Category: Businesses in COVID-19

PR Firm Working For Pfizer and Moderna Embeds Staff Within CDC’s Vaccine Committee

A PR firm that represents big pharma companies like Pfizer and Moderna has been revealed to staff certain divisions in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) during the pandemic, sparking questions regarding potential conflicts of interest. Based in New York, Weber Shandwick is reportedly the second-largest PR firm in the world with revenues…


Restaurant Sues Washington, DC Health Department After Being Closed for Violating COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

The owner of a restaurant shut down by Washington, D.C., officials for violating the city’s strict COVID-19 vaccine mandate sued the city on Oct. 13. Eric Flannery owns The Big Board. Washington authorities in February ordered the restaurant to close, citing violations of food code regulations and Mayor Muriel Bowser’s requirements that venues only let…


Doctors Warn Pfizer COVID Treatment Paxlovid Can Interact With Common Medications

The COVID-19 drug Paxlovid can have dangerous interactions with common medications used to treat cardiovascular disease, including certain statins, warned doctors in a new review paper. A paper published Wednesday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology shows the combination of nirmatrelvir and ritonavir, or Pfizer’s Paxlovid, can interact with a number of…


Pfizer Exec Concedes COVID-19 Vaccine Was Not Tested on Preventing Transmission Before Release

A Pfizer executive said Monday that neither she nor other Pfizer officials knew whether its COVID-19 vaccine would stop transmission before entering the market last year. Member of the European Parliament, Rob Roos, asked during a session: “Was the Pfizer COVID vaccine tested on stopping the transmission of the virus before it entered the market? Did…


Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness Turns Negative Within Months: Study

The effectiveness of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine against infection turns negative over time, according to a new study that was funded by the vaccine maker. The effectiveness of three doses—a primary series and a booster—against infection remained above 50 percent after 150 days against BA.1, a subvariant of the Omicron virus variant, researchers estimated. But against…


Another Major Cruise Operator Drops Key COVID-19 Mandates

Norwegian Cruise Line announced Monday it was dropping more of its COVID-19 measures on its ships. In an announcement, the firm said that the new rule will be effective by Oct. 4 and drops requirements for vaccination, masking, and testing. “Health and safety are always our first priority; in fact, we were the health and…


Pfizer, Moderna Ask US Regulators for Emergency Authorization for New Boosters for Children

Pfizer and Moderna have formally asked U.S. regulators to grant emergency authorization for new COVID-19 vaccine boosters for children as young as five. Pfizer and its partner BioNTech submitted a request to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Sept. 26, several days after Moderna submitted a request to the FDA. The FDA authorized…


Interest Rate Hikes Add to ‘Perfect Storm’ for Small Business

News Analysis Small businesses are acutely affected by the Bank of Canada’s rapid interest rate increases, as they are carrying more debt than usual due to the pandemic in addition to numerous other challenges they face.  “It’s like a perfect storm right now in so many ways,” Catherine Swift, president of the Coalition of Concerned…


Britain’s Lloyds Racks up $350 Million of Likely Scam COVID Loans

LONDON—Lloyds Banking Group has been hit by more than 300 million pounds ($348 million) of suspected fraud linked to COVID-19 pandemic-era recovery loans for small businesses, the highest among big bank peers, according to government data. British banks overall have classified some 1.1 billion pounds worth of the emergency lending scheme known as “bounce back”…


Pfizer, BioNTech Seek to Revoke CureVac’s Patent Infringement Claims

Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech have filed proceedings at the High Court of England and Wales, seeking a judgment that their COVID-19 vaccine, based on mRNA technology, does not infringe on CureVac’s European patents, according to a regulatory filing on Friday. In July, CureVac had filed a patent lawsuit against BioNTech over its use…