Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The Australian Open will require all players to be vaccinated, calling into doubt whether world No. 1 and nine-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic will participate in the first Grand Slam off 2022 as he seeks to break a tie with rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal at 20 major titles. “That’s a good question, we’re expecting Novak to come and obviously there’s a lot of speculation around [his] vaccination,” Australian Open Craig Tiley said in an interview with The Today Show. The tournament is set to run Jan. 17-30 in Melbourne. “The good news is that most of the tennis players — both on the men’s and the women’s side — are fully vaccinated and Novak as he’s previously said, it’s a private issue for him,” Tiley added. “But he’s always said, and he’s had great success here in Melbourne, and he’s always said that the Australian Open is the event that put the wind in his sails so I hope we get to see Novak.” …
New York City Mayor De Blasio Issues The Nation’s Broadest Private Employer Vaccine Mandate On His Way Out Of Office
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Public health law experts Lawrence Gostin, Alexandra Finch, Sarah Wetter and Eric A. Friedman discuss the shortcomings of New York City’s new vaccine mandate, which will likely face challenges in court, and what needs to happen to give the mandate its best chance of success. By Lawrence Gostin, Alexandra Finch, Sarah Wetter, Eric A. Friedman New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio just announced a Covid-19 vaccine mandate for all private businesses to stem a winter surge possibly fuelled by the Omicron variant, with city health officials recently identifying several cases . He confidently asserted the courts will uphold the mandate, which is set to go into effect on December 27. Yet broader buy-in and consensus-building before issuing the mandate could have fortified it against court challenges, reduced possible public resistance, and ensured its effective implementation and enforcement. He can still undo some of the harm …
Which Covid-19 Booster Should You Get? Should You Mix And Match Coronavirus Vaccines?
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin When it comes to Covid-19 boosters, should you stick with the vaccine type that got you to the prom, so to speak? Or is mixing it up the way to go? That may be the question that you’re facing right now, assuming that you’re 18 years of age or older and human. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that you get a booster dose if you’ve already gotten your full primary vaccination series and enough time has elapsed since then. That would be six months (or about 18 Scaramuccis) after you got the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna Covid-19 mRNA vaccine and two months (about 6 Scaramuccis) after the first dose of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine. So do you treat your booster and primary vaccination like a velour tracksuit and make sure that everything matches? Or should you try something completely different when it comes to the booster? In other words, is it better to mix and max …
Will Omicron Change What ‘Fully Vaccinated’ Means? BioNTech CEO Says Full Vaccine Regimen Against Variant Is 3 Doses, Not 2.
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine should be considered a three-dose vaccine series instead of a two-dose one when it comes to the omicron variant, BioNTech CEO Uğur Şahin said Wednesday in light of new data showing the company’s booster shot is necessary to gain a high degree of protection against the strain—a designation that could change the definition of what it means to be “fully vaccinated” against Covid-19. Key Facts Preliminary lab data released Wednesday by Pfizer and BioNTech suggests a booster shot of the companies’ vaccine increases protection against the omicron variant by 25-fold as compared with two shots of the vaccine, though the original two-dose series is believed to still provide protection against severe disease. Asked at a press conference Wednesday whether that means the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine should be considered a three-dose vaccine regimen, rather than two shots plus a …
BioNTech, Pfizer vaccine neutralises Omicron with three shots
A vial labeled with the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine is seen in this illustration picture taken March 19, 2021. (REUTERS FILE PHOTO) BioNTech and Pfizer said on Wednesday that a three-shot course of their COVID-19 vaccine was able to neutralize the new Omicron variant in a laboratory test and said they could deliver an upgraded vaccine in March 2022 if needed. BioNTech and Pfizer are the first manufacturers of a COVID-19 vaccine to issue an official update on the efficacy of their shot against Omicron. The German and US companies said two doses of their vaccine resulted in significantly lower neutralizing antibodies but a third dose boosted those antibodies by a factor of 25. In the first official statement from manufacturers on the efficacy of their vaccine against Omicron, they said two doses resulted in significantly lower neutralizing antibodies but a third dose boosted those antibodies by a factor of 25. The Omicron variant was neutralized in …
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‘In no circumstances’ is forced vaccination okay – UN rights chief
FILE PHOTO: United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet attends the opening of the UN Human Rights Council’s main annual session on February 24, 2020, in Geneva. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP) Geneva, Switzerland — Countries considering introducing vaccine mandates in the fight against COVID-19 must ensure they respect human rights, the UN rights chief said Wednesday, stressing that forced vaccination was never acceptable. Speaking to a Human Rights Council seminar via video message, Michelle Bachelet warned there were significant rights considerations that needed to be taken into account before making vaccination compulsory. Any “vaccine mandates must comply with the principles of legality, necessity, proportionality, and non-discrimination,” she said, according to a transcript. “In no circumstances should people be forcibly administered a vaccine.” The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said the aims sought by countries mulling mandates to …
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Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine neutralizes Omicron virus variant with three shots
FILE PHOTO: A health worker receives a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in Madrid, Spain, February 4, 2021. REUTERS/Sergio Perez BioNTech and Pfizer said on Wednesday a three-shot course of their COVID-19 vaccine was able to neutralize the new Omicron variant in a laboratory test and they could deliver an Omicron-based vaccine in March 2022 if needed. In the first official statement from vaccine manufacturers on the likely efficacy of their shot against Omicron, BioNTech and Pfizer said that two vaccine doses resulted in significantly lower neutralizing antibodies but that a third dose of their vaccine increased the neutralizing antibodies by a factor of 25. Blood obtained from people that had their third booster shot a month ago neutralized the Omicron variant about as effectively as blood after two doses fought off the original virus first identified in China. “Ensuring as many people as possible are fully vaccinated with the first two-dose series and a booster …
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Judge Temporarily Blocks Biden Covid Vaccine Mandate For Federal Contractors Nationwide
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline A federal judge on Tuesday halted the Biden Administration’s federal vaccine mandate for federal contractors and subcontractors nationwide, in the latest legal setback in the White House’s efforts to compel workers to get vaccinated against coronavirus. Key Facts U.S. District Court Judge for the Southern District of Georgia R. Stanley Baker issued a preliminary nationwide injunction, saying the court was “unconvinced” that the vaccine mandate was within President Joe Biden’s executive powers, and that contractors could suffer “extreme economic burden” if the order takes effect. The order was in response to a lawsuit brought by the attorneys general of Georgia, Alabama, Idaho, Kansas, South Carolina, Utah and West Virginia, and a separate motion from Associated Builders and Contractors. The order comes one week after a federal judge in Kentucky temporarily halted the enforcement of the vaccine …
Wall Street subdued as Omicron worries overshadow vaccine update
- A + A NEW YORK/BENGALURU (Dec 8): US stocks struggled for direction in volatile trading on Wednesday, as investors digested a fresh update on Pfizer and BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine, while the fast-spreading Omicron variant kept bigger bets in check. Pfizer and BioNTech said their three-shot course of Covid-19 vaccine was shown to have a neutralising effect against the new coronavirus variant in a laboratory test. "This is really the first positive news in terms of the potential effectiveness of existing vaccines," said Rick Meckler, partner at Cherry Lane Investments in New Vernon, New Jersey. Travel stocks also rebounded, with the S&P 1500 Airlines index up 3.7%, while Norwegian Cruise Line led gains among cruise liners. Even as the vaccine update helped calm nerves earlier in the session, there is still very little known about the new variant of the coronavirus. Nine of the 11 major S&P 500 sector indexes rose in early trading, while the tech-heavy …
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Wall St closes higher as vaccine update feeds optimism
- A + A NEW YORK (Dec 9): Wall Street closed slightly higher on Wednesday with the three major indexes managing their third straight day of gains after test data showed the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech offered some protection against the new Omicron variant. Pfizer and BioNTech said their three-shot course of the vaccine was able to neutralize the Omicron variant in a laboratory test and they could deliver an upgraded vaccine in March 2022 if needed. Investors reacted by piling into travel related stocks. The S&P 1500 Airlines index closed up 1.96%. Its session high was the highest since Nov. 24, which was just before news of the variant emerged. Markets have been hugely volatile since the variant was discovered, with investors worried Omicron could force new restrictions in countries and hurt the global recovery. In a bid to slow its spread, Britain said Wednesday it could implement tougher measures, including advice to work from home, as early …
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