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An blood analysis of trial participants released two days ago reinforces an earlier lab study on synthetic components of b.1.1.7 indicating that the Pfizer vaccine should be effective. Of more concern are the South African and Brazilian variants. Similar testing underway at least on the South African variant. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-h...-idUSKBN29P13A
What's happening in Manaus in the Amazonian region is really concerning. That area had reached an infection rate of an estimated 60 percent. Now covid is back, this time seemingly worse than before. That suggests the earlier form of covid may not provide protection against its variant. https://www.npr.org/2021/01/22/95956...city-of-manaus
Parts of Europe apparently will soon require that n95s be worn on public transportation and in retail stores. Presumably they've geared up to make them available to the public. Here, nothing. The new Administration plans to invoke the DPA but at this point new n95 production can only go to hospitals who remain in short supply.
An blood analysis of trial participants released two days ago reinforces an earlier lab study on synthetic components of b.1.1.7 indicating that the Pfizer vaccine should be effective. Of more concern are the South African and Brazilian variants. Similar testing underway at least on the South African variant. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-h...-idUSKBN29P13A
What's happening in Manaus in the Amazonian region is really concerning. That area had reached an infection rate of an estimated 60 percent. Now covid is back, this time seemingly worse than before. That suggests the earlier form of covid may not provide protection against its variant. https://www.npr.org/2021/01/22/95956...city-of-manaus
Parts of Europe apparently will soon require that n95s be worn on public transportation and in retail stores. Presumably they've geared up to make them available to the public. Here, nothing. The new Administration plans to invoke the DPA but at this point new n95 production can only go to hospitals who remain in short supply.
Why are they still in short supply after all this time?
Why are they still in short supply after all this time?
Did anyone ever gear up to arrange for U.S. production or for offshore production to certified U.S. ASTM standards? I never heard of it. n95s sure aren't available to buy on the shelves. For the heck of it I just checked several medical supply houses: out-of-stock. A supply house that only works with medical outlets - no sales to members of the public - has a notice that supplies are in very short supply. Not possible for hospitals etc. to simply order. Their customers need to work with their supply representative. This a year later.
Did anyone ever gear up to arrange for U.S. production or for offshore production to certified U.S. ASTM standards? I never heard of it. n95s sure aren't available to buy on the shelves. For the heck of it I just checked several medical supply houses: out-of-stock. A year later.
Dr. Fauci in an interview today stopped short of saying the the existing vaccine would be ineffective on the South African strain, but he made it pretty clear that is one possible outcome. Because they know that this strain makes the antibody treatments much less effective - they also know that the vaccine itself will be less effective. At this point they can't (or won't) say how much.
I am sure he does not want to cause mass panic but it was pretty easy to read between the lines, especially when he said there was an enormous effort to look at what would be required to modify the vaccine for these new variants.
His main point was that distributing the current vaccine as rapidly as possible was still the best course forward. The fewer vectors out there spreading virus, the less likely for a mutant strain to get a foothold.
What's happening in Manaus in the Amazonian region is really concerning. That area had reached an infection rate of an estimated 60 percent. Now covid is back, this time seemingly worse than before. That suggests the earlier form of covid may not provide protection against its variant. https://www.npr.org/2021/01/22/95956...city-of-manaus
That 60% prior rate is just an estimate though. We have some data on reinfection rates and they are encouraging. Being infected once by coronavirus offers about 90% protection, so its nearly the same as getting the vaccine. If many people are being re-infected, we should be worried but the data don't show it (yet).
...In addition to spreading more quickly, it also now appears that there is some evidence that the new variant - the variant that was first identified in London and the south east - may be associated with a higher degree of mortality.
However, there remains huge uncertainty around the numbers - and vaccines are still expected to work.
There is more concern about two other variants that had emerged in South Africa and Brazil.
They have certain features which means they might be less susceptible to vaccines.
Did anyone ever gear up to arrange for U.S. production or for offshore production to certified U.S. ASTM standards? I never heard of it. n95s sure aren't available to buy on the shelves. For the heck of it I just checked several medical supply houses: out-of-stock. A supply house that only works with medical outlets - no sales to members of the public - has a notice that supplies are in very short supply. Not possible for hospitals etc. to simply order. Their customers need to work with their supply representative. This a year later.
I was sort of worried about the interactivity rate of the UK variant, but theres some evidence that it is also a bit more deadly. Not massively so, but definitely noticeable. Still pre-liminary data, but it sort of makes sense. If its more transmissible one of the ways would be by reproducing faster. Which may make it a bit more deadly.
But more important is that transmission rate. That is scary high as it can overwhelm our current level of mitigation efforts.
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