Coronavirus

[joglynne]

A new COVID vaccine efficacy study from Israel has concluded that Pfizer/BioNTech's jab is up to 85% effective after the first dose.

The research, conducted by the Sheba Medical Centre, the country's largest hospital, has been published in the Lancet medical journal.

The hospital assessed the effectiveness of the first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine among 7,000 of its healthcare employees.

The workers each received their first dose in January and the research team observed an 85% reduction of clinical (symptomatic) COVID-19 between 15 and 28 days after the jab.

But critically, they also observed efficacy in asymptomatic patients.

The study found that all infections, including asymptomatic, were reduced by 75% after the first dose.

Professor Eyal Leshem, an infectious disease expert and director of Sheba's Institute for Travel and Tropical Medicine, told Sky News: "This is first real-world evidence of effectiveness that shows up after the first dose of the vaccine.

https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-...finds-12222164

[1andrew1]

Hearing that the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine no longer needs ultra cold storage. Just reported in the FT and doubtless will be reported elsewhere soon.

[papa smurf]

Originally Posted by 1andrew1

Hearing that the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine no longer needs ultra cold storage. Just reported in the FT and doubtless will be reported elsewhere soon.

https://www.ft.com/content/919d16c8-...9-04a48fdb0a36


.
https://www.ft.com/content/919d16c8-...9-04a48fdb0a36

The BioNTech/Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine no longer needs to be kept at ultra-low temperatures colder than the Antarctic winter, according to new results that will allow distribution to be dramatically expanded to doctors’ clinics, pharmacies and more remote regions.

Stability data, which the companies have submitted to the US regulator, show the shot can be kept at normal medical freezer temperatures of minus 15C to minus 25C for up to two weeks, compared with the previous required storage conditions of between minus 60C and minus 80C.

Ugur Sahin, BioNTech’s chief executive, said the ability to store the vaccine at higher temperatures would give vaccination centres “greater flexibility”, adding that the company continues to develop new formulations to make the jab “even easier to transport and use”.

BioNTech/Pfizer’s breakthrough vaccine was the first to win regulatory approval in the UK, US and EU last year, but the need to store and transport the shot below minus 60C has complicated the rollout, particularly in remote areas without “cold-chain” infrastructure.

https://www.politico.eu/article/bion...-higher-temps/

Great news from Public Health Scotland this morning. Their real-world study of vaccine effectiveness shows that after 28 days, just one dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine reduces the risk of hospitalisation by 94%. Pfizer also turned in very good results, showing an 85% reduction in hospitalisations in patients who had received that vaccine. Amongst all patients over 80 (regardless of which vaccine they have had), there has been an 81% reduction in hospitalisations overall.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-56153600

What we learn from this:

1. The single dose strategy pursued jointly by HMG and the devolved authorities has been a public health policy triumph. Other nations should emulate it immediately.
2. After a single dose, the Oxford vaccine is significantly more effective at preventing acute Covid than the Pfizer vaccine.

[Halcyon]

Having just come out of 10 days isolation due to Covid, I can say it is the strangest feeling ever. Still not got my taste or smell completely bavck and feel puffed out quite a lot of the time.


I think the plan to re-open schools for just 2 weeks before Easter is completely bonkers. We should have waited til after Easter.

You cant get all kids back into learning and up to same level in 2 weeks.

[Pierre]

Originally Posted by Chris

1. The single dose strategy pursued jointly by HMG and the devolved authorities has been a public health policy triumph. Other nations should emulate it immediately.
2. After a single dose, the Oxford vaccine is significantly more effective at preventing acute Covid than the Pfizer vaccine.

1. Don't expect the government to get any credit whatsoever, there's already been faux outrage because of bureaucracy that wasn't correctly followed whilst we're up to our necks in trying to obtain PPE in competition with the rest of the world.

No credit for Hancock backing the Oxford vaccine and tying them up with AZ and bank rolling it. No credit for the vaccine rollout (the NHS have done all themselves), no credit for the single jab method.

Mistakes have been made in the past year, of course they have, but HMG have been focused on the pathway out of this and on that item, they have delivered.

2. Unfortunately for the EU and their attempts to discredit the AZ vaccine we have real world data that trumps political games.

---------- Post added at 12:21 ---------- Previous post was at 12:17 ----------

Originally Posted by Halcyon

I think the plan to re-open schools for just 2 weeks before Easter is completely bonkers. We should have waited til after Easter.

You cant get all kids back into learning and up to same level in 2 weeks.

No more bonkers than having them go back for 1 day.

Football and Golf return on March 29th. Brilliant!

Pubs open by May I should think, not that I'm an avid pub-goer, but I do enjoy a steak dinner on a Friday.

[jfman]

I hope the paper when published stands up to the headlines and isn't a selective interpretation of available data to make useful headlines.

Originally Posted by jfman

I hope the paper when published stands up to the headlines and isn't a selective interpretation of available data to make useful headlines.

Wow. It took you 20 minutes to formulate that sentence ... following the science is a real kicker, isn't it?

[jfman]

Originally Posted by Chris

Wow. It took you 20 minutes to formulate that sentence ... following the science is a real kicker, isn't it?

Didn't see any point in going into great detail.

Nothing wrong with following the science as long as that's what the science says. So far we have a press release. I'm sure once scrutinised the scientific community will either agree or disagree but peer review is always an important part of the process.

If other countries are to rip up their vaccination plans to follow ours I'm sure you'd agree they're likely to want the supporting data first.

[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by Chris

Great news from Public Health Scotland this morning. Their real-world study of vaccine effectiveness shows that after 28 days, just one dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine reduces the risk of hospitalisation by 94%. Pfizer also turned in very good results, showing an 85% reduction in hospitalisations in patients who had received that vaccine. Amongst all patients over 80 (regardless of which vaccine they have had), there has been an 81% reduction in hospitalisations overall.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-56153600

What we learn from this:

1. The single dose strategy pursued jointly by HMG and the devolved authorities has been a public health policy triumph. Other nations should emulate it immediately.
2. After a single dose, the Oxford vaccine is significantly more effective at preventing acute Covid than the Pfizer vaccine.

The single dose strategy - which I believe was advocated by Tony Blair of all people before HMG adopted it - would seem to be a quick win for every country given that supply can't be ramped up rapidly.

[Sephiroth]

... but those EU blockheads think otherwise.

That said, ikt appears that needs are beginning to must:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world...63f_story.html

France is weighing whether to give people previously infected with the coronavirus only one vaccine dose instead of two, a practice that if enacted here and followed by other countries could free up tens of millions of doses.

“It’s likely that we’ll see similar moves elsewhere, given that we’re facing a shortage of vaccine doses,” said Tobias Kurth, the director of the Institute of Public Health at Berlin’s Charité hospital.

France’s health advisory body has recommended that one shot provides sufficient protection, acting like a booster shot, for previously infected people.

Ouefs en visages comes to mind.

Originally Posted by 1andrew1

The single dose strategy - which I believe was advocated by Tony Blair of all people before HMG adopted it - would seem to be a quick win for every country given that supply can't be ramped up rapidly.

Yes, it all became part of the public debate around the same time. I seem to recall that many of us thought that Blair, both as a well-connected former PM and also through his charitable foundation work, had got access to the same data that was informing government policy development. HMG went public with it around a week later.

[pip08456]

Government roadmap out of lockdown.

https://assets.publishing.service.go...pring_2021.pdf

Well, I got my jab at 4.24pm today.

[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by Paul

Well, I got my jab at 4.24pm today.