📍HUGE vaccine news—Pfizer just announced its vaccine is 90% effective vs placebo from early 7-day findings. So far results are from 94 confirmed #COVID19 infections among trial's 43,538 participants. Longer term results still pending. But very hopeful. cnbc.com/2020/11/09/cov…
2) Biden team was informed last night about the Pfizer vaccine’s preliminary findings. And his team is correct in pointing out the vaccine is still months away from public availability. So until then, public health safety measures still needed. #COVID19
3) We really do need more long term data—7 days just isn’t enough. This Pfizer vaccine is also a 2-dose vaccine requiring the booster later on too, because many vaccines need that second dose to be effective for more long term. This is why we do trials and **WAIT** for more data.
4) Pfizer’s vaccine also needs deep freezing and cold chain in transport/storage. Meanwhile J&J’s pending vaccine is a single dose one and doesn’t need freezing, only standard refrigeration, which would be huge if also successful.
5) And cold chain is risky — any failure to keep the vials 🧪 frozen for just a few minutes would mean the vaccine won’t be as effective. And sometimes you wouldn’t know if there was a temporary freezing chain failure unless sensitive detectors.
6) KEY thing to know—mRNA based Pfizer vaccine does *not* contain virus itself. It only encodes the “spike protein” portion that latches onto human cells. Vaccines are clever immune system trainers for your body. This mRNA vaccine cannot give you #COVID19.
2) While you’re here, here is Mark Meadows with a headache. Read also about Covid patients suffering increase risk of psychiatric illnesses and dementia. It’s not just death that matters, not that #COVID19 death numbers even matter to Trump.
📍MOVE ASIDE ANTIBODY TESTS—Get ready for T-Cell testing for #COVID19 to identify past infection. Unlike antibodies that naturally wane, T-cells persist much longer. Of 70 COVID survivors, T-cell #COVID19 test ID’ed 97% of them, while antibody only 77%. cnn.com/2020/11/10/hea…
2) The new T cell testing is awaiting FDA approval. “The data was announced Tuesday at an investors' call for Adaptive Biotechnologies, the company that makes the test. The company did not fund the study and the data has not been published...”
3) “Adaptive is planning to launch its T cell test commercially in late November and plans to apply for an Emergency Use Authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration.”
BREAKING—20% of recovering #COVID19 patients develop mental illness within 90 days, says large US study. Increased *first-time diagnosis* of anxiety, depression & insomnia by 2-fold! And researchers also found significantly higher risks of dementia. 🧵 reuters.com/article/health…
2) The study, published in The Lancet Psychiatry journal, analysed electronic health records of 69 million people in US, with 62,000 cases of #COVID19. In the three months following testing positive, 1 in 5 survivors had first time diagnosis of anxiety, depression or insomnia.
3) The study also found that people with a pre-existing mental illness were 65% more likely to be diagnosed with #COVID19 than those without.
Mental health experts said findings add to growing evidence that COVID can affect brain & mind, increasing risk of psychiatric illnesses.
3) The Swiss health authorities have also warned against using face visors instead of masks after an investigation into an outbreak of Covid-19 at a hotel revealed all those infected wore plastic face shields, while those who avoided infection wore masks. bag.admin.ch/bag/en/home/kr…
BREAKING—Trump advisor David Bossie (of Citizens United fame, he led that charge), tests positive for #COVID19. He was also former deputy CM for Trump in 2016. On top of Ben Carson, that now makes 51 in WH orbit in last 6 weeks.
2) All hail @JenniferJJacobs for her WH Covid outbreak reporting.
3) this is on top of the Carson positive test. I bet many are linked to the WH election night party that Meadows attended without mask and tested positive day after.