Organization. To date, none of the levers that would need to be pulled to follow through on that decision has been pulled.The Trump administration has not formally notified the WHO that it is withdrawing, a spokesman for the agency told STAT. The administration has also not paid outstanding financial obligations to the WHO, a step that would be required before the United States could pull out under a joint resolution signed by Congress.Instead, the president’s May 29 announcement — in which he declared that, “We will be...…early two weeks have passed since President Trump from the World Health Organization. To date, none of the levers that would need to be pulled to follow through on that decision has been pulled.The Trump administration has not formally notified the WHO that it is withdrawing, a spokesman for the agency told STAT. The administration has also not paid outstanding financial obligations to the WHO, a step that would be required before the United States could pull out under a joint resolution signed by Congress.Instead, the president’s May 29 announcement — in which he declared that, “We will be...WW…

s manufacturers around the world race to develop Covid-19 vaccines, a parallel effort has begun to figure out who in the United States should get them first — and how those doses should be distributed.But already the effort is being complicated by tensions over who gets to make those critical decisions, with some groups feeling sidelined and multiple new actors crowding the stage.On Tuesday, the National Academy of Medicine, tasked by top U.S. health officials, named an expert panel to develop a framework to determine who should be vaccinated first, when available doses are expected to be...…s manufacturers around the world race to develop Covid-19 vaccines, a parallel effort has begun to figure out who in the United States should get them first — and how those doses should be distributed.But already the effort is being complicated by tensions over who gets to make those critical decisions, with some groups feeling sidelined and multiple new actors crowding the stage.On Tuesday, the National Academy of Medicine, tasked by top U.S. health officials, named an expert panel to develop a framework to determine who should be vaccinated first, when available doses are expected to be...WW…

he United States has formally notified the United Nations that it is withdrawing from the World Health Organization, following through on an President Trump made in late May.The move, however, would not be effective until July 6, 2021, officials said — leaving open the possibility that, should Trump lose reelection, a Biden administration could reverse the decision. The former vice president he would do so.“Americans are safer when America is engaged in strengthening global health. On my first day as President, I will rejoin the WHO and restore our leadership on the world stage,” Biden...…he United States has formally notified the United Nations that it is withdrawing from the World Health Organization, following through on an President Trump made in late May.The move, however, would not be effective until July 6, 2021, officials said — leaving open the possibility that, should Trump lose reelection, a Biden administration could reverse the decision. The former vice president he would do so.“Americans are safer when America is engaged in strengthening global health. On my first day as President, I will rejoin the WHO and restore our leadership on the world stage,” Biden...WW…

here’s no point in sugar-coating this. The U.S. response to the Covid-19 pandemic is a raging dumpster fire.Where a number of countries in Asia and Europe have managed to dampen spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to the point where they can consider returning to a semblance of normalcy — friends from Paris just emailed me pictures from their Sicilian vacation — many international borders remain closed to Americans.On Sunday, Florida reported more than 15,000 cases — in a single day. South Korea hasn’t registered 15,000 cases in the entire pandemic to date. One day last week the U.S....…here’s no point in sugar-coating this. The U.S. response to the Covid-19 pandemic is a raging dumpster fire.Where a number of countries in Asia and Europe have managed to dampen spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to the point where they can consider returning to a semblance of normalcy — friends from Paris just emailed me pictures from their Sicilian vacation — many international borders remain closed to Americans.On Sunday, Florida reported more than 15,000 cases — in a single day. South Korea hasn’t registered 15,000 cases in the entire pandemic to date. One day last week the U.S....WW…

eavy hearts soared Monday with news that Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate — the frontrunner in the American market — seemed to be in Phase 1 trial subjects. The company’s , hitting $29 billion, an astonishing feat for a company that currently sells zero products.But was there good reason for so much enthusiasm? Several vaccine experts asked by STAT concluded that, based on the information made available by the Cambridge, Mass.-based company, there’s really no way to know how impressive — or not — the vaccine may be.While Moderna blitzed the media, it revealed very little...…eavy hearts soared Monday with news that Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate — the frontrunner in the American market — seemed to be in Phase 1 trial subjects. The company’s , hitting $29 billion, an astonishing feat for a company that currently sells zero products.But was there good reason for so much enthusiasm? Several vaccine experts asked by STAT concluded that, based on the information made available by the Cambridge, Mass.-based company, there’s really no way to know how impressive — or not — the vaccine may be.While Moderna blitzed the media, it revealed very little...WW…

ivisions are emerging among top U.S. officials over when the country’s first Covid-19 vaccine will be authorized — and who should be at the front of the line to get vaccinated.Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, and others have suggested vaccination of Americans could begin by the end of next week. In their scenario, the Food and Drug Administration will authorize emergency use of a vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech almost immediately after a Dec. 10 meeting of an advisory committee, which is expected to recommend authorization.But the...…ivisions are emerging among top U.S. officials over when the country’s first Covid-19 vaccine will be authorized — and who should be at the front of the line to get vaccinated.Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, and others have suggested vaccination of Americans could begin by the end of next week. In their scenario, the Food and Drug Administration will authorize emergency use of a vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech almost immediately after a Dec. 10 meeting of an advisory committee, which is expected to recommend authorization.But the...WW…

he race is not always to the swift, as the cocky hare learned in Aesop’s , “The Hare and the Tortoise.” Those handicapping the so-called competition to develop Covid-19 vaccines would do well to keep an eye on the slower runners in this pursuit.Corporate giants Sanofi and Merck, which got a relatively late start in developing Covid-19 vaccines, may seem far behind the frontrunners. But experts say they also have such deep experience developing and testing vaccine candidates, and producing vaccine at commercial scale, that both could well close the gap considerably in the months ahead.Each...…he race is not always to the swift, as the cocky hare learned in Aesop’s , “The Hare and the Tortoise.” Those handicapping the so-called competition to develop Covid-19 vaccines would do well to keep an eye on the slower runners in this pursuit.Corporate giants Sanofi and Merck, which got a relatively late start in developing Covid-19 vaccines, may seem far behind the frontrunners. But experts say they also have such deep experience developing and testing vaccine candidates, and producing vaccine at commercial scale, that both could well close the gap considerably in the months ahead.Each...WW…