What you can do to #FlattenTheFlu

November 16, 2020
We have late-breaking positive news from Moderna, who says their COVID-19 vaccine candidate is 94.5% effective. But we’re not in the clear yet: it’s flu season, and we all have to do our part to #FlattenTheFlu. Details below, plus how plant biotech can help feed the…
BIO

We have late-breaking positive news from Moderna, who says their COVID-19 vaccine candidate is 94.5% effective. But we’re not in the clear yet: it’s flu season, and we all have to do our part to #FlattenTheFlu. Details below, plus how plant biotech can help feed the world. (800 words, 4 minutes)

 

What you can do to #FlattenTheFlu

#FlattenTheFlu
 
 

COVID-19 cases continue to reach record levels across the United States—and now, it’s flu season. Check out #FlattenTheFlu, an international campaign to promote flu vaccination.

Led by the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA) and International Federation of Ageing (IFA),#FlattenTheFlu is an international campaign to promote flu vaccination, which is more important than ever as the pandemic rages on. 

The flu vaccine can “take a substantial strain off the health care system, which will already be coping—in overdrive—with COVID,” said Vanderbilt’s Dr. William Schaffner on a recent episode of the I AM BIO Podcast.  

It can help build herd immunity to protect certain at-risk populations, including health care workers, adults over the age of 65, and patients living with chronic medical conditions, who face greater risk of flu-related complications, hospitalization, and death.

And it can reduce your individual risk, by preventing infections or making them less severe, and reducing risk of coinfection with influenza/coronavirus.

What can you do to flatten the flu?

  1. If you haven’t already, get your flu vaccine. To find out where you can get a vaccine near you, visit www.vaccinefinder.org.
  2. Continue social distancing—and wear a mask when you cannot, which protects yourself and those around you.
  3. Join the conversation and share resources with #FlattenTheFlu.

 

More Health Care News:

AP: BioNTech scientist: Vaccine could halve virus transmission
“One of the scientists behind the experimental coronavirus vaccine developed by BioNTech and Pfizer said Sunday that he was confident that it could halve the transmission of the virus, resulting in a ‘dramatic’ curb of the virus’ spread.” 

NPR: Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine shines in clinical trial
“The biotech company Moderna, Inc., said Monday that its experimental vaccine was 94.5% effective in preventing disease, according to an analysis of its clinical trial.” [Moderna Statement

The Wall Street Journal: Trump administration’s rule ending drug rebates in Medicare nears final approval
“The revised rule takes into account President Trump’s executive order requiring it doesn’t raise premiums or increase federal spending.”

 
 
 
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How gene editing could help reduce hunger and poverty

 
 

Food insecurity is a global crisis—but biotechnology, and specifically gene editing, could provide solutions to help, says a new resource from Innovature. Let’s dig in. 

2 BILLION—that’s the number of people who did not have regular access to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food in 2019, according to the United Nations.

But new plant-breeding technologies (like gene editing) could offer solutions, by developing more resilient crops, empowering farmers to grow higher-yielding and more nutritious crops, and sustaining agricultural economies especially in developing countries.

Remind me again—what’s gene editing? It’s a more precise and faster form of plant breeding, in which scientists use tools like CRISPR “to make targeted improvements to a plant’s DNA, typically working solely within the plant’s own family,” explains Innovature

And gene editing has huge potential to help improve our food supply—from developing crops that are resistant to pests and heat, to making them resistant to browning and bruising to reduce food waste, to making them more nutritious.

It can also help reduce poverty—by increasing the types of soil in which crops can be grown and the amount of a crop that can be produced on a given amount of land, and protecting key income-producing crops like banana and coffee, to name just two. 

Great. What’s the catch? We need to modernize plant biotech regulations and grow trust in these biotech solutions. BIO is continuing to prioritize both.

Learn more about the promise of gene editing at Innovature.

 
 
 
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The nomination period is underway for the Buzz of BIO contest at the 2021 BIO CEO & Investor Digital Conference, one of the largest independent investor conferences focused on established and emerging publicly traded and select private biotech companies. 

Five buzzworthy biotechs will be nominated in each of three categories: Public Therapeutic Biotech, Private Therapeutic Biotech, and Diagnostics and Beyond.

Winners receive a complimentary conference registration and company presentation as well as promotion via BIO’s marketing channels. 

Now in its 20th year, the 2021 event will take place virtually from February 16-18 and present a broad and unbiased view of investment opportunities, the new U.S. Congressional agenda, the record-setting pacing of biotech IPOs, and the hottest clinical developments and industry catalysts. 

Learn more about the event and the Buzz of BIO contest.

Ready to join us? Register for the BIO CEO & Investor Digital Conference.

 
 
 
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BIO Beltway Report
BIO Beltway Report
 
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President Trump’s Monday: Lunch with the veep. After, VP Pence is expected to speak with governors about the coronavirus response. 

President-Elect Biden’s Monday: He and VP-elect Kamala Harris will give remarks on the economy. The Wall Street Journal lists five health policy issues for CFOs to watch under a Biden administration

What’s Happening on Capitol Hill: The House and Senate are both back to work, with the House set to decide on leadership this week, per POLITICO Playbook.

 
 
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