COVID-19 Vaccines Are On the Way: Now, If They Can Just Get Used
Forces of stupidity and nihilism have prospered as the pandemic has sickened millions, and ended life for more than two hundred fifty thousand Americans.
Some, driven by conspiracies of imminent doom, have intervened in the implementation of public health measures. Some have decided that kidnapping and murder are necessary. (So far, they’ve been caught, but it’s only a matter of time.) And some, like County Supervisor Jim Desmond, are seeking to advance their own agendas by sowing doubt and discord.
At the root of this is the fundamental argument of “me” vs “we.” It’s been led from the top. One only needs to look at the difference between New Zealand and the United States to understand the repercussions of this philosophy.
As of this morning three companies have announced good news about their vaccine trials, they all apparently work and no significant adverse reactions have been observed. This doesn’t mean the end of the pandemic, unfortunately.
Last week Pfizer and Moderna reported preliminary results from late-stage trials showing their vaccines were almost 95% effective. Today, AstraZeneca claimed its late-stage trials showed its coronavirus vaccine was up to 90% effective.
All will need to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration, which will review trial data prior to giving the ok.
First doses of these vaccines will most likely go to groups like health care workers who are at high risk for exposure, as well as to people who are most vulnerable to the disease, such as older people.
Pfizer says it could have up to 50 million doses available by the end of the year, and up to 1.3 billion by the end of next year. In the short term the company says it will produce enough vaccines to allow 12.5 million people in the US to be inoculated. Americans will receive the vaccine for free, under a $1.95 billion deal the federal government reached with Pfizer for 100 million doses.
This version of the vaccine must be stored at minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit, colder than any other vaccine in development. Pfizer will ship the vaccine in special boxes of 1,000 to 5,000 doses that are stuffed with dry ice and equipped with GPS-enabled sensors. Pfizer’s vaccine can be stored in conventional freezers for up to five days, or in the special coolers for up to 15 days, as long as the dry ice is replenished and the boxes are not opened more than twice a day.
Moderna’s vaccine was developed under a $1.525 billion contract to provide the United States with 100 million doses of the vaccine.The contract gives the U.S. government an option to purchase an additional 400 million doses.
Moderna’s vaccine must also be stored in a freezer long-term, but at minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit. The company claims its vaccine could be stored at standard refrigerator temperatures of 36 to 46 degrees Fahrenheit for up to 30 days, not seven as previously thought, which could make it easier to store than the Pfizer vaccine.
Both Pfizer and Moderna developed vaccines using a new technology, never before been approved for human use. Both use a synthetic version of coronavirus genetic material, called mRNA, to program a person’s cells to churn out many copies of a fragment of the virus. That fragment sets off alarms in the immune system and stimulates it to attack if the person is exposed to the real virus.
The really big news this week comes from Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca announcing late-stage trials showing its coronavirus vaccine, which can be stored in normal refrigerated temperatures, was up to 90% effective. It was developed via partnership between Oxford University and AstraZeneca, who will manufacture the end result.
The AstraZeneca trials used two different dosing regimens. A half-dose of the vaccine followed by a full dose at least one month later was 90% effective. Another approach, giving patients two full doses one month apart, was 62% effective.
Using a weakened version of a common cold virus combined with genetic material for the characteristic spike protein of the virus that causes COVID-19, this vaccine primes the immune system to attack the virus if it later infects the body.
Here’s the (kind-of) important part: AstraZeneca, which has pledged it won’t make a profit on the vaccine during the pandemic, has reached agreements with governments and international health organizations putting its cost at about $2.50 a dose. Pfizer’s vaccine costs about $20 a dose, while Moderna’s is $15 to $25, based on agreements the companies have struck to supply their vaccines to the U.S. government.
While getting vaccines is important, a robust vaccination program is critical. The Trump administration has delegated the rollout to the states, (California’s plan is here.) and its effectiveness will depend on the ability and willingness of local authorities to organize programs.
I’m willing to bet that prioritizing who gets the vaccine will be a mess in states where governance is looked on as an inconvenience. Don’t be shocked to learn that donors and other big wigs get sent to the front of the line ahead of higher risk populations.
Here’s Reuters:
Reaching herd immunity, where the virus no longer spreads, means inoculating some 70% of the population, according to the World Health Organization. Sceptical citizens are another impediment. Only 40% of Americans say they will sign up for a first-generation vaccine, according to an index compiled by Axios and Ipsos.
Even if they’re willing, young and able-bodied people may have to wait until 2022 to be vaccinated, according to the WHO. Though some may be willing to live with the risk, others are likely to keep avoiding public transport and mass gatherings. That will put a cap on any recovery in corporate profitability.
The other roadblock to ending the health crises associated with the coronavirus is the merger of the anti-vaxxers, militias, and the dregs of the Tea Party movement into the political force opposing public health measures, like masks.
Seemingly endless conspiracy theories and misinformation campaigns have gained traction online amid rising Covid-19 infection rates worldwide, and they’ve already begun to incorporate news of potential vaccines.
Via the Guardian:
Anti-vaxxers have seized on the promising results of a new coronavirus vaccine, attempting to discredit the Pfizer/BioNTech development on social media within hours of it being announced.
After the news broke that interim analysis suggested the vaccine had 90% effectiveness, “Bill Gates” began trending on Twitter The Microsoft founder has been one of the most popular targets for conspiracy theorists because of his work on vaccines.
While some were poking fun at the conspiracy theories, others subscribed to views expressed by the disgraced US researcher Dr Judy Mikovits in the viral Plandemic video, in which she blames the coronavirus outbreak on a conspiracy led by big pharma, Gates and the World Health Organization.
Let’s face it; by my estimate somewhere around 30% of the population are disconnected from reality. While the Trumpanistas, the militia types, and anti-vaxxers don’t necessarily agree on each other's issues and tactics, they are disruptive for society at large in their quest for a reality based on conspiracies.
I dearly wish there was a vaccine or treatment for these humans. Unfortunately, the only thing that I’ve seen work is to cut off the supply of misinformation, and we don’t seem ready as a society to do that.
Finally, there’s all the stupidity associated with the Thanksgiving holiday, which will translate into a Christmas season nightmare.
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Holiday publishing plans: I’ll pause Thursday thru Sunday for the Thanksgiving Holiday. However, if something big comes up --like Trump resigning-- I’ll gladly jump back in. Big news tends to follow my breaks in publishing; I remember my first “vacation” from the San Diego Free Press turned out to be the week of the start of Mayor Bob Filner’s descent into infamy.
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