The Trump administration appears to be gearing up for a substantial response to Iran, Washington state allegedly spends millions on gender surgeries for inmates, and whiplash hits Moderna as the Food and Drug Administration reverses its decision not to review the company’s new flu vaccine.
It’s Thursday, February 19, 2026, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/iran-response-imminent-gender-surgeon-scrutinized-2-19-26/id1576594336?i=1000750462173" height="175" frameborder="0" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">U.S. Surrounds Iran</h2>
Amid escalating tensions over Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and the killings of thousands of protesters, the Trump administration appears to be gearing up for an armed response. 
Over the last 36 hours, the Middle East has seen the largest military buildup in decades. Hundreds of cargo flights have transported weapons systems to the region, as hundreds of fighter jets, dozens of warships, and multiple aircraft carrier groups have also made their way towards Iran. 
This may be a negotiating tactic by the United States to secure concessions from Tehran as diplomatic talks continue. But numerous advisers to President Donald Trump, <a href="https://x.com/rcpvideo/status/2024169941696459097?s=20">including</a> his former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, said they don’t think it’s a bluff. Trump reportedly feels emboldened by the success of his bombing raid on Iran’s nuclear facilities back in June and the operation to grab Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro in January. 
As one former American diplomat put it to The Wall Street Journal, the president’s offer to Iran “is similar to Venezuela, surrender and we won’t attack you.”
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Blue State Spends Millions On Gender Surgeon</h2>
A new investigation found that Washington state has spent millions on the services of a gender surgeon who performs surgeries on prison inmates. 
The Washington State Healthcare Authority has paid more than $4.3 million since July 2019 for the services of Dr. Jeffrey Stiller. 
He is a prolific transgender surgeon, and according to his website, he&#8217;s performed more than 1,000 vaginoplasties, averaging five procedures per week, describing his services as extremely sought-after. 
Importantly, for this investigation, public records obtained by The Daily Wire show that Dr. Stiller&#8217;s clientele included a steady stream of inmates from Washington Department of Corrections facilities.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">FDA’s Moderna Reversal</h2>
There’s whiplash at Moderna as the Food and Drug Administration reverses its decision not to review the company’s new flu vaccine. 
The FDA decided it will allow Moderna to move forward with its new mRNA flu vaccine. The agency blocked it last week, but allowed it to move forward again after the pharma company agreed to additional testing. 
The vaccine is expected to be brought to market in two phases: the first for people 65 and older through a process of “accelerated approval,” which will allow it to move forward with limited evidence. The vaccine for that cohort can later receive full approval with more tests. After those are completed, the vaccine will also be released for adults ages 50-64, assuming the results of those tests come back positive.

MW_260219_V1

Morning Brief: U.S. Surrounds Iran, Prisoners Get ‘Gender Surgeries,’ & FDA’s Moderna Reversal

Donald Trump

Iran

Moderna

Morning Wire

United States

Washington

The federal government spent nearly two billion dollars of taxpayer money on promoting <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/covid-19-vaccine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">COVID vaccination</a> around the world, according to a new report from the U.S. Agency for International Development. 
According to a <a href="https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/2023-09/USAID_COVID_GVAX_Capstone_Executive_Summary_082423_FINAL_508.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> released on Thursday by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/usaid" target="_blank" rel="noopener">USAID</a>, the U.S. government spent $1.8 billion on promoting global COVID vaccination, and partnered with 120 different countries to donate 688 million COVID vaccination doses after launching “Global Vax” in December 2021.
“Global VAX demonstrated that a concerted push of technical support, diplomatic engagement, and funding can support countries to rapidly increase access to and confidence in vaccines in the midst of an evolving health emergency,” an executive summary of the report said. 
The effort encompassed USAID, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the State Department, the Department of Defense, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Treasury Department. 
The report added that government agencies were going to maintain international partnerships
“As the emergency phase of the COVID-19 pandemic recedes, U.S. government agencies sustain partnerships around the world to save lives, strengthen health security and pandemic preparedness, promote social and economic progress, and support countries to achieve their goals for health and development,” the report said. 
Prior to launching the Global Vax program in December 2021, the U.S. had already sent <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/us-ship-4-mln-covid-19-vaccine-doses-nigeria-566-mln-south-africa-2021-07-28/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">millions of doses</a> of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID vaccines to South Africa and Niger. 
The release of the report followed comments by USAID Administrator Sammantha Power on Wednesday suggesting that countries use religious leaders to push people into getting the COVID vaccine. 
“If you are trying to get people to take a COVID vaccine, you may not, in that particular community, have resources to fund a pop-up clinic, but you can engage a faith leader for free,” Power said. 
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP</a>
Power’s comments echoed the government&#8217;s domestic strategy where then National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-the-federal-government-used-evangelical-leaders-to-spread-covid-propaganda-to-churches" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pushed for evangelical ministers</a> to use their “credibility” to promote the COVID vaccine. 
The vaccine, which was initially marketed as highly effective, faced backlash after the Biden administration attempted to implement an aggressive mandate and some medical experts <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/covid-vaccine-brings-higher-heart-risk-little-benefit-to-young-men-medical-expert-warns" target="_blank" rel="noopener">questioned</a> the efficacy of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine. 
High-profile figures like X owner <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-claims-he-had-major-side-effects-from-second-covid-booster-shot-felt-like-he-was-dying" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elon Musk</a> and radio host <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/megyn-kelly-says-she-regrets-getting-covid-vax-opens-up-about-autoimmune-issue-after-booster" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Megyn Kelly</a> have said that they regret taking the vaccine and had medical complications after taking the shot.

Chicago’s Roseland Community Hospital Administers Covid Vaccinations To Hospital Staff

New Report Shows How Much Money U.S. Government Spent On Promoting COVID Vaccine Abroad

COVID

Covid vaccine

Foreign Policy

Pfizer

USAID

Vaccines

World

Texas Attorney General Paxton announced this week that his office has launched an investigation into the three pharmaceutical companies to determine if they conducted gain-of-function research and if they misled the public on the matter.
Paxton said on Monday that three companies that he is focused on are Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson &amp; Johnson and that he&#8217;s also investigating claims that the companies made about &#8220;the efficacy of their Covid-19 vaccines and the likelihood of transmitting Covid-19 after taking the vaccines in violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.&#8221;
“The development of the Covid-19 vaccine, and the representations made by and knowledge of Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson &amp; Johnson, are of profound interest to the public’s health and welfare,” Paxton said in a statement. “If any company illegally took advantage of consumers during this period or compromised people’s safety to increase their profits, they will be held responsible. If public health policy was developed on the basis of flawed or misleading research, the public must know. The catastrophic effects of the pandemic and subsequent interventions forced on our country and citizens deserve intense scrutiny, and we are pursuing any hint of wrongdoing to the fullest.”
The statement from Paxton&#8217;s office said that the investigation will also look at whether vaccine trial data was manipulated. He noted that the probe &#8220;concerns potentially fraudulent activity that falls outside the scope of legal immunity granted to manufacturers of the Covid-19 vaccine.&#8221;
The investigation will force the companies to turnover documents that the public would not otherwise have access to, Paxton said.
The effort follows in the footsteps of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who directed the Florida Supreme Court to convene a grand jury to investigate “any and all wrongdoing” by those manufacturers with respect to the vaccines.
“We’ll be able to get the data whether they want to give it or not,” DeSantis said. “In Florida, it is illegal to mislead and misrepresent, especially when you are talking about the efficacy of a drug.”

Ken Paxton

Texas Attorney General Launches Investigation Into Gain-Of-Function Research, Claims Made By Vaccine Manufacturers

COVID-19 Vaccine

U.S.

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/cdc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CDC</a> changed routine immunization schedules to include <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/covid-19-vaccine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">COVID vaccines</a> for both adults and children.
Officials at the public health agency now <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/hcp/imz/child-adolescent.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recommend</a> that children between six months and 15 months old receive a two-dose or three-dose primary series and booster; from 18 months to adulthood, children should likewise receive the primary series and boosters, according to the agency. Children more than six months old can receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine or the Moderna vaccine, while children more than 12 years old can also receive the Novavax vaccine. The CDC recommended the three-dose series for children who are “moderately or severely immunocompromised.”
Vaccination schedules for adults also <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/hcp/imz/adult.html#table-age" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recommend</a> two-dose or three-dose primary series and boosters. COVID vaccines were placed in a distinct call out box in previous schedules; this year is the first in which the inoculations are considered routine.
The CDC noted that the doses are not covered by the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, an “alternative to the traditional legal system for resolving vaccine injury claims.” The agency added that COVID vaccines fall under the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP).
The changes to the routine vaccination schedules come after pharmaceutical companies <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pfizer-hiking-covid-vaccine-prices-by-400" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revealed</a> plans to drastically increase the costs of the products. Pfizer President Angela Lukin announced in October that the firm would charge between $110 and $130 per dose, although the treatment will be available at no cost to Americans with private or government insurance. The price hike will render the doses several times more expensive; the federal government <a href="https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/pfizer-and-biontech-announce-new-agreement-us-government" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bought</a> 105 million doses for $3.2 billion in one deal, implying a cost of roughly $30 per dose.
Oxfam America previously said that Pfizer and Moderna had been “charging governments as much as $41 billion above the estimated cost of production” since the shots can be <a href="https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/vaccine-monopolies-make-cost-vaccinating-world-against-covid-least-5-times-more" target="_blank" rel="noopener">produced</a> for as little as $1.20 per dose. Lawmakers such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) have expressed <a href="https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/news-in-letter-to-ceo-sanders-calls-moderna-plan-to-raise-price-of-covid-19-vaccine-unacceptable-corporate-greed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">concern</a> over the significant markups and their effects on federal healthcare budgets.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla had <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pfizer-ceo-covid-19-could-be-controlled-by-annual-vaccines-pills-to-treat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that he hopes COVID will be “controlled” by annual vaccinations and pills for individuals who contract the virus. “We will have perfectly normal lives, with just an injection maybe once a year. And the pill in case we are sick will make it more flu-like rather than life-threatening disease,” he said during an interview last year, contending that “two doses of the vaccine offers very limited protection, if any.”
The addition of COVID vaccines to the routine immunization schedule occurs shortly after Project Veritas journalists <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pfizer-exec-appears-to-admit-there-are-concerning-impacts-on-female-reproductive-health-from-vaccine-in-round-two-of-project-veritas-sting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">captured</a> Jordon Walker, a Pfizer official who leads research and development for mRNA projects, admitting that the company does not know why the vaccines are impacting women’s menstrual cycles, postulating that the effects could be evidence of hormonal disruptions. “There is something irregular about their menstrual cycles. So, people will have to investigate that down the line, because that is a little concerning,” he told an undercover reporter. “The vaccine shouldn’t be interfering with that.”
Researchers have indeed found that COVID vaccines impact menstruation; one international <a href="https://news.ohsu.edu/2022/09/27/global-study-finds-covid-19-vaccination-can-affect-menstrual-cycle" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> from the Oregon Health and Science University concluded that “some people may experience a slight, temporary change in the length of their monthly menstrual cycle” after receiving the vaccine. Another <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abm7201#:~:text=In%20this%20sample%2C%2042%25%20of,no%20change%20after%20being%20vaccinated." target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> found that 42% of women with regular menstrual cycles reported heavier bleeding than usual after inoculation.
Walker, who later called himself a &#8220;liar&#8221; who made up the stories to impress a  person with whom he thought he was on a date, said the vaccine should not be interfering with the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, the system which regulates menstrual cycles, but acknowledged “there is something happening, but we don’t always figure it out.”

Pfizer COVID Booster

CDC Adds COVID Vax To Routine Immunization Schedules For Both Children And Adults

CDC Adds COVID Vax To Routine Immunization Schedules

Health

Moderna, which developed a COVID vaccine after getting a $10 billion handout from U.S. taxpayers, sold $18 billion worth of vaccines in 2021.
Last March, Pfizer said it expects to haul in $32 billion in COVID vaccine sales for 2022, while Moderna forecasted at least $19 billion in sales.
But as always, nothing is ever enough. So Moderna wants to increase its price up to 400%, from an updated booster shot price of about $26 per dose to between $110 and $130 per dose, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/moderna-considers-price-of-110-130-for-covid-19-vaccine-11673289609" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to a report by The Wall Street Journal.
Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel defended the sky-high hike, saying, &#8220;I would think this type of pricing is consistent with the value.”
After U.S. taxpayers subsidized the creation of the mRNA-based COVID vaccine, Moderna provided them to the government at $15-$16 per dose in 2021. That rose to $26 per dose in 2022. And now they want — $130?!
Moderna says it&#8217;s just setting a fair market price, noting that Pfizer is also looking to get upwards of $130 per vaccine dose.
When Pfizer announced its new price late last year, U.S. lawmakers ripped the move. In a letter sent last month to Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and then-Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) called the hike &#8220;pure and deadly greed&#8221; and accused the company of &#8220;unseemly profiteering.&#8221;
&#8220;We urge you to back off from your proposed price increases and ensure COVID-19 vaccines are reasonably priced and accessible to people across the United States,&#8221; the lawmakers wrote.
&#8220;Thanks to billions of federal dollars used to support production and delivery of Pfizer’s vaccine product, Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is currently free for patients in the United States,&#8221; the lawmakers said in their letter.
More than 400 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines and boosters have been administered in the U.S., <a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The federal government continues to urge Americans to get booster after booster.
But now it turns out that the new boosters might not do much of anything.
Some vaccine advisers to the federal government on Wednesday said they are &#8220;disappointed” and “angry” that government scientists and the pharmaceutical company Moderna failed to provide certain infection data on the effectiveness of its latest COVID booster during meetings last year.
Even without the data, the advisers approved the new booster. But now, the data shows the updated booster might not be any more effective than the original shots, which targeted a completely different strain of the virus.
&#8220;I was angry to find out that there was data that was relevant to our decision that we didn’t get to see,” said Dr. Paul Offit, a member of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, a group of external advisers that helps the FDA make vaccine decisions, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/11/health/moderna-bivalent-transparency/index.html">according</a> to CNN.
“Decisions that are made for the public have to be made based on all available information – not just some information, but all information,&#8221; he said.
Earlier this month, India reported the first incidence of the Omicron subtype XBB-1.5. That has now moved around the world.
The CDC <a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home" target="_blank" rel="noopener">estimates</a> that XBB.1.5 infections have more than doubled each week for the last four, rising from about 4% to 41% of new infections over the month of December. In the Northeast, the CDC estimates that the new strain was responsible for 75% of new cases.
And earlier this month, the CDC announced America had become the first country to officially reach the milestone of 100 million COVID cases.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent for a national newspaper. He was also the a.m. editor of the Drudge Report for four years. Send tips to josephcurl@dailywire.com and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.

The EU Looks Forward To Covid-19 Vaccine Rollout

GOUGE: Moderna, Pfizer Want To Cash In Even More On COVID Vaccine

COVID-19

The Florida Supreme Court approved a request from Gov. Ron DeSantis to impanel a grand jury with the intent to investigate mRNA vaccine manufacturers.
DeSantis announced earlier this month he is petitioning the state’s highest court to impanel a grand jury to investigate any wrongdoing related to COVID vaccines.
“It is against the law to mislead and to misrepresent, particularly when you’re talking about the efficacy of a drug,” DeSantis told local media.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Gov. Ron DeSantis on plan to investigate potential mRNA COVID-19 vaccine wrongdoing: &quot;It is against the law to mislead and to misrepresent, particularly when you&#39;re talking about the efficacy of a drug.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/39ITxvMStj">pic.twitter.com/39ITxvMStj</a>
&mdash; Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/FLVoiceNews/status/1602705485630787586?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 13, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
According to <a href="https://flvoicenews.com/desantis-grand-jury-impaneled-to-investigate-mrna-vaccine-manufacturers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">local media</a>, groups involved in the design, development, clinical testing, marketing, and distribution of such vaccines are subject to a statewide impaneled grand jury investigation for one year.
DeSantis’ petition said widespread belief was that the COVID-19 vaccine would prevent the disease from spreading, which led to mandates on citizens, health care workers, and military members.
“It is impossible to imagine that so many influential individuals came to this view on their own. Rather, it is likely that individuals and companies with an incentive to do so created these perceptions for financial gain,” the petition said, according to local media.
Moderna and Pfizer’s argued the vaccine prevented COVID from spreading with “94.1% efficacy” and “91.3% vaccine efficacy.”
The Daily Wire reached out to Pfizer and Moderna for a response to DeSantis.
“Regulatory agencies across the world have authorized the use of our COVID-19 vaccine,” a Pfizer spokesperson said in a statement. “These authorizations are based on robust and independent evaluation of the scientific data on quality, safety and efficacy, including our landmark phase 3 clinical trial. Data from real world studies complement the clinical trial data and provide additional evidence that the vaccine provides effective protection against severe disease.”
The Pfizer representative added: “Over the course of this deadly pandemic, mRNA vaccines have saved hundreds of thousands of lives, tens of billions of dollars in health care costs, and enabled people worldwide to go about their lives more freely. As of November 27th, 2022, we have delivered 4.3 billion vaccines to 181 countries and territories in every region of the world.”
The governor made the announcement alongside Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, and other health officials at an event focused on “accountability” for the COVID mRNA shots.
“That will come with legal processes that we’ll be able to get more information and to bring legal accountability for those who committed misconduct,” DeSantis said.
Concerns for such misconduct spurred from studies that showed a link in an increase of myocarditis, which is an inflammation of the heart muscle, in teenagers and young adults after receiving the mRNA vaccine.
Myocarditis after mRNA COVID vaccination is “rare yet potentially serious,” according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study published in <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/article/PIIS2352-4642(22)00244-9/fulltext#:~:text=After%20at%20least%2090%20days,populations%20of%20a%20similar%20age." target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Lancet.</a>
Daniel Chaitin contributed to this report.

Top GOP Leaders Attend Republican Jewish Coalition Annual Meeting In Las Vegas

Florida Supreme Court Approves Gov. DeSantis Request To Impanel Grand Jury On Investigating COVID-19 Vaccine Manufacturers

Florida

Ron DeSantis

Myocarditis cases hit levels two-to-three times higher in people with a second dose of the Moderna <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/covid-19">COVID-19</a> vaccine than the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, research shows.
American College of Cardiology released a <a href="https://www.acc.org/About-ACC/Press-Releases/2022/11/07/18/58/Which-COVID-Vaccine-You-Get-Can-Impact-Myocarditis-Risk">study</a> last week that showed that males and females between 18 and 39 with the Moderna vaccine had higher rates of pericarditis and myocarditis. However, males ages 18-29 had the highest rates after receiving the second dose of Moderna.
The National Institutes of Health reports patients experience symptoms of chest pain, fever, fatigue, shortness of breath, and a rapid or irregular pulse, heart failure, shock or death.
Researchers pulled data from approximately 3 million people in British Columbia, Canada, and used participants over the age of 18 who were hospitalized for myocarditis, pericarditis, or myopericarditis within 21 days after having received a second Pfizer or Moderna between Jan. 1, 2021, and Sept. 9, 2021. The study excluded participants that had experienced myocarditis or pericarditis within one year before receiving the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
&#8220;Within 21 days of the second dose, there were a total of 59 myocarditis cases, 21 after Pfizer and 31 after Moderna; and there were a total of 41 pericarditis cases: 21 after Pfizer and 20 after Moderna,&#8221; the study reads. &#8220;Researchers also looked at rates per million doses and the rate was 35.6 cases per million for Moderna and 12.6 per million for Pfizer—an almost threefold increase after Moderna shots vs. Pfizer.&#8221;
&#8220;Comparatively, rates of myocarditis in the general population in 2018, were 2.01 per million in people under age 40 and 2.2 per million in people over age 40,&#8221; the study added.
Guy Witberg, MD, MPH, a cardiologist at Rabin Medical Center in Petah-Tikva, Israel, said the study is &#8220;reassuring for vaccine safety,&#8221; adding it personalizes the approach to administering COVID-19 vaccines since further data shows myocarditis is a very rare adverse event after both vaccines.
[The study] should help put to rest &#8216;vaccine hesitancy&#8217; due to concerns over cardiac adverse events,&#8221; Witberg said. &#8220;This is one of only a few direct comparisons of the two widely adopted mRNA vaccines, and its results have practical policy implications: for a substantial segment of the population suffering from cardiovascular disease.&#8221;
Moderna spokesman Luke Mircea-Willats emailed a statement to <a href="https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2022/11/07/myocarditis-COVID-mRNA-vaccines-study/1131667835861/">UPI</a> saying, &#8220;mRNA-1273 has been administered to hundreds of millions of people worldwide and has been shown to be effective against both the original strain of the virus and its major variants.&#8221;
&#8220;Regulatory agencies around the world have stated that the benefits of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines significantly outweigh the risk across all age groups,&#8221; Mircea-Willats wrote. &#8220;Vaccination against COVID-19 continues to be a critical tool in overcoming the impacts of the global pandemic.&#8221;
Moderna told UPI myocarditis cases are a known but &#8220;very rare&#8221; risk associated with COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, adding, &#8220;when it does occur, cases are generally mild and resolve after a few days with treatment and rest.&#8221;
Moderna further notes population levels indicate that the risk of myocarditis after COVID-19 infection is much higher than after COVID-19 vaccination, adding it &#8220;shares all adverse events data with regulators and has a robust pharmacovigilance function, ensuring any adverse events are recorded and shared with the regulator in line with local regulations.&#8221;
The research drew mainstream media attention over the weekend.
Da&#8217;Vion Miller, 23, told <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/myocarditis-covid-vaccine-research-long-term-effects-rcna55666">NBC News</a> that he initially experienced heart inflammation symptoms like chest pain, fatigue, shortness of breath, and dizziness two days after receiving his first Pfizer vaccine in October 2021.
Within the week after taking the shot, Miller was found unconscious in his bathroom in Detroit.
&#8220;It&#8217;s been a scary experience,&#8221; he said, adding he still experiences similar symptoms and has been in and out of the hospital following his diagnosis.
NBC reports Pfizer and the Pediatric Heart Network will conduct a study of people who were previously hospitalized with myocarditis associated with the vaccine over five years in the U.S. and Canada
Dr. Simone Gold,  founder of America&#8217;s Frontline Doctors, who was de-platformed by social media giants Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube for posting information surrounding COVID-19 in 2020, said Pfizer and Moderna are launching clinical trials to track vaccine-caused myocarditis in teens and young adults.
We were censored for exposing the dangers of these experimental biological agents,&#8221; Gold said. &#8220;Now, even the creators of the “vaccines” are forced to recognize the truth.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
BREAKING: Pfizer and Moderna are launching clinical trials to track vaccine-caused myocarditis in teens/young adults.
We were censored for exposing the dangers of these experimental biological agents.
Now, even the creators of the “vaccines” are forced to recognize the truth.
&mdash; Dr. Simone Gold (@drsimonegold) <a href="https://twitter.com/drsimonegold/status/1591936699734654980?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 13, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

COVID-19 Vaccination in Colombia

Myocarditis Risk From COVID-19 Vaccines Up To 3 times Higher From Moderna Than Pfizer: Study

Double COVID Vaxxed Adults Under 40 Among Highest Risk Of Myocarditis : Study 

If you&#8217;re young and healthy, you may not need a COVID booster shot despite what the CDC says, according to no less an authority than the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/moderna" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CEO of Moderna</a>.
While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending everyone above age five get booster shots, Stéphane Bancel begs to differ. Even though his company stands to continue profiting off its mRNA vaccine, it’s best to think of the boosters as annual flu shots, he said.
“I think it&#8217;s going to be like the flu,” Bancel told investors Monday in comments <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11327615/Modernas-CEO-admits-vulnerable-need-Covid-booster-shot.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported by the Daily Mail</a>. “If you&#8217;re a 25-year-old, do you need an annual booster every year if you&#8217;re healthy?
“You might want to&#8230; but I think it&#8217;s going to be similar to flu, where it&#8217;s going to be people at high-risk, people above 50 years of age, people with comorbidities, people with cancer and other conditions, people with transplants,” he said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
“Bancel (CEO of Moderna) noted that not everyone is likely to need an annual booster. &quot;I think it&#39;s going to be like the flu. If you&#39;re a 25-year-old do you need an annual booster every year if you&#39;re healthy?“
 <a href="https://t.co/DrqTsaxmNc">https://t.co/DrqTsaxmNc</a>
&mdash; Jewhadi™ (@JewhadiTM) <a href="https://twitter.com/JewhadiTM/status/1582186583133851648?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 18, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Even pro-vaccine skeptics have questioned why young, healthy people and small children need regular booster shots since they are at very little risk of suffering significant illness. Booster backers have long claimed kids should be fully vaccinated so that they won’t pass the virus on to more vulnerable adults, but a Pfizer executive acknowledged last week to European lawmakers that her company’s vaccine was never tested for preventing transmission.
Young men and adolescent boys face an elevated risk of heart inflammation known as myocarditis after the second dose of Pfizer&#8217;s and Moderna&#8217;s shots. But the CDC says the same group faces an even higher risk of myocarditis from COVID itself.
Still, the CDC on Wednesday recommended the new omicron boosters for kids as young as 5. Children ages 5 to 11 are eligible for Pfizer&#8217;s booster, and kids ages 6-17 are eligible for Moderna&#8217;s. Pfizer&#8217;s new boosters were cleared for people ages 12 and up in September, while Moderna&#8217;s were authorized for adults ages 18 and older.
&#8220;We encourage parents to consider primary vaccination for children and follow-up with an updated booster dose when eligible,&#8221; Dr. Peter Marks, head of the FDA&#8217;s vaccine division, said last week.
The new &#8220;bivalent&#8221; boosters are designed to protect against the original strain of coronavirus as well as the omicron B.A. 4 and 5 variants. The White House is urging Americans to get their updated booster at the same time as their flu shot.
The autumn booster shot campaign has started slowly, with only about 15 million doses administered to date, according to CDC data. That&#8217;s just 5% of the eligible population.
“People are now tuned out, trying to forget it and move on with their lives,” <a tabindex="0" href="https://medicine.buffalo.edu/faculty/profile.html?ubit=trusso" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-t="{&quot;n&quot;:&quot;destination&quot;,&quot;t&quot;:13,&quot;b&quot;:1,&quot;c.t&quot;:7}">Dr. Thomas Russo</a>, an infectious disease expert at the University of Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/people-still-aren-e2-80-99t-getting-the-new-covid-booster-experts-say-they-aren-e2-80-99t-surprised/ar-AA136FCA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told SELF</a>. “They don’t want to hear about COVID anymore.”

Cancel

Moderna CEO Splits With CDC On COVID Booster Shots For Healthy Folks Under 50

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized updated COVID booster shots on Wednesday created to specifically target subvariants of Omicron.
The FDA shared the approval in a Wednesday announcement that amended the emergency use authorizations for both Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna&#8217;s boosters.
“The COVID-19 vaccines, including boosters, continue to save countless lives and prevent the most serious outcomes (hospitalization and death) of COVID-19,” FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said in the <a href="https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/coronavirus-covid-19-update-fda-authorizes-moderna-pfizer-biontech-bivalent-covid-19-vaccines-use" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>. “As we head into fall and begin to spend more time indoors, we strongly encourage anyone who is eligible to consider receiving a booster dose with a bivalent COVID-19 vaccine to provide better protection against currently circulating variants.”
Pfizer&#8217;s booster will be made available for those 12 years old and older. Moderna&#8217;s approval is for those 18 years old and above.
The boosters include the components of the original COVID vaccine along with an mRNA component to target the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of Omicron.
The most recent <a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#variant-proportions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> provided by the CDC reveals that the BA.5 variant is responsible for 88.7% of all new cases between August 21 and August 27. The BA.4 variant included an additional 3.6% of new cases.
“The agility of the mRNA platform, together with extensive clinical experience with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, has allowed us to develop, test and manufacture updated, high-quality vaccines that align to circulating strains with unprecedented speed,” <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220822005376/en/Pfizer-and-BioNTech-Submit-Application-to-U.S.-FDA-for-Emergency-Use-Authorization-of-Omicron-BA.4BA.5-Adapted-Bivalent-COVID-19-Vaccine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Albert Bourla, chairman and CEO of Pfizer.
“Having rapidly scaled up production, we are positioned to immediately begin distribution of the bivalent Omicron BA.4/BA.5 boosters, if authorized, to help protect individuals and families as we prepare for potential fall and winter surges,” he added.
For both booster shots, individuals are eligible “if it has been at least two months since they have completed primary vaccination or have received the most recent booster dose with any authorized or approved monovalent COVID-19 vaccine,” according to the FDA.
A committee from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to approve the final step in the process this week before the new vaccine boosters begin distribution later this month.
Some health professionals are concerned regarding the new FDA approval, however, as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/report-covid-boosters-could-be-authorized-for-use-before-human-testing-is-completed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">testing in humans</a> has not yet been completed.
“I’m uncomfortable that we would move forward — that we would give millions or tens of millions of doses to people — based on mouse data,” Paul Offit, an FDA adviser and director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/latest-covid-boosters-are-set-to-roll-out-before-human-testing-is-completed-11661679003" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the Wall Street Journal in a report published on Sunday.
Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in the news release that much care has been given regarding the safety of those taking the new boosters.
“The public can be assured that a great deal of care has been taken by the FDA to ensure that these bivalent COVID-19 vaccines meet our rigorous safety, effectiveness and manufacturing quality standards for emergency use authorization,” he stated.

COVID vaccine

FDA Authorizes Pfizer and Moderna’s Updated COVID Boosters

FDA Authorizes Pfizer and Moderna’s Updated COVID-19 Boosters

Biopharmaceutical giant <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/moderna" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Moderna</a> is filing a lawsuit against <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/pfizer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pfizer</a>-BioNTech in U.S. and German courts on Friday, alleging patent infringements in the development of its mRNA-based <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/covid">COVID</a> vaccine.
Pfizer&#8217;s vaccine, now marketed as Comirnaty, was the first COVID vaccine approved on an emergency basis in the U.S., and in nearly two years since its approval, has been given hundreds of millions of times. But the other mRNA vaccine, which was authorized in the U.S. several weeks later, was based on the same technology and Pfizer didn&#8217;t have the right to use it, Moderna argues.
“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 preceding the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Stéphane Bancel, chief executive officer of Moderna. “This foundational platform, which we began building in 2010, along with our patented work on coronaviruses in 2015 and 2016, enabled us to produce a safe and highly effective COVID-19 vaccine in record time after the pandemic struck.”
“As we work to combat health challenges moving forward, Moderna is using our mRNA technology platform to develop medicines that could treat and prevent infectious diseases like influenza and HIV, as well as autoimmune and cardiovascular diseases and rare forms of cancer,” he said.
Pfizer said in a statement Friday morning that it was surprised by the lawsuit.
&#8220;Pfizer/BioNTech has not yet fully reviewed the complaint but we are surprised by the litigation given the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine was based on BioNTech’s proprietary mRNA technology and developed by both BioNTech and Pfizer,&#8221; the company said. &#8220;We remain confident in our intellectual property supporting the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and will vigorously defend against the allegations of the lawsuit.&#8221;
Moderna says it does not want Pfizer&#8217;s vaccine removed from use, and would consider a &#8220;reasonable license&#8221; should its competitors want to use the vaccine in other markets, particularly in lower-income countries. They are also not seeking damages for the vaccine&#8217;s use in lower-income countries. But in other wealthier countries, Moderna is looking for compensation.
&#8220;Moderna expects Pfizer and BioNTech to compensate Moderna for Comirnaty®&#8217;s ongoing use of Moderna&#8217;s patented technologies,&#8221; said Moderna&#8217;s chief legal officer Shannon Thyme Klinger. &#8220;Our mission to create a new generation of transformative medicines for patients by delivering on the promise of mRNA science cannot be achieved without a patent system that rewards and protects innovation.&#8221;
This is a developing story; refresh the page for updates.

GERMANY-HEALTH-VIRUS-VACCINE

Moderna Suing Pfizer Over COVID Vaccine

Moderna Suing Pfizer Over Its COVID Vaccine

The <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Biden administration</a> plans to stop paying for COVID <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/covid-19-vaccine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vaccines</a> and will begin shifting costs toward the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/health-care" target="_blank" rel="noopener">marketplace</a>, according to a Thursday report from The Wall Street Journal.
The Department of Health and Human Services will hold a planning session at the end of the month with pharmaceutical companies and state health departments to chart the transition, according to the outlet. The move could result in higher profits for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/pfizer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pfizer</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/moderna" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Moderna</a>, which, along with other pharmaceutical companies, have earned more than $79 billion in global sales from COVID shots and treatments.
“We’ve known at some point we’d need to move over into the commercial market, and we’re approaching that time now,” Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary Dawn O’Connell <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-administration-plans-for-end-of-covid-19-shot-treatment-coverage-11660838418?mod=hp_lead_pos6">told</a> The Journal. “We don’t want to do it by fiat.”
Because a shift to the marketplace will lead to insurers negotiating with manufacturers to determine prices, costs for COVID treatments will likely increase as insurance premiums rise. Meanwhile, roughly 31.6 million Americans do not have health insurance, according to the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr169.pdf">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a>.
The White House <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-is-science-pelosi-says-22-5-billion-in-extra-covid-money-is-absolutely-necessary">requested</a> $22.5 billion in new funds for COVID treatments in March. Office of Management and Budget Acting Director Shalanda Young <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21417654-covid-letter_pelosi-31521">contended</a> in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) that a lack of funding would leave the nation “unequipped to deal with a future surge,” especially with regard to variant-specific booster shots.
Republicans, however, noted that billions of dollars from past stimulus packages remained unspent. “The American people need an accounting on how much is left,” Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/596726-senate-republicans-oppose-bidens-225-billion-covid-relief-request/">argued</a>. “Let’s spend that first before we start borrowing more.”
The report comes days after President Joe Biden lambasted Republican lawmakers for voting against provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act meant to reduce certain medical costs.
“Every single Republican in Congress voted against this bill. Every single Republican in Congress voted against lowering prescription drug prices, against lowering healthcare costs, against a fairer tax system,” Biden <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2022/08/16/remarks-by-president-biden-at-signing-of-h-r-5376-the-inflation-reduction-act-of-2022/">said</a> at a Tuesday bill signing. “Every single Republican — every single one — voted against tackling the climate crisis, against lowering our energy costs, against creating good-paying jobs.”
Biden likewise <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-takes-credit-for-hearing-aids-made-available-over-the-counter-the-law-that-made-it-happen-was-signed-under-trump">took credit</a> for a law passed under President Donald Trump that made hearing aids available over the counter.
“For millions of Americans, hearing aids and the doctor’s visit to get them prescribed are too expensive,” Biden said in a statement. “In the executive order I issued last year to increase competition in key industries and lower costs, I called on the FDA to finally make hearing aids available over the counter.”
The new policy, however, was initially crafted by the 2017 Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Act and implemented after the Food and Drug Administration issued a final rule on the legislation.
“Reducing health care costs in America has been a priority of mine since Day One and this rule is expected to help us achieve quality, affordable health care access for millions of Americans in need,” Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra added. “Today’s action by the FDA represents a significant milestone in making hearing aids more cost-effective and accessible.”

Joe Biden

Days After Biden Pinned Drug Costs On Republicans, White House Will Stop Paying For COVID Treatments, Report Says

Biden Administration To Stop Paying For COVID Treatments, Will Pass Costs To Consumers

Biden Administration

Health Care

The pharmaceutical company <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/moderna">Moderna</a> on Monday announced that the initial tests of its <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/covid-19">COVID</a> <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/covid-19-vaccine">booster</a> specifically targeting the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/omicron">Omicron</a> variant known as BA.5 show it is more effective than previous shots.
BA.5 has become the main strain of the virus but early data <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/scientists-are-worried-about-a-pair-of-new-covid-subvariants-that-may-attack-lungs">shows</a> that it can slip past antibodies created by other vaccines or by even having gotten the virus before. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention <a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#variant-proportions">says</a> the variant now makes up 53.6% of sequenced cases.
&#8220;We are very pleased that our bivalent platform continues to demonstrate better performance than the current booster,&#8221; Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel <a href="https://investors.modernatx.com/news/news-details/2022/Modernas-Omicron-Containing-Bivalent-Booster-Candidate-mRNA-1273.214-Demonstrates-Significantly-Higher-Neutralizing-Antibody-Response-Against-Omicron-Subvariants-BA.45-Compared-To-Currently-Authorized-Booster/default.aspx">said</a> in a statement.
Researchers collected data from 800 participants in the trial, which tested various formulations of the booster. Moderna said the second formulation of its booster generated &#8220;nearly 70% more antibodies effective against BA.5 than a previous version did a month after receival of the dose,&#8221; the Daily Mail <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11002495/Moderna-announces-Omicron-specific-COVID-19-booster-effective-against-BA-5.html">reported</a>.
Last month, a panel of independent advisers that works with the Food and Drug Administration <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fda-panel-recommends-new-covid-19-shots-to-target-omicron-variant">recommended</a> producing new COVID vaccines to target the Omicron variant.
By a 19-2 vote, the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee approved a plan to have new vaccines ready by early October. The panel said the newly formulated vaccines are needed because new subvariants of the Omicron strain appear to be able to bypass antibodies delivered via previous vaccines.
That would mean Americans could be urged to take a fourth shot, with fifth shots for the immunocompromised and people over 50 years old.
The move comes as a new COVID wave is starting in New York City, and a top epidemiologist there <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/top-doc-new-covid-19-wave-starting-worst-version-of-omicron">says</a> it’s from one of the stronger subvariants of Omicron.
SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID, has been morphing to stay alive — and there are now at least 11 variants and subvariants, <a href="https://disasterphilanthropy.org/disasters/covid-19-coronavirus/?gclid=CjwKCAjwiJqWBhBdEiwAtESPaNf0ZqeKZWrJoH0C64R-UaUTlCl2rTKruA5CbuOYAsNJaXlfu0RPSxoC2soQAvD_BwE">according</a> to one health site. Scientists have <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01771-3">noted</a> that various vaccines out there — all created to battle the original strain — are less effective against newer variants.
This week, two pharmaceutical giants, Pfizer and BioNTech, announced they are working together to create a new super &#8220;universal&#8221; vaccine that will target multiple variants of the virus.
“A universal coronavirus vaccine has the potential to better protect against future variants of SARS-CoV-2 as well as other coronaviruses that have the potential to spill over into the human population,” Dr. Jarrod Mousa, assistant professor at the Center for Vaccines and Immunology at the University of Georgia, <a href="https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/pfizer-and-biontech-to-test-universal-covid-19-vaccine-candidate#Universal-vaccines">told</a> Medical News Today.
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent for a national newspaper. He was also the a.m. editor of the Drudge Report for four years. Send tips to josephcurl@dailywire.com and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.

COVID-19 model

Moderna Says New Booster More Effective Targeting Now-Dominant BA.5 Variant Of COVID

Menu