BREAKING—Oxford-AstraZeneca not only protects people from serious illness and death but also substantially slows the transmission of #SARSCoV2, finding thr #COVID19 vaccine cuts transmission by nearly 2/3rds (pre print). It means it can slow the pandemic.🧵nytimes.com/2021/02/02/us/…
2) also, analyses reveal that a **single standard dose** efficacy from day 22 to day 90 post vaccination of 76% with protection not falling in this three-month period for symptomatic #COVID19
3) After the second dose vaccine efficacy from two standard doses is 82.4% with the 3-month interval being used in the UK. (82.4% effective, with a 95% confidence interval of 62.7% - 91.7% at 12+ weeks)
4) And indeed we see the strongest vaccine efficacy when the second dose is delayed 12 or more weeks, and the strongest neutralizing potential of blood from vaccinated patients when spacing out the 2 doses by that longer duration.
5) that said, for asymptomatic illness it’s less efficacious. But they found 47% efficacy in the low dose 1st shot / standard dose 2nd shot when spaced out by 12 or more weeks.
6) there is even suggestions of efficacy reaching over 90% with the longer 12 week delay combined with excluding the elderly among those with the low dose 1st shot regimen, possibly. Panel C.
7) Also how long did anti #SARSCoV2 spike protein IgG antibody last after just a single dose? A long time- at least 180 days (limit of the trial followup duration), though it dropped 33% by 90 days, and 64% by 180 days. But this is still good. Also T cell immunity not accounted.
8) Professor Andrew Pollard, Chief Investigator of Oxford Vaccine Trial said:
‘These new data provide an important verification of the interim data that was used by more than 25 regulators including the MHRA and EMA to grant the vaccine emergency use authorisation.”
9) ‘It also supports policy recommendation made by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation for a 12-week prime-boost interval, as they look for the optimal approach to roll out, & reassures us that people are protected from 22 days after a single dose of the vaccine.’
10) The analyses suggest that dosing interval & not dosing level has a great impact on the efficacy of the vaccine. This is in line with previous research supporting greater efficacy with longer prime-boost intervals done with other vaccines such as influenza, Ebola and malaria.
11) The authors also report further on the potential for the vaccine to reduce transmission of the virus, based on swabs obtained from volunteers in the UK arms of the trial with a 67% reduction after the first dose of the vaccine.
12) They also hope to report data regarding the new variants in the coming days, and expect the findings to be broadly similar to those already reported by fellow vaccine developers. ox.ac.uk/news/2021-02-0…
13) Matt Hancock, the British health secretary, hailed the results on Wednesday as “absolutely superb.”
“We now know that the Oxford vaccine also reduces transmission and that will help us all get out of this pandemic,” Mr. Hancock said in Wednesday morning with the BBC.
14) The results, he said, “should give everyone confidence that this jab works not only to keep you safe but to keep you from passing on the virus to others.”
15) latest data do not have bearing on the debate over whether to further space out the doses of the two vaccines authorized in the United States, those from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, since the data on AstraZeneca’s candidate cannot be generalized to other vaccines.
16) Some scientists have called on the United States to follow the lead of Britain and other countries that have opted to delay the second doses of vaccines by up to 12 weeks. But U.S. federal officials have resisted, saying such a move would not be supported by the data
17) the new results could amplify pressure on U.S. health officials to delay second doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine, though it has not yet been authorized by the country.
18) Hospitalization data: pretty good, after 22 days (the initial immunity buildup time), there was Zero hospitalizations!!!
19) And looks how the 2nd booster dose delayed 12 weeks or more really increases neutralizing antibody levels in one’s blood the most, compared to shorter time gap between doses. 12 weeks for maximum benefit!
20 Great to also see UK vaccinations per day rising steadily.
21) Meanwhile, here are the new results for the Sputnik V vaccine trial. 91.6%.
⚠️TWO DIFFERENT #COVID19 PANDEMICS—Many think with cases dropping that pandemic is nearly over. But truth is, there are now 2 different #SARSCoV2 pandemics diverging—old strain is waning, while the more contagious #B117 strain is dominating. We will be soon slammed very hard. 🧵
2) Here is what is really going to happen... most countries are having a gentle case decline with R(e) currently around 0.9. But this is deceiving. The #B117 is still relatively rare so far, so the R is being influenced mostly by the old common variant. But not for long...
3) Here is what is going to happen... currently R is ~0.9 in many places, but with the more infectious #B117, the R will jump 50% approximately. And it is inevitable (all CDC and Danish models say this) that B117 will take over as the reigning dominant variant soon...
2) If anyone knows me personally, I’m actually not a loud or dramatic person. I’m quite low key in person. And I never cared to really use Twitter in the decade that I’ve had an account. I’ve only begun using during the pandemic because of the lack of urgency for public health.
3) when I shouted aloud in Jan 2020, i only had 2000 or so followers collected over 10 years. It didn’t define my life or career. But I see the power in which we can mobilize action if we join together to warn others. And that is my only goal. nymag.com/intelligencer/…
Fauci: “We have to be concerned about the mutants” 👀
He’s right on the concern for the #B117, #B1351, #P1. Plus the B117+E484K mutant combination is worrisome. #COVID19
2) Here are the mutations within each of the 3 standard variants. But the #B117 has also acquired the bad E484K mutation found in the SA and Brazil variants in a new B117 sublineage in Wales 🏴 and England. E484K is the bad one.
3) here is the detailed thread 🧵 of the new sublineage of B117 + E484K
15 MINUTE RULE IS WRONG! When you watch the SuperBowl, remember it was saved because the NFL knew the 15 minutes + 6 ft rule was wrong. The #COVID19 gospel of ‘within six feet for more than 15 minutes’ wasn’t enough—and the NFL had the data to prove it.🧵 wsj.com/articles/super…
2) It was early October, and NFL had a problem. It wasn’t just that players and staff for Tennessee Titans were continuing to test positive in an outbreak that shook NFL’s season. It wasn’t even that the NFL was learning that virus was able to rush through holes in its protocols.
3) The NFL was slowly discovering something far deeper: a core tenet of Covid-19 transmission wisdom—how to define when individuals are in “close contact”—was just wrong.
BREAKING—Opioid drug pushing firm McKinsey has agreed to pay $573 million to settle investigations for its role that “turbocharged” opioid sales. McKinsey worked to drive sales of Purdue Pharma’s OxyContin amid opioid epidemic that led to 450,000 deaths.🧵 nytimes.com/2021/02/03/bus…
2) The firm has reached the agreement with attorneys general in 47 states, the District of Columbia and five territories.
The firm also worked with a number of opioid makers to band together to “defend against strict treatment” by the Food and Drug Administration.
3) McKinsey’s extensive work with Purdue included advising it to focus on selling lucrative high-dose pills, the documents show, even after the drugmaker pleaded guilty in 2007 to federal criminal charges that it had misled doctors and regulators about OxyContin’s risks.