Covid-19 #30: Vaccines and All That JJAZ

[Fragile Bird]

The number -30- is what you used to put at the end of a story you wrote for a newspaper so that the editor would know it was finished. If only #30 was the end, eh?

[mcbigski]

Well let me say this, I got a negative antibody test today.  I know that's not definitive because there is also T cell immunity and it's been 6 months plus since I had the loss of taste symptoms, but I expected to have already been exposed and over it.  Since June or so I basically lived the "heighten the curve" lifestyle as the hospitals in my area were far from overwhelmed and I'm under 70 with no lung problems and not obese.  So I'm going to keep trying to get a JNJ vaccine.  Assuming they don't discontinue it.  Bought a decent sized position of JNJ today since it was down about 4% due to the vaccine news.  I don't think it will be a life changing stock by any means, the market cap is too big already, but probably better than cash over the next 5 years...  Might as well pick a down day to buy in.

[Zorral]

We are nowhere in sight of #30 of covid-19.   It's the way all the assholes out there are behaving -- vaccines! It's over!  B fuckin' ess it's over.  Not even close.  Nor are all the collateral continuing damages and disasters. As 'Bird Knows.

[DireWolfSpirit]

So I've had a rollercoaster of a day. Woke to the J&J pause news and as I posted in thread previous, I was absolutely livid because I was scheduled for my one and done on Thursday and thought by May 1st I was going to be fully vaccinated and past my 2week wait.

Howeverssss-

Before leaving the house in the afternoon I learned my appointment was still on, they will be supplying Pfizer instead. Like I said rollercoaster, I'm down, now I'm right back up!

I had assumed that it was going to be some long drawn out wait and bs when my J&J got yanked away. So when I found out by that afternoon, no delay, and the sweet,sweet Pfizer for me, well this vaccine junky was euphoric lol.

 

[Fragile Bird]

I looked up the information about Moderna v Pfizer and yes indeed, more people get sick after getting the Moderna shot, not so much after the first shot but quite a bit more after the second.

I pointed out to my brother than older people have reported fewer side effects, because we have weaker immune systems. He said “oh, I haven’t seen that!” So I’ll have to point out some articles.

His re-booked appointment is next week, on, lol, Friday the 13th. No wait, that’s impossible, it’s the 14th today. What the hell was he looking at? It’s the 23rd. The next Friday the 13th is in August.

[Which Tyler]

@Zorral asked about vaccinators in the last thread, Guardian must have read his/her comment.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/apr/14/hope-humour-and-zero-hours-contracts-what-four-months-as-a-vaccinator-has-taught-me

Quote

Hope, humour and zero-hours contracts: what four months as a vaccinator has taught me

After sitting alone in my flat for most of last year, I jumped at the chance to deliver Covid vaccines. This is what I’ve learned.

 

Pushing a needle through fake skin is not much like the real thing. So I discovered when I vaccinated my first patient at a mass vaccination centre in north London. You feel for a person’s shoulder blade and give the injection two finger-widths below the tip of the shoulder, in the middle of the deltoid muscle. In training, you’re given a salmon-coloured “arm” of silicone sponge to practise on. In reality, arms – like the people they belong to – are unique; it takes a little while to confidently feel your way with each new person you close the NHS regulation blue curtain behind.

When I saw an advert for people willing to train as vaccinators in early January, I applied at once. The idea of being an active part of a historic vaccination rollout was thrilling. I have clinical experience as an assistant psychologist, can put people at ease and was very ready for a meaningful break from spending 10 hours a day looking at a screen alone in my flat. The training was delivered by a group of witty, absolutely zero-bullshit female clinicians wearing Crocs. The conversation was sharp; I adored them immediately. We covered infection control (including a sobering experiment with UV gel; trust me, you need to clean your thumbs), PPE, life support and, of course, learning to inject. I remember a surreal moment, looking around a room full of lawyers, medical students, psychotherapists, cycling instructors and shop managers in full PPE, all bound by the shared purpose of wanting to do something.

...

Article continues

 

[IheartIheartTesla]

Looks like the situation in India is getting bad (if you recall I had linked articles about how cases had plummeted since September of last year). Its now back with a vengeance and everyone is paying for their complacency..

My parents got their AZ first dose, and are due for the second; however because of shortages those ones are being pushed back. I may end up getting my second Moderna before their second AZ. They are being very careful about distancing, so that's good. And their groceries come through Amazon, so everyone's least favorite Lex Luthor gets some grace from me.

[Zorral]

6 minutes ago, Which Tyler said:

vaccinators in the last thread, Guardian must have read his/her comment

Thanks -- I hadn't seen that, for some reason.

@Clueless Northman mentioned in the previous thread his suspicions even prior to this pandemic that humanity was set up for a really big one.  All the people who had professional or investigative or historic interest in epidemics and pandemics agreed with him, long prior to covid-19.

That's the tragedy.  People knew.  People even prepared, as did our CDC, and 2016 jerkwaddies just took a wrecking ball to the preparation, immediately on taking exec order power.  Deliberately.

 

[Luzifer's right hand]

Widespread veganism could reduce the risk... *runs and hides*

Anyway Denmark has now stopped using the AZ vaccine completely.

[IheartIheartTesla]

Here, at least 75 million Americans are fully vaccinated, and the rolling 7-day average of daily vaccinations is now 3.3 million. On the flip side, a Monmouth poll says 20% of Americans (I presume they mean adults who were polled) will never get a vaccine, with the usual partisan split (43% of Republicans, 22% independents and 5% democrats). I presume this doesnt incorporate the J&J pause effect, so thats the baseline we are working with.

[maarsen]

1 hour ago, Zorral said:

Thanks -- I hadn't seen that, for some reason.

@Clueless Northman mentioned in the previous thread his suspicions even prior to this pandemic that humanity was set up for a really big one.  All the people who had professional or investigative or historic interest in epidemics and pandemics agreed with him, long prior to covid-19.

That's the tragedy.  People knew.  People even prepared, as did our CDC, and 2016 jerkwaddies just took a wrecking ball to the preparation, immediately on taking exec order power.  Deliberately.

 

Not just the 2016 jerkwaddies were responsible. Canada had an early warning system set up for years to follow and track emerging outbreaks of diseases. Our jerkwaddie, Stephen Harper had it dismantled while in power and forbade government scientists from talking to anyone, even their peers in other countries. The man was a complete disaster and we are still paying 6 years from when he lost power.

[Mindwalker]

https://www.instagram.com/washingtonpost/

European travel is not yet an option for Americans. The European Union still bans nonessential travel from the United States, as it deems U.S. viral levels too high.⁠
⁠
But E.U. officials are racing to put together a vaccine passport system by June that would ease travel inside the 27-nation bloc by creating a standardized way for residents to prove they have been tested or inoculated or are otherwise immune.⁠
⁠
With most of the world lagging behind the United States in vaccinations, there could be uncomfortable disparities between travelers and their hosts.⁠
⁠
Officials say they plan to publish a proposal within weeks for lifting restrictions on travelers from outside the bloc. They just need to hash out what the plan will look like.⁠
⁠
To learn more about what international travel might look like this summer, go to the link in our bio.

Uncomfortable, my ass.

[DireWolfSpirit]

Hoping those India numbers start turning around from these terribly high New Daily Cases numbers, 182,000 last I saw. Just horrible.

[Zorral]

7 minutes ago, Mindwalker said:

Uncomfortable, my ass.

To put it mildly, judging from reports from many other places, really miserable to have USians coming to your country, your city, your wherever.  Talk jerkwaddies?  Our nation's population are NUMBER ONE! YAY! USA!

Reading such accounts I am so ashamed.  How did we get this way?  I mean, I see this kind of behavior all over right in my own neighborhood.  US tourists are the frackin' worst -- and they were like that before 2016. but now, it's beyond even quantifiable.  I don't think we as travelers were always this ugly -- despite the fame of the Ugly American.  But we sure are now, even as we have more and more to be ashamed of and less and less about which to even be satisfied.

Honestly, we all are not and were not like this.  Partner gets feed back all the time about the Travelers, and how much everybody in these other countries, where beyond even politeness, there are protocols that govern a variety of occasions and interactions and cannot be skipped, like and appreciate Partner's people.  They even make a point of how much it is appreciated the Travelers dress appropriately and don't slop around in dirty t-shirts and always well-groomed, despite the heat and humidity. Why yes, Americans, particularly males of a certain age, are quite prone to that.  It's really disrespectful to the cultures being visited.

[IheartIheartTesla]

9 minutes ago, DireWolfSpirit said:

Hoping those India numbers start turning around from these terribly high New Daily Cases numbers, 182,000 last I saw. Just horrible.

Keep in mind that its population is 4X that of the US as context for those numbers; however the more serious issue is that it doesnt have commensurately as much in terms of hospital capacity, ventilators etc. Even crematoriums are running out of room and families are burning dead bodies in open ground.

The other bad part is the new variant that appears to be targeting younger people (and children too?). Not sure how dominant it is in India.

[Mindwalker]

To be clear, I don't hold Biden's "America First" vaccine policy against any citizen. That said, if you don't NEED to travel here, kindly keep your vaccinated ass away... (Anger not directed at any poster.)

[rotting sea cow]

1 hour ago, maarsen said:

Not just the 2016 jerkwaddies were responsible. Canada had an early warning system set up for years to follow and track emerging outbreaks of diseases. Our jerkwaddie, Stephen Harper had it dismantled while in power and forbade government scientists from talking to anyone, even their peers in other countries. The man was a complete disaster and we are still paying 6 years from when he lost power.

This.

To be sure. Trump was the most infamous responsible of the mess we are in. But it isn't like the "rational and fact following" european governments acted differently. They just weren't so loud about it. They didn't tweet "it just the flu!" but otherwise they ignored the problem until it exploded in their faces and a million of people in Europe paid with their lives as result.

A few scattered governments around the world acted promptly and effectively and as result few have died and their economies are in better shape.

Still. It's pretty clear that most of the world was unable to read the implicit warnings that were coming from China. This includes many scientists and health authorities.

[OnionAhaiReborn]

3 hours ago, Fragile Bird said:

I pointed out to my brother than older people have reported fewer side effects, because we have weaker immune systems. He said “oh, I haven’t seen that!” So I’ll have to point out some articles.

Here I am patting myself on the back for having no side effects and it turns out it's just a sign of a weak immune system. 

 

31 minutes ago, Chataya de Fleury said:

Men are also less likely get a reaction, so there’s that, too, that you can point out.

Ego partially salvaged. 

[Consigliere]

South Africa has followed the advice from the FDA and temporarily suspended use of the J&J vaccine. The health minister says that hopefully the suspension will only be for a few days. There have been no cases of CVST reported in the country but that's probably due to the low number of doses administered. We have also secured 30 million doses of Pfizer which will be delivered this year with the first batch arriving in May. Hopefully vaccination using J&J will be allowed to resume otherwise our vaccine rollout is totally fucked as we've banked on the J&J vaccine to vaccinate the vast majority of the populace.

[Raja]

Decent thread this on the recent ACIP CDC meeting regarding the J&J pause, gonna just quote the summary slide
 

Quote

1. CVST is rare, but clinically serious, and can result in substantial morbidity and mortality not usually associate with thrombocytopenia.
    
2. Observed cases following Janseen COVD vaccine appear to exceed expected bas on background rates of CVST among women aged 20-50 ( 3 fold or greater)
    
3. No obvious Risk factors identified
    
4. None of the women had coagulation disorders
    
5. 1 women was using estrogen/ progesterone.