Pharmacy

Two healthcare workers in the U.K. had anaphylactic reactions to Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, prompting the National Health Service to issue a warning for people with a history of severe allergic reactions to not get the vaccine, The Wall Street Journal…

Two drugs that aren't meant to be taken together can cause negative and sometimes fatal reactions, such as canceling out each others' effects or affecting the body's absorption, excretion and metabolism.

AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine was 70 percent effective at preventing infection from the virus in more than 11,000 participants in late-stage international trials, according to results published Dec. 8 in The Lancet. 

Novo Nordisk has sent a notice to 340B member hospitals saying that starting Jan. 1 it will no longer give 340B discounts to contract pharmacies. 

Retail pharmacy and healthcare giant CVS has shaken up its leadership team in the past month, naming three new executives.

States struggling to prioritize COVID-19 vaccinations are leaning on healthcare providers to make the decisions, arguing that they are better equipped to determine who should be first, Politico reported. 

The White House will be hosting a "vaccine summit" Dec. 8 intended to build public trust in COVID-19 vaccines, but neither Pfizer nor Moderna will be in attendance, The Hill reported. 

Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, told CNBC Dec. 8 that Pfizer made several offers to the U.S to purchase more doses of its COVID-19 vaccine, but the offers were declined.

The FDA's vaccine advisory committee confirmed that Pfizer's vaccine is highly effective, has no significant safety risks and meets the agency's standards for emergency approval, according to documents published by the agency Dec. 8. 

Margaret Keenan, a 90-year-old woman from the United Kingdom, on Dec. 8 became the first person to receive a COVID-19 vaccine outside of a clinical trial, according to the Washington Post.