Ummm, illegally made Chinese pig vaccines caused a swine fever virus... is not what I wanna hear in 2021 in middle of a pandemic.
And yes it’s likely what happened—China had been trying to crack down on these cheaply made sketchy illegal pig ones. reuters.com/article/us-chi…
2) Scientists who know what they are doing would never make these shoddy mistakes. Deleting genes to inactivate virus is old technology. Done well, they are good if legally produced by trained scientists.
Newer #COVID19 vaccines made in US and Europe also don’t use inactivated.
3) “There is no approved vaccine for African swine fever, which is not harmful to humans. But many Chinese farmers struggling to protect their pigs have resorted to unapproved products, industry insiders & experts said. They fear illicit vaccines created accidental infections”
4) “China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs did not respond. But it has issued at least 3 warnings against use of unauthorised African swine fever vaccines, cautioning that they could have severe side effects and that producers and users could be charged with crime.”
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SWITCH TO PREMIUM MASKS—I’ve been saying it for months. We need to switch to KN95, KF94, or European FFP2 masks ASAP. The new #b117#COVID19 is just too contagious. Cloth isn’t enough anymore folks. Germany 🇩🇪 & Austria 🇦🇹 mandating on all public transits. washingtonpost.com/world/europe/e…
2) there are many masks that have 94/95% filtration...
3) N95 masks are more rare outside of hospitals because they are in shortage and needed by HCWs. You might find some NIOSH N95 from wood working, but note those are often not fluid resistant.
2) Scott Perry is the congressman infamously suggested ISIS was connected to Vegas mass shooting. never showed any evidence, and even wouldn’t back down from claim 9 month later. Can’t make this stuff up.
3) Moreover, @RepScottPerry was one of the anti-mask GOP members of Congress who laughed & mocked Rep. @LisaBRochester for trying to hand out masks while in lockdown during the MAGA terrorist attack on the Capitol. Multiple MOCs got infected afterwards.
College reopenings and #COVID19 risk—for those who say opening in person schools are safe—new CDC study:
US counties with university in-person instruction had a 56% ⬆️ in incidence, comparing the 21-day periods before and after classes started. 🧵 cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/7…
2) U.S. counties with large colleges or universities with remote instruction experienced a 17.9% decrease in incidence of #COVID19
3) Counties without large colleges or universities (n = 3,009) experienced a 6% decrease in incidence in #COVID19 during similar time frames.
Delaying doses of coronavirus inoculations will increase the chances of a vaccine-resistant strain of #COVID19 emerging, government scientists warn. 🧵 independent.co.uk/news/health/co…
2) Sage scientists there was an “increased risk of virus replication under partial immunity after one dose than after two doses, so in the short term, delaying the second dose would be expected to somewhat increase the probability of emergence of vaccine resistance”
3) Is such an increase material? It is not currently possible to quantify the probability of emergence of vaccine resistance as a result of the delayed second dose, but it is likely to be *small*. The UK currently has limited supplies of vaccine.
BREAKING—Trump FDA just left final kick in the teeth—Pfizer will now ship fewer #COVID19 vaccine vials after it lobbied to count & **pay for** “extra” doses found in vials. Now Pfizer can count 6 per vial to meet dose orders—ie shipping less vials. When FDA approved? Jan 6th! 🧵
2) “For weeks, Pfizer execs pushed officials at Trump FDA to change the wording of vaccine’s emergency use authorization so it formally acknowledged that vials contained 6 doses, not 5. Distinction critical: Pfizer’s contract requires paid by the dose.” nytimes.com/2021/01/22/hea…
3) “Now, it appears, the bill is due. Pfizer plans to count the surprise sixth dose toward its previous commitment of 200 million doses of Covid vaccine by the end of July and therefore will be providing fewer vials than once expected for the US.
BREAKING—UK 🇬🇧 Prime Minister Boris Johnson says: Early evidence suggests the #b117 variant of #covid19 that emerged in the UK may be more deadly. (data assessed by scientists on New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group). TO BE UPDATED. bbc.co.uk/news/health-55…
2) Early estimate: 30% more deadly.
Johnson said: "In addition to spreading more quickly, it also now appears that there is some evidence that the new variant—the variant that was 1st identified in London and the south east - may be associated with a higher degree of mortality.
3) "It's largely the impact of this new variant that means the NHS is under such intense pressure."
The evidence comes from mathematicians analysing trends in the numbers of people dying with the new and the old variants.