Free Republic

People who've received both doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna coronavirus vaccines will probably need a booster shot this year, top executives for those two pharmaceutical companies said this week. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said people who've gotten both doses would likely need a third shot within 12 months and might need an annual shot thereafter.

A University of Cincinnati student died one day after receiving the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, according to health officials. John Foley, 21, passed away unexpectedly on Sunday — a day after he was administered the one-dose jab, Hamilton County Coroner Lakshmi Kode Sammarco told Fox 19. The cause of Foley’s death is under investigation by the Ohio Department of Health and the coroner’s office.Foley was found Sunday by his roommates. There is no evidence that his death is related to the Johnson & Johnson shot — which was paused in the US this week over ties to blood clots.

Approximately 5,800 fully vaccinated Americans — out of 66 million who received the shots — still became infected with COVID-19, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data reported Thursday. The infections, dubbed breakthrough cases — or positive test results that occur at least two weeks after a person gets their final coronavirus vaccine dose — represents about 0.008 percent of Americans who are fully vaccinated... The federal agency found 29 percent of breakthrough infections were asymptomatic, while 7 percent led to hospitalization. So far, 74 people have died from breakthrough infections — but it’s not clear which vaccine...

The Ohio Department of Health is monitoring the investigation into what may have caused a 21-year-old University of Cincinnati student to die suddenly last Sunday, around a day after he received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Alicia Shoults, a spokeswoman for the state health department, said the agency is waiting for the completion of a Hamilton County coroner’s report, and “if necessary,” further guidance from the CDC. If an adverse effect from a vaccine is reported to the CDC, it then leads to a federal investigation into whether the negative effects were coincidental or somehow related to the vaccine, Shoults...

Two new studies published in Blood suggest that the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine may have reduced efficacy in individuals with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and multiple myeloma, two types of blood cancer. According to researchers, these studies could help inform the ideal time for vaccination of these populations. Study suggests two-dose COVID-19 vaccine is less effective for people with CLL as compared to healthy controls. The first study reports that people with CLL had markedly lower immune response rates to the two-dose mRNA COVID-19 vaccine than healthy individuals of the same age. Because clinical trials of these vaccines did not include...