A tornado that ripped through a Pfizer plant in Rocky Mount, N.C., raised worries about shortages of medicines used in hospitals. The drugs include commonly used painkillers and anesthetics.
The shortage comes as there has been a steady increase in rates of syphilis since 2000. Inventory can start depleting as early as this month, Pfizer said.
At least 58,000 childern younger than 5 years old are hospitalized each year with RSV infections. A Pfizer vaccine given to pregnant people could help protect their infants from severe RSV illness.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky has signed off on updated versions of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines that target the original virus and the omicron subvariants.
The new shots from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech target both the original strain of the coronavirus and the omicron BA.4/BA.5 subvariants that most people are catching now.
Pfizer has submitted data on its bivalent COVID-19 booster shot that specifically targets the latest omicron subvariants. If authorized, the company says the shots could be ready as soon as September.
A committee of experts voted unanimously to recommend that the Food and Drug Administration authorize COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech for children as young as 6-months-old.
The company says this version targets both the original coronavirus and the beta variant, and appears to provide broader and longer-lasting protection against different strains, including omicron.
"We believe additional information regarding the ongoing evaluation of a third dose should be considered as part of our decision-making for potential authorization," FDA officials said in a statement.
NPR has obtained the government's $5.3 billion contract for the first 10 million courses of Paxlovid, an antiviral pill for COVID-19. Here's what's in it.
Though people who are vaccinated and boosted appear to be better protected against omicron, the highly contagious variant has still led to breakthrough cases and a surge in infections worldwide.
