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Pfizer and the Israeli Ministry of Health have a study coming out that the Pfizer vaccine may be 90% effective against asymptomatic transmission. They need more reliable data to have more confidence, but things are trending in the right direction. 

 

Unfortunately, the article isnt in english, so I won't link it. Here's a tweet outlining the most noteworthy stuff:

 

Edited by WizeGuy
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I know a lot of you have been clamoring for an update of the MoL

We may do a full round at some point, just for old times sake, but here's a stat to hold you over

Calculated today the US would have an MoL of 0.8, one of our lowest numbers ever!  The average daily case load just over a month ago was 3.5x what it is today!  Good job Dr Fauci!

(I think the MoL would need to be adjusted now given the backload of active cases that haven't been closed, but still, a very good number!)

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2 minutes ago, mission27 said:

I know a lot of you have been clamoring for an update of the MoL

We may do a full round at some point, just for old times sake, but here's a stat to hold you over

Calculated today the US would have an MoL of 0.8, one of our lowest numbers ever!  The average daily case load just over a month ago was 3.5x what it is today!  Good job Dr Fauci!

(I think the MoL would need to be adjusted now given the backload of active cases that haven't been closed, but still, a very good number!)

However, let us not get complacent 

There is always the risk variants will reverse this progress either in the spring, before we can get everyone vaccinated, or next Fall if a large portion of the population refuses the vaccine in the interim period 

The MoL will continue to wear our masks for the time being and get the vaccine as soon as it is our turn (which could be quite late, given our very high levels of health and fertility) 

@TLO

Edited by mission27
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The log jam explained.

Not free:

Why grandparents can’t find vaccines: Scarcity of niche biotech ingredients

Lipid nanoparticles for RNA vaccines were used in small quantities a year ago. Now Pfizer and Moderna can’t get enough.

Quote

Scaling up production of formerly niche substances such as lipid nanoparticles for a global vaccine drive has been among the most complex challenges facing the Biden administration as it aims to ramp up the frustratingly slow provision of shots across the country, according to interviews with company officials and outside scientists and government reports. Pfizer said in response to questions that it has made unspecified changes to its facilities and manufacturing that will allow it to double vaccine output. It said it will produce 2 billion doses by the end of the year. It makes its vaccine in Kalamazoo, Mich., and Belgium. Many other bottlenecks have plagued the manufacturing of vaccines for the novel coronavirus, which causes covid-19. Companies have had to build equipment from scratch, including machines that shoot two streams of solution — one containing mRNA and one containing lipids — into a high-speed collision to fuse the nanoparticles and encapsulate the genetic payload. The vaccine makers are also experiencing a lack of machine capacity to fill vaccine vials. The Pfizer-BioNTech team has struck agreements with two other drug giants, Sanofi and Novartis, in Europe for “fill-finish” services, the process of putting vaccine doses into vials and preparing them for shipment. Executives in the industry also pointed to potential bottlenecks in the production of certain nucleotides and DNA plasmids (which provide the blueprint for the mRNA in vaccine), as well as synthetic capping agents that attach to the end of a string of mRNA. The synthetic capping molecules are produced under patent by a single company, TriLink, in San Diego. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/02/18/vaccine-fat-lipids-supply/

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4 hours ago, mission27 said:

However, let us not get complacent 

There is always the risk variants will reverse this progress either in the spring, before we can get everyone vaccinated, or next Fall if a large portion of the population refuses the vaccine in the interim period 

The MoL will continue to wear our masks for the time being and get the vaccine as soon as it is our turn (which could be quite late, given our very high levels of health and fertility) 

@TLO

Love it. Always wear protection. There are a lot of cooties out there. 

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7 hours ago, vikesfan89 said:

Sounds like new York didn't handle the nursing homes very well. 

Who was arguing that there was absolutely nothing else they could have done?

There was nothing that they could have done. That’s not why Cuomo’s in trouble right now.

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21 hours ago, BobbyPhil1781 said:

That is great news especially the storage part. It is important to provide the caveat with the one dose though. At least with regards to the US.

Quote

Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s leading expert on infectious diseases and an adviser to President Biden, said at a White House news conference on the pandemic on Friday that the results of the study are not significant enough to change the U.S. recommendations. 

He pointed out that the people in the study were on the younger and healthier side and the researchers could not say how long the protection from one shot of the vaccine would last. He also said it was possible that a less-than-optimal dose might not kill the most powerful variants of the virus, theoretically allowing them to spread more quickly in the population.

 

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