[WW] rewa - About vaccines for Covid 11 Jan 2023
My understanding from what i read is, we were lucky that the knowledge about general virus vaccines was already there, and scientists were able to quickly develop vaccines specifically for this Coronavirus
Vaccinate to protect me: My understanding is that vaccines can protect me a lot. They may not protect me 100%, but they definitely can slow down the virus. And the rate of death for unvaccinated compared to vaccinated is very clearly much higher.
Vaccinate to protect others: My understanding is, the more unvaccinated people there are, the more the virus is able to sit in their bodies and mutate, and then that new version spreads to others. Also there is some evidence that vaccinated people spread the virus less. (And remember, you can have Covid without symptoms – meaning, you can be spreading the virus to others without knowing you have it!)
Types of vaccines
Vaccine info coming up. You can see the raw sources in the TO ADD folder
Effectiveness
Vaccines cannot protect you 100% from getting Covid.
They just don't work that way, no vaccine does.
But they can absolutely reduce the chances greatly of getting it,
reduce the chances greatly of getting a bad case of it,
reduce the chances greatly of dying.
And if you're not sick with Covid, you're much less likely to be
spreading it to other people.
Core info:
A quick update on the bivalent boosters "we now have vaccine effectiveness data for the bivalent booster (first administered September 4) through November 30th via 2 new reports today ..." -- Eric Topol 17 dec 2022 Read more at ✶ EricTopol.substack.com About vaccine effectiveness studies "Until now there were only vaccine effectiveness reports without randomization, without a placebo control group, and multiple potential confounding factors. That’s what makes this trial report significant proof of benefit of booster shots, at least for this vaccine regimen." Good Twitter thread discussion. -- @EricTopol https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1451174284861132808
More in the "TO_ADD" folder.
Boosters
Fall 2022 bivalent boosters are being provided now [oct 2022]
Studies show they are effective (see the links below).
Bottom line: Go get your fall booster.
Core info:
Fall bivalent boosters: Science update round 2 “Lab studies assessing the preliminary impact of our updated fall boosters are trickling in. (We don’t have “real world” data yet, and honestly, it may be a while.) In all, we knew boosters would help given circulating variants, but we didn’t know how much more helpful an updated formula would be. Here is the latest science and what it means in the broader context. ...” -- Katelyn Jetelina 28 oct 2022 Read more at YourLocalEpidemiologist.substack.com Considerations for your fall booster “This fall, everyone should get a bivalent COVID-19 booster. And, really, that’s all you need to know: Get a vaccine. Any bivalent vaccine. This fall. “But, yes, we can use scientific data to optimize timing and, thus, protection. ...” -- Katelyn Jetelina 2 sep 2022 Read more at YourLocalEpidemiologist.substack.com
Boosters for kids under 5: A quick update “Buried in the news of the triple-demic, an updated Omicron booster was authorized for kids under 5 years old. My weekly Q&A on Instagram has been flooded with questions from parents. Here’s a quick update. ...” -- Katelyn Jetelina 22 dec 2022 Read more at YourLocalEpidemiologist.substack.com Three, four or more: what’s the magic number for booster shots? “COVID vaccine boosters are proving a useful tool against Omicron, but scientists say that endless boosting might not be a practical or sustainable strategy. ...” -- Clare Watson 28 jan 2022 Read more at Nature.com A better booster campaign Here we go again. Pandemic fatigue coupled with the most contagious Omicron subvariants yet, BQ.1.1 and XBB, are driving yet another viral surge across the globe. Pair this with waning immunity and suboptimal booster uptake among the vulnerable, and the U.S. may see what’s happening in Germany right now. ... -- Katelyn Jetelina https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/a-better-booster-campaign 24 oct 2022 Immunity against Covid-19 shoots up after Pfizer or Moderna booster, study shows "An mRNA booster after two jabs of inactivated or viral vector Covid-19 vaccines can provide high immunity against the virus, expert virologist Dr Yong Poovorawan" NationThailand.com https://www.nationthailand.com/life/40010681 2 jan 2022 As India approves Corbevax, here’s all you need to know about the new COVID-19 vaccine "a recombinant protein sub-unit vaccine, developed from the receptor biding domain (RBD) of the spike protein on the virus’s surface combined with Dynavax’s CpG 1018 adjuvant with alum, which helps the body build the immune response against the virus." -- Prasag Bhosekar 28 dec 2021 Read more at ZeeNews India Should Covid-19 booster dose be different from the initial vaccine? Yes -- more effective protection 'A booster is not the same as an “additional dose" of a vaccine, which may be required for some individuals where “the immune response rate following the standard primary series is deemed insufficient". “Immunocompromised individuals often fail to mount a ... protective immune response after a standard primary series, but also older adults may respond poorly to a standard primary series," WHO says.' Good details about boosters and general Covid vaccines. -- Kenneth Mohanty News18.com https://www.news18.com/news/explainers/explained-should-covid-19-booster-dose-be-different-from-the-initial-vaccine-4570754.html 20 dec 2021 Will we always need Covid-19 boosters? Experts have theories A lot of detail about how shots work. -- Helen Branswell STAT https://www.statnews.com/2021/12/15/will-we-always-need-covid-19-boosters-experts-have-theories/ 15 dec 2021 What does it mean if you don't have any vaccine or booster side effects? And more about boosters. NPR https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2021/12/10/1054030220/coronavirus-faq-what-does-it-mean-if-the-booster-knocks-me-out-what-if-it-doesnt 10 dec 2021 Third doses of COVID-19 vaccines reduce infection and transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and could prevent future surges in some populations "The benefit of a third [booster] dose in reducing transmission is sizeable and increases with vaccine coverage and contact rates among individuals." medRxiv https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.10.25.21265500v1 21 oct 2021 To boost or not to boost: The pros and cons of getting a third COVID shot Thai PBS World https://www.thaipbsworld.com/to-boost-or-not-to-boost-the-pros-and-cons-of-getting-a-third-covid-shot/ 20 sep 2021 Clarifying information about boosters "COVID Update: The very unclear story of boosters will become clear. I will try to sort it out. And attempt to be clear myself! 1/" Twitter thread. Good info. -- Andy Slavitt @ASlavitt https://twitter.com/ASlavitt/status/1439267006105075715 18 sep 2021 Discussing 3rd booster shots "Let me be clear about the evidence on 3rd shots. It is unequivocal for Pfizer's vaccine, given with 3-week spacing. In people over age 60, there is significant reduction of effectiveness (VE) vs hospitalizations and symptomatic infections at 5+ months after primary vaccination. /1" Twitter thread -- Eric Topol @EricTopol https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1437596362153988096 14 sep 2021 | "@EricTopol May be it is not an extra “booster” dose per se, but the missing last dose of the correct immunization schedule that going forward mRNA vaccines will need - that is the way Fauci presents this and I think is useful this description." -- Francisco De La Vega @ribozyme https://twitter.com/ribozyme/status/1437616470607859714 14 sep 2021 | "@skrymir42 @EricTopol So far studies have shown that a longer period between doses results in a more durable antibody response." -- Victoria Heckler @vheckler https://twitter.com/vheckler/status/1437600220209106950 15 sep 2021 | "@tq1 @EricTopol Moderna. Stronger than Pfizer and studies have shown benefits of mixing vaccines." -- Marsha MD MPH @MarshaMD3 https://twitter.com/MarshaMD3/status/1437636842845736961 14 sep 2021
Access to vacccines:
Moderna plans to follow in Pfizer’s footsteps, charge up to $130 for Covid-19 vaccine in U.S. “Moderna disclosed Monday that it plans to price its Covid-19 vaccine at anywhere from $110 to $130 per dose when the company pivots from a focus on government contracts to commercial distribution efforts. ...” -- Ed Silverman 9 jan 2023 Read more at StatNews.com
About vacccines in general:
(Should say: "Why don't you hear much in the US", or maybe "in the 'developed' world". I spent the past several years in south Asia, and the number of people with polio, tuberculosis, hepatitis just shocked me, and made me so sad. People didn't know they were preventable. -- jw)
More in the "TO_ADD" folder.