📍BAD UPDATE—14 morgues—El Paso has to expand another 5 mobile morgues & plan to build a new refrigerated warehouse w/ **3000 square feet of refrigeration** to handle the surging of deceased bodies that need medical examination, amid the #COVID19 surge. 🧵 kfoxtv.com/news/coronavir…
2) “I don’t know what else we could do. I’m really focusing on a moral appeal to our community,” El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego said.
“As soon as we get one solution, it’s not sufficient,” Judge Samaniego said.
3) “The deadly impact of COVID-19 on El Paso reached an all-time high on Monday, with more than 250 bodies now being held at the county morgue, part of over 480 total deaths under investigation for the coronavirus.”
My take—I personally think the Oxford AstraZeneza #COVID19 vaccine at 90% efficacy (with its half-then-full dose regimen) simple refrigeration vaccine that costs $2.5-4/dose is superior. Cheaper + much easier to ship ➡️ means save more lives worldwide.
2) For the record, we need to stop quoting the 70% efficacy number. It’s a mix of regimen 1&2, which is not possible in the real world. You only take either 1 or 2, not both. Thus it’s either 90% or 62%. Many new outlets made this error, which I myself at first read. 90% folks!
3) Eventually, I think all 3 vaccines might be in the 90% ballpark for efficacy once more data comes out. Also Oxford vaccine reported also asymptomatic infections. While Pfizer did not—only symptomatic. Because asymptomatic can also spread it, I think that is key.
DEVASTATING—A contact tracer says North Dakota almost given up tracing: “unless pregnant, we don’t gather any history. Unless their job is health care, or work/attend K-12 schools, we don’t notify their employers”. 🤦🏻♂️
2) “This is what an emergency looks like in North Dakota: Every day seems to break a record for new infections. Even if hospitals have beds, they don’t have enough staff; the governor recently proposed allowing HC workers who test positive to continue working in #COVID19 units.”
3) please think of all the healthcare workers risking their lives too. So many have died. Beg you, please.
BREAKING—Oxford/Astrazeneca vaccine is 70% effective overall. But one of its dosing regimens of low-then-high yields 90% effectiveness.
Oxford #COVID19 vaccine cheaper than the Pfizer & Moderna vaccines, and does *not* does not require freezing transport. bbc.com/news/health-55…
2) When volunteers were given two "high" doses the protection was 62%, but this rose to 90% when people were given a "low" dose followed by a high one. Not clear why yet.
The 90% effectiveness data was "intriguing" and would mean "we would have a lot more doses to distribute."
3) There were also lower levels of asymptomatic infection in the low followed by high dose group which "means we might be able to halt the virus in its tracks," Prof Pollard said.
In the UK there are 4 million doses ready to go, with another 96 million to be delivered.