Spread facts

Do you have questions about COVID-19 vaccines? We have answers, thanks to our new website COVID Vaccine Facts, which launched today.

COVID Vaccine Facts (www.covidvaccinefacts.org) is an educational tool that links health care providers and the public to scientific and evidence-based information related to the vaccine development process. 

Simply type your question in the box—and get a number of “frequently asked questions” and answers (independently reviewed by health experts) in English and Spanish.

Questions like…

• What is a vaccine?
• How are vaccines developed?
• How is everyone moving so quickly to develop a vaccine for COVID-19?
• How will we know a COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective?
• When will my family and I receive a vaccine for COVID-19?

The website also explains complex concepts like herd immunity, antibodies, and emergency use authorization in plain language with visual elements. 

Why it matters: According to a recent Gallup poll, 58% of Americans say they would get a COVID-19 vaccine. While this is an increase from an earlier poll, it’s important for everyone who is able to take the vaccine to do so to protect yourself, your family, and the community, and get back to normal.

Dr. Michelle’s Diagnosis: Our biopharma companies have made incredible progress in finding vaccines and other scientific solutions we need to end this pandemic. However, developing vaccines is only part of the battle. We will not find relief from this pandemic unless we ensure all families and communities have access to vaccines—and have confidence in taking them. We hope COVIDVaccineFacts.org will serve as a unique and comprehensive resource to educate the public on the scientifically rigorous, transparent, and safety-focused vaccine development process to build trust in our industry’s unprecedented response to this pandemic. – BIO President and CEO Dr. Michelle McMurry-Heath

What you can do:spread facts. We’ve created social media posts and shareable graphics in English and Spanish so you can be a superspreader—of facts. 

Visit www.covidvaccinefacts.org to ask your questions and share information.

The International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) recently released their annual survey on the global status of biotech crops in 2019, and it was good news all around. BIO’s Cornelia Poku takes a look.

Worldwide acceptance and use of biotech crops is growing—and this increase has demonstrable benefits, according to the survey, Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops in 2019: Biotech Crops Drive Socio-Economic Development and Sustainable Environment in the New Frontier. 

“Nowadays, ‘biotech crops’ no longer only refers to soy, corn, cotton, and canola—now it also means alfalfa, sugar beets, sugar cane, eggplant, squash, apples, papaya, potatoes, pineapples, and more!” says Cornelia.

What are some of the benefits? “[I]ncreasing crop productivity by about $225 billion, reduced CO2 emissions by the equivalent of removing 15.3 million cars off the road for a year, and positively impacting the lives of 17 million farmers many of whom are in developing nations,” she explains. 

What they’re saying: “These economic benefits, health improvement, and social gains obtained through biotech crop adoption must be made known to the global community so that farmers and consumers can make informed choices on what crops to grow and consume, respectively,” the authors wrote. 

Read the whole thing.

Want to know more about biotech crops? Visit innovature.com or our partners at gmoanswers.com.

More Agriculture and Environment News: 

IFPEN News: Cargill, IFPEN, and Axens collaborate to advance lactic-to-acrylic-acid technology
“The collaboration leverages Cargill’s experience with bio-based materials, IFPEN’s expertise in the field of catalyst and bioprocess development, and Axens’ catalyst manufacturing and industrial scale-up design process to commercialize the Procter & Gamble (P&G) company’s lactic-to-acrylic-acid technology, which Cargill licensed in earlier this year.” 

DTN Progressive Farmer: Scott, Thompson to lead House Agriculture Committee in Next Congress
"The House Democratic Caucus on Thursday approved the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee's recommendation of Rep. David Scott, R-Ga., as chairman of the House Agriculture Committee."

President Trump’s Friday: No public events scheduled. 

President-elect Biden’s Friday: Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo abruptly took herself out of the running to lead Health and Human Services (HHS), reports POLITICO. Meanwhile, Biden asked Dr. Fauci to serve as chief medical adviser, and more advisers have been named to his COVID-19 response team. 

What’s Happening on Capitol Hill:Coronavirus relief and spending talks are expected to continue today.