Covid-19 News/Discussion

[mission27]

Is the point just that the vaccine can be quickly updated for new variants (which is true of the mRNA vaccines too right?)

Or is it more so that, by including 24 different versions of the spike protein from different variants and even other coronaviruses like the original SARS, you're inducing a broader immunity that could be more resilient to future mutations?  That sounds useful

[ramssuperbowl99]

1 hour ago, mission27 said:

Is the point just that the vaccine can be quickly updated for new variants (which is true of the mRNA vaccines too right?)

Or is it more so that, by including 24 different versions of the spike protein from different variants and even other coronaviruses like the original SARS, you're inducing a broader immunity that could be more resilient to future mutations?  That sounds useful

It's a different way of trying to mitigate the fact that the virus can mutate. The mRNA vaccines mitigate this by focusing on the spike protein, which is necessary for function and therefore resistant to change. This only gives the immune system the spike protein to immunize against, to hopefully get an all-around response.

This vaccine does the same practical thing, a different way. It gives the immune system 24 different COVID variants to immunize against, so that if the virus does change, it will have to change differently than those 23 predicted/observed variants.

They'd each have pros and cons. With the mRNA, if the spike protein changes enough, you have to start over and re-sequence, re-develop, etc.. With the army vaccine, you aren't sure if the immune system will react to all 24 facets the same way, and your immunity is only as good as your predictions on how the virus may change. If you guess wrong, you have to re-design, re-develop, etc.

[TVScout]

Early use of convalescent plasma reduced hospitalizations, scientists say.

Scientists from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine published findings showing that giving plasma early during the course of illness reduced hospitalization by half in a clinical trial that spanned from June 2020 to October 2021.

 

Oxford and AstraZeneca start making omicron version of coronavirus vaccine.

“Like with many previous variants of concern, and together with our partners AstraZeneca, we have taken preliminary steps in producing an updated vaccine in case it is needed,” Sandy Douglas, who leads a vaccine manufacturing research group at Oxford, told the Financial Times earlier on Tuesday. Douglas and his team have recently published a preprint paper, which has not yet undergone a peer review, outlining the feasibility of producing a vaccine at large scale after a new virus is identified, which they said could enable the manufacture of millions of doses within 100 days.

 

In 32 states, 1 in 100 seniors have died of covid. Will this wave break the trend?.

Since the pandemic began, 32 states have seen 1 percent of their population age 65 and over die of covid. These are estimates, overlaying data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, updated through the week of Dec. 11, on The Washington Post’s state-level data and then compared with Census Bureau figures on population by age. But in many states it’s not really very close. In Mississippi, for example, about 15 out of every 1,000 residents age 65 and older has died of the coronavirus — just under 1.5 percent.

[Leader]

FDA authorizes first oral antiviral for treatment for Covid-19: Paxlovid, a pill made by Pfizer.

[Xenos]

1 hour ago, Leader said:

FDA authorizes first oral antiviral for treatment for Covid-19: Paxlovid, a pill made by Pfizer.

Another tool is always nice.

[Leader]

40 minutes ago, Xenos said:

Another tool is always nice.

I wonder what the cost will be.

[Xenos]

4 minutes ago, Leader said:

I wonder what the cost will be.

I think the first 10 million are free.

https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/us-pfizer-deal-covid-19-treatment-pill/

[ramssuperbowl99]

21 minutes ago, Leader said:

I wonder what the cost will be.

Probably more than an order of magnitude cheaper than the monoclonal antibody treatments. Merck got less than $1000/regimen.

Small molecules are cheap. Biologics are pricey.

[Xenos]

Some good news:

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/world/south-africas-decline-in-new-covid-19-cases-may-indicate-omicron-peak-has-passed
 

Quote

"It was a short wave … and the good news is that it was not very severe in terms of hospitalizations and deaths," she said. It is "not unexpected in epidemiology that a very steep increase, like what we saw in November, is followed by a steep decrease."

Gauteng province saw its numbers start sharply rising in mid-November. Scientists doing genetic sequencing quickly identified the new, highly mutated omicron variant that was announced to the world on Nov. 25.

 

[kingseanjohn]

4 hours ago, Xenos said:

Some good news:

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/world/south-africas-decline-in-new-covid-19-cases-may-indicate-omicron-peak-has-passed
 

 

To add some context, it's summer there. I hope there's a steep decrease here, but I wouldn't bet on it.

[Leader]

FDA authorizes Merck's antiviral COVID pill for certain high-risk adults.

[TVScout]

Free:

With omicron, many vaccinated Americans will at some point test positive. Here’s what to do.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/12/22/covid-positive-fully-vaccinated/

 

Early Remdesivir to Prevent Progression to Severe Covid-19 in Outpatients.

Among nonhospitalized patients who were at high risk for Covid-19 progression, a 3-day course of remdesivir had an acceptable safety profile and resulted in an 87% lower risk of hospitalization or death than placebo. (Funded by Gilead Sciences; PINETREE ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04501952. opens in new tab; EudraCT number, 2020-003510-12. opens in new tab.)

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2116846

 

[mission27]

12 hours ago, kingseanjohn said:

To add some context, it's summer there. I hope there's a steep decrease here, but I wouldn't bet on it.

Yep.  Although, it goes both ways.  In theory this should spread faster in winter climate which could mean an even quicker peak.  But probably more residual spread on the other end of that peak.

[mission27]

1 hour ago, TVScout said:

Free:

With omicron, many vaccinated Americans will at some point test positive. Here’s what to do.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/12/22/covid-positive-fully-vaccinated/

 

Early Remdesivir to Prevent Progression to Severe Covid-19 in Outpatients.

Among nonhospitalized patients who were at high risk for Covid-19 progression, a 3-day course of remdesivir had an acceptable safety profile and resulted in an 87% lower risk of hospitalization or death than placebo. (Funded by Gilead Sciences; PINETREE ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04501952. opens in new tab; EudraCT number, 2020-003510-12. opens in new tab.)

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2116846

 

MoL right again

[mission27]

To a certain extent this is a meaningless distinction for places with high prior immunity either from effective vaccination or disease (which is most of the world at this point, outside of maybe China) but still interesting