Coronavirus discussion thread

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Johnny Blaze Jan 2021 1:46pm, 21 Jan 2021 24,587 posts	0 Johnny Blaze Food for thought here... blogs.bmj.com ...There is ongoing debate about the UK government’s decision to delay the second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine until 12 weeks after the first dose, instead of following the recommended dosing interval of 21 days. [1] Our recent BMJ opinion piece questioned the wisdom of the delay. [2] Sheila Bird, co-author of this piece, former programme leader at the Medical Research Council Biostatistics Unit at the University of Cambridge, and a member of the Royal Statistical Society’s covid-19 taskforce, has called for the UK’s policy decision to be evaluated using tilted randomization to assign one quarter of people to receive their second dose at 21 days after the first. Bird has written to Matt Hancock, secretary of state for health and social care, asking him to investigate the effects of extending the gap between doses... ...The current UK strategy with the Pfizer mRNA vaccine is, in our view, a non-randomised, uncontrolled population experimental study without pilot data. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JVCI) and Public Health England should be prepared to revisit and, if necessary, reverse their decisions based on emerging scientific evidence. At the time of writing a statement released by Israeli officials has indicated that “real world” analysis of 200,000 people age >60 years, who have had the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine, shows efficacy of 33%, far less than the 89% stated by the JCVI. These new real world data suggest that the UK should reconsider the decision to delay the second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech...
Johnny Blaze Jan 2021 1:51pm, 21 Jan 2021 24,588 posts	0 Johnny Blaze The Moderna stats quoted don't sound that great either...
HappyG(rrr) Jan 2021 1:56pm, 21 Jan 2021 37,202 posts	0 HappyG(rrr) I asked the question about the Israel finding of PfB vaccine efficacy of only 33% about 10 pages back!
Ocelot Spleens Jan 2021 1:56pm, 21 Jan 2021 29,854 posts	0 Ocelot Spleens Lots of holes in that 33%...not least that in the Israeli sample people were exposed to the virus in a short time after being vaccinated so their immune system had no built up resistance. Hence why it is so important to self compose restrictions. Yes, there are problems. It you now go back and vaccinate over 80s again...you uncover a different set of deaths....rock and hard place really
Johnny Blaze Jan 2021 1:57pm, 21 Jan 2021 24,589 posts	0 Johnny Blaze I hope "they" are doing some sampling of the sort suggested because they could be building their house on sand otherwise...
It’sBeginningToLookALotLikeFleecy Jan 2021 2:03pm, 21 Jan 2021 51,778 posts	0 It’sBeginningToLookALotLikeFleecy Expert reaction to the Israel story sciencemediacentre.org
Johnny Blaze Jan 2021 2:08pm, 21 Jan 2021 24,591 posts	0 Johnny Blaze "...International organisations such as the Centre for Disease Control (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), and regulatory bodies such as the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) in the US; and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) have advised that the vaccination schedules, as defined from the published peer reviewed studies from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna (the other mRNA vaccine), should be followed (respectively 1/22 day and 1/29 day first/second dose vaccinations). [5] The German and US governments have recently stated that they do not intend to delay the second covid-19 vaccine shot and Pfizer and Moderna do not support the delay strategy..." It's clear that opinions differ on the approach taken. Which is what makes me nervous...
Looby Loo Jan 2021 2:11pm, 21 Jan 2021 780 posts	0 Looby Loo This is what I feared why do we have to try and be the best at everything. No kudos for administering the most doses if they are not affective.
Looby Loo Jan 2021 2:12pm, 21 Jan 2021 781 posts	0 Looby Loo Or effective never can get that right 🙈
Johnny Blaze Jan 2021 2:12pm, 21 Jan 2021 24,592 posts	0 Johnny Blaze ...And we have a PM who isn't renowned for: Analysis Reflection Wisdom Responsibility Good judgement Concern for the consequences of his actions He is a dissimulator and a risk taker. Let's hope wiser heads are behind this decision.