Yes, it is true that an attenuated virus (led to more mild symptoms) did help end the 1918 influenza pandemic as Dr. Friedland said; we will keep watching Omicron variant but important observation
I would like to add a comment as a long-standing HIV doctor & researcher. Many of us have worked with South African doctors & infectious diseases epidemiologists for decades; this verified by conversations with SA colleagues; amazing doctors, researchers, scientists; we are lucky
And many of us were in touch with Indian researchers, scientists and epidemiologists at the start of the delta wave there and this was not at all true; it was terrible (4% vaccination rate); so let's all keep watching; ambiguity hard; let's wait & see
And finally, I don't think anyone needs to hear this but a 23% vaccination rate in S. Africa when the first EUA for vaccines in the US was Dec 14, 2020 is so wrong; neighboring countries; nothing more important than global vaccine equity

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Monica Gandhi MD, MPH

Monica Gandhi MD, MPH Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @MonicaGandhi9

3 Dec
In places of low vaxn (23% in S Africa), hospitalizations rise with increasing cases with new variant; does not mean it is more virulent; means it is a COVID variant. Now 8 cases at least in US but likely much more (5 in NY, verified community spread)
cnb.cx/3lpjnTE
Yesterday, WHO & S. Africa reported 90% of those in hospital were unvaccinated (meaning vaccines work); there is nothing nothing more important than getting vaccines out to the world (S. Africa 23% vax'd; surrounding countries less)
Watch carefully- current disconnect in trends in S. Africa, comparing cases and deaths. We expect lag but the increasing cases with omicron not showing the same patterns as with delta so may be clue of lower virulence. More data needed
ourworldindata.org/explorers/coro…
Read 11 tweets
30 Nov
Omicron COVID variant was in Europe before South African detected & flagged for world. Agree with AztraZeneca -no evidence vax doesn't protect from severe disease with variants (AZ less profit oriented); 2) S. Africa scientists that they felt 'punished'
cbsnews.com/news/omicron-v…
This is some of the immunology behind why vaccines likely to still be protective against variants:
And the 2-dose vaccines seem to protect against severe disease per BioNtech; if you want to avoid mild breakthrough, certainly get boosted. With an endemic virus, virus will likely be seen again in future after booster antibodies come down
wsj.com/articles/omicr…
Read 12 tweets
28 Nov
3 characteristics to ask about a variant. Is it more transmissible, more virulent, can it evade vaccines? Delta was 1st, not second two. We don’t know enough about omicron but this is a thread on polyclonal antibodies and B/T cell immunity from vax that makes 3rd more unlikely
And agree with Dr. Katz that the most important thing to understand is the degree of symptoms (illness) from a new variant: preliminary reports on more mild need verification, more study just like the risk stratification by age in COVID so important
linkedin.com/pulse/omicron-…
We know from HIV how incredibly amazing S. Africa scientists, doctors/ epidemiologists are; careful work should be commended, not punished. So far "presents mild disease with symptoms being sore muscles and tiredness" (cough, smell, taste not prominent)
wionews.com/world/covid-om…
Read 4 tweets
26 Nov
NU VARIANT (B.1.1.529) in South Africa & why unlikely to evade vaccine-induced immunity. So, what is this variant? Number 1, we don't know yet if it is more transmissible. Still being studied & described. 59 cases uploaded to database
thenationalnews.com/coronavirus/20…
Okay, so what is a "variant" mean for COVID? Means mutations in spike protein that attaches the virus to the host cell: mutations that differ from the "ancestral strain". This is the bit of the virus that tends to mutate most (like H and N surface proteins of influenza). Also,
of the 8 vaccines approved by the WHO (Novavax will be added soon & will make the 9th), 6 of those 9 involve the spike protein in some way (either code for it with mRNA, DNA; Novavax is protein itself); 3 of the 9 are whole inactivated virions (Covaxin, Sinopharm, Sinovac)
Read 16 tweets
24 Nov
DC has dropped its mask mandate. Why I and others think that - with an endemic virus - very justified to do this. Would recommend older people & immunocompromised get boosters & to mask indoors in mixed venues this winter if live in place with cases up
washingtonpost.com/video/national…
Moreover, we are in unique situation in US where 1) highly vax'd places (like Bay Area) still have remaining mask mandates (except Marin, which is going by hospitalization data); 2) we are now finally acknowledging as public health community vax >>masks so let's motivate vax!
Finally, our group seeing 3 patterns worldwide where severe illness low: 1) high natural immunity (tragically gained, India); 2) high vax rate >75%; 3) lots of hybrid immunity (UK opened 7/19 in midst delta surge but with lots of vax). Maybe 3rd shot Covaxin? whole virus?
Read 4 tweets
23 Nov
Poll: 74% of Americans Say Lives Have Returned to 'Normal' - very happy to see the confidence many in the US have in the vaccines, despite both 1) misinformation; 2) fearful messaging from some public health officials that they don't work well (they do!)
medscape.com/viewarticle/96…
Mistaken messages on if vaccines reduce transmission (they do) and if vaccines are working during booster conversation (they do) eroded confidence in the vaccines
Cases used to track with hospitalizations but not now after vaccines- so we should now track hospitalizations to track the pandemic, not cases. Places with very high vax (80%), lots of natural immunity (sadly like India), hybrid immunity (UK) doing best
Read 7 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

:(