As long as the vaccine stops people being hospitalised or dying then it is job done, surely ?
I am a bit cynical tbh, having had the Oxford jab on the day this news is released. There's just no proof yet that it does, there's a hope or best guess, but no proof. I actually don't understand why so long after the initial intro, they still havn't published official data on the elderly, as many nations ban it in that demographic..... They still say they "believe it works" by looking at antibodies in peoples bodies, where all the others have proven peer reviewed data.
I am a bit cynical tbh, having had the Oxford jab on the day this news is released. There's just no proof yet that it does, there's a hope or best guess, but no proof. I actually don't understand why so long after the initial intro, they still havn't published official data on the elderly, as many nations ban it in that demographic..... They still say they "believe it works" by looking at antibodies in peoples bodies, where all the others have proven peer reviewed data.
Moderna, Novavax and J&J have all published data that whilst efficacy is reduced by around 20-30%, they do still offer protections against mild/moderate disease. Novavax from 89 Chinese/UK variant to 60 SA variant is still good.
This is a big deal imho, for a government that only has Oxford right now virtually guaranteed and Pfizer based in Belgium with potential export issues, Its also been given so widely, that I cant help look at this and think this is narrative trying to soften what is pretty awful data, that its not as effective as others, against what I deduce will become the dominant strain this summer.
Im not a scientist by any means, but it just seems logical that the Chinese variant and Kent variant R numbers will soon drop below 1 as those versions come up against an increasing sized wall of natural antibody and vaccinated people in their tens of millions, whereas the SA variant is going to come up against a vaccine that doesnt properly protect against it and therefore it has far more people it can infect and its R number may stay above 1, even more so as lockdowns are lifted.
This is damage limitation PR, for what is really not good news, in the absence of hard data. Of course Oxford is better than nowt, but they need to get the SA variant data asap and vaccine inclusion quick sharp too, to control its R. The cat is already out of the bag, Pandorras box opened and SA variant here and will spread to be dominant soon imho
fwiw, whilst SA obvs has a large % of BAME citizens, and covid disproportionally affects the black community, it was worrying to read that even during their summer, vast swathes of healthy young kids were getting hospitalised with this variant.......... maybe some local factors in that, but doesnt look to be so benign with kids as original strains.
What is WRONG with this woman?
Still does not accept the full blame, trying to pass it on to suppliers.
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I think Ma'am, that the lesson has already been learnt.
Just imagine if Johnson took some responsibility for the highest death rate of any major nation on earth
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This was probably posted originally by an anti vaxxer. But there is some truth in it. They haven't come up with a completely effective vaccine for the flu, they have come up with a vaccine which is very effective against the flu for about 40% (average) of the people it is given to (CDC figures) but still has to be tweaked every year to account for variants of the flu. It seems that the Covid vaccines will also require continuous tweaking to take into account the way in which the Covid is going to mutate. I think as long as people are realistic about these limitations things will work out and also realise that the Covid jab will probably need to be taken annually just like the flu jab is
Yes and it is also a conveniently forgotten truth that coronavirus vaccines have been made in the past for farm animals. When it makes economic sense they get it done.View attachment 133729
This was probably posted originally by an anti vaxxer. But there is some truth in it. They haven't come up with a completely effective vaccine for the flu, they have come up with a vaccine which is very effective against the flu for about 40% (average) of the people it is given to (CDC figures) but still has to be tweaked every year to account for variants of the flu. It seems that the Covid vaccines will also require continuous tweaking to take into account the way in which the Covid is going to mutate. I think as long as people are realistic about these limitations things will work out and also realise that the Covid jab will probably need to be taken annually just like the flu jab is
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/538739-nearly-a-third-of-us-adults-undecided-on-covid-19-vaccine-poll?fbclid=IwAR2qAGI5_8yxW5pKydphaxF5MMljI9KVjP94M_C47I2koNtEy6fgNsKpSAs
Nearly a third of US Adults polled are undecided about having the vaccine - well, no surprise there
Interesting thread on vaccination rates and how ramping them up could alter the picture significantly
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