Good morning, all, I hope everyone is off to a good start. Ed is out today, so it’s Casey Ross here, coming to you from a farm in Northeast Ohio. The chickens have laid nine eggs so far and the tallest of the short people are off to school. Meanwhile, buzzards are circling blue skies over the cornfield, a telltale sign of predation in the shadows of the stalks. But on this Thursday, we prefer to think of it as confirmation that the cycle of nature is working as intended. And as we sip a nutty Costa Rican brew, with the musty flavors of another distant farm, we see that the news cycle is also churning at a rapid clip. Here are a few nuggets to chew as you continue your day.
Scientists from the Food and Drug Administration have expressed skepticism about the need for additional doses of Pfizer’s (PFE) Covid-19 vaccine for all recipients, STAT reports. The assessments of agency staffers, included in documents released Wednesday, sets up a high-stakes debate among outside experts Friday. They will be charged with sorting through conflicting data and lines of reasoning in a battle whose outcome will determine whether additional doses are needed, by whom, and when.
Meanwhile, Pfizer (PFE) and Moderna (MRNA) released their own analyses suggesting that the efficacy of their vaccines wane over time and that booster shots may be beneficial, STAT explains. Pfizer asserted in briefing documents filed with the FDA that a third dose would return efficacy of its vaccine to the 95% level seen in clinical trials. Moderna’s analysis showed that although its vaccine is effective against new variants such as Delta, breakthrough infections, though rare, tend to become more likely as time passes after vaccination.
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