Covid-19 Vaccine - Where, How & Costs

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I think we can be fairly safe in assuming COVID-19 undergoes parallel evolution as different variants are selecting for the same set of requirements with yet another highly infection variant T478K that originated in Mexico that has already spread to parts of Europe.

 
Somehow I doubt that the new politically correct naming convention will be sticking around for too long.
 
 
I’d class this article as almost irresponsible in some ways as it might put some people off from being vaccinated by flagging this up with that headline. But as it says in the actual article vaccines just can’t save everyone, but these occurrences are rare and usually dependant on other factors such as age and health.

 
An Indian state has raised its COVID-19 death toll sharply higher after the discovery of thousands of unreported cases, lending weight to suspicion that India’s overall death tally is significantly more than the official figure.
Health experts say they believe both coronavirus infections and deaths are being significantly undercounted across the country partly because test facilities are rare in rural areas, where two-thirds of Indians live, and hospitals are few and far between.

Many people have fallen ill and died at home without being tested for the coronavirus.
The New York Times estimated deaths based on death counts over time and infection fatality rates and put India's toll at 600,000 to 1.6 million.

The government dismissed those estimates as exaggerated. But the main opposition Congress party said that other states must follow Bihar's example and conduct a review of deaths over the past two months
 
The U.K. is currently dealing with a small outbreak of Monkeypox. General it’s symptoms are mild and it has difficulty spreading between humans, but it is not considered un-dangerous as it is still a relative of Smallpox.

 
Escaped from a lab? No one had protocols in place for this? China is not the only place with such labs. And U.S. intelligence, for example, along with their dedicated satellites, collected no visual evidence of unusual activity? Or had not intercepted communications?
 
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Excellent article on the evolutionary potential of COVID-19. How it has increased its R rate from 2.4-2.6 to 5-8 in just 18 months. I will quote this piece from it as it counters a widespread but erroneous belief. Honestly, I previously thought this was true but it isn’t.
One thing that is often claimed, but attracts scientific scorn, is that the virus must get milder in order to spread more easily. There is very little evolutionary pressure on the virus for that to happen. The virus is already off into the next person long before it kills the person it infected. And the people who do the most spreading (younger people) are those who don't get very ill.
Also that’s the poorest in the world who will continue to pay the price of COVID-19.
In rich countries with good vaccination campaigns it is hoped the next variants won't be able to pose a major problem due to widespread immunity. But these progressively more transmissible variants are a nightmare for the rest of the world where they are making it harder and harder to stay on top of Covid.
Covid: Is there a limit to how much worse variants can get? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-57431420
 
New technology universal flu vaccine enters phase one trial in the US.

 

When Oxford University was searching for a partner for its vaccine, there was seemingly one natural choice: GlaxoSmithKline.
The £70.7bn drug maker was the world leader in vaccines and, importantly for the Government, it was British.
But, when Sir Patrick Vallance, the Government’s chief scientific adviser, made the call to his former colleague and GSK boss, Dame Emma Walmsley, he was turned down.
Now, more than a year later, Dame Emma may be regretting that decision.
Her refusal helped GSK avoid the attacks that were levelled at Oxford partner AstraZeneca, but employees within the company feel she was caught flat-footed.
“You don’t need to be a scientist, but you have to understand the industry and make those tough decisions,” says one insider. And in this case, they say, the decision was wrong.
The company’s failure to create a Covid vaccine has now become a symbol of what are believed to be bigger issues with Dame Emma’s leadership.
 

When Oxford University was searching for a partner for its vaccine, there was seemingly one natural choice: GlaxoSmithKline.
The £70.7bn drug maker was the world leader in vaccines and, importantly for the Government, it was British.
But, when Sir Patrick Vallance, the Government’s chief scientific adviser, made the call to his former colleague and GSK boss, Dame Emma Walmsley, he was turned down.
Now, more than a year later, Dame Emma may be regretting that decision.
Her refusal helped GSK avoid the attacks that were levelled at Oxford partner AstraZeneca, but employees within the company feel she was caught flat-footed.
“You don’t need to be a scientist, but you have to understand the industry and make those tough decisions,” says one insider. And in this case, they say, the decision was wrong.
The company’s failure to create a Covid vaccine has now become a symbol of what are believed to be bigger issues with Dame Emma’s leadership.
This is extremely good point. I mean do they have any Covid vaccines in development at all?
 
Aren't they teamed with Sanofi for the latter's second candidate? It does seem like a wasted opportunity though, since this collaboration will of course be a late-comer.

Further, I would once more note that the "attacks on AZ" were brought upon that company by its own poor performance. Unless you assume GSK would inevitably drop the ball in a similar manner, there's no reason whatsoever to expect them to come under the same sort of fire. And as the article mentions, being an established, major player in the vaccine market as opposed to AZ's inexperience, there are excellent grounds to believe they would have done better!
 

When Oxford University was searching for a partner for its vaccine, there was seemingly one natural choice: GlaxoSmithKline.
The £70.7bn drug maker was the world leader in vaccines and, importantly for the Government, it was British.
But, when Sir Patrick Vallance, the Government’s chief scientific adviser, made the call to his former colleague and GSK boss, Dame Emma Walmsley, he was turned down.
Now, more than a year later, Dame Emma may be regretting that decision.
Her refusal helped GSK avoid the attacks that were levelled at Oxford partner AstraZeneca, but employees within the company feel she was caught flat-footed.
“You don’t need to be a scientist, but you have to understand the industry and make those tough decisions,” says one insider. And in this case, they say, the decision was wrong.
The company’s failure to create a Covid vaccine has now become a symbol of what are believed to be bigger issues with Dame Emma’s leadership.
This is extremely good point. I mean do they have any Covid vaccines in development at all?

They are teamed up with Sanofi.

The EU bought quite a lot of the GSK Sanofi / Sanofi GSK vaccine in anticipation of there being one.
 
Aren't they teamed with Sanofi for the latter's second candidate? It does seem like a wasted opportunity though, since this collaboration will of course be a late-comer.

Further, I would once more note that the "attacks on AZ" were brought upon that company by its own poor performance. Unless you assume GSK would inevitably drop the ball in a similar manner, there's no reason whatsoever to expect them to come under the same sort of fire. And as the article mentions, being an established, major player in the vaccine market as opposed to AZ's inexperience, there are excellent grounds to believe they would have done better!

Given the commenst on contracts going to friends of minsters ect I wonder what the media would make of a contract going to the friend of Sir Patrick Vallance?
 
News 11/06/2021

EMA’s safety committee (PRAC) has concluded that people who have previously had capillary leak syndrome must not be vaccinated with Vaxzevria (formerly COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca). The Committee also concluded that capillary leak syndrome should be added to the product information as a new side effect of the vaccine, together with a warning to raise awareness among healthcare professionals and patients of this risk.

EMA’s committee for human medicines (CHMP) has approved a new manufacturing site for the production of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine finished product. The site, operated by Recipharm, is located in Monts, France.
 
 

This seems to be definitely a bit grudging on Boris's part, but at least he's done it.

TLDR:

  • Lifting of last lockdown restrictions delayed until 19th July, from 21st June, with intention of all over-18s having had at least one shot by them. Vaccination is opening to 23/24yos tomorrow, with the over-40s now moved forward to second dose after 8wks rather than 12, as was done for over-50s last month.
  • Infection rates from the Delta variant are increasing, with the rest of the country showing the same trends as the outbreak in the north west, but if everyone is vaccinated by July they think the NHS won't be overwhelmed.
  • Government reserves its right to change its mind in a fortnight.
 
Meanwhile, Vermont, USA:

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott (R) announced Monday that 80% of its eligible population has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Why it matters: Vermont is the first state in the country to reach that threshold. As a result, Scott said he is removing all COVID-19 restrictions.

The big picture: Vermont has led in vaccinations nationwide, and cases have been declining steadily in the state.

  • As of June 14, Vermont's 14-day change in cases had declined by 34% and hospitalizations were down by 78%, according to the New York Times.
  • 70% of adults in 12 U.S. states have received at least one shot as of June 2, according to CNBC. Overall, 64.4% of Americans nationwide have received at least one dose, according to the CDC.

How is it going in neighboring Canada?
 
Russia, Moscow:
a lot of places to vaccinate, no any problem to do it;
free of charge;
more, people, who vaccinated themselves, participate in free lottery of Moscow government.

But.
The quality and efficiency of the vaccine is dubious. Resently our well-known singer Vladimir Kuzmin (65 years old) felt into COVID desease. He has vaccinated himself on March, 2021.


The same story (illness after the vaccination) has happened with the other singer, Alexander Buinov, 70 years old:


I don't think it's a good medicine when you vaccinate yourself on March and fell into the ill on June. :(
 
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I don't think it's a good medicine when you vaccinate yourself on March and fell into the ill on June. :(
WHO was prepared to accept 50% efficacy as the mark of a satisfactory vaccine, all of the approved vaccines are running well ahead of that. What's clear is that even in cases where the vaccine doesn't stop people getting infected, it does tend to lead to a less serious infection, meaning fewer admitted to hospital, fewer of those needing ventilation, and fewer of those dying.

The analogy I like to draw is the difference between walking into a gunfight weapon in hand, and walking in with your weapon disassembled. You won't always win with weapon in hand, but you will have a much better chance than if you need to assemble it first.
 
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