Content about covid19

Russia battles highest COVID-19 infection and death rates since the pandemic's start (npr.org)

"Georgii Bazykin, a biologist at the Skolkovo Institute in Moscow who studied the epidemiology of the virus, says state media has pushed conspiracies questioning the efficacy of Western vaccines that undermine Russia's own campaign....'It played a cruel joke on Russia's vaccination efforts,' says Bazykin, 'a country that produces and exports a vaccine its own citizens refuse to take."

Well this is interesting. Russia's disinformation campaign against Western vaccines has produced unintended consequences at home — hesitancy by Russians to take the home frown Sputnik vaccine.

tags: covid19 vaccine

posted by matt in Sunday, October 31, 2021

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Walk-ins get VIP access at the vaccine clinic. I'm ok with that, as I suspect hesitant people are more likely to walk in than schedule an appointment. We should do whatever we can to ensure they have ready access whenever they feel right about it. "Welcome, right this way...."

tags: covid19 vaccine publichealth

photo posted by matt in Saturday, October 30, 2021

Merck to seek emergency authorization for oral Covid treatment after ‘compelling results’ in trials (cnbc.com)

I haven't reviewed the data yet, but this is an important step in filling out the arsenal against COVID. I've been following molnopiravir from the beginning. The trick will be to get it into pharmacies AND to get the word out...people need to know about it, seek it as soon as they develop symptoms, and be able to get it once they do. And, all of that needs to be balanced against the risk that it's widespread availability may give some people further internal support for their decision to not get vaccinated.

tags: covid19 molnupiravir

posted by matt in Friday, October 1, 2021

Why you’re not getting a delta-specific booster yet (vox.com)

With mRNA vaccines, the science of an update to the latest "variant of concern" is probably the easy part. That's one of the major benefits of the technology over old-school vaccines. But, in the midst of a pandemic, limited regulatory review resources and manufacturing capacity are powerful forces for holding off on new versions...for now.

tags: covid19 vaccine

posted by matt in Monday, September 27, 2021

No, Vaccinated People Are Not ‘Just as Likely’ to Spread the Coronavirus as Unvaccinated People (theatlantic.com)

CDC messaging, throughout the pandemic and across two administrations, has been horrible. The blame for messaging on post-vaccine risk and behavior is squarely on Biden's shoulders, though. And, frankly, a simpler, more scientifically accurate message about the risk to vaccinated individuals and their reduced capacity for transmission would probably encourage more to get the damn shot.

tags: covid19 politics vaccine

posted by matt in Sunday, September 26, 2021

Ohio Department of Health releases guidance on coronavirus vaccine booster doses (cleveland.com)

Ohio Department of Health will, effectively, give a third Pfizer shot to any adult that received the first two—no proof of an underlying condition is required.

tags: covid19 vaccine

posted by matt in Saturday, September 25, 2021

One measure of pandemic recovery—my inability to keep up with the grass. All of a sudden, I'm struggling. It's really long right now, and I won't have time to cut it until late tonight. We've got too many things going on.

tags: covid19

postposted by matt in Friday, June 11, 2021

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Today marked the first time we went to Costco since the mask mandate was lifted on June 2nd. Renee and I both decided to go maskless—we've said "follow the science" through this whole thing, and post-vaccination should probably be the culmination of that. It was weird at first, almost felt like we forgot something. It didn't take long to get used to it though. Not many other people were wearing a mask, either (I'd day less than 10% of shoppers).

tags: covid19 shopping vaccine

photo posted by matt in Sunday, June 6, 2021

Opinion | Covid Prescription: Get the Vaccine, Wait a Month, Return to Normal (wsj.com)

The CDC is paralyzed by fear. It's the FDA after Thalidomide, overly cautious, afraid of being blamed for doing something even if the science supports it. It's exactly what we don't need right now.

tags: covid19 vaccine cdc

posted by matt in Thursday, March 11, 2021

Governor Dewine expanded vaccine eligibility in Ohio based on age to those 50 and older. I think the glut has arrived.

It's time to shift our focus to the demand side of the equation. Expand access, increase number (and types) of sites, and communicate a clear, consistent message on the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine, and the importance of vaccination.

tags: covid19 vaccine

postposted by matt in Monday, March 8, 2021

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We took Teddy over to Debbie's house, and grandma and grandpa came over, too. It's probably the most normal family thing we've done in a long time...and it felt great. The dogs loved it, too.

tags: family covid19 dog

photo posted by matt in Sunday, March 7, 2021

Our decreased activity during the pandemic has reduced itself to a repetition of the same things, day after day and week after week. It's the Groundhog Day effect. I realized today, during our weekly trip to Costco (which we do at the same time and day each week), that we see a lot of the same strangers each week. Our patterns are aligning...and it's weird.

tags: covid19

postposted by matt in Sunday, March 7, 2021

It's 24 hours since I got the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. I had a slight headache last night and a little bit or soreness in my shoulder where I received the jab. That's it. Renee had the same, plus some slight chills overnight. We're solidly riding the blue line of Fig. 2 now.

tags: covid19 vaccine

postposted by matt in Saturday, March 6, 2021

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Toledo and the NW Ohio region put together The VProject to encourage vaccination. I've seen some of the groups efforts and it feels like they've made a difference. People around here seem to be not only willing to get the vaccine, but excited to do it. They gave us this pin when leaving the vaccination clinic this morning.

tags: covid19 vaccine

photo posted by matt in Friday, March 5, 2021

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The vaccination clinic is a well-oiled machine. They're processing a high volume of people and it moves along at a steady pace. You hardly have time to take a pic between stations!

tags: covid19 vaccine

photo posted by matt in Friday, March 5, 2021

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Renee and I get our second doses of the Pfizer vaccine today. The communications from our county health department have been great, e-mail and text alike. Really a smooth process.

tags: covid19 vaccine

photo posted by matt in Friday, March 5, 2021

United States Patent: 8278036 (uspto.gov)

Oh, and applications of the mRNA technology in the Kariko paper were patented in 2012. The patents describe the process for practicing the technology in painstaking detail, as the law requires. And they expire in five years - in 2026, opening up incredible opportunities for new applications of the technology.

tags: patents science law covid19 vaccine

posted by matt in Wednesday, March 3, 2021

Biden vows enough vaccine for all US adults by end of May (apnews.com)

Biden has really worked the supply side of the vaccine equation. It appears that a real vaccine glut is coming in the not too distant future, which means it's the perfect time to start working the demand side of this equation. We need consistent messaging that gets the word out - the vaccines are safe, and they're effective both on the personal and population levels.

tags: vaccine covid19

posted by matt in Tuesday, March 2, 2021

My grandparents had some habits that always identified them as children of the depression. Rinsing and reusing plastic baggies and aluminum foil, etc. I wonder if someday you'll be able to identify people that lived through the current pandemic by certain behaviors. Will some people still wear masks regularly? Twenty years from now? Thirty?

I think people are ready to move on and will be more than willing to ditch the masks and social distancing as soon as possible. I do know a few people that are pledging to change behaviors forever, though. We'll see. It could end up being like driving habits after getting a speeding ticket. You slow down for a few weeks but eventually temporary changes yield to old habits.

tags: covid19

postposted by matt in Friday, February 26, 2021

America's vaccine rollout has been among the best in the world (axios.com)

"America’s vaccine rollout has been imperfect, unequal, and at times deeply frustrating," but, hey, we're doing better than some other countries that don't have our development, manufacturing, and distribution capabilities...so there's that.

tags: covid19 vaccine

posted by matt in Sunday, February 21, 2021

I went to Home Depot today and it was glorious. I hadn't been inside the store for probably ten months. Weird experience, but it felt great just to walk around inside and interacting with workers (thanks for the help!).

tags: shopping covid19

postposted by matt in Sunday, February 21, 2021

Coming "down the curve" is about to create some really strange politics. Republicans will become more progressive as they eagerly look for ways to move away from status quo policies of closures and restrictions. On the other side, Democrats will become more conservative as they seek to maintain these policies, fearful of another trip up the curve.

Meanwhile, we're stuck in the middle, exhausted and ready to move on. We're eager for a payoff from all of our efforts. We want to travel and visit family and friends. Hell, even people that hate crowds want to congregate a bit. Personally, I want to have a big family dinner at grandma's house, go to a restaurant with friends, and go to a baseball game. And. And. And.

Science tells us this will all be ok to do, too. The vaccines work. At preventing hospitalizations and death, they're nearly perfect. Each of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have shown effectiveness against the new variants. And on the question of whether they prevent transmission, basic virology and immunology tell us that no vaccine prevents all transmission, but any effective vaccine will reduce transmission. And, don't forget, the mRNA platforms they're built on are the technological silver linings of the entire pandemic - they can be adapted relatively quickly as new variants develop. It's the annual flu vaccine guessing game on a much shorter timeframe and without the guessing. We will benefit from this in the short term as the SARS-CoV-2 virus evolves, and in the long run as new viruses emerge, as they always do.

Oddly, as Democrats become more conservative through this process, they'll be tempted to shun the science while Republicans, who ignored it completely as the pandemic developed, may suddenly find a reason to embrace it.

We, the pandemic weary public, just need bold leaders to step up and move us forward. Democrats can be bold by bravely continuing to follow the science and recognizing what it's telling us. Republicans can do the same by resisting the urge to call on populist tropes ("reclaim your freedom!") to justify easing of restrictions, and, instead, pointing to the science and affirming its validity to their supporters.

There's obviously common ground here if anyone cares to look for it. It's the science, and it's been in front of us the entire time.

tags: covid19 politics

postposted by matt in Saturday, February 20, 2021

US regulators post positive review of Pfizer vaccine data (apnews.com)

Meanwhile, in the United States, FDA published its preliminary analysis of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine two days ahead of the scheduled meeting of the review panel. Our V-day is coming.

tags: covid19 vaccine pfizer

posted by matt in Tuesday, December 8, 2020

‘Route out’ of pandemic: UK gives 1st COVID-19 vaccine doses (apnews.com)

V-day has arrived in Europe. The first "out of trial" vaccine recipient in the UK was Margaret Keenan, who turns 91 next week. The annals of trivia may pay more attention to the second recipient, though. His name is William Shakespeare.

tags: covid19 vaccine pfizer uk

posted by matt in Tuesday, December 8, 2020

Pfizer Scaled Back Vaccine Output Targets Earlier This Year (bloomberg.com)

This is forensic reporting - Pfizer's "cut" in vaccine rollout estimates happened in early November and was clear to anyone watching the story closely. This morning's report just assembles this known information into a story. There is no new news here. But, importantly, it does remind everyone that hopes are running high, and any wrinkle in manufacturing or distribution can impact those hopes.

tags: covid19 vaccine $pfe

posted by matt in Friday, December 4, 2020

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We're all missing some of our favorite things right now. There's a group of old guys that are missing their favorite Sunday morning hangout - MaMa C's in Maumee, which happens to be our favorite donut shop. I miss catching bits of their conversation when I stop in to get our dozen. Hopefully they're still working on the world's problems from home.

tags: donuts shop sunrise covid19

photo posted by matt in Sunday, November 29, 2020

Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid vaccine shows an average 70% effectiveness in preventing the virus (cnbc.com)

More promising vaccine news...and a great example of the tendency of the media to focus on any negative angle of a story. AstraZenaca tested two dosing regimens, which, when averaged, showed an effectiveness of 70%. One regimen, which will likely be used when their vaccine is rolled out, showed 90% effectiveness. So...what's the real headline here?

tags: covid19 vaccine

posted by matt in Monday, November 23, 2020

Lucas county issued a stay at home advisory for the next twenty-eight days. Not a lockdown, just an advisory. Seems like a good idea - hopefully it will reduce interactions and get our numbers down.

tags: covid19

postposted by matt in Thursday, November 19, 2020

Singapore biotech firm hopes for 'widespread' release of new Covid-19 treatment by early 2021 (cnbc.com)

We might find ourselves awash with vaccines and treatments for COVID-19 in early 2021. It's possible that in the span of a year, the clinical challenge may have gone from not knowing how to treat the disease at all to not know which treatment is the best to use in a particular situation.

tags: covid19

posted by matt in Tuesday, November 17, 2020

Immunological memory to SARS-CoV-2 assessed for greater than six months after infection (biorxiv.org)

The memory component of the immune response to SARS CoV-2 is coming into focus. It appears to be a bit heterogenous, much like the initial response, but "immune memory consisting of at least three immunological compartments was measurable in ~90% of subjects > 5 months PSO, indicating that durable immunity against COVID-19 disease is a possibility in most individuals."

tags: sarscov2 covid19 vaccine

posted by matt in Tuesday, November 17, 2020

‘We could effectively end this pandemic in 2021' with Pfizer and Moderna Covid vaccines (cnbc.com)

Gottleib is a former FDA Commissioner, very cautious by nature, and on the Board at Pfizer. His statement this morning, following Moderna's announcement, is significant.

tags: covid19 vaccine moderna pfizer

posted by matt in Monday, November 16, 2020

Trump, still infectious, back at White House -- without mask (apnews.com)

This is probably one of the most bizarre scenes of political theater I've ever witnessed. Trump left the hospital today in the midst of his treatment for COVID19 to return to the White House. Upon arriving, he proudly removed his mask while standing for photos on the balcony.

tags: politics covid19

posted by matt in Monday, October 5, 2020