MedTech

EU approves 5th COVID-19 vaccine for bloc, one by Novavax

The European Union’s drugs regulator gave the green light Monday to a fifth COVID-19 vaccine for use in the 27-nation bloc, granting conditional marketing authorization to the two-dose vaccine made by U.S. biotech company Novavax. The European Medicines Agency decision to recommend granting conditional marketing authorization for the vaccine for people aged 18 and over, […]

New Australian plant could make 100 million vaccines a year

Australia’s government said Tuesday it plans to start making mRNA vaccines at home with a new plant that could produce up to 100 million doses each year. The announcement came as coronavirus cases in Sydney and surrounding areas jumped, driven in part by the omicron variant. The new factory would be built in Victoria state […]

France: 400 investigations into fake COVID-19 health passes

France has opened 400 investigations into networks providing fake COVID-19 health passes, the interior minister said Sunday, as virus-related hospitalizations rise sharply across the country. The case of a woman with the virus who died in a Paris regional hospital after showing a false vaccine certificate has drawn attention in French media in recent days. […]

US expands Pfizer COVID boosters, opens extra dose to age 16

U.S. health authorities again expanded the nation’s booster campaign Thursday, opening extra doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to several million 16- and 17-year-olds. The U.S. and many other nations already were urging adults to get booster shots to pump up immunity that can wane months after vaccination, calls that intensified with the discovery of the […]

European drug regulator backs mixing COVID-19 vaccines

The European Union drug regulator gave its backing Tuesday to mixing different types of vaccines in initial vaccination and booster campaigns to battle the coronavirus. The European Medicines Agency said in a statement that using different types of vaccines together, known as heterologous vaccination, can provide protection against COVID-19. The announcement comes as much of […]

Robotic cells can reproduce, Harvard research finds

The Hollywood perceptualities of robots living amongst humans might be closer than we presume, as Harvard University’s latest research revealed that frog cell-based Xenobots – living robots – can self-reproduce. The Ivy League institution, alongside Tufts University, and University of Vermont’s researchers, uncovered custom organisms that could gather “hundreds” of singular cells in their dishes […]

Biden tries to reassure on COVID as he sells spending plan

President Joe Biden on Tuesday went to Minnesota to pitch his completed infrastructure deal and a giant social spending bill that he’s still trying to get passed, but also found himself reassuring the nation he would fight the evolving COVID-19 threat without resorting to “shutdowns and lockdowns.” Biden met with students at Dakota County Technical […]

EU regulator authorizes Pfizer's COVID vaccine for kids 5-11

The European Union’s drug regulator on Thursday authorized Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine for use on children from 5 to 11 years old, clearing the way for shots to be administered to millions of elementary school pupils amid a new wave of infections sweeping across the continent. It is the first time the European Medicines Agency has […]

AstraZeneca opens research center as UK builds science hub

Prince Charles will be on hand Tuesday when pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca opens a 1 billion-pound ($1.34 billion) research center near the University of Cambridge, hoping to build on work in developing one of the first COVID-19 vaccines. The 19,000 square-meter (more than 200,000 square-foot) complex will house more than 2,200 research scientists. It joins a […]

US offers investment to boost global COVID vaccine capacity

Pressed to address gaping inequality in global COVID-19 vaccines, the Biden administration took steps Wednesday to make billions of dollars available to drugmakers to scale up domestic production to share with the world and prepare for the next pandemic. Under the new initiative, the government’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority is soliciting pharmaceutical companies […]