Coronavirus Impact III

ahalpert said:
I had to look up "boffins"
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LOL I sometimes forget we are two nations divided by a common language:-)

ahalpert said:
Sounds like unequivocally good news about AstraZeneca re:delaying 2nd dose. It would be good if they do achieve parity with efficacy of pfizer/moderna because that would eliminate preference for one over the other on the part of patients (like me). I havent read any red flags raised over its safety, only over if the half-dose results were a red herring or not
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One boffin said something interesting at another presser yesterday, he advised the media not to compare the efficacy data between different vaccines too closely, saying the data points are different in the different trials - what Pfizer count as a case of COVID is different from what AstraZeneca do. He rather undermined his point by not sharing the different definitions they use though... Worth noting flu vaccine is usually around 40% effective so these new vaccines really are a staggering achievement on so many levels.
 
Does that flu vaccine efficacy take into account that there are different strains? Are they 40% effective against the strain they target? Or are they 40% effective because something else might get you?

Yeah pfizer/moderna could be cooking their numbers. Or astrazeneca could be in order to catch up. Whatever. Just jab me with something already
 
ahalpert said:
Does that flu vaccine efficacy take into account that there are different strains? Are they 40% effective against the strain they target? Or are they 40% effective because something else might get you?
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No idea.

ahalpert said:
Yeah pfizer/moderna could be cooking their numbers. Or astrazeneca could be in order to catch up. Whatever. Just jab me with something already
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Luckily, the drug companies are not in control of the data for trials, so we can trust it. It just needs deep analysis to fully understand it. For example, two people were hospitalised on the AstraZen trials but one probably had COVID before they received the jab and the other caught it only days after so it wouldn't;t have been effective.

It struck me as strange their trial was halted as they were a few weeks ahead of the other vaccines. I put that down to politics, but won't elaborate on here as I don't want to upset the mods...
 
I used to tell everyone in Austin that boffin was a Aussie/kiwi term for fluffer.. I’m also guilty of spreading the rumor that russel Crowe had 2 on staff while he recorded his album in town back in the day.
 
Liam Hall said:
Luckily, the drug companies are not in control of the data for trials, so we can trust it. It just needs deep analysis to fully understand it.
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I'm not saying they would or could lie about their numbers. But just as you said that different companies may "count as a case" differently - where things are subject to interpretation, I wouldn't be surprised if they chose to interpret them in the most favorable light. And by catch up I meant match efficacy rates, not gain authorization asap. Looking at the news archives, yes I see that the trial hold went on longer in the US...
 
ahalpert said:
Does that flu vaccine efficacy take into account that there are different strains? Are they 40% effective against the strain they target? Or are they 40% effective because something else might get you?

Yeah pfizer/moderna could be cooking their numbers. Or astrazeneca could be in order to catch up. Whatever. Just jab me with something already
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My GF is a paramedic(now in a supervisory role and not on an ambulance). The service administered the vaccine to those on her shift who wanted it on Tuesday(the other supervisor on her shift took it). She declined and said she would wait and see what happened to others. She said one of the red flags to her was the day they administered it. Tuesday. Because her shift was then off on Wednesday and Thursday. She said they probably did that so that if someone got sick or had side-effects, it (probably) would not interfere with them working a scheduled shift, since they would have two days between receiving the vaccine and working again.
 
Run&Gun said:
My GF is a paramedic(now in a supervisory role and not on an ambulance). The service administered the vaccine to those on her shift who wanted it on Tuesday(the other supervisor on her shift took it). She declined and said she would wait and see what happened to others. She said one of the red flags to her was the day they administered it. Tuesday. Because her shift was then off on Wednesday and Thursday. She said they probably did that so that if someone got sick or had side-effects, it (probably) would not interfere with them working a scheduled shift, since they would have two days between receiving the vaccine and working again.
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Is she normally concerned with taking vaccines or is it the speed these vaccines were produced that worried her? As I travel a lot, I've had so many jabs over the years I've become more than a little blassé about it, which probably isn't smart...
 
Well, we know there are covid-like side effects the day following the jab. I think it's worse with the 2nd dose tho
 
Liam Hall said:
Is she normally concerned with taking vaccines or is it the speed these vaccines were produced that worried her? As I travel a lot, I've had so many jabs over the years I've become more than a little blassé about it, which probably isn't smart...
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She used to get the flu-shot annually for work. It's just the speed with which it was rushed through and the unknown, mid-to-long-term possible effects plus possible initial reactions/side effects.
 
More good news: covid immunity may last years or decades according to the latest estimates

How long might immunity to the coronavirus last? Years, maybe even decades, according to a new study — the most hopeful answer yet to a question that has shadowed plans for widespread vaccination.

Eight months after infection, most people who have recovered still have enough immune cells to fend off the virus and prevent illness, the new data show. A slow rate of decline in the short term suggests, happily, that these cells may persist in the body for a very, very long time to come.

The research, published online, has not been peer-reviewed nor published in a scientific journal. But it is the most comprehensive and long-ranging study of immune memory to the coronavirus to date.

“That amount of memory would likely prevent the vast majority of people from getting hospitalized disease, severe disease, for many years,” said Shane Crotty, a virologist at the La Jolla Institute of Immunology who co-led the new study.

The findings are likely to come as a relief to experts worried that immunity to the virus might be short-lived, and that vaccines might have to be administered repeatedly to keep the pandemic under control.

And the research squares with another recent finding: that survivors of SARS, caused by another coronavirus, still carry certain important immune cells 17 years after recovering.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/17/health/coronavirus-immunity.html#click=https://t.co/ntTmKxKjbm

The study has now been peer-reviewed and published in Science

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2021/01/05/science.abf4063
 
That study didn't test for one of the spike mutations in the South Africa variant. Looks promising for the UK variant which shares some of the same mutations as the SA strain, but the SA variant still hasn't been fully cleared. They said they are testing that specific mutation next.
 
"mRNA Vaccines Could Vanquish Covid Today, Cancer Tomorrow"

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/a...uish-covid-today-cancer-tomorrow?srnd=premium

It turns out that the mRNA vaccine techniques used by Pfizer and Moderna were in development for cancer treatments before covid came around. And now, their research has been turbocharged by the fight against covid. Welcome to the future, guys.

"Today’s weapons against cancer will one day seem as primitive an idea as flint axes in a surgery room."

PS: Bloomberg is offering a 3-month subscription right now for $0.99/month, down from $34.99
 
Was able to get my mom her first shot today. Feel lucky they opened reservations up yesterday for her age group. In and out including 15 minute observation period in 30 minutes.
 
I wouldn't worry too much. Eric Feigl-Ding has a pretty long history of exaggerating data for maximum freak-out effect.

We have multiple vaccines, we have effective treatments, and we have effective preventions.
 
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