A friend who works in pharm posted pics of the vaccine arriving at her hospital today.
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He said he didnât know because he definitively didnât know. Neither the Pfizer not the Moderna trials swabbed their participants for Covid. So he doesnât know if asymptomatic spread can happen based on the only 2 trials we have - this is called science. What he does know is how to do math and the preliminary results from AstraZeneca (who did swab weekly) and what he sees is promising for sterilizing immunity. He canât say definitively because that would not be fact. Why is this so hard for people to understand?
PS, there have been some mask studies with Covid. Just look for them. Hint- They say they help reduce transmission. As to indl depth mask studies with Covid - whoâs going to sign up for that? I think researchers are busy trying to end a pandemic. Folks should just wear a mask, itâs not hard.
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In last weekâs FDA meeting on the Pfizer vaccine, they talked about potentially continuing the current phase 3 study but doing a blinded crossover-those who didnât get the vaccine would (not sure exactly when), and those who got the vaccine would get placebo injections.
This would allow for the continued gathering of long term data but keep the study blinded and intact.
I am not sure whether that will happen (or whose decision it actually is), but could be a model for the current developmental vaccines that are in/nearing phase 3, ensuring people enroll/stay in trials.
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My daughterâs employer, a medical facility, is very optimistic about the vaccine. They started this week with their employees who see patients and plan to have the entire company vaccinated by June and back in the office. Still not saying it is required, only recommended for their employees.
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This was in my guyâs email this morning:
U.S. income-related health disparities higher than other similarly wealthy nations, report suggests
PatientEngagementHIT (12/14, Heath) reports the U.S. âhas the worst income-related health disparities than any other similarly wealthy nation, according to a new report from the Commonwealth Fund published in Health Affairs.â The recent âreport, which looked at health care experiences for low- and high-income adults the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, revealed stark income-based health disparities in the U.S. Specifically, the U.S. sees stark income-based health disparities related to health status, health care affordability, and access to primary care.â
Itâs probably not a surprise to most. Its timing (for me) is uncanny because I listened to a report yesterday saying the vaccine is free - getting it administered is not - potentially making it tougher for low income people to get one even when it is their turn.
Low income people who have Medicaid coverage should not have to pay anything (or a very small amount) for administration of the vaccine. Part of the issue is getting people with few transport options to and from their docâs office, hospital, or other treatment setting.
For better or worse, the US system is set up where healthcare providers charge for their services, whether via health insurers or directly to the consumer.
I believe one has to be very low income to have Medicaid coverage. Most folks around here work and donât qualify, but they donât have a lot left for extras (based upon what I hear at school). Will they choose to spend it on a vaccine, esp if they donât choose to spend what they have on health insurance? Time will tell. More than once Iâve heard, âwe canât afford itâ to a suggestion to have a doctor look at something.
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It is not a surprise because substituting various other quality-of-life-related words for âhealthâ, or leaving out âhealthâ altogether, would still probably give a true statement.
Anyone have an update on this player - how heâs doing or whether they attributed his current medical issues to having Covid over the summer or something else?
More recent article:
I saw that, but it didnât update anything about âwhyâ - whether they think it was related to Covid or an underlying âsomethingâ he already had. I would think a lot of athletes and parents of athletes would want to know.
It definitely sounds serious and I wish the best for him.
Thereâs been no update on the resident at my guyâs health system who recently died of a heart attack at 33 either. (Donât know if he had ever had Covid or not.)
Just read that the FDA data analysis has upheld the safety and efficacy of the Moderna vaccine. Might clear it for emergency use b the end of the week. There was a hint that it helps with asymptomatic cases, noting that fewer in the vaccine arm were positive when tested before shot #2.
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Briefly heard an article on NPR this morning where they compared side effects of Moderna vs Pfizer & said there are slightly harsher side effects w/ Moderna (Fevers, chills aches might be experienced with both, but moreso for Moderna). I only heard 5 minutes of the interview, however, and do not know who was speaking or based on what studies. Anyone âin the knowâ know more?
Iâd be interested to see whether the Moderna vaccine is going to have similar problems for people with allergies.
A doctor today said the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are virtually identical. Minor differences like how they are stored and the timing of the second vaccines arenât important, just how they were tested.
He was getting vaccinated and the reported asked if heâd have second thought about not waiting for Moderna to be released next week. He said having 2 companies producing vaccines will just mean 2x as much product available. (Good thing). He said the vaccines still in testing are a little different, but still saw the benefit being more vaccine available in March and beyond. Those may be different enough to allow some who canât take the Pfizer and Moderna to take one of the others.
The graphic here has a good overview of the comparative side effects (and other data):
Separately, Dr. Eric Topol is doing outstanding work covering covid and the vaccines. His twitter feed is a must read, so much good stuff just today, itâs hard to keep up with.
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Very helpful. Thank you!
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My doc has gotten the first shot, is very pro on it. He noted stats on the severity of covid for at-risk or high-risk people vs the somewhat neglible side effects of the shot. (As opposed to the usual, âWell, statistically, I probably wonât get covid.â)
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Well, heâs a scientist. Doesnât âknowâ but might have said something along the lines of:
âIt would be unexpected, based on my extensive knowledge of vaccines. Would likely be rare. Worry about something else⊠it would be a more productive use of your time.â
Something else he might have authoritatively said , at some time time in the past, is: âwe believe there have been some instances of reinfection but they appear to be so infrequent as to be statistically nill. Worry about something else if youâve had it, or are worried about catching it from someone that has⊠it would be a more productive use of your time.â
As to âscienceâ:
I liked it so much that I got a degree in a hard version and made a career out of it. Fear the word doesnât mean exactly what it did decades ago⊠today, itâs used more like a talisman to justify belief in a policy stance. Understandable, since arguments about what the âdataâ shows have taken on a semblance of cheering one side or the otherâs expert witnesses at a tort trial. That both are supposedly âscientistsâ, yet are flatly disagreeing is a lesson that seems to be ignored by most these days.
Merry Christmas to all.
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In my experience, a sentence like this is a surefire way to get many people to tune the speaker out. Few like being confronted this way. The topic doesnât matter.
I donât think getting people to tune out is his goal, nor should it be.
Plus, if he ended up being wrong, plenty are ready to jump on it and discredit anything he ever said or will say in the future.
Saying he doesnât know is the truth and could get people continuing to be safe.
Masks being safe for the wearer (no harm from the mask itself due to wearing it) and potentially very effective at slowing spread has been proven oodles of time by many different respected places - as has distancing.
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