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Tag: CureVac N.V.

  • Omicron subvariant gains more ground in U.S. to account for 49.1% of new COVID cases, CDC data show

    Omicron subvariant gains more ground in U.S. to account for 49.1% of new COVID cases, CDC data show

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    The XBB.1.5 omicron subvariant that became dominant in the U.S. last week has gained more ground, according to data from the nation’s main health agency, accounting for 49.1% of new cases in the latest week, up from 43% a week ago.

    The subvariant is pulling further ahead of BQ.1.1 and BQ.1, the former dominant strains of the coronavirus that causes COVID, according to the data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    BQ.1.1 accounted for 26.9% of new cases, down from 28.8% a week ago, while BQ.1 accounted for 13.3%, down from 15.9% a week ago.

    In the New York region, which includes New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, XBB.1.5 accounted for 86.8% of new cases, up from 82.7% a week ago.

    The World Health Organization has acknowledged that XBB.1.5, which was first detected in tiny numbers in the U.S. in October, has become the most transmissible variant yet thanks to a growth advantage. The agency said that it appears to have a greater ability to evade immunity than earlier variants.

    In its weekly epidemiological update, the agency said the XBB line is one of four omicron subvariants that are showing transmission advantage over other circulating variants. The other three are BF.7, BQ.1 and BA.2.75.

    For now, the WHO said it has no additional data on XBB.1.5, but BA.2.75.2 is showing the most neutralization resistance to sera from vaccinated and COVID-infected patients.

    In the U.S., the seven-day average of new COVID cases stood at 50,839 on Thursday, according to a New York Times tracker. That’s down 20% from two weeks ago and below the recent peak of 70,508 on Christmas Eve.

    The daily average for hospitalizations was down 18% at 39,272. The average for deaths was 498, up 5% from two weeks ago. 

    Cases are rising in just six states, as well as the U.S. Virgin Islands, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, a significant improvement from recent trends. On a per capita basis, Illinois now has the most cases at 31 per 100,000 residents, followed by Kentucky at 30 and Rhode Island at 27.

    See also: Americans are facing years of ‘tripledemic’ winters that may put patients with other ailments at risk, Jha says

    Coronavirus Update: MarketWatch’s daily roundup has been curating and reporting all the latest developments every weekday since the coronavirus pandemic began

    Other COVID-19 news you should know about:

    • Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday announced plans to downgrade the legal status of COVID-19 to the equivalent of seasonal influenza in the spring, a move that would further relax mask requirements and other preventive measures as the country seeks to return to normalcy, the Associated Press reported. Kishida said he has instructed experts and government officials to discuss the details on changing the status of COVID-19. A change would also remove self-isolation rules and other antivirus requirements and allow COVID-19 patients to seek treatment at any hospital instead of restricting them to specialized facilities.

    Read also: Moderna is the latest company to produce a promising RSV vaccine

    • As Chinese people crowd onto trains and buses ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, which begins on Jan. 21, officials are playing down fears that widespread travel over the popular family holiday will lead to a spreader event, Reuters reported. In comments reported by state media late Thursday, Vice Premier Sun Chunlan said the virus was at a “relatively low” level, while health officials said the number of COVID patients in the hospital and in critical condition was on the decline. But there are doubts about China’s official account of an outbreak that has overwhelmed hospitals and funeral homes since Beijing abandoned strict COVID controls and mass testing last month.

    What’s seen as the world’s largest annual human migration is under way again in China for the Lunar New Year after the country lifted pandemic restrictions. The Wall Street Journal’s Yoko Kubota reports on how it’s expected to boost the economy — and the risk of new COVID-19 outbreaks. Photo: Cfoto/Zuma Press

    • CureVac’s
    CVAC,
    +1.06%
    promising Phase 1 data for flu and COVID-19 vaccine candidates is a signal to investors that its messenger RNA technology is competitive, according to UBS Securities analysts, who upgraded the company’s stock to buy from neutral on Thursday, as MarketWatch’s Jaimy Lee reported. They also more than doubled the price target, to $18 from $8. CureVac had attempted to develop a first-generation COVID vaccine but failed. “As the first data of the 2nd-gen platform’s immunogenicity in humans, this is a major inflection point for the story, and suggests potentially competitive mRNA platform relative to mRNA peers,” the analysts wrote.

    Here’s what the numbers say:

    The global tally of confirmed cases of COVID-19 topped 668.3 million on Thursday, while the death toll rose above 6.73 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University.

    The U.S. leads the world with 101.9 million cases and 1,103,681 fatalities.

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s tracker shows that 229.5 million people living in the U.S., equal to 69.1% of the total population, are fully vaccinated, meaning they have had their primary shots.

    So far, just 50.7 million Americans, equal to 15.3% of the overall population, have had the updated COVID booster that targets both the original virus and the omicron variants.

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  • Moderna, CureVac and Ocugen offer updates on COVID vaccines, while China cracks down on critics of government’s pandemic response

    Moderna, CureVac and Ocugen offer updates on COVID vaccines, while China cracks down on critics of government’s pandemic response

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    A flurry of announcements relating to COVID vaccines dominated headlines on the pandemic on Monday, with Moderna telling investors it expects to generate some $5 billion in sales in 2023.

    That’s down from $18.4 billion in sales in 2022. The company plans to boost spending on research and development to $4.5 billion this year, up from $3.3 billion in 2022.

    Moderna
    MRNA,
    +1.79%
    provided the update in advance of the company’s presentation at the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco.

    Separately, CureVac
    CVAC,
    +24.46%
     said preliminary data from its early stage trial for its COVID and seasonal flu shots had positive results to advance to the next stage of clinical testing.

    CureVac is developing the shots with GlaxoSmithKline
    GSK,
    -0.79%
     
    GSK,
    -0.75%    .
     CureVac said the shot was well tolerated, and that neutralizing antibodies were beginning at the lowest tested dose for younger adults. The seasonal flu shot was also well tolerated with an increase in antibodies compared to those from a flu vaccine comparator in younger adults, CureVac said.

    Ocugen announced positive results in a trial of its COVID vaccine Covaxin, which uses the same vero cell manufacturing platform that has been used in the production of polio vaccines for decades. The Phase 2/3 trial involved 491 U.S. adult participants who received two doses of Covaxin or placebo 28 days apart.

    “Covaxin, an inactivated virus vaccine adjuvanted with TLR7/8 agonist, has been demonstrated in clinical trials to generate a broader immune response against the whole virus covering important antigens such as S-protein, RBD, and N-protein; whereas currently approved vaccines in the U.S. target only S-protein antigen,” the company said in a statement.

    Chief Executive Dr. Shankar Musnuri said the company is hoping the vaccine will offer an option for those who are still hesitant to take an mRNA vaccine, which uses newer technology.

    U.S. cases were lower on Sunday, according to a New York Times tracker. The seven-day average of new cases stood at 67,246, down 1% from two weeks ago.

    The daily average for hospitalizations was up 18% at 47,500., the highest level since last March. The average for deaths was 509, up 19% from two weeks ago.

    Hospitalizations are becoming concerning, according to the Times trackers, with the Northeast seeing the highest per capita rates, along with the Southeast.

    Coronavirus Update: MarketWatch’s daily roundup has been curating and reporting all the latest developments every weekday since the coronavirus pandemic began

    Other COVID-19 news you should know about:

    • China has suspended or closed the social-media accounts of more than 1,000 critics of the government’s COVID response, as the country rolls back harsh anti-virus restrictions and gears up for the coming Lunar New Year holiday, the Associated Press reported. The popular Sina Weibo social media platform said it had addressed 12,854 violations including attacks on experts, scholars and medical workers and issued temporary or permanent bans on 1,120 accounts. The ruling Communist Party had largely relied on the medical community to justify its tough lockdowns, quarantine measures and mass testing, almost all of which it abruptly abandoned last month, leading to a surge in new cases that have stretched medical resources to their limits. The party allows no direct criticism and imposes strict limits on free speech.

    Tens of thousands of people resumed travels in and out of China on Sunday as the country lifted almost all of its border restrictions, ending three years of strict pandemic controls. Some travelers expressed relief to be reunited with their families. Photo: Tyrone Siu/Reuters

    • Pfizer’s
    PFE,
    -4.77%
    antiviral Paxlovid has not been included in the Chinese government’s national reimbursement list that would have allowed patients to get it at a cheaper price throughout the country, saying it was too expensive, the AP reported separately. Although it is supposed to be prescribed by medical professionals, that hasn’t stopped people from scrambling to purchase it on their own through any means at their disposal—including buying generic Indian versions of the drug through the internet, according to local media reports.

    • The union representing a group of nurses at a New York City hospital reached a tentative contract agreement with its management, but close to 9,000 nurses at several other major hospitals were still preparing to go on strike, the AP reported. The New York State Nurses Association and BronxCare Health System said Saturday that a tentative agreement had been reached; the union said it included pay raises every year of its three-year term as well as staffing increases. Another hospital, Flushing Hospital Medical Center, got to a tentative agreement with nurses on Friday evening.

    Here’s what the numbers say:

    The global tally of confirmed cases of COVID-19 topped 664.3 million on Monday, while the death toll rose above 6.7 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University.

    The U.S. leads the world with 101.2 million cases and 1,096,523 fatalities.

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s tracker shows that 229.3 million people living in the U.S., equal to 69.1% of the total population, are fully vaccinated, meaning they have had their primary shots.

    So far, just 48.2 million Americans, equal to 15.4% of the overall population, have had the updated COVID booster that targets both the original virus and the omicron variants.

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