1/n The AZ vaccine adverse effects are seriously concerning. First, since public money flowed into the project through OWS, we need to have access to the data to figure out what happened. If needed, this should be escalated (legally)
2/n Transverse myelitis is a rare event but has been seen with vaccines before. Several questions need to be addressed -/ but systematically
3/n possibility 1: related to previous medical conditions. MS etc. Thats the best case scenario for AZ because one can exclude such patients of detectable
4/n Possibility 2: this is related to the Adenovirus (recall that the Vaccine inoculum is large). That’s not good because several vaccine platforms are based on Adeno systems
5/n Possibility 3: it’s related to a brisk immune system reaction to Spike RBD in general. That’s very bad news. That means the highly adjuvanted Moderna vaccine will also have these effects. Very very concerning
6/n Possibility 4: There was antibody dependent enhancement. Well, not so bad maybe, cos people with high titer Covid antibodies could be excluded.
7/n In all cases, public release of data would be helpful, and serology provided to investigators would be helpful. Plus, we need to exclude the possibility that other vaccines won’t have the same effects.
8/n Thus, any emergency EUA before these issues are resolved seems deeply premature. Any other possibilities that we can think of ?
8/n It would be helpful if a task force of virologists and immunologists could be appointed to suggest possibilities and experiments. Outside the OWS, preferably through NIH
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1/n May I propose a solution to this standoff? Maybe for every peer-reviewed article in a widely read publication (Nature etc.) there should be an online commentary by a historian, sociologist, anthropologist scientificamerican.com/article/the-co…
2/n I did not understand some things about this piece (my fault). No one that I know extrapolates from ants to humans. But to demolish the entire field of behavioral genetics as "racist" seems an equal and opposite sin scientificamerican.com/article/the-co…
3/n And so a commentary AND CRITIQUE from a historian, anthropologist etc. on a paper might help. There's no dearth of online space, and assigning such a critique might equalize the weighing scale of authority of any one piece.
2/n The mystery begins because mutations in splicing factors (SF3b1) cause a blood disease called Myelodysplasia.
3/n But what could splicing have to do with MDS ? Previously, we published a paper in which we made 7 blood-like cell lines, using Crispr, which were ONLY different in possessing the mutation (or not).
1/n It might be an interesting idea to create a SUBGROUP of researchers to study the B1617 (Delta) SARS-Cov2 variant that dominated the Indian wave of the pandemic and caused such enormous lethality
2/n What do we know about the "real world" effectiveness of the current vaccines against this variant? How many fully vaccinated people got SARS-C2-Delta after being fully vaccinated?
3/n Do vaccinated people (which vaccine?) have milder disease and fewer deaths/hospitalizations?
1/n The anecdotal stories about the number of people in India getting COVID after AZ or Covaxin need to be addressed.
2/n Either it’s a question of the denominator. Even with 90 percent effectiveness, 10 percent breakthrough in a country of 1.3 billion is a HUGE number. So maybe the anecdotes are that 10 percent
3/n Or the true effectiveness of the vaccines in the field are substantially lower. In which case, we need to measure that... it’s crucial to drive policy
1/n Long thread, but of crucial importance. The COVID-19 situation in India is as dire as can be. And it is not just THEIR problem, as long as virus circulates in the world, it becomes EVERYONE'S problem. We live in a global society; viruses don't respect national borders.
2/n This is, or was, a moment of historic importance for the US/ Biden administration to show leadership and solidarity. Recall the legacy of WW2 that established America as a world leader. Compare that to the leadership today.
3/n Now, let's get practical. I've spoken to several people on the ground in India, and here are the immediate needs in terms of priorities. Several field hospitals are being set up, but there are dire infrastructural needs.
1/n Please pay attention, please. I'm afraid that we are falling behind in this COVID race. There are at least 4 variants of concern: variants arising in London, Manaus, Japan and South Africa.
2/n The London variant is more contagious. The Manaus and South African variants may -- MAY -- cause repeat infections.
3/n I cannot see any way forward except: 1. detect the frequency of the variants in the USA and isolate and confine them.