Covid-19: Treatments, Cures, and Vaccines

Sorry but kids do not need the vaccines to go back to school.

 

I saw this as an attempt at a negative headline, and maybe I am too ignorant, but I thought this was another positive headline about vaccines and how they are helping. If the vaccine protects me from severe disease, but I can still get something akin to a mild cold or even as bad as a mild flu.....I would consider that a huge win. Especially in face of mounting evidence that the probability of me further spreading the disease is very low.

COVID-19 tracker: Pfizer, BioNTech to test freeze-dried vaccine formula; Will pharma's reputation gains last?

 

Small study, with only 800 participants in South Africa, so the statistics are poor, but.....Pfizer released news about their vaccine indicating that 9 people in the placebo group developed Covid-19 and genetic typing indicated 6 of the 9 had the B.1.135 (South African variant). The study further showed that none of the people who received the vaccine developed Covid-19.

Pfizer also said that they now have 6 month data on over 44,000 participants, which they believe is enough data (with a 91.3% efficacy against developing disease with still no major safety events) to file for full regulatory approval from the FDA, removing the "emergency use" label.

 

Scary thread, I follow this epidemiologist. He is knowledgeable but also has a natural predisposition towards alarmism. Doesn't mean he's wrong

 

School buses also don't need to stop at railroad crossings, but they do anyway. Once the liability shifts to an institution, as it does with schools, they have a much higher standard for taking care of those in their responsibility.

 

Listening to Ashish Jha being interviewed. He explained very persuasively why J&J is just as efficacious as Moderna or Pfizer, based on the differential testing conditions. More importantly, he had a very easy to understand argument regarding vaccine safety. 60 million Americans have received at least one shot. Even if the severe adverse health effects were "one in a million", almost the gold standard for risk acceptance, we would have had 60 cases. And it's not for lack of paying attention and failing to notice.

 

Ashish Jha has done tremendous work in the area of public health education during this pandemic. I follow him on Twitter just to read his updates.

However, what he is saying about the J&J vaccine is true, depending upon how you are defining things. J&J is just as effective against what people are calling the "wild strain" and equally effective against all strains when it comes to death or severe disease (which is really all you can ask for). I would take it in a minute if that were offered to me (I have the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine).

However J&J ran a small study (1600 people) in S Africa, and post #94 above details results from the Pfizer study in S Africa of a smaller group (800 people). In the J&J study a handful of vaccinated folks became infected, though not seriously. In the Pfizer study, not 1 person tested positive. A remarkable result honestly, considering 9 in the control group became infected and 6 of those were the B.1.351 variant.

May be just the science nerd in me, but all of these subtle differences and nuanced findings are important and I enjoy learning about them.

BTW both companies intend to expand their trials.

One last note, in the T-Cell studies, it was the mRNA vaccines like the Pfizer offering that were studies and showed 10x lower neutralizing anti-body production against the S African strain, but demonstrated a strong T-Cell mediated response of both "helper" and "killer" T-Cells. So much so that J&J has mentioned in their next vaccine release, they may seek out additional antigens to ensure their vaccine provokes a stronger T-Cell response and not just focus on neutralizing anti-bodies.

I wish I understood more of that, but it is interesting to follow in real-time. Just a shame it is happening at the expense of human lives.....

 

That sounds like what he was saying, which you understand better than I - here is the interview - Transcript: Ezra Klein Interviews Ashish Jha

 

Vaccine helping long haulers recover

Some Covid-19 long haulers say vaccines may be relieving their symptoms. Researchers are looking into it - CNN

 

Penn has completed a study of over 3000 existing drugs for potential use against COVID-19. They have identified 3 candidates, including FDA approved Cyclosporine, an anti-rejection drug used for transplant patients. Work with this medication has already progressed to Phase 2 trials at Penn and elsewhere.

Also of note.....they evaluated Remdesivir and Hydroxychloroquine. Remdesivir was effective against infected cells from the lungs only, while Hydroxy.....useless against infection of any of the cell types tested.

Pfizer's Vizimpro is among 3 FDA-approved drugs that combat COVID-19 in lung cells: report

 

Scientists finally having the time to do the more detailed studies that would normally done long before any vaccine is allowed to given to people.

https://www.nih.gov/news-events/new...ons-moderna-pfizer-biontech-covid-19-vaccines

 

By that logic schools should shut down during flu season. Or mandating a flu shot for all kids(which in some cases isn’t all that effective). Until the Covid vaccine is fully fda approved, I will not be having my kids get the vaccine. They are still doing studies on kids and the vaccine. Dumb to rush kids to get vaccinated without knowing the risks of what can happen to kids with this new vaccine.

 

It should be noted that the study concerns individuals who constitute a very small subset of the total population i.e. those with a history of allergic reactions to other vaccines. I might also add that prior to any of the Covid-19 vaccinations, a standard question is whether the individual being vaccinated has a prior history of allergic reactions to vaccines. Just speculation, but my assumption is that if the answer is affirmative the vaccination would not be administered. In other words, individuals with a history of anaphylactic reactions to vaccines should have never received any of the Covid-19 vaccinations. Again speculation but my guess is the study will be administered under very controlled circumstances in which test subjects who do experience anaphylaxis can be treated immediately.

 

Good news:

 

Pfizer CEO basically said that they hope to file with FDA to remove the "Emergency Use" label by the end of the summer and gain full approval for the vaccine as well.

 

North Carolina sites halt J&J shots after adverse reactions

 

European Medicines Agency has confirmed the link between the AZ vaccine and blot clots. Two groups in Germany and Europe have now investigated deeper into what it going on.

Blood Clots Linked to AstraZeneca Vaccine Stem From Rare Antibody Reaction