The FDA added a warning that Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine may trigger Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) in a small number of people. Of the 12.5 million Americans who received this vaccine, about 100 people reported having GBS, which is an acquired demyelinating polyneuropathy that often begins in the lower extremities and ascends over time with […]
Despite many doing their research and learning all they can about the COVID-19 vaccine, patients may still come to you for more help. To assist your patients with their questions about the COVID-19 vaccine, here are 12 facts and insights shared by Sherita Golden, MD, MHS, chief diversity officer at Johns Hopkins Medicine, who specializes […]
Messenger RNA (mRNA) is in the spotlight right now as the basis of the Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines for COVID-19. Thanks to this newfound prominence, its profile has been raised as a powerful tool in cancer research as well. As a courier of genetic information and protein assembler, mRNA can tell scientists which genes are […]
The data was presented to the FDA, which reported 789 cases of myocarditis/pericarditis – predominantly in males – after receiving the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, most commonly after the second dose. Symptoms included chest pain, elevated cardiac enzymes, ST or T wave changes, dyspnea, and abnormal echocardiography/imaging for those ages 30 years and younger.
As millions of Americans get vaccinated, you may be being presented with many questions about what’s next and whether your patients – and you! – are going to need vaccine passports to begin traveling again. Educate yourself and your patients with these five pieces of knowledge on digital health and vaccine passport apps. Whether the […]
The research, taken from the CLARITY study and published in GUT, found that 865 people given the Pfizer/BioNTech or the Oxford/AZ COVID-19 vaccine and treated with infliximab (Remicade) had significantly lower concentrations of antibodies when compared to 428 people on an alternative treatment, vedolizumab (Entyvio). Infliximab is prescribed to around two million people worldwide.
This Research Article from Blood – available as a PDF – discusses two main points. First, antibody response to BNT162b2 mRNA COVID19 vaccine in CLL patients is markedly impaired and affected by disease activity and treatment. The second point shows that, in patients treated with either Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) or venetoclax ± anti-CD20 […]
This article from the American College of Physicians (ACP) provides a deeper dive into the pause of the J&J vaccine, which was recommended by the FDA and CDC on April 13, 2021, after six cases of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) among patients who had received the vaccine was reported. The pause is being done […]
The data, concluded in a report posted to the preprint server medRxiv, support prioritization of cancer patients for an early (21-day) second dose of the BNT162b2 vaccine, as barely one-quarter of patients with cancer obtained protection (28% immune efficacy rate, including 13% in patients with blood cancers) against COVID-19 after one dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech […]
In this podcast/article from KevinMD, the story of Dr. Hasan Gokal is examined, a Houston physician who was fired from his public health job and was subsequently faced with criminal charges for stealing a vial of the vaccine. His case was also brought to the Texas Medical Board. In a sea of regulations and protocols, […]