Covid-19: Treatments, Cures, and Vaccines

Thanks @OklahomaGator and @tilly . Do not mean to be a jerk to folks, but this thread has been going remarkably well......

 

Visby Medical Devices granted EUA for its home PCR-based technology for a 30 minute Covid Test.

FDA greenlights Visby Medical's single-use, portable PCR test for COVID-19

 

Massive Israeli study of 600,000 vaccinated with Pfizer vaccine vs. 600,000 who had not been vaccinated confirmed that the vaccine resulted in a 94% drop in symptomatic Covid19 infections. The study was commissioned to gather data against the small, but vocal anti-vax movement within Israel. However, the data is outstanding confirmation of the original Pfizer data.

Israeli study finds 94% drop in symptomatic Covid-19 cases with Pfizer vaccine

 

South Africa set to become the first nation to start vaccinating people using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after humna trials confirmed that the vaccine was highly effective in preventing severe illness from the South African variant of the SAR-CoV-2 virus.

South Africa restarts its vaccine drive as the first country to use the Johnson & Johnson shot

 

Here's a story I have lost track of with international implications. I thought Russian attempt to have their own vaccines was proving largely ineffective and somewhat of a joke. But apparently the Sputnik V is 90% effective, and has proven to be a successful element of foreign policy.

I'm obviously glad to see people vaccinated, both for their sake and for the world. We all benefit the more people who are vaccinated no matter where they are. But I hate seeing Putin gain a PR advantage, or at least minimize the disadvantage, vis-à-vis the West

The Graphic Truth: Russia's bid to vaccinate the world

 

This Johns Hopkins doc thinks we'll have herd immunity by April. States that cases are down 77% and it's due to a combo of vaccinations and those who've already had COVID.
Opinion | We’ll Have Herd Immunity by April

 

For anyone who actually knows about this stuff (not me), do you know why they are using two different adenovirus vectors? Does the body form an immune response to both the glycoprotein S and the adenovirus (rAd26) so that you cannot use the exact same adenovirus in the "boost" shot such that they have to switch to (rAd5)??

This seems like it would complicate the logistics in a massive, world-wide roll out keeping the two shots straight and separated from manufacturing through administration of the shots??

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00234-8/fulltext

 

@dingyibvs
dingyibvs | Swamp Gas Forums

 

Israeli study shows pfizer 85% effective after first shot and doesn't require ultra cold freezers for storage

Pfizer Shot Is Highly Effective After One Dose, Study Shows (msn.com)

The Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE generates robust immunity after one dose and can be stored in ordinary freezers instead of at ultracold temperatures, according to new research and data released by the companies.

The findings provide strong arguments in favor of delaying the second dose of the two-shot vaccine, as the U.K. has done. They could also have substantial implications on vaccine policy and distribution around the world, simplifying the logistics of distributing the vaccine.

A single shot of the vaccine is 85% effective in preventing symptomatic disease 15 to 28 days after being administered, according to a peer-reviewed study conducted by the Israeli government-owned Sheba Medical Center and published in the Lancet medical journal. Pfizer and BioNTech recommend that a second dose is administered 21 days after the first.

 

I would also like to know. I have read about the "chassis" approach to vaccines that should mean that we can quickly adapt to any variants not covered by the current vaccines, but I don't think that factors in, although I lack the subject matter expertise to have an informed opinion

 

Looks like criteria may be changing in Florida over the next month.

Broward Mayor asks DeSantis to allow COVID-19 vaccine be given to residents 55 and older

In Broward, 221,884 people have been vaccinated, which is made up of 93,684 people who've received the first dose and 128,200 who've completed the two-shot vaccine series, the Florida Department of Health reported Friday.

 

Awesome. Clay County is doing a really good job so I'm hoping we can get through each level quickly. I really want mine by summer.

 

Pfizer and Moderna have submitted data to show stability at higher temperatures than previously permitted. Apparently they expect to get approval from the FDA to store the vaccines at standard freezer temperatures and dispense with the ultra cold storage. I would think that this could help speed up distributing the doses if they are available to distribute.

FDA to allow Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to be stored at higher temps: NYT

 

Hey sorry for the late response, but I had to do some digging for this one. While the Russian papers on Sputnik-V didn't describe their reasons, I suspect it's related to this:

Recombinant Adenovirus Serotype 26 (Ad26) and Ad35 Vaccine Vectors Bypass Immunity to Ad5 and Protect Nonhuman Primates against Ebolavirus Challenge

Adenovirus serotype C vectors, such as Ad serotype 5 (Ad5), expressing Ebolavirus (EBOV) glycoprotein (GP), protect completely after a single inoculation at a dose of 1010 viral particles. However, the clinical application of a vaccine based on Ad5 vectors may be hampered, since impairment of Ad5 vaccine efficacy has been demonstrated for humans and nonhuman primates with high levels of preexisting immunity to the vector. Ad26 and Ad35 segregate genetically from Ad5 and exhibit lower seroprevalence in humans, making them attractive vaccine vector alternatives. In the series of studies presented, we show that Ad26 and Ad35 vectors generate robust antigen-specific cell-mediated and humoral immune responses against EBOV GP and that Ad5 immune status does not affect the generation of GP-specific immune responses by these vaccines.

 

The FDA just approved the J&J vaccine. I took a brief look at the data they presented to the FDA, and I thought something was rather interesting. The efficacy against moderate/severe COVID was as previously reported at about 66%, but the efficacy against all symptomatic COVID cases is similar because there were hardly any mild symptomatic cases (only 4 total cases, 1 in vaccine and 3 in placebo groups). That's a very strange finding, because there are LOTS of people who have mild COVID cases. Their definition of moderate/severe COVID is pretty standard, basically the same as hospital admission standards, so I don't know where the discrepancy comes from.

Assuming nothing fishy is going on, does this mean that after vaccination via the J&J vaccine, that you either don't get symptomatic COVID at all, or you get symptomatic enough to warrant hospital admission, with no middle ground in between? If true, that would be rather fascinating and warrant some further investigation as to why.

Another interesting finding is that the reported efficacy against asymptomatic cases is only 20% for those who've never been exposed to COVID. AFAIK J&J is the only company to have even studied this, so there's no way to compare with other vaccines. A significant drop in efficacy from mod/severe cases to asymptomatic cases is expected, however. It's unclear if these vaccinated, asymptomatic individuals are infectious, but I think it's prudent to assume that they are without any further data. This means that vaccinated individuals should still take precautions to reduce the risk of spreading asymptomatically to others.

https://www.fda.gov/media/146217/download

 

Heh, basically it says prior exposure to Ad5 can reduce an Ad5-based vaccine's efficacy, and that Ad26 (and Ad35) is different enough to Ad5 that using Ad26 to make a vaccine eliminates that risk.

 

Maybe it is the dorky Physics guy in me, but I found the linked information fascinating. Thanks for taking some time to share that.

 

FDA Independent Panel reviews Johnson & Johnson data and recommends approval for their vaccine candidate. Emergency Use Authorization is expected to be granted tomorrrow, Saturday 2/27.

Covid-19 Live Updates: F.D.A. Panel Gives Green Light to Johnson & Johnson’s Vaccine