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Post by cweston on Nov 16, 2020 6:23:36 GMT -8
(article from NPR)
We are still in this Covid thing for the long haul, but between this and the Pfizer vaccine news, it does appear that there is light at the end of the tunnel. It's noteworthy that the Moderna vaccine does *not* need the extreme cold storage temps that the Pfizer vaccine does.
It's also fortunate that more than one vaccine is advancing through testing--because of the political climate, I think that a single vaccine emerging would have faced a lot more skepticism (especially if it were one, like Moderna, funded up-front by Warp Speed.)
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GaliWalker
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Post by GaliWalker on Nov 16, 2020 6:31:33 GMT -8
Yeah, finally, there's light at the end of the tunnel! We just have to suck it up - wear a mask, practice social distancing*, maintain a rigorous handwashing after touching (potentially) contaminated surfaces - for these next few months. The cavalry is coming.
* For ourselves, we've already cancelled our Thanksgiving plans.
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Post by bradmacmt on Nov 16, 2020 6:35:00 GMT -8
The Pfizer vaccine looks totally unworkable practically speaking. The Moderna looks far more realistic.
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GaliWalker
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Post by GaliWalker on Nov 16, 2020 6:49:39 GMT -8
The final clinical trials and their results will be critical. Also, there's no harm in hedging our bets. I'm hoping for other non-mRNA type vaccines to also appear on the scene.
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Nov 16, 2020 12:50:06 GMT -8
This is good news especially alongside Pfizer’s news. I expect future different technological approaches to offer progress for the varying biological environments of all the people who’ll need this protection. There’s a plant product paired with an adjuvant that’s also fairly far along from reporting. -70 isn’t that big of a deal as simply one specification for one choice of vaccine. It’s not like storage is going to be an issue for quite a while as initial demand instantly sucks up everything the moment it hits the service providers shelves. Central ultra cold storage, dry ice FedEx overnight, scheduled inoculations roll through. “Just in time” manufacturing has been commonplace for decades, this just extends it to a medical application. Given how much people vary I’ll be happiest once there’s a half dozen or more proven choices out of the 190 or so in the pipeline. Likely early 2021 as testing proceeds. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/11/16/covid-moderna-vaccine/
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BigLoad
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Post by BigLoad on Nov 22, 2020 17:15:42 GMT -8
I just I hope I don't have to wait as long as the Moderna CEO said was likely.
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Post by swmtnbackpacker on Nov 23, 2020 4:42:20 GMT -8
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Post by cweston on Nov 23, 2020 6:11:29 GMT -8
One thing to keep in mind about these effectiveness rates: they can't deliberately give vaccine trial volunteers Covid the way they would with lab rats--all they can do is set them (and the control group) loose into the environment where they *might* be exposed to Covid. But a significant segment of the population (not significant enough, but significant) is masking, staying home, practicing social distancing, etc.
People will presumably not continue these practices en masse after vaccination becomes widespread. So, the actual effectiveness of these vaccines in those conditions will almost surely be lower than the figures we're seeing from trials, due to that.
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Nov 23, 2020 7:26:16 GMT -8
cweston, all that is true, but the effectiveness rate is the difference between the number of people who got the vaccine and still got sick, and the number of people in the control group. All were presumably given the same instructions. So the vaccines are still keeping people 90% or whatever safe compared to having nothing, under whatever conditions. That wasn’t a very cogent explanation, but I think you’ll follow my un-caffeinated effort...
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BigLoad
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Post by BigLoad on Nov 23, 2020 7:32:58 GMT -8
AstraZeneca said their vaccine was 70% effective but went up to 92% if the first shot was a half-dose. That result puzzles, me especially since two full doses knocked it back down to 70%. I wonder if there's just that much variability in the measurements. link
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Nov 23, 2020 11:23:38 GMT -8
That result puzzles, me especially since two full doses knocked it back down to 70%. I wonder if there's just that much variability in the measurements. Yeah, it makes me feel like more testing is needed there.
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Nov 23, 2020 11:54:13 GMT -8
The final reports will be the best way to sort out things. There’s significant differences in the vaccine trials. “ Another factor to consider: AstraZeneca-Oxford measured their results in a different way from their two major competitors. The Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech trials only captured Covid-19 infections in their trial pool that advanced far enough to produce symptoms, while the AstraZeneca trials conducted weekly swab tests among their participants, allowing them to detect much less severe cases — including potential asymptomatic infections — among their volunteers. These differences make it trickier to draw apples-to-apples comparisons of the efficacy of the different vaccines.” www.vox.com/21590994/oxford-vaccine-results-covid-19-astrazeneca-trial-pfizer-moderna
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davesenesac
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Post by davesenesac on Nov 23, 2020 12:52:59 GMT -8
Much to be more optimistic though life will never be as it was. If we reach a point the vaccines are obviously bringing the country back to something more normal, Congress ought to create a new National holiday honoring our front line health care workers, the medical researchers, and others on the front lines plus give them some appreciative tax breaks.
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BigLoad
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Post by BigLoad on Nov 23, 2020 13:08:17 GMT -8
If we reach a point the vaccines are obviously bringing the country back to something more normal, That still seems like a long way off. In his press conference today, the Governor of NJ said that we'll be getting 1M doses/month once production reaches its peak. For a two-dose vaccine, that would take almost two years to get everybody.
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geosp
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Post by geosp on Nov 23, 2020 13:34:39 GMT -8
If we reach a point the vaccines are obviously bringing the country back to something more normal, Congress ought to create a new National holiday honoring our front line health care workers, the medical researchers, and others on the front lines plus give them some appreciative tax breaks. Tax breaks for your front liners would be a decent gesture but wouldn't rolling out a new extra national holiday just put an added wage burden on small businesses that have been badly hit? (speaking maybe from a NZ perspective where small businesses relying heavily on foreign tourism and internal movement have been affected by lockdowns and border closures) Re' vaccines. I'm definitely not anti vax (having had enough of them in my time) and they are the answer. But considering the comparatively rapid speed at which these vaccines have been rolled out I wonder about possible unknown side effects particularly on the elderly or any with a pre-existing condition - Having slightly dodgey kidneys and more years than I'd like.
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