Content about vaccine

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Yes. Yes I am.

Getting my second COVID booster shot this morning. I've got the first appointment of the day, but I could have any time I wanted—every single time slot was available when I scheduled it online last night.

At 52, I've been eligible for my second booster for some time now. I waited, though, waiting for signs of another surge and hoping to maximize the window during which it gives me elevated antibody levels. A bit of a game, I know, but not entirely without merit. As an immunologist, I bank more on long term memory and the T-cell response, but feel I might as well try to leverage the "sugar high" of an antibody surge.

The pharmacist let me leave right after the shot; she made no mention of a waiting period. So, I'm now sitting in my car in the parking lot for a self-imposed fifteen minute watch period.

tags: covid vaccine science

photo posted by matt in Wednesday, July 20, 2022

Canada bridge protesters cleared by police after a week of disruption (bbc.com)

What makes something a "peaceful protest"? Is it just the absence of physical violence? I don't think so. To me, it seems like the intentional infliction of economic harm to two countries renders your protest non-peaceful.

tags: vaccine canada

posted by matt in Sunday, February 13, 2022

Do You Need To Bring Your COVID Vaccine Card While Traveling? (huffpost.com)

“Don’t laminate it as you still may be adding to it with booster shot information,” she noted.

I learned that this week when I received my booster.

tags: covid vaccine

posted by matt in Tuesday, November 2, 2021

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

CDC study: Vaccination offers better protection than previous COVID-19 infection (thehill.com)

"...people hospitalized with coronavirus-like symptoms were more than five times more likely to test positive for COVID-19 if they had had recent prior infection than if they were recently vaccinated."

Get your shots, even if you've had COVID.

tags: covid vaccine

posted by matt in Saturday, October 30, 2021

You can now add your COVID vaccine card to iPhone's Apple Wallet. Here's how to set it up (yahoo.com)

Something tells me the postcard/sticker/hand writing system used in Toledo is incompatible with this new iOS feature. I'll have to keep a picture of my vaccine card in my favorites album on my iPhone.

tags: ios vaccine health tech

posted by matt in Tuesday, October 26, 2021

Merck asks FDA to authorize antiviral Covid pill for emergency use (cnbc.com)

And now begins the delicate dance of launching an effective oral antiviral for COVID while still working to convince people to take a vaccine. The availability of molnopiravir will embolden some who refuse the shot, I suspect. Why take the shot when there's a pill?

tags: covid vaccine $mrk

posted by matt in Monday, October 11, 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

High genetic barrier to SARS-CoV-2 polyclonal neutralizing antibody escape - Nature (nature.com)

A combination of natural infection with SARS-CoV-2 and an mRNA vaccine might provide some level of super protection. I think there's a subset of the unvaccinated who are relying on their prior natural infection as justification for skipping the vaccine. Turns out, getting the vaccine might make them the fittest of all.

tags: covid vaccine science

posted by matt in Monday, September 20, 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

UK hits vaccine target; Johnson warns of more virus deaths (apnews.com)

Wow–Britain has an enviable vaccine adoption rate: "about 95% of [its people over 50] received one."

Our rollout in the U.S. is chugging along, with some impressive volume. I've been growing a bit nervous about our overall adoption rate though, and am now a bit jealous of Britain's.

tags: vaccine covid

posted by matt in Tuesday, April 13, 2021

US recommends 'pause' for J&J shots in blow to vaccine drive (apnews.com)

The pause is probably the right thing to do as it allows for the development of a monitoring and treatment protocol. But, the rate at which these clots occur is ridiculously low; lower, even, that some clotting related issues that occur with COVID itself (pulmonary embolism, etc.). Barring a sudden onslaught of these cases, which seems unlikely, I expect the JNJ vaccine will be back online in relatively short order.

tags: covid vaccine

posted by matt in Tuesday, April 13, 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

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

Suppression of RNA Recognition by Toll-like Receptors: The Impact of Nucleoside Modification and the Evolutionary Origin of RNA (sciencedirect.com)

This is the paper that lead directly to the mRNA technology underlying both the Pfizer and the Moderna vaccines. Talk of a Nobel Prize has started.

"This work was supported by National Institutes of Health grants...."

This paper is, quite possibly, the best argument of all time for supporting federal spending on basic scientific research. The entire world is aware of the benefit the research produced.

Whatever we're spending on basic research isn't enough. Figure out how to pay for it...and triple it.

tags: science research vaccine pfizer moderna

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

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

FDA panel endorses second Covid vaccine in U.S. as Moderna wins key vote in path to emergency use (cnbc.com)

The second vaccine is queued up for approval, hopefully today. The advisory committee recommended approval of Moderna's vaccine yesterday; FDA is expected to approve it today.

tags: covid vaccine moderna $mrna

posted by matt in Friday, December 18, 2020

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

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

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A lighted sign displays the moderna logo above the main entrance to global headquarters for Moderna Therapeutics in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Matt Buchanan/Cambridge, MA)

I woke up a little early and went for a walk around the hotel. Looks like plenty of people were already at work at Moderna.

tags: moderna vaccine cambridge

photo posted by matt in Saturday, November 21, 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