By Jondi Gumz
On Dec. 12, Pfizer said annual revenue from its mRNA vaccine portfolio could reach $10 billion to $15 billion by 2030, soothing investor fears about decline in Covid vaccine demand and expiring patents.
Pfizer shares rose to $52.59 in afternoon trading and helped lift the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 528 points, up 1.58% — the biggest one-day percentage gain since Nov. 30.
FiercePharma expects the drugmaker’s 2023 revenue to top $100 billion — a new record and more than double the pre-pandemic level — due to demand for its Covid-19 vaccine and oral treatment Paxlovid. The world’s largest pharmaceutical company by revenue, Johnson & Johnson, reported $82.6 billion revenue in 2020.
On Dec. 22, the Florida Supreme Court agreed to convene a grand jury as requested by Gov. Ron DeSantis to investigate any wrongdoing with respect to Covid-19 vaccines. The grand jury will meet for one year.
Studies funded by drugmakers that developed the vaccines have been published in peer-reviewed journals, and federal regulators granted emergency use authorization after reviewing data on their safety and effectiveness.
Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo pointed out that pharmaceutical companies have not provided their data on Covid-19 vaccines to independent researchers.
DeSantis contends the drugmakers had a financial interest in creating a climate in which people believed that getting a coronavirus vaccine would ensure they would not spread the virus to others.
On Dec. 19, U.S. District Judge John Kness approved a $10.3 million settlement for about 500 workers fired by NorthShore University Healthsystem in Illinois for refusing to get a Covid-19 vaccine.
Each fired worker stands to receive $24,225. The named plaintiffs are in line to receive an extra $20,000.
Lawyers for Liberty Counsel, who represented the 13 initial named plaintiffs and won class action status for others, said Kness approved of the settlement verbally and will release a written judgment next week.
NorthShore in a statement wrote, “We are pleased with the Court’s approval of a supportive resolution to this matter.”
“This case should set a precedent for other employers who have violated the law by denying religious exemptions for their employees,” Harry Mihet, vice president of legal affairs for Liberty Counsel, said in a statement.
On Dec. 12, the college football world was stunned to learn Mike Leach, the influential football coach at Mississippi State University, collapsed at home and died of complications from a heart condition at age 61.
The MSU announcement did not include his Covid vaccination status.
In 2021, Mississippi State University required Covid vaccination for faculty and staff to comply with President Biden’s executive order, the reason being not to jeopardize $271 million in federally funded research.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says on its website that deaths after COVID-19 vaccination are rare and that reports of adverse effects after vaccination, including deaths, “do not necessarily mean that a vaccine caused a health problem.”
On Nov. 27, a published report by six pathologists from Heidelberg (Germany) University Hospital who performed autopsies on 25 individuals who died unexpectedly at home and within 20 days after Covid vaccination.
They found five cases where “autopsy findings indicated death due to acute arrhythmogenic cardiac failure. Thus, myocarditis can be a potentially lethal complication following mRNA-based anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccination.”
None had signs of a pre-existing heart disease.
The study, “Autopsy-based histopathological characterization of myocarditis after anti-SARS-CoV-2-vaccination,” appeared in Clinical Research in Cardiology, official journal of the German Cardiac Society.
Evasive New Variants
The new Omicron subvariant BQ1.1 dominates with 38.4% of cases, followed by BQ.1, with 30.7%, according to weekly Nowcast projections by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.
BA.5, the once-pervasive variant included in the new “bivalent” booster for the fall along with the original 2020 coronavirus, has shrunk to 10% of new cases.
A new variant of concern, XBB, comprises 7.2% of cases.
This is important because scientists in new independent studies published in Nature and the Lancet report the bivalent booster “did not produce robust neutralization against the newly emerged BA.2.75.2, BQ.1.1, or XBB.1” – in other words, these newer subvariants can evade immunity from infection and vaccination.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stopped reporting Covid cases on Sept. 21, recognizing 95% of Americans age 16 and up had some immunity from vaccination or infection.
Now that immunity may be in question.
California reports 60.6% of people have primary vaccinations and boosters, and 20.5% got the bivalent booster.
In Santa Cruz County, 68.2% have primary vaccinations and boosters, and 28.5% got the bivalent booster.
The bivalent combo was expedited by federal officials who asked drug-makers to test on mice rather than humans.
Pfizer submitted data based on 8 mice, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization.
On Dec. 8, the FDA amended that emergency use authorization to allow bivalent Covid-19 vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer for children as young as 6 months.
More Spreadable
Researchers say the new Covid-19 variants are more spreadable, but the state’s test positivity rate slipped to 10.6%, and there is no indication they are more deadly than previous versions.
According to CDC data, vaccinated people made up 42% of Covid deaths in January and February during the peak of the Omicron surge, compared with 23% during the Delta surge in September 2021.
Deaths per day in the U.S. jumped this week to 1,024, compared to 3,000 last winter when the Delta variant raged.
Santa Cruz County reports 51 Covid deaths after Omicron, compared to 225 as of Dec. 15, 2021, before Omicron.
Santa Cruz County reported one more death in the past month, bringing the total to 276 since the pandemic began in 2020.
The last nine deaths were people who were vaccinated, according to the county dashboard, all 65 or older with medical conditions.
Tests at Home
Santa Cruz County reports 1,152 active Covid cases, double from a month ago.
Dr. John Swartzberg, clinical professor emeritus of infectious diseases and vaccinology at UC Berkeley School of Public Health, contends Covid case data are not valuable for monitoring the virus because so many people buy tests sold at drugstores for use at home, which escape tracking by public health officials.
The Santa Cruz County Office of Education reports 684,700 tests with Inspire Diagnostics.
According to the Santa Cruz Office of Education, cases in schools peaked at 4,407 on Jan. 27, 2022, and have risen in the past month from 161 to 363.
The 14-day positivity rate, 12.25% in January 2022, has risen from 1.61% to 2.71%.
The California Department of Public Health reports 25 patients hospitalized in Santa Cruz County with a positive Covid test, including two in intensive care.
Avoid Emergency Room
After Thanksgiving, Santa Cruz County health officials reported a surge in influenza and respiratory syncytial virus cases along with Covid and asked people with no symptoms or mild cases, or other non-serious illnesses, to “avoid unnecessary trips to already burdened hospital emergency departments.”
People with significant difficulty breathing, intense chest pain, severe weakness, or an elevated temperature that persists for days are among those who should consider seeking emergency medical care for their condition, health officials said.
They said people with “relatively mild” respiratory infections “can effectively recover from their illness at home, or by seeking primary care treatment and/or speaking with their primary care provider.”
See the CDC guidance for RSV at https://www.cdc.gov/rsv/clinical/index.html
2023 Recommendation
The CDC plans to provide a recommended vaccine schedule in 2023.
On Oct. 20, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted unanimously in favor of adding the Covid vaccine to the federal recommended immunization schedule for children and adults.
The existing schedule recommends 27 doses of vaccine between birth and age 6.
Starting at 6 months, children should get the Covid vaccine, plus boosters, the committee said.
The committee heard Dr. Tom Shimabukuro report the death of a boy 13 days after his first dose of Pfizer Covid vaccine. The autopsy showed the cause of death was heart inflammation known as myocarditis; tests found no evidence of viral infection.
The death was reported to the federal Vaccine Adverse Effects Reporting System, and verified by the CDC. Committee members determined Covid vaccine benefits outweigh the risks.
The CDC said its recommendation is not a mandate, with the decision up to states, counties and municipal officials.
California’s SB 277 requires students be vaccinated to attend public school; no exemptions for personal belief. Homeschoolers are exempt.
Gov. Newsom plans to lift the state of Covid-19 emergency on Feb. 28.
Local information: www.santacruz health.org/coronavirus or (831) 454-4242 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
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Santa Cruz County
In hospital with positive Covid test: 25
Intensive care: 2
•••
COVID Deaths: 276
As of Dec. 22
Age
85 and older: 121 • 75-84: 64 • 65-74: 49 • 60-64: 15 • 55-59: 4 • 45-54: 10 • 35-44: 8 • 25-34: 5
Underlying Conditions
Yes: 226 • No: 50
Vaccinated
Yes: 39 • No: 237
Race
White 163 • Latinx 90 • Asian 16 • Black 3 Amer Indian 1 • Hawaiian 1 • Another 2
Gender
Men: 140 • Women: 136
Location
At facility for aged: 118 • Not at a facility: 158