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Covid-19 #27: A Handful of Stars, A Fistful of Dollars


Fragile Bird

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Vaccine number five has announced their results, and we have another winner. The Novavax vaccine is 96% effective against the original virus, 85% against B.1.1.7 but down in at 55% against the South African variant.

I know Canada is in the middle of the approval process, Health Canada said they were waiting for “more data”. I guess this was it.

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The second day after vaccination, I don't feel entirely okay yet and have some fever still, but it is better than yesterday. I count on not needing to take fever medicine today anymore.

However, a school in Slovenia had to close entirely for a day because a large number of teachers was sick due to side effects after the vaccination with AZ. These news are getting more and more creepy.

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39 minutes ago, Fragile Bird said:

I had to double check that SA number. Another vaccine maker said they were seeing results that were above the efficacy number for a vaccine, I had asked about that in the last thread, remember? Over 50%. Which one was that? 

J&J IIRC, around 62%. We should expect that even mRNA vaccines see reduction in efficacy, but maybe at 70-80% level.

34 minutes ago, Buckwheat said:

The second day after vaccination, I don't feel entirely okay yet and have some fever still, but it is better than yesterday. I count on not needing to take fever medicine today anymore.

Excellent

34 minutes ago, Buckwheat said:

However, a school in Slovenia had to close entirely for a day because a large number of teachers was sick due to side effects after the vaccination with AZ. These news are getting more and more creepy.

sigh. Again, complete lack of foresight from the health authorities. What people are experiencing are the normal and known side effects which are still pretty bad for the common folk. Could have been this organized a bit better in the light of that knowledge? Like only half of the stuff get it one week and another the second? Give a free day for people taking the vaccine? It will matter of time till we get accidents causes by people with side effects. What about essential services? Next headline: No train departures today because all drivers are sick!

 

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In more pleasant news, I found this write-up very interesting.

https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2021/03/11/androgen-receptors-for-covid-19

Basically there is a connection between androgen inhibitors (used for example in prostate cancer patients) and the expression of a enzyme called TMPRSS2 necessary for SARS-CoV-2 entry into the cells. BTW, it seems that children have particularly low expression of the TMPRSS2.

So, it seems, for first time to my knowledge, that a clear path to risk of severe COVID-19 is being identified (besides plain age). So people (yes, men and women and etc) affected by androgen related conditions might be at higher risk.

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48 minutes ago, Fragile Bird said:

I had to double check that SA number. Another vaccine maker said they were seeing results that were above the efficacy number for a vaccine, I had asked about that in the last thread, remember? Over 50%. Which one was that? 

It could also have been Novavax?  Weirdly.  I think they are calling these finalised figures?  A month ago we had "early findings".

I don't think Novavax has formally applied for approval yet.  A lot of health bodies are already reviewing the figures to speed things along but nothing dramatic will happen until an actual application.  I believe Novavax were talking about an UK application in April, which would probably be the first one.

Curevac may follow in May/June but they will have to release efficacy results first.  Not sure when that is supposed to happen.  The other curiosities are when J&J will make its first delivery in Europe.  And when AZ will release their US trial results!  Can't be too long now.

51 minutes ago, Buckwheat said:

The second day after vaccination, I don't feel entirely okay yet and have some fever still, but it is better than yesterday. I count on not needing to take fever medicine today anymore.

I hope you aren't dreading dose 2 too much!

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Italy has also stopped the use of a batch of the AZ vaccine because of deaths. As with the deaths in other countries no clear link has been established. Romania got doses of the same batch and also stopped using it. I only read German article about it. No link because of that. 

 

 

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23 minutes ago, Padraig said:

It could also have been Novavax?  Weirdly.  I think they are calling these finalised figures?  A month ago we had "early findings".

I don't think Novavax has formally applied for approval yet.  A lot of health bodies are already reviewing the figures to speed things along but nothing dramatic will happen until an actual application.  I believe Novavax were talking about an UK application in April, which would probably be the first one.

It could have been Novavax.

Novavax filed in Canada weeks ago. Last week I watched a press conference where the Minister was asked how far along the approval process was, and that’s when she said we were still waiting for more data, so approval was probably a month away. I think they filed in the US at the same time.

Novavax is going to be produced in the new, high-tech plant the government of Canada is building that is due to be completed in July. The plant then has to be certified as meeting the “Good plant manufacturing standard”, a process that takes months. Vaccine production will, optimistically, start by the end of the year.

That approval process is the one, I assume, that the EU has not done on the Indian plants but has done on the AZ plant in the US, which is why they’ve asked the US to allow that plant to supply the EU.

Eta: just checked, Novavax filed for approval in Canada on Jan. 31.

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The UK mutation is now the cause of ~60% of all infections in Austria(~70% in Vienna) .  Not good news. The South Africa mutation seems to spread less effective but we did quarantine the state with the most such infections. 

I will not be surprised if the next peak in infections and deaths is worse than the last one.

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35 minutes ago, Padraig said:

I hope you aren't dreading dose 2 too much!

I first need to get completely fine after dose 1, before I even start thinking about dose 2! :laugh:

And also find a way to get a covid test during the weekend so I can go back to work on Monday. Weekly tests are still mandatory up to 21 days after dose 1 of AZ. And since I'm out sick today, I missed the testing organised at my workplace today and need to get tested on the weekend.

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I am still pissed off about the J&J vaccine. It’s now March, they should have had millions of doses ready to roll out of Europe. They’ve known about Trump’s EO since December, after all. They’ve delivered millions of doses in the US already, even if it’s only half of the 10M promised.They took our money, they took the EU’s money and every other country that advance ordered vaccine, and we still have not heard a peep about delivery.

I did read ages ago that Novavax has a contract with SII to produce 100 M doses, I’m looking forward to Canada approving the vaccine quickly.

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2 hours ago, Fragile Bird said:

I am still pissed off about the J&J vaccine.

Do we know that J&J's issues are related to the EO?  J&J were only supposed to deliver vaccine to the EU in early April.  Now, it is likely to be behind schedule but i'm not sure that's because of the EO.  On the  other hand, the SII has been vocal about the US hoarding ingredients and how this could effect it producing the Novavax vaccine.

This article talks about Novavax approval.

Quote

Three regulators – the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the European Medicines Agency and Health Canada – started rolling reviews of the vaccine at the beginning of February.  This allows them to review trial data as it breaks, vastly speeding up the approval process.

This sets up a potential approval in the UK next month followed by a US filing in May, although the timeline could be pushed by up to two months if the FDA decides to wait for data from the US trial.

It doesn't mention that you still apply for formal approval but that is what has happened after every other rolling review.  Sputnik, Curevac and Novavax are all under rolling reviews in the EMA.  J&J had moved onto the formal review phase until this week's actual approval.

3 hours ago, Luzifer's right hand said:

I will not be surprised if the next peak in infections and deaths is worse than the last one.

I'm hopeful that the fatality rate wouldn't escalate.  While it has climbed in a number of countries (Czech's situation is still very bad and Hungary isn't good either) i'm hoping the vaccine will at least balance any further increase in cases. 

3 hours ago, Buckwheat said:

I first need to get completely fine after dose 1, before I even start thinking about dose 2! :laugh:

You'll be very unfortunate if it goes beyond today.  Up to 48 hours is normally what they say.  So here is hoping!

59 minutes ago, Filippa Eilhart said:

meanwhile in Luxembourg “86% of AstraZeneca doses from suspended batch already administered” :unsure:

That's probably a good sign.  You'd have heard about it if it caused an issue.  Right? :unsure:

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