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Vaccine Makers are Working to Determine how well the Current Vaccine Formulations hold up Against Omicron

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, the emergence of the Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant in southern Africa has vaccine manufacturers discussing vaccine effectiveness and the possibility of updating vaccines to make them variant-specific. Omicron has around 50 mutations, and more than 30 of the mutations are located on the viral spike protein that is responsible for entry into host cells. The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein also is one of the primary antibody targets for the immune system. According to some analysis, most of the antibody target sites on Omicron’s spike protein are mutated, and several of those differences could indicate that Omicron is capable of escaping current vaccine formulations. A subset of Omicron’s spike mutations have been previously reported in the Beta and Delta variants, but 26 spike mutations are believed to be unique. Scientists are anticipating a decrease in antibody neutralization of the virus, and doctors in South Africa are reporting reinfections in patients who have already recovered from COVID-19.

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Many New Jersey Universities Require COVID19 Vaccination for Students

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Rutgers, Fairleigh Dickinson, Princeton and Montclair State University now all require students to be fully vaccinated from COVID19 by the start of their fall semesters. The rule stands for all students attending classes on-campus, whether residing in a dorm or commuting to school.

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AstraZeneca US Phase III trial 79% vaccine efficacy at preventing symptomatic COVID-19

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, The AstraZeneca US Phase III trial of AZD1222 demonstrated statistically significant vaccine efficacy of 79% at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 and 100% efficacy at preventing severe disease and hospitalisation.

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RIDGEWOOD HEALTH DEPARTMENT COVID19 VACCINE CLINIC

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgfewood NJ, according to Village Manager Heather A. Mailander on December 10, 2020 the Village of Ridgewood Health Department was certified by the State of NJ to operate a Covid19 Vaccine Clinic. The authorization was a result of months of planning, filing of required paperwork, and ensuring appropriate staffing. Ridgewood was able to achieve approval because the Village maintains a local health department.

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Johnson & Johnson (J&J) published preliminary findings for COVID19 Vaccine

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog
New Brunswick NJ,  according to Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security , Johnson & Johnson (J&J) published (preprint) preliminary findings from the Phase 1/2a clinical trials for its candidate SARS-CoV-2 vaccine (Ad26.COV.S). The studies included nearly 800 participants, who were split into 3 cohorts for the randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study. The first 2 cohorts were made up of 402 healthy adults aged 18-55 years, and the third cohort included 394 healthy adults over the age of 65. The vaccine was given as a single dose or 2 doses administered 56 days apart. The vaccine was generally well tolerated, and the researchers reported 2 serious adverse events. One of the serious adverse events was determined to be unrelated to the vaccine, and the other was a fever that resolved within 12 hours.

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AstraZeneca’s COVID19 Vaccine Trial Paused Over Safety Concerns

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Oxford UK, The Phase 3 clinical trial for AstraZeneca’s candidate SARS-CoV-2 vaccine (developed in collaboration with Oxford University) has been paused following the identification of a serious adverse event in one of the participants. Neither AstraZeneca nor Oxford University have yet disclosed details of the adverse event, which reportedly occurred in the UK; however, The New York Times reports that the patient developed transverse myelitis. It has not yet been determined whether the condition was associated with the vaccine. An earlier clinical trial for the AstraZeneca vaccine was also paused following the diagnosis of transverse myelitis in a participant, but the trial resumed after a safety review determined that the condition was not related to the vaccine.

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AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine Expands into US Phase III clinical trial across all adult age groups

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, AstraZeneca COVID19 vaccine expanded into a Phase III clinical trial in the US to assess its safety, efficacy and immunogenicity.1

The  US trial, called D8110C00001, is funded by the Biomedical Advanced Development Authority (BARDA), part of the office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, and led by AstraZeneca. The NIAID-supported COVID-19 Prevention Network (CoVPN) will participate in the trial.

Mene Pangalos, Executive Vice President, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, said: “We are pleased that AZD1222 demonstrated safety and immunogenicity across all adult age groups and are proud to be collaborating with BARDA and NIAID to accelerate the development of this vaccine. Should clinical trials demonstrate the vaccine protects against COVID-19 disease and is approved for use, we will work hard to make it globally available in a fair and equitable manner as rapidly as possible.”

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