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Israel’s coronavirus tsar has warned that a single dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine may be providing less protection than originally hoped, as the country reported a record 10,000 new Covid infections on Monday.

In remarks reported by Army Radio, Nachman Ash said a single dose appeared “less effective than we had thought”, and also lower than Pfizer had suggested.

By contrast, those who had received their second dose of the Pfizer vaccine had a six- to 12-fold increase in antibodies, according to data released by Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer on Monday.

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Op-ED: How to Distribute 100 Million Vaccine Doses in 100 Days

Thu, 2021-01-21 15:26 — mike kraft

Faced with a slow, chaotic vaccine rollout and ever-rising Covid-19 cases, President Biden has an ambitious plan: to administer 100 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine in his first 100 days in office. Since the vaccines became publicly available in mid-December, 16.5 million shots have made their way into the arms of Americans, an average of 447,000 doses per day. Mr. Biden’s goal of more than doubling this rate can be achieved if the United States implements a vaccination campaign that treats Covid-19 more like an act of bioterrorism and less like the seasonal flu.

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Monoclonal antibody treatment by Eli Lilly found to cut risk of serious COVID-19, drugmaker reports

Thu, 2021-01-21 14:56 — mike kraft

Monoclonal antibody treatment by Eli Lilly found to cut risk of serious COVID-19, drugmaker reports A study of nursing home residents found the monoclonal antibody treatment bamlanivimab cut the risk of COVID-19 by up to 80%, maker Eli Lilly announced. Karen Weintraub USA TODAY

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South African study: New COVID-19 variant defeats plasma treatment, may reduce vaccine efficacy

Wed, 2021-01-20 21:03 — mike kraft

New COVID-19 variant defeats plasma treatment, may reduce vaccine efficacy The new COVID-19 variant identified in South Africa can evade the antibodies that attack it in treatments using blood plasma from previously recovered patients, and may reduce the efficacy of the current line of vaccines, scientists said on Wednesday. Reuters Staff U.S.

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British Study: Airborne virus can spread 6 feet within seconds through talking

Wed, 2021-01-20 20:42 — mike kraft

Coronavirus updates: COVID-19 can spread within seconds through talking, study says; Some states, Canada report vaccine shortages Some states report they are running out of vaccines. The U.K. suffered its deadliest day of the pandemic on Tuesday. Latest COVID-19 news. Elinor Aspegren, Adrianna Rodriguez and Doyle Rice USA TODAY

Study: Airborne virus can spread 6 feet within seconds through talking

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Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine works just as well against variant first detected in U.K., study indicates

Wed, 2021-01-20 13:37 — mike kraft

Study: Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine effective with variant first detected in U.K. The paper is a welcome signal that existing vaccines don’t seem to be weakened by the variant in question, known as B.1.1.7. Andrew Joseph STAT

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New California Variant May Be Driving Virus Surge There, Study Suggests

Wed, 2021-01-20 13:25 — mike kraft

In late December, scientists in California began searching coronavirus samples for a fast-spreading new variant that had just been identified in Britain.

They found it, though in relatively few samples. But in the process, the scientists made another unwelcome discovery: California had produced a variant of its own.

That mutant, which belongs to a lineage known as CAL.20C, seemed to have popped up in July but lay low till November. Then it began to quickly spread.

CAL.20C accounted for more than half of the virus genome samples collected in Los Angeles laboratories on Jan. 13, according to a new study that has not yet been published.

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