Pfizer is seeking U.S. approval of a booster dose of its two-shot COVID-19 vaccine. The drugmaker said Wednesday that it has started the application process for a third dose of its vaccine for everyone ages 16 and older. The company said it will complete the application with the Food and Drug Administration by the end […]

A third dose of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine substantially improved protection for organ transplant recipients whose weak immune systems don’t always rev up enough with the standard two shots, Canadian researchers reported Wednesday. The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, was small but it’s the most rigorous type of third-dose testing so far […]

BRUSSELS (AP) Dried yellow mealworms could soon be hitting supermarket shelves and restaurants across Europe. The European Union’s 27 nations gave the greenlight Tuesday to a proposal to put the Tenebrio molitor beetle’s larvae on the market as a “novel food.” The move came after the EU’s food safety agency published a scientific opinion this […]

What is a COVID-19 vaccine “breakthrough” case? It’s when a fully vaccinated person gets infected with the coronavirus. In studies, the two-dose COVID-19 vaccines by Pfizer and Moderna were around 95% effective at preventing illness, while the one-shot Johnson & Johnson shot was 72% effective, though direct comparisons are difficult. So while the vaccines are […]

What is a COVID-19 vaccine "breakthrough’’ case? It’s when a fully vaccinated person gets infected with the coronavirus. A small number of such cases are expected and health officials say they’re not a cause for alarm. COVID-19 vaccines work by teaching the body to recognize the virus. So if you’re exposed to it after vaccination, […]

AMSTERDAM (AP) A top official at the European Medicines Agency said a decision on whether to recommend that Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine be authorized for children is expected late next week. At a press briefing on Thursday, Dr. Marco Cavaleri, the EU drug regulator’s head of vaccines strategy, said its expert committee was currently evaluating Moderna’s […]

By Aileen Torres-Bennett and Nick PerryAP Medical Writer SUVA, Fiji (AP) A growing coronavirus outbreak in Fiji is stretching the health system and devastating the economy. It has even prompted the government to offer jobless people tools and cash to become farmers. The Pacific nation got through the first year of the pandemic without any […]

NEW YORK (AP) Federal officials said Wednesday they plan to strengthen cautions about a rare side effect of some COVID-19 vaccines – chest pain and heart inflammation, mostly among teenagers and young adults. But in an unusual joint statement, top U.S. government health officials, medical organizations, laboratory and hospital associations and others stressed the overriding […]

By Carla K. JohnsonAP Medical Writer A pill has been shown to help keep certain early-stage, hard-to-treat breast cancers at bay after initial treatment in findings being reported early because they are so promising. Study results were released Thursday by the American Society of Clinical Oncology ahead of its annual meeting and published in the […]

By Mark ShermanAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP)  The Supreme Court is leaving in place a $2 billion verdict in favor of women who claim they developed ovarian cancer from using Johnson & Johnson talc products. The justices did not comment Tuesday in rejecting Johnson & Johnson’s appeal. The company argued that it was not treated fairly […]