I was told by my good friend a pharmacist, that they have been extending the shelf life of these vaccines. FDA In Brief: FDA Authorizes Longer Time for Refrigerator Storage of Thawed Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine Prior to Dilution, Making Vaccine More Widely Available
That is highly unlikely considering that undiluted vaccine from Pfizer is good for 5 days according to the EUA, however, Pfizer has already shown it is still viable for 30 days and is filing for the documents to update/amend the EUA accordingly. Now, it is possible that the dilution process for each vial was not carried out according to guidelines, or like that a-hole pharmacist in Wisconsin who was tampering with the vaccine shots because he was an anti-vaxxer, you have to hope the people creating the individual shots are trustworthy and competent.
Not sure if this is the best thread for it, but Israel is reimposing an indoor mask mandate. Delta variant is really spreading.
Seems there’s mixed messaging on delta variant. Clearly it’s trending that there are more breakthrough cases with this one, but PFE still claiming the vaccine is “highly effective” as of just a couple days ago. I saw the WHO recommended masks again even for vaccinated individuals when they are in crowds. I haven’t considered that, but it’s worth keeping an eye on.
I think the way to harmonize everything they're saying is that the vaccine is effective right now against the Delta variant. However the rapidity with which it is spreading among the unvaccinated means it will mutate even faster, and there may yet be a mutation that defeats the vaccine. Plus, you always want to stop community spread. I think we've established that the vaccinated cannot be an agent of spread, even if they are not themselves affected, for the prior versions of Covid-19. But I'm not sure we have yet with the Delta variant
Listening to a podcast from The economist talking about the third wave ripping through Africa. Even though we've had some real culture war here over Covid, they said that there is resistance to further restrictions despite the outbreak because of Covid fatigue like has existed everywhere. I really fear that there is just too much Covid fatigue to deal with any other surge.
Sydney will be interesting to watch. Lot of covid fatigue, delta variant, no vaccine (3%). Shocked that they are so far behind on vaccination
I agree. Many advanced economies did not decide to buy up in advance, which turned out to be somewhat anarchic but also was what worked. We are getting around to sharing our surplus, which is the right thing to do
We should sell at cost. We shouldn't encourage others to be dependent upon us to savevthem from themselves
Uptick on the Covid unit this week. We were down to one case two weeks ago. Now 11. Most patients in their 40-50's. A couple had been vaccinated but most were not. Morbidity and mortality remains many times lower than in the past. We aren't testing for the Delta variant specifically so it's impact on increased cases is unknown at least in our hospital. Variant or no variant, I still strongly recommend anyone who still hasn't been vaccinated to get it done ASAP. While not the norm, there are still many cases of long term effects even on those who don't become critical.
Moderna serological testing in vitro has now shown simiarl neutralizing titers against almost all variants, including the B.1.617, aka Delta Variant, aka Indian strain. This confirms that the Moderna vaccine continues to perform on par with the Pfizer/BioNTech shots. COVID-19 tracker: Moderna vaccine gets emergency nod in India: report; Five generic giants to test Merck's oral drug
Five generic drug makers in India are teaming up with Merck to run trials on the Merck's oral anti-viral drug, Mulnupiravir, in non-hospitalized Covid patients. In small western trials the drug has shown to eliminate 98% of all viral replication in patients within 72 hours when given the 800mg dose. This would be a huge weapon against Covid if all Phase 3 trials in the US (on going) and abroad show similarly positive results. COVID-19 tracker: Moderna vaccine gets emergency nod in India: report; Five generic giants to test Merck's oral drug
Maybe you had already read some material about it, but that is EXACTLY how the media is trying to report it - Tamiflu for Covid. BTW....I am not a medical expert but can read a report. This drug is actually a broad spectrum anti-viral that has shown efficacy against numerous Corona viruses. I guess it is really true what they say.....there was no money in curing the common cold.....but Covid on the other hand. $$.
Maybe I missed this. J & J had to dispose of 60 Million doses...but J & J may export them to other countries..wow U.S. FDA asks J&J to discard millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses | Reuters JUNE 11 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food & Drug Administration on Friday said Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) must throw away millions of doses of its COVID-19 vaccine that were manufactured at a problem-plagued Baltimore factory but also cleared millions for use. Two sources familiar with the situation told Reuters that the agency had cleared about 10 million doses. The New York Times said that the batches being discarded amount to around 60 million doses, citing people familiar with the matter. Without disclosing or confirming the number of vaccine doses, the FDA said in a news release that it had authorized two batches of the vaccine for use, that several other batches were not suitable for use and that others were being evaluated. .............. One source familiar with the matter told Reuters that the J&J doses are expected to be exported to other countries. The doses are already in vials and ready for use, the other source said.
I've been following the trials for this compound for about 6 months. In this case the media is NOT wrong. It stops viral replication which is exactly how Tamiflu works (not sure if it's a similar pathway). In defense of the pharma industry there isn't much sense(money) in curing the common cold as it's usually mild an self limited, would you spend $50 do not be sick with a cold for a few less days?