Coronavirus: How dangerous a threat?

[movingtarget]

Covid: Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine delivery to EU to be cut by 60%

Official says supply will be halved in first quarter of 2021 due to production problems

www.theguardian.com

 

[Koronin]

Pfizer is closing enrollment for their trial for children. So this is hopeful news to expand the ages of who can eventually get the vaccine.

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www.yahoo.com

 

[Cannavaro]

Apparently, intially the EU still didn't want to pre-order mRNA vaccines at all, because of the high price.

If I see prices and amount of ordered vaccines, I do not see a dependence. Maybe they ordered a little less Moderna. But the remaining vaccines are evenly distributed: link.

 

[search]

If I see prices and amount of ordered vaccines, I do not see a dependence. Maybe they ordered a little less Moderna. But the remaining vaccines are evenly distributed: link.

more or less, yes, but in general, countries like the US or Canada ordered almost double the amount, per capita:

the EU strategy always needed multiple vaccines to be successful, and as they ordered late (Biontech was ordered in November, afaik, when it was already known that Sanofi wouldn't become available anytime soon) the chance to boost production early was missed. And the reason is, that from a 750 billion € recovery package, they only wanted to invest 2 billion for vaccines.

But well, now it's too late to still change anything about that anyway.

 

[yaco]

Hong Kong has ordered three vaccines Pfizer, Sinovac and Astra Zeneca - Apparently you can choose the vaccine when it's your time - What I like is that each vaccine has different approaches to attack COVID - Expect, the Chinese manufactured Sinovac will be the least popular.

 

[Jagartrott]

That chart doesn't seem right. It's dated early December, but by that time, the US had only ordered 100 million doses (for a population of roughly 350 million). Late December, they ordered another 100 million:

Pfizer Seals Deal With U.S. for 100 Million More Vaccine Doses

The company agreed to deliver the additional doses of its coronavirus vaccine by the end of July, helping address a looming shortage.

www.nytimes.com

The first Pfizer order from the EU was 200+100 million doses (for a population of roughly 450 million). The EU then extended that to 600 million.

 

[search]

That chart doesn't seem right. It's dated early December, but by that time, the US had only ordered 100 million doses (for a population of roughly 350 million). Late December, they ordered another 100 million:

yeah, some reports said the US had ordered 600m doses in July, although it apparently were 100m +an option for 500m more. That graphic seems to display the full amount.

 

[djpbaltimore]

The U.S. did reach an agreement to buy 100m of the Pfizer vaccine in Q2 in addition to the 100m in Q1. They still only have an option for the remaining 400m.

 

[movingtarget]

The new mutants: the Covid variants worrying health officials worldwide

Researchers at a high-security Sydney lab are learning more about concerning Covid variants from the swabs of international travellers

www.theguardian.com

 

[movingtarget]

Hong Kong orders thousands to stay home in city's first Covid lockdown

Officials plan to test everyone inside a designated zone in the neighbourhood of Jordan within 48 hours

www.theguardian.com

 

[8472]

Lancet-branded paper on the use of Ivermectin for improving COVID symptoms (loss of smell), and a tendency to lowering viral load (but no statistical significance due to small sample size).

The effect of early treatment with ivermectin on viral load, symptoms and humoral response in patients with non-severe COVID-19: A pilot, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial - EClinicalMedicine (thelancet.com)

 

[Koronin]

In Charlotte, NC instead of using a stadium for a mass vaccination site (the stadiums don't have large parking lots) Charlotte Motor Speedway is the option instead. Instead of the parking lot, they are actually using the track and garage area for the vaccination area. Here's an article about the entire experience.

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www.yahoo.com

 

[djpbaltimore]

Good news on the vaccine front. As predicted, the SA variant has more escape potential with 6 fold decreased neutralizing antibody, but still within the likely buffer zone of the vaccine. Waiting for a preprint on the data. The bigger potential issue is re-infection with the SA variant.

ETA. Preprint is up.

mRNA-1273 vaccine induces neutralizing antibodies against spike mutants from global SARS-CoV-2 variants

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative infection of a global pandemic that has led to more than 2 million deaths worldwide. The Moderna mRNA-1273 vaccine has demonstrated ~94% efficacy in a Phase 3 study and has been approved under Emergency Use...

www.biorxiv.org

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1353711199607795718

View: https://twitter.com/bbchealth/status/1353711199607795718

 

[roundabout]

Very bad if true

Pandemie-Bekämpfung: Rückschlag bei Corona-Impfstoff: Astra-Zeneca-Vakzin wirkt bei Senioren wohl kaum

Der deutschen Impfstrategie droht ein Fiasko: Bei älteren Menschen soll das Mittel des britisch-schwedischen Konzerns eine Wirksamkeit von nur acht Prozent haben.

www.handelsblatt.com

Seems that AstraZeneca vaccine is only 8% effective for people over 65

 

[Koronin]

Very bad if true

Pandemie-Bekämpfung: Rückschlag bei Corona-Impfstoff: Astra-Zeneca-Vakzin wirkt bei Senioren wohl kaum

Der deutschen Impfstrategie droht ein Fiasko: Bei älteren Menschen soll das Mittel des britisch-schwedischen Konzerns eine Wirksamkeit von nur acht Prozent haben.

www.handelsblatt.com

Seems that AstraZeneca vaccine is only 8% effective for people over 65

Wow, that is bad if true. We still don't have accurate data from AstraZeneca in the first place as their Phase 3 trial data they did release was all over the place.

 

[Sciatic]

In Charlotte, NC instead of using a stadium for a mass vaccination site (the stadiums don't have large parking lots) Charlotte Motor Speedway is the option instead. Instead of the parking lot, they are actually using the track and garage area for the vaccination area. Here's an article about the entire experience.

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www.yahoo.com

They should have people riding in circles Round the track and then pull into the pits to get their injection from the pit crew. I can think of a fun comedy skit to go with that.

 

[Koronin]

They should have people riding in circles Round the track and then pull into the pits to get their injection from the pit crew. I can think of a fun comedy skit to go with that.

The maybe sad part is I figured you'd drive around the track and get the shot in the pits, not the garage area before reading the article. LOL
Saturday Night Live could have some fun with it.

 

[Koronin]

Some information about how well Pfizer's vaccine is working. It appears that the few who do get Covid after receiving both doses of the Pfizer vaccine end up with mild to moderate symptoms, but do not get them severe enough to go to the hospital. It also is appearing most who do get Covid after receiving the vaccine have chronic illnesses as well.

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www.yahoo.com

There is also data coming from Israel that the Pfizer vaccine after only 1 dose may only be 33% effective while after the 2nd dose on or close to on time is around 94% effective:

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www.yahoo.com

 

[movingtarget]

EU threatens to block Covid vaccine exports amid AstraZeneca shortfall

Bloc may receive only half of purchased 100m doses in first quarter of the year

www.theguardian.com

 

[Koronin]

We also have this. There is more in this story. Merck does have a therapeutic also in development which this article says they are continuing work on.

Merck Stops Developing Both Of Its COVID-19 Vaccine Candidates

Merck, which previously made an Ebola vaccine, had been seen as a serious contender in the worldwide race to come up with an answer to the coronavirus.

www.npr.org

 

[Koronin]

Here's an article about Moderna's vaccine and it being effective against the UK and SA mutations, but the company still looking into boosters, but currently don't have the production capacity for that.

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www.yahoo.com

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www.yahoo.com

 

[djpbaltimore]

Some information about how well Pfizer's vaccine is working. It appears that the few who do get Covid after receiving both doses of the Pfizer vaccine end up with mild to moderate symptoms, but do not get them severe enough to go to the hospital. It also is appearing most who do get Covid after receiving the vaccine have chronic illnesses as well.

There is also data coming from Israel that the Pfizer vaccine after only 1 dose may only be 33% effective while after the 2nd dose on or close to on time is around 94% effective:

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www.yahoo.com

The antibody level really shoots up with the booster. This data seems believable to me.

We also have this. There is more in this story. Merck does have a therapeutic also in development which this article says they are continuing work on.

Merck Stops Developing Both Of Its COVID-19 Vaccine Candidates

Merck, which previously made an Ebola vaccine, had been seen as a serious contender in the worldwide race to come up with an answer to the coronavirus.

www.npr.org

True, I heard they were already transitioning manufacturing space to the therapeutic. Makes sense from a business perspective. But it is unclear why their platform didn't work very well.

 

[dusty red roads]

Japan Wants to Throw COVID-19 Patients in Jail If They Refuse to Go to the Hospital

Japan, once considered a poster child for COVID-19 containment, is introducing a draconian law as cases spike and the government panics.

www.thedailybeast.com

It's a scathing article, and the irony is that 15,000 covid positive people are on waitlists to get into hospital for a bed! See below:

Japan coronavirus surge leaves 15,000 on waiting lists for beds

With the number of virus cases rising sharply since November, health centers and hospitals have been strained, with some patients dying at home.

www.japantimes.co.jp

 

[dusty red roads]

Japan likely to hit COVID-19 herd immunity in Oct: researcher

Japan is likely to achieve herd immunity to COVID-19 through mass inoculations only months after the planned Tokyo Olympics, even though it has locked in the biggest quantity of vaccines in Asia, according to a London-based forecaster. That would be a blow to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga who...

japantoday.com

 

[Keram]

Very bad if true

Pandemie-Bekämpfung: Rückschlag bei Corona-Impfstoff: Astra-Zeneca-Vakzin wirkt bei Senioren wohl kaum

Der deutschen Impfstrategie droht ein Fiasko: Bei älteren Menschen soll das Mittel des britisch-schwedischen Konzerns eine Wirksamkeit von nur acht Prozent haben.

www.handelsblatt.com

Seems that AstraZeneca vaccine is only 8% effective for people over 65

It is disaster but could be still helpfull if it have enough eficaccy for young healthy people. If they approve it for under 45 or something like that I would personally get it in february rather than wait for Pfizer or Moderna in late summer.