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U.S. health regulators authorized the use of Omicron-tailored COVID-19 booster shots from Moderna Inc and Pfizer Inc in children as young as 5, a move that will expand the government's fall vaccination campaign. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday green-lighted Moderna's bivalent vaccine for those aged six and above, while Pfizer's updated shot was authorized in children aged five and above. (10/12)

The booster shots are available two months after people complete their two-dose primary series of the mRNA vaccines. The primary series continues to use the original formulation of the Covid-19 vaccines. Experts also advise people to wait three months after they’ve been infected with Covid-19 to receive a booster dose. (Joseph, 10/12)

The updated boosters are “extremely important” for keeping kids healthy and in school, said Dr. Jason Newland, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Washington University in St. Louis. Parents should know “there is no concern from the safety perspective with the bivalent vaccines, whether Moderna or Pfizer,” Newland added. ... Only people who’ve gotten their initial vaccinations -- with any of the original-formula versions -- qualify for an updated booster. (Neergaard, 10/12)

Novavax Inc said on Wednesday data from studies in adults and adolescents showed that the booster dose of its COVID vaccine produced robust antibodies against several Omicron variants, including BA.1, BA.2 and BA.5. (10/12)

First lady Jill Biden travelled to Tennessee’s capitol city Wednesday to encourage Americans once more to roll up their sleeves and get their COVID-19 booster shot ahead of the upcoming holiday season. Biden’s visit came the same day as the U.S. announced that children as young as 5 were now available for the updated COVID-19 boosters. The first lady was also scheduled to attend a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee while in Nashville. (Kruesi, 10/12)

COVID-19 vaccination may protect pregnant women and their fetuses against virus-related placentitis (inflammation of the placenta) and stillbirth, concludes a review study published today in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. The research will also be presented next week at ID Week in Washington, DC. (10/12)

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, facing a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking a vast trove of data about the safety and side-effects of the COVID-19 vaccines, made a pledge in August. The agency in court papers said that on or before Sept. 30, it would post on its website a “public use” set of data from about 10 million people who signed up for its “v-safe” program -- a smartphone-based system that periodically sends people text messages and web surveys to monitor potential side effects from the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines. But the CDC missed its deadline. (Greene, 10/12)

Paxlovid can have dangerous interactions with some of the most common medications for cardiovascular disease, including certain statins and heart failure therapies, a new paper warns. (Howard, 10/12)