Latest Coronavirus News

• BioNTech to Invest $43 Million in German Facility for mRNA Vaccine Building Block BioNTech will invest 40 million euros ($43 million) in a new facility in Germany that will allow it to produce an important building block in mRNA-based drugs, the German pharmaceutical firm said on Thursday.
  Reuters Health Information, February 02, 2023
• Boosters Reduce COVID Deaths in Patients With Multimorbidity Additional studies are needed for accurate booster-dose timing as new variants emerge, according to researchers.
  Medscape Medical News, February 03, 2023
• More Data Back Guillain-Barré Risk With Janssen COVID Shot Observed cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome after receipt of the Janssen shot were two to three times greater than background rates within 3-6 weeks of vaccination, new US surveillance data show.
  Medscape Medical News, February 03, 2023
• The Future of At-Home Testing: Flu, RSV Rapid Tests Are Coming The FDA says it is confident that at-home rapid tests like those for COVID-19 are forthcoming for the flu and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.
  WebMD Health News, February 02, 2023
• Positive Test No Longer Required to Get COVID Antivirals The FDA announced the changes Wednesday in letters sent to the drugs' manufacturers, Pfizer and Merck.
  WebMD Health News, February 02, 2023
• GSK Gives Few Clues on Plans to Replenish Medicine Cabinet GSK chief executive Emma Walmsley on Wednesday made replenishing the drugmaker's pipeline of vaccines and therapies her number-one priority.
  Reuters Health Information, February 02, 2023
• Draft WHO Pandemic Deal Pushes for Equity to Avoid COVID 'Failure' Governments may have to reserve drugs and vaccines for the World Health Organization to distribute in poorer countries to avoid a repeat of the 'catastrophic failure' during COVID-19, according to an early draft of a global pandemic agreement.
  Reuters Health Information, February 02, 2023
• COVID Emergency Orders Ending: What's Next? It's the end of an era.
  WebMD Health News, February 01, 2023
• Inflammation and Immunity Troubles Top Long COVID Suspect List 'I think that it's a much more complex picture than just inflammation, or just autoimmunity, or just immune dysregulation,' said Alexander Truong, MD, of Emory University School of Medicine.
  WebMD Health News, February 01, 2023
• Pfizer Sees Steep 2023 Fall in COVID Sales, Aims to Bolster Pipeline Pfizer on Tuesday forecast a bigger-than-expected drop in sales of its COVID-19 vaccine and treatment for 2023, intensifying investor concerns over demand for the products as governments cut orders and work through inventories.
  Reuters Health Information, February 01, 2023
• Italy Eases Anti-COVID Measures for Travelers From China Italy will loosen its anti-COVID controls for travelers arriving from China, making swabs random rather than mandatory at its airports.
  Reuters Health Information, January 31, 2023
• South Korea Considers Early Easing of COVID Visa Curbs on Travelers From China South Korea's prime minister suggested on Tuesday that COVID visa restrictions on travellers from China could be lifted earlier than scheduled if infections ease, as the travel and tourism sectors hope for a rebound in visitors.
  Reuters Health Information, January 31, 2023
• Medical Board Charges Doctor for Spreading COVID Misinformation The Washington state medical board investigated a pathologist after complaints from the American Board of Pathology and several physicians.
  Medscape Medical News, February 01, 2023
• Children and COVID: Weekly Cases May Have Doubled in Early January Although new COVID-19 cases in children, as measured by the AAP and the CHA, remained steady in recent months, data from the CDC suggest that weekly cases took a big jump in early January.
  Medscape Medical News, January 31, 2023
• Paxlovid Sales Forecasts May Change With Pfizer View on China Clarity from Pfizer this week on whether China's relaxation of its Zero-COVID policy and the surge in infections there will lead to a spike in demand for its antiviral Paxlovid could spur analysts to alter their 2023 sales forecasts for the treatment.
  Reuters Health Information, January 30, 2023
• China Says COVID Situation at 'Low Level' After Holiday China said on Monday that the COVID-19 situation in the country was at a 'low level,' and that fever clinic visits due to the coronavirus during the Lunar New Year dropped about 40% from before the week-long holiday.
  Reuters Health Information, January 30, 2023
• All Countries 'Dangerously Unprepared' for Future Pandemics, Says IFRC The world is 'dangerously unprepared' for future pandemics, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies say in a report published on Monday.
  Reuters Health Information, January 30, 2023
• WHO Maintains Highest Alert Over COVID, but Sees Hope Ahead The World Health Organization said on Monday that COVID-19 continues to constitute a public health emergency of international concern, its highest form of alert.
  Reuters Health Information, January 30, 2023
• South Korea Drops Indoor Anti-COVID Mask Mandate, Infection Fears Linger South Korea on Monday scrapped a face mask mandate for most indoor public places in a major step to loosen COVID-19 rules, but many residents opted to keep wearing coverings due to lingering concerns over infections.
  Reuters Health Information, January 30, 2023
• Under-Funded WHO Seeks 'Reinforced' Role in Global Health at Key Meeting The World Health Organization will push at its board meeting this week for an expanded role in tackling the next global health emergency after COVID-19, but is still seeking answers on how to fund it, according to health policy experts.
  Reuters Health Information, January 30, 2023