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sbiddle
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  #2649807 8-Feb-2021 21:13
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Scott3:

 

Janssen Pharmaceutica (Johnson & Johnson): - On the virge of submitting emergency use authorization to the USA & likely to become the third approved vaccine in the USA. Single dose. Easier storage requirements. Sadly only 66% effective in preventing moderate to severe COVID-19 in trails. 85% Effective Overall in Preventing Severe Disease.

 

 

They are currently assessing whether the efficacy can be increased by offering a 2nd dose so it'll potentially just end up being like every other 2 dose vaccine.

 

I guess the problem soon is going to be testing vaccine efficacy for newer vaccines when Covid will rapidly start to die out.




Batman

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  #2649808 8-Feb-2021 21:14
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gzt: A-Z are working on a revision for the SA variant. I get the feeling the approval stage will be shorter no info tho. There are no numbers in that link above - what does 'minimal' mean, exactly?

The over 65 thing I thought that was always the case in the sense they tested and approved on based on a limited control group with followup studies planned later?

 

a patch / update to a vaccine? can you install that on those already vaccinated? it's a sign of the times!


Oblivian
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  #2649811 8-Feb-2021 21:22
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Batman:

 

gzt: A-Z are working on a revision for the SA variant. I get the feeling the approval stage will be shorter no info tho. There are no numbers in that link above - what does 'minimal' mean, exactly?

The over 65 thing I thought that was always the case in the sense they tested and approved on based on a limited control group with followup studies planned later?

 

a patch / update to a vaccine? can you install that on those already vaccinated? it's a sign of the times!

 

 

Stranger things have happened. The UK are looking into the effectiveness of mixing and matching one for the first, and another producers for the 2nd. 




Fred99
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  #2649874 8-Feb-2021 22:51
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gzt: A-Z are working on a revision for the SA variant. I get the feeling the approval stage will be shorter no info tho. There are no numbers in that link above - what does 'minimal' mean, exactly?

The over 65 thing I thought that was always the case in the sense they tested and approved on based on a limited control group with followup studies planned later?

 

Problem with changing the vaccine to target the variants is that you're gong to have to do phase 3 trials to prove efficacy - at least if the objective is herd immunity - and against different strains.  So that takes months - even if the safety in phase 1 and 2 trials can be shortcut. With flu vaccine - they never know efficacy until the season is over, then assess.  Sometimes it's not very good - below 20%.  US CDC usually publishes data from public health records. Of course it's still worth doing. But herd immunity isn't the objective - mitigation is.

 

I think the pfizer biontech vaccine mRNA phase 3 trials showed it worked well on over 65s.  On the bright side, those mRNA vaccines can be adapted quickly, but efficacy still subject to not knowing how well it'll work until it's been trialled.


sbiddle
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  #2649950 9-Feb-2021 07:17
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Batman:

 

gzt: A-Z are working on a revision for the SA variant. I get the feeling the approval stage will be shorter no info tho. There are no numbers in that link above - what does 'minimal' mean, exactly?

The over 65 thing I thought that was always the case in the sense they tested and approved on based on a limited control group with followup studies planned later?

 

a patch / update to a vaccine? can you install that on those already vaccinated? it's a sign of the times!

 

 

It will simply be a booster jab.. And the key thing at present is we really don't know yet how long the vaccines will produce an antibody response for anyway. It could well be that booster jabs end up being required every ~5 years anyway.

 

We really are going to learn so much from Israel and the UK in the next 2-3 months once their rollouts are well advanced - or complete in the case of Israel.

 

What was good to hear was the vaccine uptake in the UK exceeding targets - high 80's to mid 90's takeup in the groups that have had priority access so far.

 

 

 

 

 

 


antonknee
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  #2650036 9-Feb-2021 10:22
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MIQ nurses allegedly working 24 hour shifts - nurses working in MIQ have raised concerns around staffing and working conditions, and are concerned this could lead to lapses in infection control and potentially a community outbreak.

 

We've known all along that resourcing (including of nurses/medical staff) is a key limiting factor in our MIQ capacity but I didn't realise it was quite this bad.

 

The article also mentions they work across multiple facilities which seems like a less than optimal way to do it to me, but perhaps this risk is adequately controlled.

 

 

She said nurses were leaving en masse, resulting in huge gaps in their rosters.

 

"I've done two 24-hour shifts, where you work a day and there was nobody to cover the night, so I stayed on and worked through until the next morning. There's literally nobody, literally nobody."...

 

...experienced severe staff shortages, and said things got 'significantly worse' when the district health boards (DHBs) took over...

 

"We need to reduce the number of flights coming into New Zealand. The workforce is not capable. There are not enough nurses."


frankv
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  #2650097 9-Feb-2021 11:07
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Batman:

 

a patch / update to a vaccine? can you install that on those already vaccinated? it's a sign of the times!

 

 

Bill Gates says it will update automatically over 5G. 🤡


 
 
 

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SJB

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  #2650274 9-Feb-2021 12:55
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sbiddle:

 

What was good to hear was the vaccine uptake in the UK exceeding targets - high 80's to mid 90's takeup in the groups that have had priority access so far.

 

 

That's because they were front line health workers and the over 70's who are overwhelmingly pro-vaxers - unfortunately the figures will drop back when they start on the younger age groups.

 

 


clinty
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  #2650312 9-Feb-2021 13:23
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After almost a year - the covid thread is no longer top of the trending list :)

 

 

Clint


Rikkitic
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  #2650323 9-Feb-2021 13:34
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Curves go up. Curves go down.

 

 





Plesse igmore amd axxept applogies in adbance fir anu typos

 


 


Oblivian
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  #2650326 9-Feb-2021 13:35
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And just to show how there can be variances in PCR at times - looks like that is what has happened with the Hamilton case.

 

Must have been real borderline.

 

It was also confirmed a person who tested positive for the virus in Hamilton on Saturday had been allowed to leave quarantine, as the case was considered to be historical and not infectious.


Batman

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  #2650680 9-Feb-2021 22:01
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frankv:

 

Batman:

 

a patch / update to a vaccine? can you install that on those already vaccinated? it's a sign of the times!

 

 

Bill Gates says it will update automatically over 5G. 🤡

 

 

omg that's the statement of the year so far! rotfl


Handle9
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  #2650939 10-Feb-2021 12:00
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Handle9: I'm booked for vaccination on Tuesday. It should be interesting.


I got the Astra-zenaca vaccine yesterday. I'm having a few minor side effect but nothing unexpected and paracetamol seems to control it. A colleague had much the same and it passed in a couple of days. I'm pleased that my wife also got vaccinated as she is fairly exposed at school.

kingdragonfly
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  #2652967 10-Feb-2021 13:02
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Washington Post: US Companies are charging hidden ‘covid fees’ to make up for lost profits. They may be illegal.

US Attorneys general and consumers say surcharges from NZ $7 to NZ $1,700 are being charged to cover PPE and cleaning at dentist offices, senior living facilities and restaurants

...Hidden fees are a legitimate concern for consumers, especially for economically vulnerable Americans or senior citizens without much income, but not every state protects consumers from them. While medical insurance law in some states requires health-care providers to offer refunds to patients who have been unfairly charged for personal protective equipment, other states allow for businesses to tack on extra fees, as long as they’re disclosed upfront.

... Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel sent a cease-and-desist letter to 11 senior living facilities in August after 45 residents reported being charged NZ $1,300 each in “supplemental COVID-19 fees.”

Nessel’s office said that a senior official for one of the companies said the fee covered charges for meal service, PPE and cleaning services, but that residents who pushed back were told they didn’t have to pay it.

...John G. Cleminshaw, 83, lives at Independence Village in Aurora, Ohio. He said the senior living facility sent a letter to its 80 residents in March 2020 announcing a NZ $1,700 mandatory fee for extra cleaning and food because of the pandemic.

...Most reports of coronavirus surcharges have come from patients at dentist offices. Chad Gehani, immediate past president of the American Dental Association, said the cost of PPE for dentists has jumped, so some offices have charged a fee to cover it.

“The choice to charge an additional fee for PPE is an individual dental practice business decision,” Gehani said in an email. “The American Dental Association (ADA) strongly encourages dental offices to disclose any additional fees upfront to patients and to document these charges in the patient record. The ADA has recommended that dental benefit carriers should either adjust the maximum allowable fees for all procedures to cover the increased costs of PPE or allow an additional standard fee per date of service per patient.”

...Some insurance providers subsidize PPE costs, and other contracts don’t allow for customers to be held liable for additional fees tacked on later. But the rules vary from state to state and provider to provider, depending on whether the fee is disclosed upfront and what a client’s insurance policy covers.
...

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