Good morning, everyone, and welcome to another working week. We hope the weekend respite was relaxing and invigorating, because that oh-so familiar routine of Zoom meetings, Skype calls, and deadlines has predictably returned. But what can you do? The world, such as it is, keeps spinning. So we will give it a nudge with a delicious cup of stimulation. Our choice today is original glazed doughnut. Yum. Please feel free to join us. Meanwhile, here are some tidbits to get you going. We hope your day is successful, and do stay safe — wear a mask. …
AstraZeneca (AZN) reported that its Covid-19 vaccine was safe and 79% effective in preventing symptomatic disease in U.S. clinical trials involving more than 32,000 people, STAT writes. The move paves the way for likely authorization in the U.S. The studies showed the vaccine reduced severe Covid-19 and hospitalization by 100%, and that the vaccine was equally effective in people over 65, where it had 80% efficacy. The company also maintained it did not identify any new safety concerns.
Meanwhile, fewer Europeans trust the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine after several countries reported side effects, such as blood clots, an opinion poll by YouGov, even though scientific studies have found it is safe and effective, Reuters writes. The European Medicines Agency declared the benefits outweigh the risks after investigating reports of unusual blood clots in recipients, but 61% of French adults said the vaccine was unsafe, up 18% from February, and 43% of Italians had serious doubts, an increase of almost a third.
About the Author Reprints
An, “another sequel” … at least in title? The original was “Bad Blood” re Theranos – followed a year later by “Bad Bottle” on the offshore generic industry … now we have “Bad Medicine” about Purdue, although in this third volume the medicine actually worked … too well? I suspect I shall have to invest in yet another book, although this time via Kiindle.