PlagueWatch 2020-23 - Coronavirus

[rsvman]

The immune system can be tricky, and vaccine history is replete with surprising results that were completely unexpected at the time.

Good news is that with this vaccine, the immune system seems to prefer a little primer followed by a full booster, which will allow us to vaccinate more people with the same amount of vaccine. I don't have access to the company data, but i suspect the smaller priming dose was also likely better tolerated. So it is a win-win.
Since this vaccine is also not a brand-new technology, it may help allay the fears of people who are wary of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines because of the newness factor.
Finally, this vaccine appears to be a lot easier logistically, with tolerance of higher temperatures and maintenance of potency for a much longer time.

I suspect this vaccine will see a lot of international use, especially in poorer countries, because of the stability factor.

All in all, more good news on the vaccine front.

[budwom]

The immune system can be tricky, and vaccine history is replete with surprising results that were completely unexpected at the time.

Good news is that with this vaccine, the immune system seems to prefer a little primer followed by a full booster, which will allow us to vaccinate more people with the same amount of vaccine. I don't have access to the company data, but i suspect the smaller priming dose was also likely better tolerated. So it is a win-win.
Since this vaccine is also not a brand-new technology, it may help allay the fears of people who are wary of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines because of the newness factor.
Finally, this vaccine appears to be a lot easier logistically, with tolerance of higher temperatures and maintenance of potency for a much longer time.

I suspect this vaccine will see a lot of international use, especially in poorer countries, because of the stability factor.

All in all, more good news on the vaccine front.

So from your experience, is this half dose primer/full dose booster thing something that's happened before? That would be somewhat reassuring...

[rsvman]

So from your experience, is this half dose primer/full dose booster thing something that's happened before? That would be somewhat reassuring...

We did half-dose flu vaccine followed by another half-dose one month later for children under the age of 9 for years and years. I can’t think of any where we started with a half-dose and then did a full dose later, but I can’t think of any reason to worry about it; seems preferable to having to have a full dose primer followed by a full-dose booster, to me.

Priming and boosting is a well understood mechanism of the way the immune system works. We don’t need prime-boosting for influenza vaccines because everybody has either been infected or vaccinated previously.

[budwom]

We did half-dose flu vaccine followed by another half-dose one month later for children under the age of 9 for years and years. I can’t think of any where we started with a half-dose and then did a full dose later, but I can’t think of any reason to worry about it; seems preferable to having to have a full dose primer followed by a full-dose booster, to me.

Priming and boosting is a well understood mechanism of the way the immune system works. We don’t need prime-boosting for influenza vaccines because everybody has either been infected or vaccinated previously.

Thanks. Anything that improves the odds of FDA approval is good news in my book...

[MChambers]

Good article on the AstraZenica vaccine, comparing it to the other two that have reported results thus far. https://www.vox.com/21590994/oxford-...pfizer-moderna

[Kdogg]

I am curious how Duke has managed to test its way to safety for their 10k plus students/staff while the white house failed when they presumably had both more resources and fewer people to protect. Even more curious given that Duke was tasked with protecting mostly 18-22yr old crazy kids while the white house with protecting mostly middle aged responsible adults. What did we do better and why didn't the infectious disease experts at the white house - again presumably more experienced/knowledgeable/qualified than ours - implement a testing regiment as effective as ours? The white house has shown that it is not easy to test your way to safety, but Duke has shown that it is possible.

The White House is using the Abbott Labs quick test which they still think is a gold standard. It is not. It gives a false sense of security. They test all visitors but it misses a good chuck of infected people. Duke uses pcr testing. Also the White House doesn't have required scheduled testing for people working there. They are also lax on testing people who work in the administration but not in the WH daily. Comparing what Duke is doing and the White House's halve baked scheme is an insult to Duke.

[budwom]

The White House is using the Abbott Labs quick test which they still think is a gold standard. It is not. It gives a false sense of security. They test all visitors but it misses a good chuck of infected people. Duke uses pcr testing. Also the White House doesn't have required scheduled testing for people working there. They are also lax on testing people who work in the administration but not in the WH daily. Comparing what Duke is doing and the White House's halve baked scheme is an insult to Duke.

I previously posted this:https://www.latimes.com/science/stor...its-doors-open

Duke did / does some good things, WH not so much.

[aimo]

This is why we are in so much trouble now. How do we change these attitudes?!?!?

https://abc11.com/health/1-in-3-pare...id-19/8199644/

[-jk]

This is why we are in so much trouble now. How do we change these attitudes?!?!?

https://abc11.com/health/1-in-3-pare...id-19/8199644/

December will be bad. January will be a disaster.

-jk

[camion]

This is why we are in so much trouble now. How do we change these attitudes?!?!?

https://abc11.com/health/1-in-3-pare...id-19/8199644/

Not surprising and not encouraging. Some have pandemic fatigue and some have pandemic denial.

I'm reminded of the Chipmunks song of the season, though I may not have the lyrics exactly right.


Vaccine, vaccine time is near
Time for shots and time for cheer
We've been good but we can't last
Hurry vaccine, hurry fast

[OldPhiKap]

Does anyone know if the three vaccines at issue have been tested on diabetics? I have a family member for which that is an important issue. Thanks in advance!

[rsvman]

Does anyone know if the three vaccines at issue have been tested on diabetics? I have a family member for which that is an important issue. Thanks in advance!

Don't know whether they had diabetics in the trial, but since none of the three is a live attenuated vaccine, there is no danger to diabetics. The issue with diabetics is similar to the issue with the elderly; will they mount a protective response?

[Mike Corey]

We are on the precipice of a humanitarian crisis the likes of which we have not seen in a century in this country.

That it's arriving during the holidays, without a functioning federal government, a month away from 20 million Americans getting vaccinated, with billions in federal supports about to dry up, is a perverse collision of circumstances.

[JasonEvans]

Does anyone know if the three vaccines at issue have been tested on diabetics? I have a family member for which that is an important issue. Thanks in advance!

I think that something like 10% of the US population has diabetes. If so, I would find it very hard to believe that they would put tens of thousands of people through a vaccine trial and not end up with hundreds of diabetic folks taking the drug. They are looking for a representative sample of the population (with a slight oversampling in some groups that have been particularly susceptible to this virus), the notion that you would exclude 10% of the population from that sample seems bonkers to me and is enough of a deep flaw in the methodology that I think we would have heard about it by now.

[OldPhiKap]

I think that something like 10% of the US population has diabetes. If so, I would find it very hard to believe that they would put tens of thousands of people through a vaccine trial and not end up with hundreds of diabetic folks taking the drug. They are looking for a representative sample of the population (with a slight oversampling in some groups that have been particularly susceptible to this virus), the notion that you would exclude 10% of the population from that sample seems bonkers to me and is enough of a deep flaw in the methodology that I think we would have heard about it by now.

I have a friend with an organ transplant, who was told by her doctor that organ recipients and pregnant women had not been specifically tested (for example). Which is why i asked.

[Deslok]

Don't know whether they had diabetics in the trial, but since none of the three is a live attenuated vaccine, there is no danger to diabetics. The issue with diabetics is similar to the issue with the elderly; will they mount a protective response?

I haven't done any research into the matter, but as a diabetic(type 1, so far less prevalent and entirely possible not having been part of the trials)with kidney issues(including a stint on dialysis), I will be early in line for the vaccine(hyperactive/compromised immune system and all).

[budwom]

Early indication I saw on the news last night is that holiday air travel is down about 60% from last year, which isn't as good as it should be.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Early indication I saw on the news last night is that holiday air travel is down about 60% from last year, which isn't as good as it should be.

My air travel is down 100%

[Jeffrey]

We are on the precipice of a humanitarian crisis the likes of which we have not seen in a century in this country.

That it's arriving during the holidays, without a functioning federal government, a month away from 20 million Americans getting vaccinated, with billions in federal supports about to dry up, is a perverse collision of circumstances.

.... and, Happy Thanksgiving!

[Jeffrey]

My air travel is down 100%

Makes two of us and it’ll stay that way until I get one of the 95% effective vaccines.