Category Archives: Medical research

Scientists’ egos are key barrier to progress, says Covid vaccine pioneer

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Prof Katalin Karikó of BioNTech says she endured decades of scepticism over her work on mRNA vaccines

Scientists would make swifter progress in solving the world’s problems if they learned to put their egos aside and collaborate better, according to the leading researcher behind the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid vaccine.

Prof Katalin Karikó, the senior vice-president for RNA protein replacement therapies at BioNTech in Germany, endured decades of scepticism over her work and was demoted and finally kicked out of her lab while developing the technology that made the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines possible.

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Pfizer accused of holding Brazil ‘to ransom’ over vaccine contract demands

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Leaked supply document reveals clauses to protect US pharma company from legal action in the event of serious side-effects

Pfizer has been accused of holding Brazil “to ransom” over demands to shield itself from possible vaccine side-effect lawsuits in its contract to supply the country with 100m Covid jabs.

In its $1bn (£700m) deal with Pfizer Export BV, signed in March, despite its prior complaints, the Brazilian government agreed that “a liability waiver be signed for any possible side-effects of the vaccine, exempting Pfizer from any civil liability for serious side-effects arising from the use of the vaccine, indefinitely”.

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German Covid super-spreader event driven by poor ventilation, study finds

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Low-grade ventilation system at indoor carnival in Gangelt leading factor in outbreak among partygoers

Airborne viruses recycled through a low-grade ventilation system likely created Germany’s first super-spreader event of the Covid-19 pandemic, a CSI-style analysis of a carnival celebration has found.

The event at the town hall of Gangelt, a municipality on the border with the Netherlands, was labelled “Germany’s Wuhan” after it was found to be the driver of a major outbreak in the western state of North-Rhine Westphalia last year.

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Israel: one-year-old conjoined twin girls see each other for the first time after surgery – video

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One-year-old twin girls have looked at each other for the first time after a complex surgery to separate them at Soroka medical centre in Beersheba, Israel. Dozens of experts from Israel and abroad were involved in the preparation and 12-hour procedure. 

The team used 3D- and virtual-reality models to map the complex operation. This enabled simulations and practice to be undertaken before the actual procedure.

Soroka's chief paediatric neurosurgeon, Mickey Gideon, said: 'We have done the reconstruction of the brain membrane, a reconstruction of the skull and now the plastic surgeons continue the surgery for the sealing of the skin'

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Coronavirus live: passports ‘needed to keep England venues open’; Vietnam says city residents must get vaccine

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England vaccines minister says passes needed for nightclubs and mass events; Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi residents must receive one dose by 15 September

The BBC reports that Scottish Labour will not support the Scottish government’s plans to introduce vaccine passports.

Anas Sarwar told BBC Scotland’s The Sunday Show:

This is not opposition for opposition’s sake. Neither is this an ideological opposition to the principle of vaccine passports. This is about what works, and what’s going to make a meaningful difference. We all agree the vaccine is working in helping reduce hospitalisations and reduce deaths but there is a fear that using vaccine passports might actually entrench vaccine hesitancy rather than encourage uptake.

US officials have expressed optimism that Covid-19 booster shot delivery can start for all adults on 20 September, the goal set by President Joe Biden, as cases continue to rage across the country fueled by the highly transmissible Delta variant.

The officials insist, however, that boosters will not be rolled out without US health agencies’ authorisation, leaving open the possibility of delays.

Related: US officials optimistic Covid booster rollout can start on 20 September

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No urgency on Covid booster shots for healthy adults, says UK scientist

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Exclusive: head of key research into third dose says it may be better to prioritise vulnerable first

There is “almost certainly no urgency” to press ahead with booster shots for healthy adults and it may be better to see how the pandemic pans out before a decision is made, the scientist leading key research into third shots has said.

Prof Saul Faust, chief investigator of the Cov-Boost study whose data next week is expected to help inform a decision on the rollout of boosters across the UK, told the Guardian that for now it may be preferable to prioritise only the vulnerable, including those with compromised immune systems.

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WHO monitoring new coronavirus variant named Mu

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Health body says Mu, or B.1.621, first identified in Colombia, has been designated as a variant of interest

The World Health Organization has added another version of coronavirus to its list of “variants of interest” amid concerns that it may partially evade the immunity people have developed from past infection or vaccination.

The Mu variant, also known as B.1.621, was added to the WHO’s watchlist on 30 August after it was detected in 39 countries and found to possess a cluster of mutations that may make it less susceptible to the immune protection many have acquired.

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Australian health authorities warn against mixing Covid vaccine types

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Concerns raised that some people may be cancelling their second AstraZeneca dose hoping to obtain a shot of Pfizer instead

The evidence is strongest for receiving two doses of the same Covid-19 vaccine, rather than mixing different types, medical authorities have said amid concerns that some people may be cancelling their second AstraZeneca dose in the hope of securing a shot of Pfizer.

As outbreaks of the Delta variant affect New South Wales and Victoria, people are being urged by state premiers and health authorities to get vaccinated as soon as possible with whatever vaccine is available, and to show up to their existing first and second-dose appointments.

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Concerns over plan to disinfect classrooms in Wales with ozone

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Machines to be used to clean up after Covid outbreaks part of £5.9m initiative to improve air quality

A £3.3m scheme to provide schools in Wales with machines that disinfect classrooms after a Covid outbreak has prompted calls for reassurance over their safety.

The Welsh education ministry said on Monday that all schools, universities and colleges in Wales would be supplied with ozone disinfecting machines for cleaning up Covid-hit classrooms.

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An oral history of Oxford/AstraZeneca: ‘Making a vaccine in a year is like landing a human on the moon’

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It has shipped more than a billion doses, saved countless lives – and faced controversy over its safety and supply. Here, some of those who created the vaccine tell the story of their epic race against the virus

In December 2019, hospitals in Wuhan, China, reported that they were dealing with dozens of cases of pneumonia of an unknown cause. They soon identified the disease as being caused by a novel coronavirus.

Teresa Lambe, associate professor, Jenner Institute My brother lived in China, so whenever there was an emerging or break pathogen there, I used to follow it. I remember thinking very early on that this was probably another influenza strain.

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Delta variant doubles risk of hospitalisation, new study finds

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Outbreak of Delta Covid cases likely to put strain on health services in areas with low vaccination rates, experts say

The Delta variant doubles the risk of Covid hospitalisation compared with the previously dominant Alpha variant, a new study focused largely on unvaccinated or partially vaccinated people has found.

The analysis – based on data collected in England – suggests that outbreaks of the Delta variant are likely to put an additional strain on health services, particularly in places with low rates of vaccination.

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Covid abnormal: why is Australia so far behind on making its own mRNA vaccines?

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Annual coronavirus vaccines could be a reality – but Australia is at least 18 months away from manufacturing its own

From September – more than nine months after it was approved for emergency use in the United States – the first doses of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine will arrive on Australian shores. The second mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid) vaccine against the coronavirus is a welcome boon amid a period of rolling lockdowns and record case numbers.

But Australia’s notoriously sluggish vaccine rollout has been marred by the failure of a locally developed vaccine candidate, as well as changes to age-group recommendations for the AstraZeneca vaccine as a result of its link to rare but blood clots.

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Air pollution linked to more severe mental illness – study

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Exclusive: research finds small rise in exposure to air pollution leads to higher risk of needing treatment

Exposure to air pollution is linked to an increased severity of mental illness, according to the most comprehensive study of its kind.

The research, involving 13,000 people in London, found that a relatively small increase in exposure to nitrogen dioxide led to a 32% increase in the risk of needing community-based treatment and an 18% increase in the risk of being admitted to hospital.

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Are Covid booster shots necessary? – video explainer

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Many countries with already high vaccination rates are considering offering people an additional coronavirus vaccine dose. But are booster shots necessary? And what about the issue of vaccine equity? The Guardian's Natalie Grover examines the costs and benefits of possibly introducing a third jab

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All theories on origins of Covid-19 outbreak still ‘on the table’, says WHO

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Remarks follow reports US intelligence study unable to conclude if virus came from animals or a Wuhan lab

The World Health Organization has said all theories on the origins of the Covid-19 outbreak, including the possibility of laboratory leak, are “on the table” and urged Chinese scientists to carry out their own investigations.

WHO officials were answering questions from the press after a classified US intelligence report delivered to the White House on Tuesday was reported to be inconclusive on the question of the origins of the pandemic, in part due to a lack of information from China.

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Does Covid immunity wane and will vaccine booster jabs be needed?

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Multiple studies seem to suggest immunity declines over time, though what this means is unclear

With plans for the UK’s Covid vaccine booster programme this autumn soon to be revealed, we take a look at what we do – and don’t – know about waning immunity after vaccination.

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UK scientists look at reducing boosters to save vaccine for rest of the world

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JCVI considers lower third jab dosage to release stocks for poorer nations

Scientists in Britain are examining whether smaller doses of Covid vaccine could be used as part of booster programmes, amid hopes that the approach could also increase the supply of jabs across the world.

The use of so-called “fractional doses” has been proposed as a way of ensuring that precious supplies can immunise as many people as possible in parts of the world where there are shortages, while still providing high levels of protection from the virus.

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The Wuhan lab leak theory is more about politics than science

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Whatever this week’s Biden review finds, the cause of the pandemic lies in the destruction of animal habitats

If Joe Biden’s security staff are up to the mark, a new report on the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic will be placed on the president’s desk this week. His team was given 90 days in May to review the virus’s origins after several US scientists indicated they were no longer certain about the source of Sars-CoV-2.

It will be intriguing to learn how Biden’s team answers the critically important questions that still surround the origins of Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. Did it emerge because of natural viral spillovers from bats to another animal and then into humans? Or did it leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology? And, if so, had it been enhanced to make it especially virulent?

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Australia anti-lockdown rallies: protesters violently clash with police in Melbourne

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Thousands march through streets of Melbourne and Brisbane, as police try to prevent Sydney rally

Anti-lockdown protesters clashed violently with police as thousands of unmasked people marched through the streets of Melbourne on Saturday.

Victoria police said they had made 218 arrests and that six officers were hospitalised during a series of altercations. Police said in a statement the majority of the estimated 4,000 demonstrators “came with violence in mind”.

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UK regulator approves ‘first of its kind’ Covid antibody treatment

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Sajid Javid says green light for Ronapreve – which was used to treat Donald Trump – is ‘fantastic news’

The antibody cocktail used to treat Donald Trump for Covid has been approved by the UK’s medicines regulator, becoming the first treatment in Britain using artificial antibodies to tackle the virus.

The drug, developed by the US biotech company Regeneron, has received the backing of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Clinical trials showed it helped to prevent Covid infection as well as to reduce the risk of hospitalisation or symptoms in severe cases, when given soon after exposure.

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