November 5, 2021

The California Biotechnology Foundation is committed to keeping you up to date about COVID-19 testing, treatment and prevention advancements. The following resources track what progress has been made as of November 5, 2021. Notable advancements include:

• • Pfizer said its experimental pill designed to fight COVID-19 reduced the risk of hospitalization and death for high-risk patients taking part in a trial of the drug.
  • The first COVID-19 vaccinations have been given to children ages 5 to 11 in California as health officials launched an ambitious rollout to offer shots to 3.5 million children in the state.

  ​Recent News

  • Pfizer says its experimental pill reduces risk of hospitalization, death from COVID-19
    CNN Health – November 5, 2021
    Pfizer said its experimental pill designed to fight COVID-19 reduced the risk of hospitalization and death for high-risk patients taking part in a trial of the drug. The company hopes it can eventually offer the pill, given in combination with an older antiviral drug called ritonavir, to people to take at home before they get sick enough to go to the hospital. A so-called interim analysis — done before the trial was scheduled to end — showed an 89% reduction in the risk of hospitalization or death from COVID-19 if patients got it soon enough, the company said.
  • UK authorizes Merck antiviral pill, 1st shown to treat COVID-19
    AP News – November 4, 2021
    Britain granted conditional authorization to the first pill shown to successfully treat COVID-19 so far. It also is the first country to OK the treatment from drugmaker Merck, although it wasn’t immediately clear how quickly the pill would be available. The pill was licensed for adults 18 and older who have tested positive for COVID-19 and have at least one risk factor for developing severe disease, such as obesity or heart disease.
  • Pfizer Vaccine Effective Against Delta in Study
    Bloomberg – November 4, 2021
    The Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine helps prevent severe disease among those infected with the delta variant, according to research involving 1.2 million medical insurance plan members in South Africa. The study provides large-scale evidence that the Pfizer shot works against this dominant variant.
  • California begins giving COVID-19 vaccines to children ages 5 to 11
    Los Angeles Times – November 3, 2021
    The first COVID-19 vaccinations have been given to children ages 5 to 11 as health officials launched an ambitious rollout to offer shots to 3.5 million kids in California.The Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup, a coalition of public health experts from California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, gave its green light to the vaccine, formally clearing the way for vaccinations to be distributed in California. The move came after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended late that more than 28 million children nationwide in that age group get the shots.
  • CDC Recommends Pediatric COVID-19 Vaccine for Children 5 to 11 Years
    CDC – November 2, 2021
    CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky, M.D., M.P.H., endorsed the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ (ACIP) recommendation that children 5 to 11 years old be vaccinated against COVID-19 with the Pfizer-BioNTech pediatric vaccine. CDC now expands vaccine recommendations to about 28 million children in the United States in this age group and allows providers to begin vaccinating them as soon as possible.
  • Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine is 73.6% effective, according to new real-world study
    CNN – November 2, 2021
    Data from a real-world study assessing Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine finds it is 73.6% effective, according to research published in the journal JAMA Network Open. The study evaluated patients within the Mayo Clinic Health System between February and July of this year. The researchers followed nearly 9,000 patients vaccinated with the J&J vaccine and nearly 89,000 patients who were unvaccinated. They looked specifically to see how many of them tested positive for COVID-19.
  • Indonesia is first to greenlight Novavax COVID-19 vaccine
    Los Angeles Times – November 1, 2021
    Biotechnology company Novavax said that Indonesia has given the world’s first emergency use authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine, which uses a different technology than the current shots. The vaccine is easier to store and transport than some of the alternatives, which could enable it to play an important role in bolstering supplies in poorer countries around the world.

Rely on California Biotechnology Foundation to monitor breaking news and provide updates on the latest advancements in COVID-19 diagnostics, vaccines and treatments.

Stay informed on the latest news and trends on the economic and health benefits of this industry by visiting the new CABiotech.org

If you have any questions about informational briefings contact California Biotechnology Foundation Executive Director Patty Cooper at (916)764-2434 or [email protected].