Reuters Health News Summary
Following is a summary of current health news briefs.
Mixing Pfizer, AstraZ COVID-19 shots with Moderna gives better immune response - UK study
A major British study into mixing COVID-19 vaccines has found that people had a better immune response when they received a first dose of AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech shots followed by Moderna nine weeks later, according to the results on Monday. "We found a really good immune response across the board..., in fact, higher than the threshold set by Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine two doses," Matthew Snape, the Oxford professor behind the trial dubbed Com-COV2, told Reuters.
Factbox-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus
A major British study into mixing COVID-19 vaccines has found that people had a better immune response when they received a first dose of AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech shots followed by Moderna nine weeks later, according to the results. DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
Vaccine mandates 'absolute last resort', WHO Europe head says
Mandatory vaccinations against the coronavirus are an "absolute last resort", the World Health Organization's top Europe official said on Tuesday. More and more countries in Europe, including Germany, are debating whether to make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory after Austria announced in November it would make inoculations compulsory as of Feb. 1 next year, prompting large protests.
What you need to know about the coronavirus right now
Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now: Vaccine mandates 'absolute last resort', says WHO
EU agencies endorse mix-and-match of COVID-19 vaccines
EU health agencies have recommended that COVID-19 vaccines be mixed and matched for both initial courses and booster doses as the region battles rising cases ahead of Christmas. Evidence suggests that the combination of viral vector vaccines and mRNA vaccines produces good levels of antibodies against the coronavirus causing COVID-19, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said in a joint statement https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/news/ema-ecdc-recommendations-heterologous-vaccination-courses-against-covid-19 on Tuesday.
New data shows GSK-Vir drug works against all Omicron mutations
British drugmaker GSK said on Tuesday its antibody-based COVID-19 therapy with U.S. partner Vir Biotechnology is effective against all mutations of the new Omicron coronavirus variant, citing new data from early-stage studies. The data, yet to be published in a peer-reviewed medical journal, shows that the companies' treatment, sotrovimab, is effective against all 37 identified mutations to date in the spike protein, GSK said in a statement.
WHO advises against blood plasma treatment for COVID-19 patients
The World Health Organization on Monday advised against using the blood plasma of patients who have recovered from COVID-19 to treat those who are ill, saying current evidence shows it neither improves survival nor reduces the need for ventilators. The hypothesis for using plasma is that the antibodies it contains could neutralize the novel coronavirus, stopping it from replicating and halting tissue damage.
Medicago's plant-based vaccine trial shows 75.3% efficacy against Delta variant
Canadian drug developer Medicago's plant-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate, enhanced by GlaxoSmithKline's booster, was 75.3% effective against the Delta variant of the virus in a late stage study, the two companies said on Tuesday. They said the vaccine's overall efficacy rate against all variants of the coronavirus was 71%, except Omicron, which was not in circulation when the study was underway.
WHO advisory group looking at 'mix and match' COVID-19 vaccines
The World Health Organization's group of advisory experts is considering evidence this week on COVID-19 heterologous vaccines, or mix and match vaccines, and will report their findings on Thursday, a spokesperson said on Tuesday. The independent experts will also look at "the Johnson & Johnson series - whether you should have one dose or two doses", WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris told a U.N. briefing in Geneva.
Early indications suggest Omicron more transmissible than Delta, UK PM tells ministers
Early indications suggest that the Omicron coronavirus variant is more transmissible than the earlier Delta variant, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told his top team of cabinet ministers on Tuesday. "The prime minister said it was too early to draw conclusions on the characteristics of Omicron but that early indications were that it was more transmissible than Delta," Johnson's spokesman told reporters.
