11 votes

Weekly coronavirus-related chat, questions, and minor updates - week of February 15

This thread is posted weekly, and is intended as a place for more-casual discussion of the coronavirus and questions/updates that may not warrant their own dedicated topics. Tell us about what the situation is like where you live!

6 comments

  1. skybrian
    Link
    Fauci: 'Non-workable' to vaccinate teachers before schools open

    Fauci: 'Non-workable' to vaccinate teachers before schools open

    “You should try to get as many teachers as you possibly can vaccinated as quickly as you possibly can,” Fauci said. “But to make it a sine qua non that you don’t open a school until every teacher is vaccinated, I think is not workable, and probably most of the teachers would agree with that ... You don’t want to essentially have nobody in school until all the teachers get vaccinated.”

    5 votes
  2. skybrian
    Link
    Pfizer asks FDA to approve storing Covid vaccine doses at higher temperatures [...]

    Pfizer asks FDA to approve storing Covid vaccine doses at higher temperatures

    Pfizer said Friday it is seeking permission from the Food and Drug Administration to store its Covid-19 vaccine for two weeks at temperatures commonly found in pharmaceutical freezers and refrigerators.

    [...]

    As additional stability data is obtained, Pfizer said it anticipates the shelf life could be extended, and alternate short-term temperature storage may be considered.

    5 votes
  3. skybrian
    Link
    Biden administration, vaccine makers scramble to outflank coronavirus variants

    Biden administration, vaccine makers scramble to outflank coronavirus variants

    [Pfizer and Moderna] are preparing to test new versions of their vaccines in small clinical trials, something they have framed as a precautionary step. Pfizer said this week it is studying the potential for a revised vaccine that would target original and new strains of the virus, as well as a stand-alone booster aimed at the South Africa variant and possibly others. It also plans to test how effective a third shot of the current two-dose vaccine would be at quelling infection by the variants if given at either six or 12 months. Moderna said late last month it plans to test an additional booster to its original vaccine and another one targeting the B.1.351 variant.

    4 votes
  4. skybrian
    Link
    Santa Clara Co. Left With Extra Vaccines After 4K People Don't Show Up for Appointments [...]

    Santa Clara Co. Left With Extra Vaccines After 4K People Don't Show Up for Appointments

    As thousands of people scour websites daily in Santa Clara County in search of a coveted COVID vaccine appointment, it was a shocking revelation that in just five days over 4,000 people with confirmed appointments did not show up to get their shot.

    About 10% of vaccine appointments made at county-run sites are no shows, and because of that on Saturday at the Santa Clara County fairgrounds there were about 300 extra vaccines that were already thawed and set to expire the next day.

    Dozens of Santa Clara County employees scrambled to the fairgrounds in San Jose Saturday after getting phone calls and emails that they may be able to get a last-minute COVID vaccine.

    [...]

    The good news is that the county said no vaccines were wasted, despite the high number of no shows.

    3 votes
  5. skybrian
    Link
    Study in Israel shows Pfizer vaccine 85% effective after first dose: The Lancet [...]

    Study in Israel shows Pfizer vaccine 85% effective after first dose: The Lancet

    A separate study by Israel's Sheba Medical Center published on Friday in The Lancet medical journal found that among 7,214 hospital staff who received their first dose in January, there was an 85% reduction in symptomatic Covid-19 within 15 to 28 days with an overall reduction of infections, including asymptomatic cases detected by testing, of 75%.

    [...]

    Sheba's study found that just the first dose of Pfizer's vaccine was 85% effective, potentially fuelling a debate over the recommended two-dose schedule.

    Canadian researchers in a letter published this week suggested that the second Pfizer dose be delayed given the high level of protection from the first shot to increase the number of people getting vaccinated.

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in December data from those trials showed the vaccine began conferring some protection to recipients before they received the second shot, but more data would be needed to assess the potential of a single-dose shot.

    Pfizer has said alternative dosing regimens of the vaccine have yet to be evaluated and that the decision resided with the health authorities.

    Another caveat is that the cohort studied at the hospital were "mostly young and healthy," Sheba epidemiologist Gili Regev-Yochay said.

    3 votes
  6. skybrian
    Link
    Pfizer expects to cut COVID-19 vaccine production time by close to 50% as production ramps up, efficiencies increase [...] They have another article explaining the production process a bit: A...

    Pfizer expects to cut COVID-19 vaccine production time by close to 50% as production ramps up, efficiencies increase

    Pfizer expects to nearly cut in half the amount of time it takes to produce a batch of COVID-19 vaccine from 110 days to an average of 60 as it makes the process more efficient and production is built out, the company told USA TODAY.

    [...]

    Production is getting faster. For example, making the DNA that starts the vaccine process first took 16 days; soon it will take nine or 10. Though quality control and testing has accelerated, company officials say FDA regulations and best manufacturing practices are still being met.

    Along with improving speed, Pfizer also is increasing output by adding manufacturing lines in all three plants.

    They have another article explaining the production process a bit: A COVID-19 vaccine life cycle: from DNA to doses

    2 votes