Certain CVS Pharmacy and MinuteClinic locations now carry the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccinations. These locations may be found here.
When did Moderna patent Covid vaccine?
On Friday, Moderna said that it will be suing Pfizer and BioNTech, saying that the two firms stole Moderna’s technology in order to produce its Covid vaccine, which is called Comirnaty. Shannon Thyme Klinger, the Chief Legal Officer of Moderna, stated in a statement that “We think that Pfizer and BioNTech unlawfully stole Moderna’s innovations, and they have continued to utilize them without authorization.” According to a press release, the patent infringement complaints were lodged in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts as well as in the Regional Court of Düsseldorf in the country of Germany.
- According to Moderna, the firm filed patents for its mRNA technology between the years of 2010 and 2016, which proved to be an essential component in the development of the company’s very own Covid vaccine.
- The business asserts that Pfizer and BioNTech duplicated the identical technology for Comirnaty after they had already done so for themselves.
“We are filing these lawsuits to protect the innovative mRNA technology platform that we pioneered, invested billions of dollars in creating, and patented during the decade prior to the COVID-19 pandemic,” the CEO of the company, Stéphane Bancel, said.
“We are filing these lawsuits to protect the innovative mRNA technology platform that we pioneered, invested billions of dollars in creating, and patented.” “This fundamental platform, which we began constructing in 2010, together with our patented work on coronaviruses in 2015 and 2016, enabled us to deliver a safe and highly effective Covid-19 vaccine in record time once the pandemic struck.” [Citation needed] Bancel stated that the business is continuing to employ the technology in order to create medicines for autoimmune illnesses, cardiovascular ailments, unusual kinds of cancer, and infectious diseases such as influenza and HIV.
According to the news release, the business does not want Comirnaty to be withdrawn from the market but does want Pfizer and BioNTech to pay Moderna for utilizing two critical components of their mRNA technology. Pfizer and BioNTech are being accused of using the same mRNA chemical change as Moderna while developing the vaccine, as well as copying Moderna’s “encode for the full-length spike protein in a lipid nanoparticle formulation for a coronavirus.” In a statement, Klinger stated that “outside the AMC 92 countries, where vaccine availability is no longer a barrier to access, Moderna expects Pfizer and BioNTech to compensate Moderna for Comirnaty’s continuous use of Moderna’s proprietary innovations.” In a statement released on Friday, Pfizer refuted the allegations made by Moderna.
According to Pfizer, Comirnaty was “based on BioNTech’s patented mRNA technology and developed by both BioNTech and Pfizer.” The business issued the following statement in response to the case: “We remain confident in our intellectual property backing the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and will fiercely fight against the accusations of the lawsuit.” Reporter for breaking news at NBC News, Minyvonne Burke is a senior member of the team.
Contributions were made by Allison Burstein. 
Will climate change make COVID-19 worse?
The following is a list of frequently asked questions and answers that are intended to provide light on the connection between COVID-19 and climate change. The World Health Organization (WHO) is continuing to monitor and respond to this epidemic. This question and answer section will be updated when new information on COVID-19, how it is impacting individuals all around the world, and the efficacy of therapies against the disease becomes available.
- No. At this time, there is no data that can be considered definitive to suggest that the weather (short-term fluctuations in meteorological conditions) or climate (long-term averages) have a significant impact on transmission.
- There has been evidence of transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is responsible for the COVID-19 illness, throughout every part of the planet, including areas with arid, arctic, and tropical climates.
It is believed that the most common mode of transmission for SARS-CoV-2 is either through close contact between infected individuals or through the respiratory droplets generated when an infected person coughs or sneezes. It is possible for people to get the disease via contacting contaminated surfaces, however this is not regarded to be a major mode of transmission.
- Temperature and humidity may have an effect on how long the virus may live outside of the human body; however, it is probable that this effect will be very little in comparison to the amount of contact that occurs between humans.
- Therefore, maintaining a physical distance from infected individuals and often washing your hands are necessary to break the chain of transmission, and they are the most efficient strategy to protect oneself in any setting and throughout any season of the year.
There is no evidence to suggest that a direct relationship exists between climate change and either the appearance or spread of the COVID-19 illness. As the illness has now become firmly established in the human population, efforts should now concentrate on lowering the risk of transmission and treating people who have the condition.
- Climate change, on the other hand, may have an indirect impact on the COVID-19 response because it weakens environmental determinants of health and throws more strain on health services.
- More generally speaking, the majority of newly developing infectious illnesses, as well as practically all pandemics that have occurred in recent history, begin in wild animals.
There is evidence to suggest that rising human pressure on natural environments may accelerate the creation of new diseases. It is expected that future outbreaks of such novel illnesses will be less likely to occur if health systems are strengthened, increased surveillance of infectious diseases in animals, livestock, and people, and greater preservation of biodiversity and the natural environment are implemented.
Air pollution poses a significant threat to human health. It is responsible for nearly one third of all fatalities that occur as a result of stroke, lung cancer, and heart disease. Each year, it claims the lives of approximately 7 million people. Over ninety percent of the world’s population resides in areas where the World Health Organization’s outdoor air quality guideline levels are not reached.
Approximately two-thirds of this exposure is generated by the combustion of fossil fuels, which is also the primary driver of climate change. In certain locations, the reduction in economic activity that has resulted from efforts to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 has temporarily contributed to improvements in air quality.
On the other hand, because carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change remain in the atmosphere for extended periods of time, temporary decreases in emissions have only a limited influence on the amounts of these gases in the atmosphere. The first few months of 2020 have seen greater levels of carbon dioxide measured at monitoring sites throughout the world compared to the same time period in 2019.
If there is not a clear focus to promote equity and environmental health around a just transition to a green economy, environmental improvements that resulted from the COVID-19 response may be reversed by a rapid expansion of polluting economic activities once the measures have ended.
- This is the case unless there is a clear focus to promote equity and environmental health.
- Any potential short-term gains to the environment as a result of COVID-19 come at an unacceptable cost to humans and the economy, and they are in no way a suitable replacement for deliberate and ongoing action regarding air quality and climate.
It is necessary for communities to have access to adequate and safe water as well as sanitation in order for them to practice fundamental hygiene and decrease the spread of COVID-19. It is absolutely essential to have access to these services within healthcare institutions in order to reduce the spread of antibiotic resistance, prevent infections, and provide high-quality treatment.
- Over two billion people are directly affected by the lack of basic water services in the world’s health care facilities, which is one in every four institutions.
- It is estimated that around 80 percent of the world’s population is already dealing with water scarcity in some form or another.
- The supply of water for human consumption, the production of food, personal cleanliness, and medical care, including treatment for infectious diseases, is increasingly jeopardized as a result of climate change.
The pandemic caused by COVID-19 is a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), as it has resulted in the loss of life and adversely impacted the communities that it has affected. The stress caused by climate change is one that is steadily becoming worse, and it has the potential to be the most significant risk to public health in the 21st century.
Nevertheless, the following generalizations may be made: It is imperative to establish universal health coverage (UHC), which must be accomplished via the implementation of health systems that are both well-resourced and equitable, in order to shield the general population from both immediate and long-term health risks.
In order to guarantee the safety of global health, it is necessary to take a comprehensive strategy to emergency preparation. This includes preparing for infectious disease epidemics, extreme weather events, and climate change. Providing access to the environmental factors that determine health, such as clean air, water and sanitation, and food that is both safe and nutritious, is a crucial form of defense against any and all potential health hazards.
According to estimates provided by the WHO, environmental dangers that may be avoided are responsible for approximately one quarter of the worldwide health burden. The earlier we act, the more lives we save. Increased human and socioeconomic costs result from a delay in responding to obvious evidence of hazards, whether such threats originate from pandemics or from climate change.
A significant obstacle to maintaining health and welfare for all members of society, particularly the most defenseless members, is inequality. Inequality in social and economic conditions is reflected in uneven health risks. When we are confronted with public health risks on a worldwide scale, such as COVID-19 or climate change, our strength is directly proportional to the capacity of our most vulnerable health system.