China’s Sinovac Vaccine 67% Effective for Symptomatic Infection

SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Sinovac’s COVID-19 vaccine CoronaVac was 67% effective in preventing symptomatic infection in the first real-world study of the Chinese shot, the Chilean government said on Friday. The vaccine was 85% effective in preventing hospitalizations and 80% effective in preventing deaths, the government said in a report prepared…

UK: Lockdown, Not Vaccines, Behind Drop in COVID Deaths

LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned on Tuesday that the rapid drop in COVID-19 deaths was largely down to a three-month lockdown, not the vaccination programme, and that cases would rise once again as restrictions ease. The United Kingdom launched its inoculation drive in December and has…

Mexican-Made COVID-19 Vaccine Could Be Ready This Year

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico aims to have developed a vaccine against COVID-19 that could be granted approval for emergency use this year, a senior official said on Tuesday, an outcome that could wean it off unreliable foreign supplies for its slow vaccination program. The head of the National Council…

China Considers Mixing COVID-19 Vaccines to Boost Protection Rate

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s top disease control official has said the country is formally considering mixing COVID-19 vaccines as a way of further boosting vaccine efficacy. Available data shows Chinese vaccines lag behind others including Pfizer and Moderna in terms of efficacy, but require less stringent temperature controls during storage….

Viral Thoughts: Why COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories Persist

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Daniel Roberts hadn’t had a vaccination since he was 6. No boosters, no tetanus shots. His parents taught him inoculations were dangerous, and when the coronavirus arrived, they called it a hoax. The vaccine, they said, was the real threat. So when the 29-year-old Tennessee man…

High-Risk US Adults May Not Consistently Wear Masks

(Reuters) – Most U.S. adults with chronic medical conditions know they face higher odds of severe COVID-19 but that does not mean they avoid high-risk behaviors, survey data suggest. In late 2020, researchers asked nearly 6,000 participants in the Understanding America Study about their perceived risks from the new coronavirus,…

In US, Lockdowns Added 2 Pounds per Month

Americans gained nearly 2 pounds per month under COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders in 2020, according to a new study published Monday in JAMA Network Open. Those who kept the same lockdown habits could have gained 20 pounds during the past year, the study authors said. “We know that weight gain is…