EUA given to COVID vaccines for children
The CDC has given the greenlight to rolling out COVID-19 vaccines to kids age 6 months to 5 years, after an advisory panel voted unanimously (12-0) in favor.
While children often have less complicated COVID infections than adults, 400 children aged 0-4 have died of COVID infection; making it the fifth most common cause of death in that age group.
Both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines will now be available to kids, here's how they compare.
The Moderna Vaccine
* Given as 2 doses 4 weeks apart
* 1/4 the strength of the adult version
* Prevents illness in 50.6% of children 6 to 23 months, and 36.8% of children 2-4 years old.
* Side effects in all children were mild to moderate and occurred in rates similar to older children, teens and adults.
* Fever was the most common side effect and occurred in 14.6% of 6-23 month olds receiving vaccine (in 8.4% of those receiving placebo); fever occurred in 16% of 2-4 year olds receiving vaccine (in 4.5% of those receiving placebo).
The Pfizer vaccine
* Given as 3 doses. The first two are 3 weeks apart, the third dose is given 8 weeks after the second.
* 1/10th the strength of the adult version
* Prevents illness in 75.6% children 6-23 months, and 82.4% of children 2-4 years old
* Side effects in 6-23 months old children were mild to moderate and resolved quickly. Side effects were reported in 30.3% of those who received the vaccine and 27.3% of those who received placebo.
* Side effects in 2-4 year olds were mild to moderate and resolved quickly. They were reported in 18.8% of those who received the vaccine and 18.9% of those who received placebo.
The rundown: Both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are now available for children 6 months and older. Vaccine effectiveness varies by age group and brand, with Pfizer being more effective. Side effects are mild/moderate. The rates of side effects in the Pfizer vaccine are very low (3% over placebo in 6-23 month olds and exactly the same as the placebo group in 2-4 year olds).
CDC clears the way for vaccinations for children 6 months to 5 years old
FDA authorizes COVID vaccines for the littlest kids: what the data say
Helping T cells kill cancer
Image from: Dostarlimab-gxly (Jemperli) Drug Information (ucir.org)
One of the jobs of our immune system is to detect and destroy dysfunctional cells. These cells could be infected with a virus, or displaying characteristics of a cancer. Unfortunately, many tumor cells have discovered ways to avoid being detected and destroyed. Lately, there has been a huge push in cancer treatment to recruit the body's own immune system to better identify and eliminate cancer cells.
Recently, a report made sensational news: a cancer drug cured 100% of the patients in a clinical trial. This drug, Dostarlimab (Jemperli) is an already approved treatment for endometrial cancer, but was tried in 18 patients with rectal cancer. All the patients saw their tumors disappear. Dostarlimab is an antibody that blocks the PD-1 receptor on T cells. T cells use their receptors to identify "abnormal" proteins on the surface of body cells (blue protrusion in the fig above). To avoid killing cells accidentally, they also have a "Stop Sign" by way of a receptor called PD-1 (yellow protrusion). When this receptor is engaged, the T cell will not attack. To avoid being destroyed, many cancer cells have proteins that will engage PD-1 and shut the T cell down. Dostarlimab blocks the PD-1 receptor so that it cannot be engaged and the T cell stays active, and destroys the tumor cell. Treating patients with Dostarlimab uses the body's own defense system to fight the tumor, rather than the toxic chemotherapeutic agents of the past. Side effects are mild to non existent.
The rundown: Dostarlimab may end up only being this effective in a small percentage of cancer patients (since every cancer is different) but this is a exciting new development in cancer therapeutics.
This experimental drug could change the field of cancer research
Another blow to vitamins and supplements
There is increasing evidence that vitamin/nutrient supplementation has very few benefits for otherwise healthy, non-pregnant people.
A new report in JAMA by the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) strikes another blow to vitamin and nutrient supplementation. They did an extensive review of already published experiments looking at vitamin/nutrient supplements and their role in preventing cardiovascular disease and cancer in otherwise healthy, non-pregnant community dwellers.
▪They found, with moderate certainty, that beta-carotene (vitamin A) has no benefit and may be harmful in some cases. Moderate doses may cause bone density loss or liver toxicity. Vitamin A supplementation in smokers or those with occupational exposure to asbestos is associated with an increased risk in lung cancer.
▪They found, with moderate certainty, no benefit of vitamin E supplementation.
▪They found insufficient evidence of any benefit of any single- or multi- vitamin/nutrient supplement studied.
The rundown: this study adds to the increasing amount of evidence that vitamin/nutrient supplementation is unnecessary for cardiovascular health or cancer prevention, and may even be harmful in some populations. For more info about supplement hazards, read my blog post here.
Vitamin, Mineral and Multivitamin Supplementation to Prevent Cardiovascular Disease and Cancer
Pfizer releases the results of its new Omicron vaccine
Pfizer/BioNTech has released the results of a phase 2/3 study on 1,234 participants over the age of 56. These people were already fully vaccinated with the original Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine (called Comirnaty) and then were given a booster shot of one of the new experimental vaccines. They had several groups:
1.Boosted with an Omicron specific vaccine at the standard dose
2.Boosted with an Omicron specific vaccine at the high dose (double the original concentration)
3.Boosted with vaccine that contained Omicron + the original Comirnaty strain at standard dose.
4.Boosted with vaccine that contained Omicron + the original Comirnaty strain at the high dose
These groups were then compared with a control group that was boosted with the original Comirnaty vaccine.
They found that the new Omicron-vaccine resulted in 2.23 (standard dose) and 3.15 (high dose) times more antibodies reactive to Omicron variants when compared to Comirnaty.
The hybrid vaccine (containing both Omicron and Comirnaty strains) resulted in 1.56 (standard dose) and 1.97 (high dose) times more antibodies reactive to Omicron variants when compared to Comirnaty.
The study defines a "super superior" vaccine to result in 1.5 times more antibodies than the original, so all of the vaccines tested in this study met that benchmark.
Pfizer has submitted this data to the FDA's Vaccine and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) in advance of their next meeting on June 28.
The Rundown: Pfizer has created a new Omicron-specific vaccine which results in a huge increase in Omicron-specific antibodies. This vaccine, used as a booster shot, has the potential to better protect people against the currently circulating Omicron variants.
Stay happy, healthy and informed,
Jessica at 42Therapies.