
<p><a href="https://policies.google.com/privacy" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"></a><strong>TOPLINE</strong> People who previously contracted Covid-19 have about the same level of protection against contracting the disease as those fully inoculated with two key vaccines, according to the findings of a study published Monday which adds to a growing and sometimes contradictory body of research on natural immunity.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/articles/coronaviruscovid19infectionsurveytechnicalarticleimpactofvaccinationontestingpositiveintheuk/latest" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a>&nbsp;published by the U.K.’s Office of National Statistics (ONS) looked at more than 8,000 positive coronavirus tests across Britain between May and August, when delta was the dominant variant.&nbsp;</p>



<p>During this time, people who had previously recovered from Covid-19 were about 71% less likely to contract it a second time, the analysis found.&nbsp;</p>



<p>This represents about the same level of protection the study found was offered by two doses of the vaccines made by Pfizer and AstraZeneca, which have been prominently used in Europe’s inoculation drive.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Two doses of the Pfizer vaccine reduced the risk of contracting Covid-19 by around 73% compared to 62% for AstraZeneca’s vaccine.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The overlap in confidence intervals meant there “was no evidence” that full vaccination was any more effective in preventing Covid-19 than previous natural infection, the researchers concluded.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The study, which has not been peer reviewed, found previous infection was similarly effective at preventing symptomatic Covid-19, but did not delve into the differences between natural infection and vaccines in preventing severe disease.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND&nbsp;</h2>



<p>There have been dozens of studies conducted on natural immunity, with many coming up with different results. A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.08.24.21262415v1.full.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a>&nbsp;out of Israel last month indicated people with two vaccine shots actually had a six-fold higher chance of getting infected with the delta variant than those who had previously contracted Covid-19. In this study, vaccinated people also had a higher risk of symptomatic infection, and a 6.7-fold higher chance of being hospitalized. However, other studies have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/18/health/if-youve-had-covid-do-you-need-the-vaccine.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">signaled</a>&nbsp;that mRNA vaccines produce more antibodies, more reliably than previous infection from Covid-19 does. Regardless, scientists are still strongly&nbsp;<a href="https://www.science.org/content/article/having-sars-cov-2-once-confers-much-greater-immunity-vaccine-vaccination-remains-vital" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">recommending</a>&nbsp;the previously infected get vaccinated against Covid-19 because of the many remaining questions about natural immunity, its level of protection and how long it can last.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE&nbsp;</h2>



<p>Studies have also consistently shown that vaccination on top of previous infection offers even higher levels of immunity. As&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.ons.gov.uk/2021/10/18/vaccine-effectiveness-against-covid-19-what-can-the-covid-19-infection-survey-tell-us/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">highlighted</a>&nbsp;by Sarah Croft, the head of analysis for the U.K. study, “the highest protection was found among those who had experienced a past infection followed by two vaccines.”&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT&nbsp;</h2>



<p>The study also found both vaccines were less effective at preventing Covid-19 during the delta wave than during the previous alpha wave of the virus. The efficacy of two doses of the Pfizer vaccine was 80% during the earlier period, compared to 76% for AstraZeneca’s vaccine. Croft said this trend may be further evidence of the waning immunity of vaccines as the data “includes results from participants who had experienced a longer average time period since their second Covid vaccination.”&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/18/health/if-youve-had-covid-do-you-need-the-vaccine.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">“If You’ve Had Covid, Do You Need the Vaccine?”</a>&nbsp;(The New York Times)</p>



<p><strong><a href="https://www.forbes.com/coronavirus/">Full coverage and live updates on the Coronavirus</a></strong></p>


SAFRICA-HEALTH-VIRUS-VACCINE

Prior Covid Infection Is As Effective At Preventing The Virus As Vaccination, U.K. Study Suggests


<p>Access to vaccines remains a problem for Africa due to manufacturing and logistical issues, rendering vaccine targets increasingly uncertain.<br></p>



<p>In the air, after a long time, positivity and relief, at least for now.</p>



<p>The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) in South Africa officially announced the end of the third wave of Covid-19 infections on September 25, with lockdown restrictions looking likely to loosen to include a later curfew and increased leisure and travel activities.<br><br>“Nationally, we have exited the third wave according to the current definition. The national seven-day moving average of daily case numbers, positivity rate and testing rate continue to decrease, with sustained decreases seen in all provinces [in South Africa],” said the NICD in a statement at the weekend.</p>



<p>But the rate of administration would need to increase strongly for the country to avoid a fourth wave of infections projected to occur at the end of the year, with the number of doses needing to almost double over the course of the next two-and-a-half months in order to meet this goal.<br><br>“As we know, our target is that we must vaccinate 70% adults by mid-December to avoid severe further infections when the fourth wave strikes. We are currently short of 17 million more people over 18 years to be vaccinated,” said South African Minister of Health Dr Joe Phaahla in a recent press briefing.<br><br></p>



<p>While South Africa currently stands at almost 17 million doses administered and some 8.4% (according to the Electronic Vaccination Data System or EVDS) of the population fully vaccinated, this stands in stark contrast to over 50% for the United States and the European Union.</p>



<p>A similar difference can be seen for most countries on the continent, as vaccine access looks to be a serious challenge in the months to come.<br><br>These differentiated rates are laying bare several logistical and political challenges presented to an equitable rollout to access to vaccines, making it increasingly unlikely that many nations on the continent will reach the WHO’s target of vaccination of 10% of their populations by the end of September.<br><br>COVAX, the facility aimed at increasing lower-income countries access to vaccines, has had to adjust its delivery targets for the end of the year. Originally standing at 2 billion doses to be delivered, this has been adjusted to 1.425 billion doses, with vaccine export restrictions and manufacturing issues cited as the primary reason for the change, amongst other challenges.<br><br>“In the critical months during which COVAX was created, signed on participants, pooled demand, and raised enough money to make advance purchases of vaccines, much of the early global supply had already been bought by wealthy nations,” read a statement issued by COVAX earlier this month.</p>



<p>While the continent’s second biggest economy can rest more peacefully knowing that the third wave has finally been surmounted, challenges remain.</p>


Third Wave Officially Over In South Africa, But Vaccine Access Challenges Remain On The Continent


<p><strong>TOPLINE</strong> Vaccines for children ages 5 to 11 could potentially come as soon as October under a “best-case scenario,” Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) chief who serves on Pfizer’s board, said Sunday—faster than an earlier timeline Gottlieb gave two weeks ago that projected the shots would likely roll out closer to early winter.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>Gottlieb said on CBS’&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/transcript-scott-gottlieb-face-the-nation-09-12-2021/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Face the Nation</em></a>&nbsp;that Pfizer should have data on child vaccinations “before the end of September” and may potentially file for FDA approval “within days of having that data.”</p>



<p>The FDA has said they will make a determination based on that data in a “matter of weeks, not months,” Gottlieb said, which he expects to be approximately four to six weeks, and that means “in a best-case scenario&#8230;you could potentially have a vaccine available to children aged 5 to 11 by Halloween.”</p>



<p>Gottlieb previously&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/transcript-dr-scott-gottlieb-on-face-the-nation-08-29-2021/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;August 29 on&nbsp;<em>Face the Nation</em>&nbsp;that he believed Pfizer would file its application “potentially as early as October,” which would mean vaccines would likely be available for kids in “late fall, more likely early winter.”</p>



<p>U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said on CNN Sunday that child vaccinations are the agency’s “top priority” and when the FDA does receive data from the manufacturers, they are ready to “process that quickly.”</p>



<p>Dr. James Versalovic, the pediatrician-in-chief at Texas Children’s Hospital, backed up Gottlieb’s timeline on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/transcript-dr-james-versalovic-face-the-nation-09-12-2021/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Face the Nation</em></a>, saying the hospital is “certainly&#8230;aiming for that timeline in October” regarding submitting data from its trials on child Covid-19 vaccinations.</p>



<p>The Texas Children’s Hospital’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bcm.edu/healthcare/clinical-trials/h-49597" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">trials</a>, which are being conducted among children ages 6 months to 11 years with both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, are “moving ahead well” and are “well into phase two-three,” Versalovic said, and while children are getting a different dosage of the vaccine than adults, it’s “safe and effective.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h2>



<p>“Thus far we are on track, and I certainly would agree with Dr. Gottlieb that we are doing all we can to get vaccines to children in the fall,” Versalovic said regarding the hospital’s October goal for its vaccine trials. “In the meantime, use masking and other measures to keep our children safe and reassure parents that help is on the way in the form of vaccines for children under 12.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h2>



<p>Approximately 5 million. That’s the number of Covid-19 cases in children since the pandemic began as of September 2,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aap.org/en/pages/2019-novel-coronavirus-covid-19-infections/children-and-covid-19-state-level-data-report/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a>&nbsp;to the American Academy of Pediatrics. More than 250,000&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2021/09/07/at-least-250000-kids-tested-positive-for-covid-last-week-as-school-year-surge-continues/?sh=28e0d6c8765f">cases</a>&nbsp;were recorded between August 19 and September 2, the most recent week for which data is available, which the organization reports is the largest weekly increase since the pandemic began.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>Child Covid-19 vaccinations have become an increasing concern as the delta variant has left children ineligible for vaccination particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus. Children now&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2021/09/07/at-least-250000-kids-tested-positive-for-covid-last-week-as-school-year-surge-continues/?sh=28e0d6c8765f">make up</a>&nbsp;more than a quarter of new Covid-19 cases in the U.S. and the rate of child and teen hospitalizations increased by five times in mid-August, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimberleespeakman/2021/09/03/teen-and-children-covid-hospitalization-increases-by-almost-5-times-cdc-reports/?sh=69d12e8d1b30">study</a>&nbsp;by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Schools&nbsp;<a href="https://www.khq.com/news/medical-lake-high-school-goes-remote-following-covid-outbreak-on-football-team/article_6f65ee88-1281-11ec-9444-f772367e4eed.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">across</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.9news.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/covid-outbreaks-80-colorado-schools/73-0bc78de6-393d-46bc-8ca1-6fa01b2fae65" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://triblive.com/local/valley-news-dispatch/covid-19-outbreak-closes-apollo-ridge-middle-school/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">country</a>&nbsp;have been hit by Covid-19&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/coronavirus/coronavirus-by-the-numbers-more-than-100-covid-outbreaks-reported-in-illinois-schools/2609697/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">outbreaks</a>&nbsp;in recent weeks, ramping up the urgency for children to get vaccinated now that they’re back in school. Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) led 106 lawmakers in August in&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/RepKatiePorter/status/1427687260305063937" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">asking</a>&nbsp;the FDA to provide answers about when kids can get the shot in light of the new anxieties over child Covid-19 transmission. “Parents need to know when their kids will be able to get vaccinated,” the lawmakers wrote. Gottlieb’s comments Sunday about Pfizer soon seeking FDA approval come after the founders of BioNTech, which developed the vaccine with Pfizer, similarly&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2021/09/10/pfizer-biontech-to-seek-approval-for-first-covid-vaccine-for-young-children-in-next-few-weeks/?sh=58408ba42337">said</a>&nbsp;last week they would be seeking approval globally for child vaccinations “over the next few weeks.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2021/09/10/pfizer-biontech-to-seek-approval-for-first-covid-vaccine-for-young-children-in-next-few-weeks/?sh=58408ba42337">Pfizer-BioNTech To Seek Approval For First Covid Vaccine For Young Children ‘In Next Few Weeks’</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2021/09/07/at-least-250000-kids-tested-positive-for-covid-last-week-as-school-year-surge-continues/?sh=28e0d6c8765f">At Least 250,000 Kids Tested Positive For Covid In The U.S. Last Week As School Year Surge Continues</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimberleespeakman/2021/09/03/teen-and-children-covid-hospitalization-increases-by-almost-5-times-cdc-reports/?sh=69d12e8d1b30">Teen And Children Covid Hospitalization Increases By Almost 5 Times, CDC Reports</a> (Forbes)</p>



<p><strong><em>By Alison Durkee, Forbes Staff</em></strong></p>


Opening of the Primary School Year in Granada, Spain amid the coronavirus pandemic

Covid Vaccines For Kids Could Be Approved By October Under ‘Best Case Scenario,’ Gottlieb Suggests


<p>While most cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus have been reported in the U.S. , Europe, and China, the virus is spreading rapidly across the African continent. </p>



<p>The confirmed worldwide cases for the virus have surpassed 200 million with the current figure being at 222,262,640</p>



<p>The death toll continues to rise globally now surpassing 4 million. It is currently at 4,593,598.</p>



<p>The world is currently dealing with a new variant of the virus known as the &#8216;Delta Variant&#8217;. The variant is known to be in over 85 countries globally. </p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow"><p>A<em>frica has just marked the continent’s most dire pandemic week ever. But the worst is yet to come as the fast-moving third wave continues to gain speed and new ground. The end to this precipitous rise is still weeks away. Cases are doubling now every 18 days, compared with every 21 days only a week ago. We can still break the chain of transmission by testing, isolating contacts and cases and following key public health measures.”</em> <strong><em><em>said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa</em></em></strong> <strong><em>on July 8 2021</em></strong></p></blockquote>



<p>The U.S. leads with 666,627 deaths. Brazil comes second with 583,866. India&#8217;s deaths are at 441,433; Mexico is with 263,470 deaths, and Peru is with 198,523.</p>



<p>China, where the virus originated from, maintains that the country&#8217;s death toll is at 4,634.</p>



<p>The figure of the global recoveries stands at 198,882,734.</p>



<p>The African continent now has a total figure of 8,003,746 confirmed cases of Covid-19, while the death toll stands at 200,275. The continent has made 7,162,070 recoveries. </p>



<p>World Health Organization Regional Director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti said in an online briefing Thursday (1 July) that &#8220;The speed and scale of Africa’s third wave are like nothing we’ve seen before.&#8221;  </p>



<p>&#8220;The continent is on the verge of exceeding its worst week ever in this pandemic,&#8221; Moeti said</p>



<p>Here are the country-wide numbers for Africa:</p>



<figure id="main_table_countries_today" class="wp-block-table"><table><thead><tr><th>Country</th><th>Total<br>Cases</th><th>Total<br>Deaths</th><th>Total<br>Recovered</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Africa</td><td>8,003,746</td><td>200,275</td><td>7,162,070</td></tr><tr><td>Algeria</td><td>198,313</td><td>5,445</td><td>135,232</td></tr><tr><td>Angola</td><td>48,790</td><td>1,282</td><td>44,054</td></tr><tr><td>Benin</td><td>16,946</td><td>135</td><td>11,890</td></tr><tr><td>Botswana</td><td>162,186</td><td>2,309</td><td>155,403</td></tr><tr><td>Burkina Faso</td><td>13,851</td><td>171</td><td>13,575</td></tr><tr><td>Burundi</td><td>12,585</td><td>38</td><td>773</td></tr><tr><td>Cabo Verde</td><td>36,012</td><td>316</td><td>34,725</td></tr><tr><td>Cameroon</td><td>84,210</td><td>1,357</td><td>80,433</td></tr><tr><td>CAR</td><td>11,296</td><td>100</td><td>6,859</td></tr><tr><td>Chad</td><td>4,996</td><td>174</td><td>4,816</td></tr><tr><td>Comoros</td><td>4,086</td><td>147</td><td>3,909</td></tr><tr><td>Congo</td><td>13,588</td><td>183</td><td>12,421</td></tr><tr><td>Djibouti</td><td>11,785</td><td>157</td><td>11,592</td></tr><tr><td>DRC</td><td>55,307</td><td>1,061</td><td>30,858</td></tr><tr><td>Egypt</td><td>290,395</td><td>16,801</td><td>242,623</td></tr><tr><td>Equatorial Guinea</td><td>9,939</td><td>129</td><td>8,971</td></tr><tr><td>Eritrea</td><td>6,648</td><td>38</td><td>6,601</td></tr><tr><td>Eswatini</td><td>44,234</td><td>1,156</td><td>38,871</td></tr><tr><td>Ethiopia</td><td>316,174</td><td>4,785</td><td>284,895</td></tr><tr><td>Gabon</td><td>26,177</td><td>168</td><td>25,775</td></tr><tr><td>Gambia</td><td>9,789</td><td>328</td><td>9,379</td></tr><tr><td>Ghana</td><td>121,307</td><td>1,069</td><td>113,267</td></tr><tr><td>Guinea</td><td>29,877</td><td>358</td><td>27,742</td></tr><tr><td>Guinea-Bissau</td><td>5,902</td><td>121</td><td>4,967</td></tr><tr><td>Ivory Coast</td><td>57,056</td><td>477</td><td>54,804</td></tr><tr><td>Kenya</td><td>241,134</td><td>4,800</td><td>229,762</td></tr><tr><td>Lesotho</td><td>14,395</td><td>403</td><td>6,830</td></tr><tr><td>Liberia</td><td>5,459</td><td>148</td><td>2,715</td></tr><tr><td>Libya</td><td>318,069</td><td>4,363</td><td>230,995</td></tr><tr><td>Madagascar</td><td>42,884</td><td>957</td><td>41,311</td></tr><tr><td>Malawi</td><td>60,852</td><td>2,217</td><td>49,374</td></tr><tr><td>Mali</td><td>14,942</td><td>542</td><td>14,135</td></tr><tr><td>Mauritania</td><td>34,297</td><td>737</td><td>31,832</td></tr><tr><td>Mauritius</td><td>11,466</td><td>32</td><td>1,854</td></tr><tr><td>Mayotte</td><td>19,925</td><td>175</td><td>2,964</td></tr><tr><td>Morocco</td><td>886,008</td><td>13,145</td><td>828,148</td></tr><tr><td>Mozambique</td><td>148,054</td><td>1,881</td><td>137,891</td></tr><tr><td>Namibia</td><td>125,772</td><td>3,414</td><td>120,812</td></tr><tr><td>Niger</td><td>5,888</td><td>199</td><td>5,624</td></tr><tr><td>Nigeria</td><td>195,890</td><td>2,556</td><td>184,882</td></tr><tr><td>Rwanda</td><td>90,145</td><td>1,134</td><td>45,362</td></tr><tr><td>Réunion</td><td>50,346</td><td>342</td><td>47,752</td></tr><tr><td>Saint Helena</td><td>2</td><td></td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td>Sao Tome and Principe</td><td>2,692</td><td>37</td><td>2,461</td></tr><tr><td>Senegal</td><td>73,257</td><td>1,812</td><td>64,582</td></tr><tr><td>Seychelles</td><td>20,323</td><td>108</td><td>19,767</td></tr><tr><td>Sierra Leone</td><td>6,374</td><td>121</td><td>4,364</td></tr><tr><td>Somalia</td><td>17,947</td><td>1,005</td><td>8,896</td></tr><tr><td>South Africa</td><td>2,824,063</td><td>83,617</td><td>2,599,667</td></tr><tr><td>South Sudan</td><td>11,526</td><td>120</td><td>11,195</td></tr><tr><td>Sudan</td><td>37,715</td><td>2,837</td><td>31,675</td></tr><tr><td>Tanzania</td><td>1,367</td><td>50</td><td>183</td></tr><tr><td>Togo</td><td>22,625</td><td>197</td><td>17,669</td></tr><tr><td>Tunisia</td><td>675,191</td><td>23,846</td><td>639,708</td></tr><tr><td>Uganda</td><td>120,714</td><td>3,061</td><td>95,679</td></tr><tr><td>Western Sahara</td><td>10</td><td>1</td><td>8</td></tr><tr><td>Zambia</td><td>207,294</td><td>3,620</td><td>202,500</td></tr><tr><td>Zimbabwe</td><td>125,671</td><td>4,493</td><td>117,036</td></tr></tbody></table><figcaption><a href="https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/">Data From World O Meter</a></figcaption></figure>



<p><em>Note: The numbers will be updated as new information is available. </em></p>


South African truck drivers receive COVID-19 vaccine

[IN NUMBERS] Coronavirus Update: COVID-19 In Africa


<p><strong>TOPLINE</strong> The World Health Organization <a href="https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/weekly-epidemiological-update-on-covid-19---31-august-2021" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a> it has identified a new coronavirus “variant of interest,” named mu—also known by its scientific name, B.1.621—in its weekly pandemic update Tuesday, warning it was becoming increasingly prevalent in Colombia and Ecuador and shows signs of possible resistance to vaccines.  </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>Since mu was first identified in Colombia in January 2021, there have been “sporadic reports” of cases and outbreaks in South America and Europe, the WHO said.&nbsp;</p>



<p>While the global prevalence of mu among sequenced Covid-19 cases has fallen below 0.1%, the WHO said its prevalence has “consistently increased” in Colombia and Ecuador, where it is now responsible for around 39% and 13% of infections, respectively.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Reports on the variant’s prevalence should be “interpreted with due consideration” given the low sequencing capacity of most countries, the agency said.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Mu has a number of mutations that suggest it could be more resistant to vaccines, the health agency warned, but said further research would be needed to confirm this.</p>



<p>Preliminary data show a reduced effectiveness of vaccines “similar to that seen for the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/19/health/beta-variant-covid-19.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">beta</a>&nbsp;variant,” the WHO said.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>All viruses mutate over time and most mutations have little to no impact on the virus’ behavior. The WHO keeps&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/en/activities/tracking-SARS-CoV-2-variants/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">track</a>&nbsp;of “variants of interest,” those which have mutations “predicted or known to affect virus characteristics” like transmissibility, resistance to vaccines and disease severity. Mu is the fifth variant of interest to be monitored by the WHO since March. There are also four “variants of concern” the health agency tracks—alpha, beta, gamma and delta—which, in addition to meeting the criteria to be a variant of interest, have more significant changes, such as reducing the effectiveness of vaccines. The WHO&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/31-05-2021-who-announces-simple-easy-to-say-labels-for-sars-cov-2-variants-of-interest-and-concern" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">introduced</a>&nbsp;a naming convention concerning variants in May to avoid the stigma and consequences when a variant is named after where it was first discovered.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-for">WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h2>



<p>While wealthy countries hoard limited vaccine supplies for booster campaigns, many parts of the world have not yet had a chance to begin vaccinating. Limited vaccine coverage and the rapid spread of the coronavirus makes an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2021/08/18/stockpiling-vaccines-risks-new-variants-emerging-and-rising-covid-cases-study-finds-as-us-readies-booster-campaign/?sh=3a255afa132a">ideal</a>&nbsp;environment for new virus variants to emerge. The WHO said it would be monitoring “the epidemiology of the mu variant in South America, particularly with the co-circulation of the delta variant… for changes”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h2>



<p>3,857. That’s how many genome sequences—analyzed samples of the virus taken from patients that can be used to track how it moves through the population—on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gisaid.org/hcov19-variants/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">GISAID</a>, an open source genome repository, have been designated as mu in the past four weeks. The vast majority of these—1,544—have been reported in the U.S., and Colombia (844), Mexico (352) and Spain (351) also report a high number of sequences. This figure will be affected by both sequencing capacity, surveillance and the total number of cases in an area.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2021/07/23/a-new-covid-variant-is-being-investigated-in-the-uk-after-being-detected-in-countries-including-the-us-and-japan/?sh=6631f8a03298">A New Covid Variant Is Being Investigated In The U.K. After Being Detected In Countries Including The U.S. And Japan</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/williamhaseltine/2021/08/12/a-new-killer-on-the-loose-b1621/?sh=44e2aacf3d1f">A New Covid Variant On The Loose: B.1.621</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.statnews.com/2021/08/30/inside-pfizer-labs-variant-hunters-race-to-stay-ahead-of-pandemic-2/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Inside Pfizer’s labs, ‘variant hunters’ race to stay ahead of the pandemic’s next twist</a> (STAT News)</p>



<p><strong><em>By Robert Hart, Forbes Staff</em></strong></p>


Scientist in a protective suit holds and compares two different Coronavirus of different color in his hands. Creative image.

WHO Tracking New Covid Variant Named Mu, Warns It Could Be More Resistant To Vaccine


<p><strong>TOPLINE</strong> A new study out of South Korea found that taking an AstraZeneca vaccine shot followed by a Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine shot boosted Covid-19 antibody levels six times more than receiving two Astra-Zeneca doses, as some governments around the world are giving the green light to mix Covid-19 vaccine shots for extra protection against the virus.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h3>



<p>The study was conducted by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, and it took a look at the effects of mixing certain vaccine doses and vaccine efficacy against coronavirus variants Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta, as first&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/mixed-astrazeneca-pfizer-shot-boosts-covid-antibody-level-study-2021-07-26/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>&nbsp;by Reuters.</p>



<p>About 499 medical workers took part in the study, with about 200 workers receiving two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, 200 workers receiving two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and 100 workers receiving mixed doses of both the vaccines.</p>



<p>All three groups acquired antibodies, with the group that mixed AstraZeneca and Pfizer showing similar levels of antibodies as the group that received the two Pfizer shots.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The study also found that each of the vaccine doses were most effective against the Alpha variant, but&nbsp; showed decreased effectiveness between 2 ½ to 6 times on Beta, Gamma and Delta variants.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h3>



<p>Back in June, Oxford University led a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2021/06/28/uk-study-offers-new-evidence-you-can-mix-and-match-coronavirus-vaccines/?sh=64cc30081082">study</a>&nbsp;to find out if mixing and matching vaccines was viable. It found that taking an AstraZeneca vaccine shot followed by a Pfizer shot created the highest T-cell response, which are immune cells that attack and destroy infected cells. The vaccine combo also generated more antibodies than taking a Pfizer shot followed by an AstraZeneca shot. Both the Oxford University study and Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency study show that vaccines can still provide a strong immunity response to the virus if mixed and matched. The United States&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/clinical-considerations/covid-19-vaccines-us.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Centers for Disease Control</a>&nbsp;does not recommend mixing doses from different vaccines since it has not yet evaluated if that practice is safe and effective. However, some countries like Germany and Spain allow for mixed shots, allowing people to receive Pfizer and Moderna shots even after they have already gotten AstraZeneca’s first dose. Canada’s health officials also started to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/canada-mixing-covid-19-vaccines-astrazeneca-pfizer-moderna-naci-1.6048152" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">recommend&nbsp;</a>mixing vaccine shots last month, if people are unable to take two of the same vaccine doses.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h3>



<p>As the Delta variant continues to grow internationally, more people are reporting taking multiple vaccine doses. Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-57571791" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">received</a>&nbsp;the Moderna jab at the end of June, a few months after she received her first AstraZeneca shot. One U.S. doctor received the one-shot Johnson &amp; Johnson vaccine in Seattle, but then, after moving to Canada, got one shot of the Pfizer vaccine for added protection, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/26/delta-people-are-mixing-and-matching-covid-vaccines-over-concerns-about-variant.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">report</a>&nbsp;by CNBC. The U.S. does not consider people who have had different doses of vaccines as fully vaccinated.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-out-for">WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR</h3>



<p>Pfizer said it will be creating a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/08/pfizer-says-it-is-developing-a-covid-booster-shot-to-target-the-highly-transmissible-delta-variant.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">booster</a>&nbsp;shot to target the Delta variant. Trials for the booster shot&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsmv.com/news/pfizer-booster-shot-trial-underway-in-nashville/article_5447ab60-edf5-11eb-b977-6b315cb7c729.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">began</a>&nbsp;in Nashville on Monday. Moderna also announced it will be developing a booster shot, with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-19-vaccine-booster-shot-what-we-know/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">trial</a>&nbsp;results expected by September. Some doctors are even&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/20/dr-vin-gupta-encourages-jj-vaccine-recipients-to-get-a-pfizer-or-moderna-booster.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">encouraging</a>&nbsp;those who received the Johnson &amp; Johnson vaccine to consider getting either a Pfizer or Moderna booster shot, even though it is unclear how the booster shots may work with other vaccines.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h3>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2021/06/28/uk-study-offers-new-evidence-you-can-mix-and-match-coronavirus-vaccines/?sh=64cc30081082">U.K. Study Offers New Evidence You Can ‘Mix And Match’ Coronavirus Vaccines</a>&nbsp;(<em>Forbes</em>)</p>



<p><a href="http://mymusictaste.com/artist/68f14b7dcc835375b53d0ea65f4dedd7/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Americans are ‘mixing and matching’ Covid vaccines over concerns about the delta variant</a> (<em>CNBC</em>)</p>



<p><strong><em>By Kimberlee Speakman, Forbes Staff</em></strong></p>


Dept of Correctional Services Vaccination Rollout Launch in South Africa

Mixed AstraZeneca-Pfizer Vaccine Boosts Covid Antibody Levels, Korea Study Finds


<p><strong>TOPLINE</strong>: The Chinese government on Thursday rejected the World Health Organisation’s plan for the second phase of investigation into the origins of Covid-19—which will also examine the possibility that the virus may have escaped from a Wuhan lab—signaling further politicization of the investigation that has previously been hampered by Beijing’s unwillingness to share important data.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h3>



<p>Zeng Yixin, the vice minister of China’s National Health Commission (NHC), told reporters he was “shocked” by the plan to investigate the lab leak hypothesis and said “it is impossible for us to accept such an origin-tracing plan.”</p>



<p><a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-china-coronavirus-pandemic-united-nations-a20391afec60601f3d666efc3c18b61d" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">According to</a>&nbsp;the Associated Press, Zeng dismissed the theory as a rumor “that runs counter to common sense and science.”</p>



<p>Responding to the WHO’s earlier statement about the investigation being hampered by the lack of raw data from Chinese authorities, Zeng reiterated Beijing’s stance that some data could not be completely shared due to privacy concerns.</p>



<p>Zeng insisted that the Wuhan Institute of Virology’s labs have no virus that can directly infect humans and noted that a WHO-led team of experts had visited the lab earlier this year and concluded that a leak was highly unlikely.</p>



<p>The vice minister also dismissed&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/intelligence-on-sick-staff-at-wuhan-lab-fuels-debate-on-covid-19-origin-11621796228?reflink=share_mobilewebshare" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">media reports</a>&nbsp;that staff and graduate students at the institute had fallen sick due to the virus and then transmitted it to others.</p>



<p>The vocal push back from Beijing comes a week after WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for better cooperation from China and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-world-news-health-science-coronavirus-pandemic-c0c594f9060f676c0ea48c2d1c69daec" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">noted</a>&nbsp;that there had been a “premature push” to rule out the lab leak theory.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h3>



<p>In March, the World Health Organization and China&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/who-convened-global-study-of-origins-of-sars-cov-2-china-part" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published</a>&nbsp;a joint study that offered preliminary insight into the origin of the SARS-CoV2 coronavirus. The report suggested that the outbreak was likely caused by the virus jumping from bats to humans through an intermediary animal and also labeled the lab leak hypothesis as “extremely unlikely.” It was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/30/who-criticises-chinas-data-sharing-as-it-releases-covid-origins-report" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sharply criticized</a>&nbsp;by the U.S., U.K., Canada and several other countries who accused China of “withholding access to complete original data and samples”. The lab leak theory—initially pushed by fringe groups—has seen a rise in mainstream interest after President Joe Biden&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackbrewster/2021/05/26/biden-says-intelligence-agencies-have-coalesced-around-two-likely-scenarios-for-origin-of-covid-19/?sh=266488003fb2">ordered</a>&nbsp;U.S. intelligence agencies to examine the origin of the pandemic in May. U.S. intelligence agencies have two prevailing theories at the moment with branches believing that it was transmitted from animals, while another branch believes it came from a lab at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which does research work on bat viruses.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h3>



<p><a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-china-coronavirus-pandemic-united-nations-a20391afec60601f3d666efc3c18b61d" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">China rebuffs WHO’s terms for further COVID-19 origins study</a>&nbsp;(Associated Press)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-will-not-follow-whos-suggested-plan-2nd-phase-covid-19-origins-study-2021-07-22/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">China rejects WHO plan for study of COVID-19 origin</a> (Reuters)</p>



<p><em><strong>By Siladitya Ray, Forbes Staff</strong></em></p>


News Conference On Chinese Vaccines Against COVID-19 In Beijing

China ‘Shocked’ By WHO’s Plan To Investigate Covid-19 Lab Leak Theory


<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h3>



<p>San Diego-based physician Dr. Jennings Ryan Staley pleaded&nbsp;<a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdca/pr/doctor-selling-covid-19-cure-pleads-guilty" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">guilty</a>&nbsp;on Friday to a charge of importation contrary to law, which comes with a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.</p>



<p>During March 2020 and April 2020, Staley sold treatment kits he falsely marketed as being a “one hundred percent” cure and a “magic bullet” against Covid-19, while the U.S. was in the midst of its first Covid surge.</p>



<p>The kits contained hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug that multiple trials showed to be ineffective as a treatment for Covid-19.</p>



<p>To get the hydroxychloroquine, Staley at one point wrote a prescription in one of his employees’ names and then picked up the drug without the employee’s knowledge.</p>



<p>Staley also planned to smuggle more than 26 pounds of hydroxychloroquine powder into the U.S. by mislabeling the drug as “yam extract,” as part of an agreement he made with a Chinese supplier.</p>



<p>Additionally, Staley admitted he lied to federal investigators by claiming he never marketed his kits as a surefire treatment for Covid-19.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h3>



<p><strong>$4,000.</strong>&nbsp;That&#8217;s how much an undercover federal agent paid for six of Staley’s treatment kits, according to the Justice Department.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h3>



<p>“Dr. Staley offered a ‘magic bullet’—a guaranteed cure for Covid-19 to people gripped in fear during a global pandemic,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Suzanne Turner said in a statement. “Today, Dr. Staley admitted it was all a lie as part of a scam to make a quick buck.”</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h3>



<p>The arrival of the pandemic in the U.S. coincided with an enormous spike in prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine, which was investigated as one of the first potential Covid therapeutics. Health experts had always expressed skepticism about whether the drug would be proven effective against Covid, but that didn’t stop Trump from repeatedly making statements such as, “It’s looking like it&#8217;s having some good results.” Trump even&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/05/18/trump-says-hes-taking-hydroxychloroquine-despite-an-nih-advisory-against-it/?sh=1e57a81cd745">took his own regimen</a>&nbsp;of hydroxychloroquine in May 2020, at a time when study after study was showing the drug didn&#8217;t work against Covid-19. Trump went on to catch Covid-19 in October and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2021/02/11/report-trumps-covid-infection-was-so-severe-officials-thought-he-might-need-a-ventilator/?sh=cc3d92179819">had to be hospitalized</a>. The lack of reliable treatment options also led to numerous other unproven and dangerous cures being marketed, like a Florida family that was accused of selling tens of thousands of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2020/07/08/florida-family-charged-with-marketing-miracle-coronavirus-cure-that-was-textile-bleach/?sh=54d8b05317f9">bottles of toxic bleach</a>&nbsp;they branded as “Miracle Mineral Solution.”</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h3>



<p>A California-based naturopathic doctor was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2021/07/14/california-woman-arrested-for-making-fake-vaccine-cards-justice-department-says/?sh=7fdb142c4a76">making fake vaccine cards</a>&nbsp;and marketing oral pills as providing lifelong protection against Covid-19.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h3>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2021/07/14/california-woman-arrested-for-making-fake-vaccine-cards-justice-department-says/?sh=7fdb142c4a76">California Woman Arrested For Making Fake Vaccine Cards, Justice Department Says</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2020/07/08/florida-family-charged-with-marketing-miracle-coronavirus-cure-that-was-textile-bleach/?sh=54d8b05317f9">Florida Family Charged With Marketing ‘Miracle’ Coronavirus Cure That Was Textile Bleach</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2021/02/11/report-trumps-covid-infection-was-so-severe-officials-thought-he-might-need-a-ventilator/?sh=cc3d92179819">Report: Trump’s Covid Infection Was So Severe Officials Thought He Might Need A Ventilator</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/05/22/all-the-times-trump-promoted-hydroxychloroquine/?sh=7c2f9f0f4643">All The Times Trump Has Promoted Hydroxychloroquine</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/05/18/trump-says-hes-taking-hydroxychloroquine-despite-an-nih-advisory-against-it/?sh=1e57a81cd745">Trump Says He’s Taking Hydroxychloroquine Despite An NIH Advisory Against It</a> (Forbes)</p>



<p><em><strong>By Nicholas Reimann, Forbes Staff</strong></em></p>


Hydroxychloroquine Sulphate tablets with coronavirus written in background

Doctor Pleads Guilty To Pushing Covid ‘Miracle Cure’ And Hydroxychloroquine Smuggling Scheme


<p><strong>TOPLINE</strong> Pfizer and BioNTech said Thursday that research shows taking a third dose of their vaccine as a booster protects even more against Covid-19, including the Delta variant, and will ask the Food and Drug Administration for emergency authorization for the shot within the next several weeks.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h3>



<p>A study not yet released by the companies shows that a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine six months after the second dose protected people against the original strain of Covid-19 as well as the Beta variant.</p>



<p>After six months, the companies’ two-dose vaccine loses some of its ability to protect against getting Covid-19 and developing symptoms, although it continues to work well against preventing severe Covid-19, the companies said, referencing data from their studies and from the health ministry in Israel, which has a highly vaccinated population and has recently seen a wave of the Delta variant spread.</p>



<p>After taking the booster shot, antibodies against the original and Beta variants were “five to 10 times higher,” the companies said in a press release.</p>



<p>The companies believe a booster shot would also increase protection against the Delta variant based on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03693-y" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a&nbsp;<em>Nature</em>&nbsp;study</a>&nbsp;which they said suggests that the two-dose vaccine is effective against the variant.</p>



<p>Pfizer and BioNTech in August will launch a trial of a vaccine specifically targeting the Delta variant.</p>



<p>The companies said they will send the data to the FDA “in the coming weeks” for its application for emergency authorization and that they will publish the data in a peer-reviewed journal.</p>



<p>They will also send the data to the European Medicines Agency, which regulates drugs in the European Union, and “in discussion with EU and other regions” about emergency authorizations, a spokesperson said.</p>



<p>A separate study published Thursday in&nbsp;<em>JAMA Oncology</em>&nbsp;found the vaccine was found to be&nbsp;<a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaoncology/fullarticle/2781608?guestAccessKey=a006b52c-6abf-414d-b0b9-b57946450d20&amp;utm_source=For_The_Media&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=ftm_links&amp;utm_content=tfl&amp;utm_term=070821" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">safe for cancer patients</a>, although most didn’t develop antibodies until after their second dose, and 14% didn’t develop the antibodies at all.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h3>



<p>The FDA, which is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/development-approval-process-cber" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">in charge</a>&nbsp;of approving vaccines,&nbsp;<a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E50SoxnXEAMvs9c.png" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">released a statement</a>&nbsp;with the CDC Thursday night that appeared to respond to Pfizer and BioNTech’s news. “Americans who have been fully vaccinated do not need a booster shot at this time,” it said. Both agencies and the National Institutes of Health, the statement continued, are researching “whether or when a booster might be necessary.”&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h3>



<p>Whether booster shots work, and how well, is important because scientists expect that vaccines will&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2021/06/15/when-will-you-need-a-covid-booster-shot-pfizer-monitors-breakthrough-infections-as-experts-say-more-data-is-needed/?sh=1068ed587f69">lose strength over time</a>. Because the pace of vaccination is so unequal—globally, just&nbsp;<a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-people-vaccinated-covid?time=2020-12-02..2021-07-07&amp;country=~OWID_WRL" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">one in four people</a>&nbsp;have received at least one vaccine dose; in the U.S.,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2021/07/08/at-least-15-states-wont-reach-70-vaccination-goal-until-2022-or-even-later-at-current-pace/?sh=46a2691532b8">at least 15 states</a>&nbsp;are not on pace to partially or fully vaccinate 70% of residents until 2022—some people are likely to need booster shots before others get their first dose.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h3>



<p><a href="https://investors.biontech.de/news-releases/news-release-details/pfizer-and-biontech-provide-update-booster-program-light-delta" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pfizer and BioNTech Provide Update on Booster Program in Light of the Delta-Variant</a>&nbsp;<em>(BioNTech)</em></p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2021/05/18/96-of-people-develop-covid-antibodies-after-just-one-shot-of-pfizer-or-astrazeneca-vaccine-uk-study-finds/?sh=30b7f66699b9">96% Of People Develop Covid Antibodies After Just One Shot Of Pfizer Or AstraZeneca Vaccine, UK Study Finds</a>&nbsp;<em>(Forbes)</em>&nbsp;</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2021/06/15/when-will-you-need-a-covid-booster-shot-pfizer-monitors-breakthrough-infections-as-experts-say-more-data-is-needed/?sh=1068ed587f69">When Will You Need A Covid Booster Shot? Pfizer Monitors Breakthrough Infections As Experts Say More Data Is Needed</a>&nbsp;<em>(Forbes)</em></p>



<p><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-people-vaccinated-covid?time=2020-12-02..2021-07-07&amp;country=~OWID_WRL" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Share of people who received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine</a> <em>(Our World In Data)</em></p>



<p><strong><em>By Graison Dangor, Forbes Staff</em></strong></p>


TOPSHOT-US-HEALTH-VIRUS-STOCKS

Pfizer Will Ask FDA To Authorize Third Covid-19 Shot As A Booster


<p><strong>TOPLINE</strong>: Both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are likely to offer long-lasting protection against Covid-19, according to a study published on Monday, indicating that people who are already inoculated with either of the mRNA vaccines may not need a booster dose for years.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h3>



<p>According to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03738-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">peer-reviewed study</a>&nbsp;published in the science journal&nbsp;<em>Nature</em>, scientists found that the vaccines induced a strong immune reaction that may protect against Covid-19 for years.</p>



<p>The study reinforces a previous finding,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/26/health/coronavirus-immunity-vaccines.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">first reported in May</a>, that people who have both recovered from infection and have been fully inoculated with one of the mRNA vaccines have an even stronger immune response.</p>



<p>The study also showed that the vaccines produced high levels of neutralizing antibodies that were effective against three variants of the coronavirus, including the Beta variant that has been shown to reduce the effectiveness of vaccines.</p>



<p>Nearly four months after the first dose of either vaccine, the body still had the so-called germinal centers in the lymph nodes which effectively train the body’s immune cells to protect against future infection.</p>



<p>According to scientists who conducted the study, this is a very positive sign since germinal centers normally peak one or two weeks after vaccination and then begin to decline, the New York Times&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/06/28/world/covid-vaccine-coronavirus-mask?smtyp=cur&amp;smid=tw-nytimesworld#a-study-finds-that-the-pfizer-and-moderna-vaccines-could-offer-protection-for-years" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>.</p>



<p>Production of a broader range of immune cells and longer training times for those cells will lead to more robust protection against the virus and any variants that may emerge.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-we-don-t-know">WHAT WE DON’T KNOW</h3>



<p>The scope of the study was only limited to the two approved mRNA vaccines manufactured by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech. It did not examine the single-dose Johnson &amp; Johnson vaccine and one of the study’s authors&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/06/28/world/covid-vaccine-coronavirus-mask?smtyp=cur&amp;smid=tw-nytimesworld#a-study-finds-that-the-pfizer-and-moderna-vaccines-could-offer-protection-for-years" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told</a>&nbsp;the&nbsp;<em>New York Times&nbsp;</em>that he expected the immune response from that shot to be less durable. The study also does not throw any light on the effectiveness of the vaccine against the Delta variant of the coronavirus which is more transmissible than other variants.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h3>



<p>While the mRNA vaccines have been highly effective in preventing infections, the emergence of more infectious variants of the coronavirus has led to speculation that booster doses may be needed to protect against Covid-19. Speaking at a&nbsp;<em>Forbes</em>&nbsp;event earlier this month, Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesfellows/2021/06/08/moderna-ceo-says-vaccine-boosters-and-flucovid-combo-shots-are-likely-for-the-future/?sh=886c6a03347d">also suggested</a>&nbsp;that it was likely booster shots will be needed in the near future, both to bolster waning immunity and to protect against new virus mutations. However, public health officials, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2021-05-21/covid-19-booster-shots-not-necessarily-needed-this-fall-fauci-says" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pushed back</a>&nbsp;against this notion. The results of this study suggest that a vast majority of people, who have received one of the two mRNA vaccines, will likely be protected over the long term and may not need a booster shot anytime soon. However, the emergence of newer, more infectious variants could still blunt the effectiveness of these mRNA vaccines. Additionally, a large proportion of vaccine recipients around the world have received viral vector-based vaccines which may offer less durable immunity.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h3>



<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/06/28/world/covid-vaccine-coronavirus-mask?smtyp=cur&amp;smid=tw-nytimesworld#a-study-finds-that-the-pfizer-and-moderna-vaccines-could-offer-protection-for-years" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mRNA Vaccines May Offer Lasting Protection, Study Finds</a>&nbsp;(New York Times)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/26/health/coronavirus-immunity-vaccines.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Immunity to the Coronavirus May Persist for Years, Scientists Find</a>&nbsp;(New York Times)</p>



<p><em><strong>By Siladitya Ray, Forbes Staff</strong></em></p>


In this photo illustration the medical syringe is seen with

Pfizer And Moderna Vaccines May Offer Years-Long Protection Against Covid-19, Scientists Say


<p><strong>TOPLINE </strong>AstraZeneca on Tuesday announced its monoclonal antibody treatment for Covid-19 did not meet the primary goal of preventing symptoms in people who have been exposed to the coronavirus, denting hopes of a new therapeutic treatment for Covid-19 for unvaccinated people.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h3>



<p>The antibody therapy, AZD7442, reduced the risk of developing symptomatic Covid-19 by only 33% among all exposed patients—including those who tested negative after exposure—compared to a placebo, which was deemed to be statistically insignificant, the company&nbsp;<a href="https://www.astrazeneca.com/content/astraz/media-centre/press-releases/2021/update-on-azd7442-storm-chaser-trial.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a>&nbsp;in a release.</p>



<p>The data was gathered from the company’s Phase III trials which were conducted on unvaccinated adults older than 18 years with confirmed exposure to a person with Covid-19 within the previous eight days.</p>



<p>The antibody therapy, however, was 92% effective in preventing symptomatic Covid-19 compared to the placebo in patients who tested negative after exposure, suggesting that the drug may be effective in preventing symptoms in people who are not already infected.</p>



<p>The drug continues to be tested as possible prophylaxis against Covid-19 in other trials, the company noted.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h3>



<p>The trial’s principal investigator, Dr. Myron J. Levin, noted that the drug may be effective in preventing symptomatic Covid-19 in people who are not yet infected, adding: “While Covid-19 vaccination efforts have been successful, there is still a significant need for prevention and treatment options for certain populations, including those unable to be vaccinated or those who may have an inadequate response to vaccination.”</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-for">WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h3>



<p>AstraZeneca’s AZD7442 was developed with support from the U.S. government. In March, the company announced that it had inked a deal with the government to supply up to half a million doses of AZD7442 for $205 million—subject to the drug receiving emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The company said it is continuing to discuss its next steps with the U.S. government.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h3>



<p>While several effective vaccines have been developed to protect against Covid-19, effective drugs against the disease remain sparse. Similar monoclonal antibody treatments developed by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly have been authorized for use in the U.S., but supplies of the drugs remain limited. The development of therapeutics that prevent symptomatic Covid-19 is critical to ending the pandemic as vaccines are yet to be accessible to large swathes of the world’s population.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h3>



<p><a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/astrazeneca-says-its-antibody-treatment-failed-in-preventing-covid-19-exposed-2021-06-15/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">AstraZeneca says its antibody treatment failed in preventing COVID-19 in exposed patients</a>&nbsp;(Reuters)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/astrazeneca-azd7442-trial-for-prevention-of-symptomatic-covid-19-didn-t-meet-primary-goal-271623738254" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">AZD7442 Trial for Prevention of Symptomatic Covid-19 Didn&#8217;t Meet Primary Goal</a> (MarketWatch)</p>



<p><strong><em>By Siladitya Ray, Forbes Staff</em></strong></p>


Kenya Vaccinates Elderly Against Covid-19

AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 Antibody Treatment Failed To Prevent Symptoms In Exposed Individuals


<p id="h-topline"><strong>TOPLINE</strong> A new U.K. study has found that more than 95% of Britons vaccinated with just one shot of the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine develop Covid-19 antibodies, a figure that rises to almost 100% after the second dose, adding to mounting evidence from the real-world deployment of the vaccines that show they are effective and useful tools in bringing the pandemic under control. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h3>



<p>In a study of more than 8,500 people from England and Wales, who did not have antibodies before their first shot and provided a total of 13,232 antibody samples, 96% developed antibodies 28 to 34 days after receiving their first dose, according to research from University College London (UCL).</p>



<p>The&nbsp;<a href="https://ucl-virus-watch.net/?page_id=913" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">research</a>, which is being prepared for peer review, found this figure to rise to 99% within seven and 14 days of their second shot for recipients of both vaccines, evidence that they provide protection against the coronavirus.&nbsp;</p>



<p>While those receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine developed antibodies faster than those receiving the AstraZeneca shot, rates were practically identical after a period of four weeks.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>Many groups at a greater risk from Covid-19—including those with underlying conditions like diabetes and cancer, those taking immune system suppressing drugs and older adults—produced fewer antibodies after a single dose, a potential problem for countries like the U.K. where the second dose is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2021/05/14/study-finds-12-week-gap-between-pfizer-covid-19-vaccine-dose-generates-35-times-higher-antibody-response/?sh=5fe5400da6a3">delayed</a>&nbsp;by several weeks in order to vaccinate more people.</p>



<p>However, a second shot boosted antibody levels to the standard high levels, something Professor Rob Aldridge, the chief investigator of the study,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/18/96-of-britons-develop-antibodies-after-one-covid-jab-study-finds" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told</a>&nbsp;the&nbsp;<em>Guardian</em>&nbsp;underscores the “importance of getting the second dose.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>Aldridge described the findings as “reassuring &#8211; vaccines are our way out of the pandemic.”</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h3>



<p>Dr. Maddie Shrotri, the paper’s lead author,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/18/96-of-britons-develop-antibodies-after-one-covid-jab-study-finds" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;the findings are from some of the earliest “real-world vaccine studies in the U.K.” Shrotri said the results are “fantastic news,” adding that it is “remarkable” how well the vaccines work given the speed at which they’ve been developed. “It’s a real feat of science in the face of the most devastating pandemic in a century.”</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h3>



<p>57 million. This is&nbsp;<a href="https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/vaccinations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">how many vaccines&nbsp;</a>have been given out in the U.K., the vast majority being the Pfizer-BioNTech or AstraZeneca shots. Just over 20 million people have received their second dose.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h3>



<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/18/96-of-britons-develop-antibodies-after-one-covid-jab-study-finds" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Covid vaccine: 96% of Britons develop antibodies after one jab, study finds</a>&nbsp;(Guardian)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2021/05/14/study-finds-12-week-gap-between-pfizer-covid-19-vaccine-dose-generates-35-times-higher-antibody-response/?sh=5fe5400da6a3">12-Week Gap Between Pfizer Vaccine Doses Generates Higher Antibody Response, Study Finds</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>


Healthcare professional in protective gloves & workwear holding & organising a tray of COVID-19 vaccine vials

96% Of People Develop Covid Antibodies After Just One Shot Of Pfizer Or AstraZeneca Vaccine, U.K. Study Finds


<p id="h-topline"><strong>TOPLINE</strong> As India continues to face a devastating second wave of the pandemic, the World Health Organisation on Monday classified the coronavirus variant first detected in the country–B.1.617—as a variant of concern following preliminary findings which suggest it could be more transmissible.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h3>



<p>The WHO’s new classification—which is an upgrade from “variant of interest”—adds the Indian variant to a list that also contains variants first detected in the U.K. (B.1.1.7), South Africa (B.1.351) and&nbsp; Brazil (P.1).</p>



<p>The global health body will publish a detailed report on the B.1.617 variant in its weekly epidemiological update on Tuesday, the WHO’s technical lead officer on Covid-19, Maria van Kerkhove said.</p>



<p>Kerkhove noted that some available information suggested that the variant showed “increased transmissibility,” and a non-peer-reviewed study on a limited number of patients also suggested that it may also be able to evade some key antibodies.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h3>



<p>3,876. That’s the total number of Covid-19 deaths India&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/COVIDNewsByMIB/status/1391986229768376322" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>&nbsp;on Tuesday, taking its official tally up to 249,992—which many experts suggest is a severe undercount. The country’s daily infection and fatalities have continued to remain high despite a drop in new infections in key cities like Mumbai and Delhi.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h3>



<p>The second wave of the pandemic has continued to rage across India pushing the country’s health care system past its breaking point. As the country reports more than 350,000 new infections and nearly 4,000 deaths from Covid-19 every day, the country’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government are under increasing pressure to impose a strict nationwide lockdown. Rahul Gandhi, the leader of India’s main opposition party has written a letter to Modi which slams his government’s failures and notes that “another devastating national lockdown is almost inevitable.”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-lockdown-in-india-latest-news-may-8-pressure-mounts-on-pm-narendra-modi-to-impose-nationwide-lockdown-shutdown-coronavirus-latest-news-2889434" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Several others</a>, including medical experts, Supreme Court judges and other opposition leaders and even&nbsp;<a href="https://qz.com/india/2007013/anthony-fauci-and-indian-doctors-ask-modi-to-declare-a-lockdown/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dr. Anthony Fauci</a>—the U.S.’s senior-most infectious disease official—have called for a national shut down to break the chain of transmission.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h3>



<p><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-10/who-cites-concern-on-variant-from-india-seen-spreading-quickly?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&amp;utm_content=business&amp;cmpid=socialflow-twitter-business&amp;sref=CSMHWBLp" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Covid Variant From India Triggers WHO Concern Over Fast Spread</a>&nbsp;(Bloomberg)</p>



<p><strong><a href="https://www.forbes.com/coronavirus/">Full coverage and live updates on the Coronavirus</a></strong></p>



<p><strong><em>By Siladitya Ray, Forbes Staff</em></strong></p>


INDIA-HEALTH-VIRUS-VACCINES

WHO Classifies Indian Covid-19 Mutation As A ‘Variant Of Concern’


<p><strong>Topline </strong>England on Monday reported no new deaths from Covid-19 for the time since last March, a positive milestone that comes as the country continues to ease long-lasting lockdown restrictions.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h3>



<p><a href="https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/deaths?areaType=nation&amp;areaName=England" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Data</a>&nbsp;released by Public Health England Monday afternoon added no new deaths to the country’s toll of 112,245.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Scotland and Northern Ireland also reported no new deaths for Sunday, a streak in the U.K. broken by Wales, which reported four more residents dead from Covid-19 in Monday’s update.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Both Scotland and Northern Ireland have reported zero coronavirus deaths prior to May 10, but this is the first time since March 7 England has hit such a milestone.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER&nbsp;</h3>



<p>126,605. That’s how many people have died from Covid-19 in the U.K. since the start of the pandemic.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND&nbsp;</h3>



<p>England’s 14-month record low for Covid-19 deaths comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to announce Monday the latest round of lockdown easing. The U.K.’s alert level has been lowered from a four to a three, meaning the transmission of coronavirus is no longer deemed to be high or rising exponentially, though it’s still in general circulation. Johnson is expected to announce friends and families can hug and mix indoors starting next week, including in pubs and restaurants, while cinemas, museums and theaters can reopen.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-surprising-fact">SURPRISING FACT&nbsp;</h3>



<p>After hitting a peak of 70,000 cases per day in January, the U.K. is now recording an average of less than 2,000 new daily infections. The bloc of countries have also benefited from one of the world’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/world/covid-vaccinations-tracker.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">most successful&nbsp;</a>vaccine rollouts, with over a quarter of residents fully vaccinated and more than half fully inoculated.</p>



<p><strong><a href="https://www.forbes.com/coronavirus/">Full coverage and live updates on the Coronavirus</a></strong></p>



<p><em><strong>By Jemima McEvoy, Forbes Staff</strong></em></p>


Michael Nardone, who plays D.I Neil McKinven in the BBC

England Reports Zero New Coronavirus Deaths For First Time In 14 Months


<p>As the pandemic began to rage a year ago, the biopharma industry responded in unprecedented fashion. Life sciences companies raced to find a solution to the nightmare virus, and promising vaccine efforts soon emerged. The stocks of the companies with the best vaccine candidates soared, and many of their executives rushed to sell shares with a fury that generated scrutiny.</p>



<p>There has been one huge exception. Uğur Şahin, the CEO and scientist behind the first Covid-19 vaccine authorized in the U.S., has not sold a single share of his company’s booming stock during the pandemic, Securities and Exchange Commission filings show.</p>



<p>Şahin’s decision to not sell any of his BioNTech shares stands in stark contrast to the large stock sales of some of the most prominent scientists and entrepreneurs whose biotechnology companies developed vaccines against the virus, particularly Moderna Therapeutics. It also reflects Şahin’s general approach to life and business. He is a CEO who&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/10/business/biontech-covid-vaccine.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lives in a modest apartment</a>&nbsp;in the German town of Mainz, rides his bicycle to work and doesn’t own a car. He describes himself on his&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ugur-sahin-65905917/?originalSubdomain=de" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">LinkedIn page</a>&nbsp;first and foremost as a translational oncology professor at University Medical Center Mainz. Şahin accepts the financial edifice that surrounds biotechnology innovation—the venture fundraising, IPOs and merger deals. He&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/6633221e-3b28-4a15-b02d-958854644c79" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reportedly</a>&nbsp;learned the business aspects of biotechnology from online videos and reading a&nbsp;<em>Business Plans for Dummies</em>&nbsp;book. But in the end, Şahin is in it for the science and the patients. &nbsp;</p>



<p>In its hour of greatest need, Şahin emerged from relative obscurity to provide the world with a game-changing vaccine that could save lives and tame the pandemic. As early as January 2020, Şahin became convinced Covid-19 would become a deadly pandemic and pivoted BioNTech to create a messenger RNA vaccine to combat it. He then partnered with U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/pfizer" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PFE</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/pfizer">+0.3%</a>&nbsp;to develop and supply 3 billion doses of the vaccine to the world by the end of 2021.</p>



<p>The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has radically changed Wall Street’s perception of BioNTech. In the months prior to the pandemic,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanvardi/2020/06/01/ugur-sahin-becomes-a-billionaire-on-hopes-for-technology-behind-covid-19-vaccine/">Şahin had come to New York</a>&nbsp;to sell investors on BioNTech’s stock as the company launched its initial public offering by listing on Nasdaq&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/nasdaq" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NDAQ</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/nasdaq">+0.7%</a>. At the time, BioNTech was a decade-old company that had yet to develop a single approved product from its mRNA and immunotherapy technologies. Şahin received a cool reception in the stock market, which initially valued BioNTech at $3.4 billion. With the development of the vaccine, however, BioNTech’s stock has risen by 900% since its 2019 IPO and today the company is valued at $37 billion. BioNTech now expects to generate $11.5 billion of revenue under deals for the vaccine that have already been struck. On paper, Şahin’s BioNTech stake is worth $6.1 billion. &nbsp;MORE FOR YOU<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanvardi/2021/04/02/how-troubled-trader-bill-hwang-quietly-amassed-10-billion/">How Troubled Trader Bill Hwang Quietly Amassed $10 Billion</a><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanvardi/2021/04/08/how-indiana-university-bros-fueled-a-hollywood-actors-690-million-ponzi-scheme/">How Indiana University Bros Fueled A Hollywood Actor’s $690 Million Ponzi Scheme</a><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanvardi/2021/03/12/pfizer-ceo-albert-bourla-helped-save-the-world-can-he-save-his-companys-stock/">Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla Helped Save The World. Can He Save His Company’s Stock?</a></p>



<p>Filings made to the Securities &amp; Exchange Commission in February and March show that Şahin controls 41.66 million BioNTech shares, a 17% stake, through Medine GmbH, a limited liability company he solely owns. Medine holds a relatively small number of shares for “a former colleague” and transferred 27,540 shares held for other colleagues to their beneficiaries under trust arrangements late last year. But amid this stock transfer, a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001776985/000119312521044856/d329239dsc13ga.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">securities filing</a>&nbsp;in February made sure to point out that “Neither Medine GbmH nor Prof. Ugur Sahin, M.D. has sold any ordinary shares since February 13, 2020,” the eve of the pandemic. Such worded disclosures are not common in securities filings. Şahin, who declined to comment, appears to have wanted people to understand he wasn’t selling any BioNTech stock.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>Last year, executives and directors of companies like Moderna, Pfizer and Novavax&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/novavax" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NVAX</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/novavax">-6%</a>&nbsp;realized stock gains linked to investor enthusiasm around the vaccines by selling nearly $500 million of stock,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/insiders-at-covid-19-vaccine-makers-sold-nearly-500-million-of-stock-last-year-11613557801" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the<em>&nbsp;Wall Street Journal</em>&nbsp;reported</a>. The selling has continued this year. Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel has sold more than $150 million of Moderna stock since the start of the pandemic. He still owns just under 8% of Moderna. Tal Zaks has sold more than $100 million of Moderna stock, nearly all the shares he had accumulated since becoming Moderna’s chief medical officer in 2015.</p>



<p>Moderna has consistently explained that all executive stock sales are made through preset trading plans established under securities regulatory rule 10b5-1, which legally allows corporate insiders to periodically sell a predetermined number of shares, often tied to certain share price targets being attained.</p>



<p>In November, Pfizer CEO&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/pfizer-ceo-joins-host-of-executives-at-covid-19-vaccine-makers-in-big-stock-sale-11605139164?mod=article_inline" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Albert Bourla sold</a>&nbsp;about 60% of his stock in the company for about $5.6 million under a preset 10b5-1 plan. The sale came on the same day that Pfizer announced key clinical results showing that its Covid-19 vaccine was more than 90% effective. Bourla’s share sale had been authorized in February 2020 and updated in August. A few days later,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/sec-chairman-urges-corporate-insiders-to-avoid-quick-stock-sales-11605637892?mod=article_inline" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jay Clayton, then chairman of the SEC, suggested</a>&nbsp;corporate executives not trade in their company’s stock immediately after preset trading plans are established. At a Senate hearing, Clayton called for a “cooling-off” period, but did not specify the length of such an interval. “Whether that’s four months so you cover a full quarter, or it’s six months—I can make arguments for either,” Clayton said. There was also some concern the insider stock sales by Moderna and Pfizer might undermine the public perception of their vaccines as crucial public health tools. &nbsp;</p>



<p>For his part, Şahin has not sold any BioNTech stock in the last 18 months. The post-IPO lockup of his BioNTech shares expired around the start of the pandemic, securities filings show, and he was free to sell. As a result of hanging on to all the shares, ironically, he is for now much richer—at least on paper—given the continued surge of BioNTech’s stock price. He certainly believes the company’s cutting-edge technology will lead to the development of therapies and vaccines for other diseases.</p>



<p>“Our way of developing our technologies is not based on the idea of a single-trick pony,” Şahin told investors on a Wall Street call in March. “Rather, our goal from the very beginning was to build a novel industrial approach for precision pharmaceuticals that can address medical need in multiple disease areas.”</p>



<p><strong>By Nathan Vardi, Forbes Staff</strong></p>


Tag: Coronavirus Vaccine

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