Thread by @miamalan

[Thread] Glenda Gray, @MRCza:
1. The only way to bring the #COVID19 pandemic under control, is to vaccinate a large % of SA
2. Everyone needs to be vaccinated, not just 20%/30% of the population
3. Only 1.1% of people in low income countries have received one #CovidVaccine dose

2. Glenda Gray:
1. The benefits of vaccines far outweigh the occurrence of side effects
2. Severe side effects, such as rare/unique types of blood clots associated with #JnJ and heart inflammation associated with #Pfizer are very uncommon

3. Glenda Gray: How rare is rare?
1. For #JnJ, rare blood clots = 3 cases for every mil doses among adults
2. For JnJ, Guillain-Barre syndrome = 7.8 cases for every million doses among adults

* What is Guilain-Barre syndrome? Find out here: mayocl.in/3wZWqJV

4. This slide shows how severe side effects compare to the hospitalisations + deaths #CovidVaccines will prevent.

E.g. for men of 65+ getting #JnJ:

For every 7-8 cases of Guillain-Barre:
* 11 800 hospitalisations
* 3 300 ICU admissions
* 2 300 deaths

will be prevented.

5. @sahpra has reported 28 deaths which are being investigated (4 associated with #Pfizer + 24 with #JnJ):
1. None of the deaths have yet been scientifically linked to #COVIDVaccines
2. Sahpra will investigate how, when + why those people died

6. Gray:
Sahpra and the SAMRC don't expect the occurrence of #CovidVaccine related side effects or deaths in SA to look any different from the patterns that occur in the rest of the world

7. Do we need to be concerned about long-term side effects of #CovidVaccines?

1. It's extremely unlikely — research shows vaccine-related side effects almost always happen within the first 6 weeks of receiving a jab
2. No long-term side effects have so far been detected

8. This slide shows how #CovidVaccines have prevented deaths in the UK (they've been vaccinating for much longer than SA, so they have more"real life" data than us):

Between Dec 2020 and March 2021 vaccinations prevented 10 400 deaths.

9. SA has some "real life" data from our #Sisonke study (it used #JnJ to vaccinate #HealthWorkers) that shows the jab works to prevent deaths + hospitalisations as a result of infection with the #DeltaVariant. Harvard data shows immune responses last for up to 8 months.

10. Gray: At this stage, a booster #JnJ shot is not needed (currently you only get one shot). In August data will, however, be released from a study which looks at how well two doses of #JnJ work (compared to the current one dose).

11. Gray:
1. #Pfizer: Data from countries where #Pfizer has been used shows = effective @ the #DeltaVariant (the variant that is dominant in SA).
2. In Aug, SA will release "real life" data on how well #Pfizer is working @ the #DeltaVariant (data = from medical schemes)

12. How well is #Pfizer working in SA? More data in Aug, but here's early Discovery data.

They compared 46 007 vaccinated (they had 1 #Pfizer shot) with unvaccinated members:

Unvaccinated group many (84) more hospitalisations than vaccinated (49)
bit.ly/3eNV1Qi

13. In summary:
1. The #COVIDvaccines (#Pfizer and #JnJ) that SA uses, are safe and effective
2. Although you can still get infected with #SARSCoV2 after vaccination, our jabs specifically provide excellent protection @ hospitalisation and death as a result of the #DeltaVariant