Meanwhile our @TexasChildrens recomb protein COVID19 vaccine technology has now been transferred to India 🇮🇳 Indonesia 🇮🇩 Bangladesh 🇧🇩 Botswana 🇧🇼 with no patents, no strings. We also in the co-development at our own expense, no help from US or G7.
nytimes.com/2021/12/17/us/…

We’re hoping for some good news before the end of the year for emergency release in the first country, India, where it’s known as Corbevax. We feel it’s as good as any covid vaccine used in North America or Europe but fraction of the cost, fewer side effects

Had we even a fraction of the public assistance that Moderna received we feel the world 🌍 could have been vaccinated by now and maybe have prevented the emergence of omicron

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Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD

@PeterHotez

16 Dec

@AnaCabrera

Many thanks ⁦@AnaCabrera⁩ for hosting me ⁦@CNNnewsroom⁩ as we face yet another wave due to the omicron variant, unfortunately arriving in time to disrupt the holidays when many of use had hoped we might have more time to prepare. The most important thing you can do…

Is to max out on getting vaccinated particularly booster doses to produce a big increase in virus neutralizing antibodies that will “spillover” (Dr Fauci’s term, which I think works) vs omicron, but even then…

The UK Health Security Agency says 70-75% protection vs omicron in terms of symptomatic illness and maybe even less a few months after the booster. This could be a problem keeping our HCWs in the workforce

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Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD

@PeterHotez

16 Dec

@SRuhle

Many thanks ⁦@SRuhle⁩ ⁦@RuhleOnMSNBC⁩ for hosting me as omicron accelerates in NY NJ ahead of schedule. My worries specific to omicron are as follows:
1. Boosting is essential, 2 doses of mRNA offer inadequate protection
2. But even with 3rd immunization…

…protection vs symptomatic omicron infection is 70-75% less than >90% vs previous variants. This is according to UK Health Security Agency findings released last week
3. And remember once you get out a couple months after the booster, protection is not as durable as other VOCs

4. So we should expect a fair number of breakthrough symptomatic infections, although it the serious cases are among the unvaccinated.
5. I worry about breakthrough symptomatic infection among our health care providers, depleting further our already weakened health system

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Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD

@PeterHotez

16 Dec

@POTUS

Actually I’m an enthusiastic supporter of the Biden Admin @POTUS @WhiteHouse covid response. They inherited a mess and created a federal initiative that saved thousands of American 🇺🇸 lives and stabilized the nation. History will record their successes. But they must fix 2 things

https://twitter.com/profbardlaw/status/1471297751875047433

1. They refused to counter antivaccine aggression from the far right causing tens of thousands of unvaccinated Americans to needlessly lose their lives. Deaths by antiscience. Instead they kicked the can down the road by focusing on social media, ignoring those generating content

@TexasChildrens

2. They never shaped a plan to vaccinate the world, refusing leadership to provide 9 billion doses of vaccines. By next week if all goes well our @TexasChildrens vaccine center will provide more vaccines to LMICs than the entirety of the US Government and almost as much as the G7

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Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD

@PeterHotez

15 Dec

@AlisynCamerota

Many thanks @AlisynCamerota @VictorBlackwell for hosting me today, some key points
1. Vaccine protection vs symptomatic omicron infection after 2 doses is very poor
2. Boosting with 3rd dose Pfizer looks like 70-75% protection vs symptomatic omicron according to UK 🇬🇧 Govt
3. But

3. But some preliminary data from Germany that virus neutralizing antibodies from booster may not stay up very long, so those 3-4 months from their booster may have lower protection
4. I’m concerned about healthcare workers who are in that position and what happens if they…

4. Get symptomatic Covid and are knocked out of the workforce for a couple of weeks. That would put a strain on the health care system. Should we give them a 4th immunization to get them through this surge?

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