Lady Gaga Raises Eyebrows Over Partnership with Pfizer Migraine Drug

The question is asked if Lady Gaga's pockets are in the shallow? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lady Gaga announced her new partnership with Pfizer’s Nurtec ODT migraine treatment in an Instagram carousel post featuring the singer performing onstage with the drug branding overlaid. 

 

“Ever since childhood, I’ve dealt with migraine pain. When I tried Nurtec® ODT (rimegepant) 75 mg for the first time, I’ll never forget wishing I had found it sooner. That’s why I’m proud to partner with Nurtec ODT. 💜 We’re in this together. If you’re ready to speak to a doctor, ask about Nurtec ODT today. #MHAM”, she captioned the Instagram post on June 13. 

 

Migraines are a type of headache with recurrent attacks of moderate to severe throbbing and pulsating pain on one side of the head, according to the National Institutes of Health. 

 

Khloé Kardashian, featured in a couple of Nurtec ODT commercials, was the former famous face associated with the pharmaceutical brand. 

 

Gaga, the latest celebrity to join the campaign, revealed she was diagnosed with migraines at fourteen. On Pfizer’s website, she states:  

 

“My experience with migraines was debilitating. I would be in bed for days with tremendous pain in my head, behind my eyes, and all throughout my face. I couldn’t read or have any lights on, and I needed to be alone in a quiet room for hours that could lead to days until the pain subsided”. 

 

The paid ad included two slides with safety information about the drug, which is “already the #1 prescribed migraine medicine in its class in the United States”, according to Nick Lagunowich, the global president of emerging markets at Pfizer. 

 

However, the pharmaceutical giant recalled more than 4.2 million units of the Nurtec 75-milligram tablets on March 16, 2023, which includes expiration dates through June 2026, because the packaging wasn’t child-resistant and posed a poison risk. 

 

The 13-time Grammy-winner also narrated a Nurtec ODT commercial where she performs onstage during her 2022 “Chromatica Ball” world tour. 

 

“I know what it’s like to perform through pain. If you’re like me, one of the millions suffering from pain caused by migraine, Nurtec ODT might help. It’s the only medication that can treat a migraine when it strikes and prevent migraine attacks”, she said in the ad. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many fans were stunned to see the “Shallow” singer promoting the pharmaceutical giant on Instagram. 

 

“Gaga is doing paid promo for Nurtec. The recession touches all”, one fan quipped on Twitter. 

 

Slammed another on Instagram, “Keep pushin’ big pharma… keep killing your fans”. 

 

“Wtf is wrong with this account? Where is Gaga? Who’s doing this? How come our Mother Monster would do a sponsor for… medicine?” questioned one concerned Little Monster. 

 

Other Little Monsters – members of Lady Gaga’s fandom – came to her defense on Twitter. 

 

“Crazy how hypocritical this fandom is after recognizing the chronic pains Gaga suffers from the narrative of Chromatica and crucifying her for a migraine pill in the absence of their concert film 😭”, tweeted a fan. 

 

“I actually think Lady Gaga partnering with Pfizer Nurtec® ODT is a good thing. Migraines are a big issue affecting millions”, tweeted another. 

 

Angela Lukin, global primary care and US president of Pfizer, seconds that sentiment in a statement. 

 

“We believe that this collaboration will help raise awareness of this often ‘silent’ disease and inspire those living with migraine to have conversations with their health-care providers about the best way to manage their condition”.

Covid in Malaysia: Still Steep

Malaysia’s Covid jab rate of adults is a high 97.5%. 

And already the total population having being fully vaccinated has reached nearly 79% – 78.9% to be precise. 

Given the above plus the fact that infections are stuck in 5 digits would suggest that the Covid-19 virus knows how to evade the vaccines! 

According to CovidNow, as at yesterday, Pfizer is the most popular vaccine brand preferred by Malaysians (59.6%), followed by Sinovac (31.7), AstraZeneca (8.3%) and Cansino (0.3%). 

In February alone, 85.8% of Malaysians receiving their jabs opted for Pfizer. 

It is worth noting that a study by US researchers found that the efficacy of two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine against infection and hospitalisation rapidly waned in children aged 5 to 11 during the Omicron wave in the state of New York. 

The study, compiled by researchers working for the New York State Department of Health, analyzed health records of about 365,000 children aged 5 to 11 and over 850,000 Covid cases in adolescents aged 12 to 17 from December 13, 2021, to January 30, 2022. 

The findings, which has not been peer reviewed, showed that two-dose vaccine protection against Covid infection for kids aged 5 to 11 declined from 68 percent to 12 percent over the period. The vaccine’s effectiveness at preventing hospitalisation in children in the younger age group fell from 100 percent to 48 percent. 

For children aged 12 to 17 years old, vaccine effectiveness against infection dropped from 66 percent to 51 percent from December through the end of January. Protection against hospitalisation dropped from 85 percent to 73 percent for teenagers during the period.

Just so, Malaysians know!

A 3+1 Covid Jab is Becoming Necessary

The efficacy of third doses of the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines wanes substantially by the fourth month after administration, a new study by the US Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Friday. 

Though it's now well documented that vaccine efficacy goes down after two doses, relatively little has been published on the duration of protection after a booster. 

The new study was based on more than 241,204 visits to the emergency department or an urgent care clinic, and 93,408 hospitalizations, which are more serious, among adults with Covid-19-like illness during August 26, 2021-January 22, 2022. 

Vaccine efficacy was estimated by comparing the odds of a positive Covid test between vaccinated and unvaccinated patients and using statistical methods to control for calendar week, geographic area, while adjusting for age, the level of local transmission, and patient characteristics like comorbidities. 

During the Omicron-predominant period, vaccine efficacy against Covid-associated emergency department or urgent care visits was 87 percent during the two months after a third dose, but fell to 66 percent by the fourth month. And vaccine efficacy against hospitalization was 91 percent in the first two months, but fell to 78 percent by the fourth month after a third dose. 

“The finding that protection conferred by mRNA vaccines waned in the months after receipt of a third vaccine dose reinforces the importance of further consideration of additional doses to sustain or improve protection”, the authors concluded. 

Three Covid shots are not going to protect you, it would seem, and a fourth jab is becoming necessary.

Booster Shots a Hobson's Choice

With Covid cases still soaring, many countries have expanded their vaccine booster programs or shortened the gap between shots as governments scramble to shore up protection. 

Two countries are already going for a fourth Covid booster shot – Israel and Chile – and this has prompted some scientists to caution that the plan could backfire, because too many shots might cause a sort of immune system fatigue, compromising the body’s ability to fight the coronavirus. 

The New York Times had even reported that people with compromised immune systems are getting unapproved fourth or fifth Covid-19 shots, despite uncertainty about their safety or effectiveness. 

There’s another reason why some people want boosters. They wish to avoid even the mildest of Covid-19 symptoms: They’re worried about developing long Covid – it can persist for weeks or even months after the acute disease phase. 

The symptoms include shortness of breath, cognitive dysfunction ("brain fog"), as well as fatigue. Those are the three most common. 

However, there has been more than 200 symptoms that actually have been reported in patients such as chest pain or tightness, difficulty sleeping (insomnia), heart palpitations, dizziness, pins and needles, joint pain, depression and anxiety, tinnitus and earaches, feeling sick, diarrhoea, stomach aches, loss of appetite, a high temperature, cough, headaches, sore throat, changes to sense of smell or taste.

Note: Pardon the English. Malaysians' English is not what it once was! 

It has been claimed that you can get long Covid from even a mild infection – and in that regard, even Akiko Iwasaki, an immunobiologist at the Yale University School of Medicine and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute thinks booster shots may be justifiable. 

Anyway, Pfizer Inc Chief Executive Albert Bourla (left) had come out on Saturday to say that an annual Covid-19 vaccine would be preferable to more frequent booster shots in fighting the coronavirus pandemic. 

“Once a year – it is easier to convince people to do it. It is easier for people to remember. So, from a public health perspective, it is an ideal situation”, he added. 

If we agree on the above, then booster shots are a Hobson's choice.

Covid is Still a Big Threat

Even as the Omicron variant sweeps around the world, it can be pointed out that in most cases, the number of Covid patients in hospitals remains significantly lower than during previous pandemic surges. 

That's not the case in North America, however, where the number of patients with the coronavirus currently in hospital has reached record numbers. 

According to data from the US Department of Health and Human Services, 145,982 people were in hospital with the virus on January 11, surpassing a previous record set in January 2021. 

Similarly, hospitals in large parts of neighboring Canada have also seen surges, with Quebec reporting a pandemic high last weekend. 

Looking at the above chart, 411 US Covid-19 patients per million people were in hospital as of January 09 – surpassing a previous peak of 400 per million set on January 14, 2021. In Canada, 206 people were in hospital per million as of January 11, compared to previous peaks of 118 in April and 128 in January 2021. 

South Africa, where the Omicron variant was first detected in November, tells a vastly different story. There, researchers found that those infected with Omicron are less likely to be sent to hospital and more likely to recover quickly. 

While up-to-date data regarding the rate of Covid patients in hospital per capita is not available, many South African hospitals reported that the number was significantly less than during previous surges. The Steve Biko Academic Hospital in the City of Tshwane, for example, reported to the International Journal of Infectious Diseases that the number of infected patients was about half of that recorded before mid-November. 

Researchers believe that South Africa's previous Covid-19 waves and relatively low vaccination rate meant that many residents had already likely been exposed and had built up some level of immunity. 

By now, the world already knows that Merck’s Molnupiravir has faced setbacks after disappointing trial data. 

But Pfizer stand tall. Their antiviral Paxlovid treatment pills for Covid-19 is said to be nearly 90% effective in preventing hospitalisations and deaths, and data suggested it retains its effectiveness against Omicron, the pharmaceutical company said. 

In fact, South Korea began treating Covid patients with Paxlovid yesterday – the first Asian country to do so. 

I sure hope Pfizer didn’t cheat again!

A Covid Christmas

Someone forgot to tell Covid that it's Christmas! 

And you know the coronavirus situation in the UK is fast deteriorating when Premier League matches are being postponed pretty frequently. 

Infections surged to 2.3 million before Christmas according to latest official data – the figures from the Office for National Statistics showed an increase from 1.4 million in the week to December 23 – the highest since comparable records began in autumn 2020. 

And a study by the UK Health and Security Agency revealed the reduced effect of vaccines as Omicron spreads – with even a double-dose of AstraZeneca providing no effect against symptomatic infection from the variant from 20 weeks after the second jab. 

Even for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, effectiveness dropped to 10% after the same period. 

Therefore, the claim by UKHSA that boosters can offer good protection against hospitalisation – apparently rising to an 81% reduction in risk after a third jab. 

Interestingly, I read that in London, around one in 15 people was likely to test positive for Covid in the week to December 23, the highest proportion for any region in England! Aww geez! 

Again in England, infections were highest among two age groups, each dominated by a different variant: those aged from two to school year six – more likely to be Delta cases; and those aged 25-34 years – more likely to be Omicron. 

The NHS are already on a war footing and as Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said the health service was facing a "perfect storm" of rising Covid hospital admissions and illness alongside increasing staff absences. Meaning, things are likely to get worse!

Omicron Jitters

New cases of Omicron infection have since been identified in Australia, Canada and a host of other European countries like Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. 

Many Asia-Pacific countries have tightened borders and delayed reopening plans, dealing a fresh blow to the region’s already sluggish resumption of international travel. 

And some countries are even shutting their borders as health experts continue to study the latest Covid variant. Over the weekend, Israel and Morocco announced that the countries are closed to all non-residents. On Monday, Japan banned all foreigners from entering the country. And today, it’s China Hong Kong’s turn. 

Fears over the Omicron Covid variant mean all UK adults will now be offered a third dose of Covid vaccine, either Pfizer or Moderna. And the gap between second and third doses will be halved from six to three months.

Dr. Angelique Coetzee (left), a doctor and chair of South African Medical Association and one of the first to flag Omicron said on Sunday that the coronavirus strain's symptoms were so far mild and could be treated at home. 

No need to panic. Yet.

After 396 years, the sun has set on the British monarchy’s reign over the Caribbean island of Barbados – and Monday marked the birth of the world’s newest republic. 

It’s about time they dumped the Queen!

Omicron Shows Itself

In my post published November 01, I had highlighted a subvariant of Delta labelled AY.4.2 that has been detected in the UK and a few other countries. The good news is that despite its spread, it is not labelled a “variant of concern”. 

But now, another coronavirus variant has emerged.

It was first reported to the WHO from South Africa on November 24, and has already been identified in Botswana, Belgium, China Hong Kong and Israel. 

On Friday, the WHO declared the variant to be "of concern" and named it Omicron. They said the number of cases of this variant, initially named B.1.1.529, appeared to be increasing in almost all of South Africa's provinces. 

The first known confirmed B.1.1.529 infection had been from a specimen collected on November 09 – and the WHO revealed it would take a couple of weeks to understand the impact of Omicron, as scientists worked to determine how transmissible it was. 

Not a few countries are already getting jittery. The European Union and other major destinations, including the United States and Canada, have moved to block flights from southern African countries – Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe – following the discovery of the said variant. 

Believe me, Covid is just a never-ending story.

I also read news that Merck’s experimental Covid pill has shown lower efficacy in an updated study. 

Following the release of a full analysis of trial results, the pharmaceutical company said on Friday the oral drug, molnupiravir, showed a 30 percent reduction in hospitalizations and deaths when compared with a placebo, based on data from more than 1,400 patients. 

Last month, the company said data from 775 patients had showed that reduction was “approximately” 50 percent. I had reported this in my post that was dated October 03, 2021. 

I don't believe Big Pharma. They are not exactly trustworthy. 

Remember how Pfizer brought out its Covid vaccine “at the speed of science”? Now a whistleblower has told the world that speed may have come at the cost of data integrity and patient safety. 

As was reported, Brook Jackson, a regional director employed at the research organization Ventavia Research Group had told The BMJ that the company falsified data, unblinded patients, employed inadequately trained vaccinators, and was slow to follow up on adverse events reported in Pfizer’s pivotal Phase III trial. Not to mention that staff who conducted quality control checks were overwhelmed by the sheer volume of problems they were finding. 

Pfizer's data fraud aside, Merck have speedily filed for a US authorization of the oral antiviral Covid treatment on October 11, following the interim data.

[Interestingly, Pfizer are already developing an oral antiviral drug Paxlovid for Covid-19, which requires patients to take three pills twice a day for five days]. 

Ever the follower, Malaysia has put in an order for molnupiravir that is said to force the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus to mutate itself to death. 

I venture a guess that even with our “high” vaccination rates, it is not giving us the results we are anticipating. Our infections are stubbornly clinging on to four digits – yesterday, that number was 5,501 cases and 45 deaths.

Covid Does Not Discriminate Between the Unvaccinated and the Vaccinated

Just three months ago, Dr. Anthony Fauci had bemoaned that the unvaccinated population is responsible for the Covid surge in the US. 

On Wednesday, he emphasized again that unvaccinated Americans remain by far the most vulnerable to severe illness and death linked to the coronavirus.

And yet, the chief medical adviser to the president acknowledged that hospitalizations are increasing among the fully vaccinated who get breakthrough cases of Covid-19. 

Help, I am confused! 

Anyway, the fellow is enthusiastically promoting booster shots. 

The booster program is meant to address studies that show waning immunity for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines about six months after a second inoculation. And those who received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson shot have been advised to get a booster shot two months after their initial dose. 

It appears Covid is staying put in the country. Last Friday, in a White House briefing, Fauci (left) had admitted that the US would never completely eliminate Covid-19. Federal officials are merely hoping to wrest control of the virus and treat it as an endemic ailment. 

And when pressed to say what number of daily cases would be tolerable, he conceded he couldn’t give a figure but that it has to be much lower than the current rates of new cases.

The US reported an average of nearly 83,500 new Covid cases every day over the last week, a 14% rise from the week before, according to Johns Hopkins University data. 

Anyway, given all of the above, I don’t think it’s fair to just pin the blame on anti-vaxxers and/or those who choose not to receive jabs. I say it loud and clear. Covid does not discriminate between the unvaccinated and the vaccinated. 

Besides, America is called the Land of the Free and this must surely mean that its citizens should be free to decide whether they wish to be vaccinated or not! That's how US democracy works, no? 

230 Million Cases and Israel Continues to See Infections Increase

The world has now reached 230 million Covid infections. 

And there are 56 countries that are in the C500K grouping:

The US of A broke a new record on September 08 – it registered 675,671 fatalities. 

If the clock was turned back to 20 months ago when the epidemic had just broken out in that country, no one would believe that so many ordinary people would die from the deadly virus. Covid-19 has now killed more Americans than the Spanish flu pandemic – the death toll back then in 1918-19 was 675,000, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

And in Israel, Covid cases are on the rise again. 

The country has been the world’s laboratory during much of the Covid era. It was the first country to achieve mass inoculations, first to add a booster to the two-shot regimen of the Pfizer vaccine, and first to broaden inoculation to children who are 12 and over. By the start of the summer, it appeared to be on the way to becoming the first country to achieve herd immunity. 

And yet Israel now has the world’s highest rolling weekly average of new Covid cases. That’s been something of a shock and raises the question of whether the country’s pandemic plan has worked. 

Three Saturdays ago, Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz (right) assured the country that everything was under control. “Stop with the panic!” he enjoined the public. 

The government had explained that Covid case numbers have risen because of the increased testing as the school year begins. And there are those who attribute it to the infectiousness of the Delta variant. Whatever the case may be, the rates of serious illness and mortality remain low. 

While the vaccines have been successful for Israel, it seems that that protection they offer diminishes faster than originally hoped. But the booster is said to be doubling the immunity of those who previously got the two-jab regimen. 

Now the bet is that the booster will keep the number of delta-related deaths and life-threatening illnesses stable, that vaccinating young people will pay off, and that no vaccine-resistant variants will enter the equation. And the “new cases” statistic will no longer be a headline grabber. Or at least, that is their hope.

Point to note: Even model countries like China and New Zealand with their zero Covid tolerance policy are seeing sporadic cases – but the numbers are thankfully low.

Pfizer Vaccine Efficacy Diminishes

My blog post this morning reveals the Israeli experience with Pfizer booster shots specifically and vaccine efficacy in general. 

I have decided to probe deeper into the latter – and indeed, managed to dig up additional new info.  

A Wall Street Journal news report on July 23 had highlighted that data from Israel had suggested Pfizer’s vaccine had become less effective in preventing infection of Covid-19, although it remains a robust bulwark against serious illness. 

The findings, which are preliminary and based on a small sample, suggested that after two shots, the vaccine was 39% effective at reducing the risk of infection and 40% effective at reducing the risk of symptomatic disease during a period when the Delta variant dominated cases in Israel, according to the country’s Health Ministry. 

I had also located a BMJ report (2021; 374 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n1920, published July 30, 2021) that mentioned that the efficacy of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine fell from 96% to 84% over six months – after the second dose – according to Pfizer data that had been released. The preprint, which contained the latest data from the original clinical trial, found an average decline in vaccine efficacy of 6% every two months. Hmmm, this definitely raises concern!  

This is supported by a “real world” study, conducted by the University of Oxford and the Office for National Statistics and published Thursday in a preprint that analyzed more than 3 million PCR tests from a random sample of people for a detailed picture of infection patterns as Delta became the dominant variant this year. And its findings showed that the Pfizer vaccine lost effectiveness in the first 90 days after the second jab. 

And when vaccinated people did get infected with Delta, they were shown to have similar levels of virus in their bodies as those who hadn’t had shots. This suggests that vaccinating large portions of a population might not protect those who don’t get inoculated, casting doubt on the idea of achieving herd immunity. 

Anyway, the third jab has already raised ethical concerns. 

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (left), the Director-General of the World Health Organization, has urged rich countries, including Israel, to send the doses to poor countries that cannot provide even a first vaccine to their citizens. 

But not surprisingly, this has largely fallen on deaf ears.

A Low-Carb Pizza Tease

Domino's Australia have taunted takeaway lovers with a healthy take on a pepperoni pizza on TikTok – and which led their followers to declare it 'worse than pineapples on pizza'. 

It’s a watermelon base pizza and it’s a 'low-carb' option. 

Sharing the recipe on TikTok and Instagram, Domino's Australia filmed a staff member putting the unusual creation together. 

The pizza restaurant chain got the idea from UK cook Oliver Paterson, whose video of pizza on a watermelon was viewed more than three million times on TikTok. 

"Y'all keep asking us for a low carb crust option. When we saw him make a pizza on a watermelon, we had to give it a go. Would you try it?" Domino’s inquired. 

Giving it a go, the Domino's ‘chef’ slathers a thick slice of watermelon in barbecue sauce, piling grated cheese and pepperoni on top before whacking it in the oven. 

Once it's ready, the toppings do look as delicious as ever – but there's no hiding the fact that you're chomping on a thick, fruity base. 

Methinks, it may distress the Italians – they are likely to consider it an act of sacrilege! After all, the pizza represents Italy!

Since sharing the idea, Domino's video has been viewed more than 380,000 times – with traumatized fans calling it a "war crime". 

"WTF, I am Italian, and this is an insult for us", one wrote, while another said: "You guys are very strange and weird". 

To be fair, there was some support for this offbeat pizza – one of them even ventured: "I'd try it – it looks refreshing".

To each his own.

I read an Al Jazeera news report dated Monday that more than 1.3 million Israelis out of a population of 9.3 million have received three doses of Pfizer so far – after the government have approved giving the booster to everyone aged 40 and above. 

Yet, there have been “breakthroughs”: some people have become infected with Covid despite having received three shots. No figures were given as far as I can tell and which leads me to suspect that it is probably a significant number. 

I’m thinking out loud. If the third jab still produces “breakthroughs” – then, at some point in time, would a fourth jab become necessary?

One reason that has been suggested to explain the "high" (an adjective used in the said report) rate of infection is that "most" Israelis were vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine, which is now believed to be less effective. 

I think I may need to shovel up more info about the Pfizer jabs. The world is likely to face up to the 'booster' issue, sooner or later.

Covid Vaccines Do Not Provide Total Immunity

Whether Malaysians are genuinely getting the vaccinations or if it's just "cucuk angin", they should still know that Covid jabs do not provide total immunity. 

In fact, I had posted this on this blog on April 15, 2021 and I think it’s pertinent to re-post it: 

Anyway, I'm making this point because of a July 15 news report in Singapore's The Straits Times about World Dream, a Dream Cruises liner that was forced to turn back to the island republic after a Covid-19 case was found on board.

The 40-year-old passenger had tested negative during the mandatory pre-departure ART (antigen rapid test) on Sunday, the day of departure. And according to a notice from Dream Cruises to passengers seen by the Singapore daily, the infected individual was reported to have already received both Covid-19 vaccination doses. 

Indeed, you can never be too careful!

And for your info, three quarters of Singapore’s Covid-19 infections in the last four weeks were among vaccinated individuals, government data shows, as a rapid ramp-up in the city-state’s inoculation leaves fewer people unvaccinated.  

As I was collecting details and getting confirmation for the above, I came across a related news report published on Monday from Canada’s CTV News that carried this intriguing headline “Some cruise lines not accepting passengers with mixed Covid-19 vaccinations”! 

Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunization had in June 2021 allowed for mix-and-match vaccines, recommending that a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine can be safely combined with a second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna shots. 

They also said that while Canadians should be offered the same mRNA vaccine for their second dose as they received for their first if it's available, a second shot of either Pfizer or Moderna is still acceptable. 

But some cruise lines say they will not recognize international passengers who've mixed and matched vaccinations. 

A notice on the company's website, Norwegian Cruise Line said they will not accept mixed vaccination protocols on cruises that embark or disembark from US ports. 

The statement added that all other vessels departing from non-US ports will accept any US FDA, WHO or EMA authorized vaccines, as well as a mixed vaccine series "of only AstraZeneca-SK Bio, Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna combinations". 

For Princess Cruise Lines, guests who have received a vector vaccine, including AstraZeneca, as their first dose, followed by an mRNA vaccine "will not be considered fully vaccinated". 

However, the company will allow for passengers who received mixed mRNA vaccine doses, such as Pfizer and Moderna. 

Holland America Line and Carnival Cruise Line also currently have similar policies in place. 

Royal Caribbean reportedly removed their mixed vaccine policy from their website over the weekend, saying that Covid-19 vaccines fully approved or authorized for emergency use by a national regulatory authority or global health organization are accepted. However, the company noted this may change depending on the port of the cruise. 

While the mix-and-match approach has become common in countries such as Canada and the UK, the US FDA do not recognize Covid-19 vaccine mixing. Besides, they only approve American-made vaccines, i.e. Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. 

The WHO's chief scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan (left) on July 12 noted that there is limited data on mixing and matching vaccines and that it could be a "chaotic" situation if "citizens start deciding" when they should be taking "a second or a third or a fourth dose" and from which vaccine manufacturer.

Pfizer's Covid Booster Shots for Israel

Calls for Covid booster shots are slowly getting louder! 

As more and more people are fully vaccinated in the West, attention has turned to whether or not booster vaccines will be required to maintain immunity and to protect against emerging variants of the Covid virus. 

We do know that the current batch of vaccines trigger our immune systems to produce cells which protect against severe illness from Covid-19. These include “killer” T Cells, which recognise virus-infected cells and kill them, and so-called “B memory” cells that remember the virus and call the immune system into action should it attempt to infect a person after vaccination. The idea is that these B memory cells will stimulate an immune response that will neutralise the coronavirus before it is able to make you unwell, or at least severely unwell. 

On July 08, Pfizer-BioNTech announced that they plan to apply for emergency authorization for a booster dose of their vaccine, stating: “We continue to believe that it is likely, based on the totality of the data we have to date, that a third dose may be needed within six to 12 months after full vaccination”. 

A day earlier, Canadian stem cell biologist and co-founder of Moderna, Derrick Rossi (right) told CTV News Channel that the body’s immune system is "primed by vaccination or primary infection" – however that immunity wanes over time if those systems are not challenged. 

"I think boosters are most likely going to be in the cards and evidence is pointing towards that so this is the evidence emerging out of Israel that a booster is almost certainly the way", Rossi elaborated. 

So far, research shows that the immune response from the existing Covid-19 vaccines remains strong for at least eight months (Science, February 05, 2021, Vol. 371, Issue 6529, eabf4063). 

It is, of course, important to remember that Covid vaccines only really got under way in December 2020, so data about their long-lasting effectiveness is still being gathered and it is likely that as time goes by, we may see that their effects last longer than this. 

Anyway, Israel announced last week that a third dose of the Pfizer vaccine will be offered to adults considered at risk, and specifically mentioned people with severe immunodeficiency – making it the first country in the world to do so. 

Covid cases in the country jumped to more than 400 per day in early July after staying in the single digits for most of June – yesterday, according to the Worldometer website, Israel recorded 1,491 cases. 

This is despite the fact that the country has been praised for executing one of the fastest vaccination campaigns in the world. More than 5 million of its 9 million citizens have been fully vaccinated against the disease. 

The bottom line is more real-world data is needed, and policy should be driven by data and not aggressive prompts from drug companies. 

The urgency right now is not getting boosters into the arms of those already fully vaccinated, but of getting those across the world who are yet to receive any vaccine at all a jab. We must not let this debate over whether boosters may be required lead to wealthier countries holding onto millions of doses “just in case”. The sooner the world is vaccinated, the less risk of variants emerging and the sooner we can all be safe from the virus. At least, that's humanity's hope.

In general, booster shots are used to increase the body's antibody response to a virus after the immune system has been prepped by the initial vaccination (e.g. tetanus shots). Additional vaccine doses can also help the body fight off different variants of a virus (like the yearly flu shot). 

Boosters, after all, are a shot of the same vaccine again, just given at a later date.

192 Million Cases and Football Season is Upon Us

Covid is still spreading far and wide – its tally is now 192 million cases.

Russia’s total caseload has passed six million. The country is facing a surge in cases that authorities have blamed on the Delta variant and the slow rate of vaccinations. 

And Mozambique becomes the one-hundredth country to join the C100K grouping.

 

Not to mention, Malaysia's Covid woes are continuing and we are now at #31 among countries that have the most number of infections todate. Cases have steadily advanced to 939,899 and deaths have reached 7,241. 

Yesterday, Celtic played a competitive home game in front of fans for the first time in 16 months – in a Champions League qualifying second round 1st leg against FC Midtjylland. 

The result was a 1-1 draw and the return leg takes place next Wednesday in Denmark, with the winners progressing to face PSV Eindhoven or Galatasaray in the third qualifying round. 

And Celtic will begin their Premiership season three days later away to Hearts. 

Also on the same day, Liverpool kickstarted their pre-season preparations with matches against FC Wacker Innsbruck and VFB Stuttgart – with the Reds coming away with a pair of 1-1 draws in Austria. 

Jürgen Klopp had fielded two different XIs and encouraged a high-intensity approach in the two 30-minute friendlies. 

He said the novel double-header is the first opportunity for his players to compete against opponents this summer – an initial step towards building up rhythm for 2021-22.

Israel's Covid Numbers are Slowly but Surely Going Up Again

World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned on Saturday the world is currently in a very dangerous period of the Covid pandemic and the Delta variant is continuing to evolve and mutate. 

The said variant has now spread to at least 98 countries and is the most contagious variant of the virus to be identified till now. 

Yesterday, Israel reported a decrease in the effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine in preventing infections and symptomatic illness – but maintained it remained highly effective in preventing serious illness. The decline coincided with the spread of the Delta variant and the end of social distancing restrictions in the country. 

Its health ministry said vaccine effectiveness in preventing both infection and symptomatic disease fell to 64% since June 06, granted that the vaccine was 93% effective in preventing hospitalizations and serious illness from the coronavirus. 

The ministry in their statement did not say what the previous level was or provide any further details. Still, ministry officials published a report in May claiming that two doses of Pfizer’s vaccine provided more than 95% protection against infection, hospitalization and severe illness. 

Already, about 60% of Israel’s 9.3 million population have received at least one shot of Pfizer’s vaccine in a campaign that saw daily cases drop from more than 10,000 in January to single digits last month. 

But aggressive Delta ensured that daily cases start increasing again, reaching 277 on Saturday, 321 on Sunday and 496 on Monday (Worldometer numbers). In fact, if you had read my post "181 Million Cases and a Covid Blow to Israel" on June 26, you'll know that things have worsened.

It ain't over ‘till it's over!

182 Million Cases and Malaysians at Home for 468 Days

Now driven by the Delta variant, Covid cases have started to surge again. Already, 182 million cases worldwide. 

To make matters worse, a version of the Delta variant – known as Delta Plus – has raised concern among virologists. It is found in at least 22 cases in the Indian state of Maharashtra last week and it is said it could be more transmissible than the original Delta variant. Public Health England have confirmed 41 of the 75,953 UK Delta cases were caused by the new mutation. 

These days, the news are mostly about Covid, Covid, Covid! 

In case, you're interested to know, Malaysians have been "locked up" at home for 468 days! And still, there's no end in sight! 

The US Food and Drug Administration have added a warning about the risk of heart inflammation to fact sheets for Pfizer and Moderna Covid vaccines. 

The notice on Friday noted that reports of adverse events following vaccination – particularly after the second dose – suggest increased risks of myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart muscle, and pericarditis, or inflammation of the tissue surrounding the heart. 

At the end of the second week of June, more than 1,200 cases of myocarditis or pericarditis have been reported to the US Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. The cases reportedly appear to be notably higher in males and in the week after the second vaccine dose.

It looks like Covid is gonna be a long-term tenant on this planet.