Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #102

[beatrixpotter]

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/07/omi...small-study-of-pfizer-vaccine-recipients.html

"They found a 41-fold drop in the ability of the antibodies to neutralize the omicron variant compared with the original virus, a dramatic reduction from its performance against the original ancestral strain as well as other variants, according to a preprint of the study that hasn’t yet been peer-reviewed. Vaccine-induced antibodies dropped threefold in their ability to neutralize the earlier beta variant that previously dominated South Africa, suggesting omicron is much better at evading protection."

Crap! 41 fold drop!?

 

[beatrixpotter]

New data shows GSK-Vir drug works against all Omicron mutations

Glaxo states that their antibody drug works against Omicron.

I am reading various reports in various on line articles that Omicron is evading the vaccines to some degree, possibly a significant degree- so I think that is going to be the case.

I am very discouraged about this. They will not be able to develop a vaccine against Omicron that will be available until March 2022. That is a long time away.

It's effectively useless. It will have spread literally everywhere at an exponential rate LONG before it's even available.

 

[ilovewings]

We are on the road, driving from Michigan to Florida-- just stopped at a Mcdonalds--not one person dining in- very clean , staff wesring masks

 

[MrX]

So endless waves of mutating virus, infection and overwhelmed hospitals....I wonder how many more years this will go on. Letting it rip through the population won't stop it. Vaccination is not significantly slowing spread and it's clear that too many people are refusing to ever be vaccinated to meet the minimal goals to halt spread. And we know that this increased doubling time would require even more of the population vaccinated.

I do not understand why Dr Campbell thinks having a mild variant spread over the entire globe infecting us could end the pandemic? He mentioned that in his most recent video briefly. If we don't have lasting immunity how does it end the pandemic? I'm sleep deprived so maybe someone else understands and can explain better.

I mean I guess IF it mutates weaker and weaker then that's great. I'm still not remotely convinced this is really effectively weaker yet myself. And even if marginally weaker it still leaves more people sick at once. He thinks everyone is going to be exposed by Christmas. That seems awful soon to me. We are looking at almost 2 days doubling time now. What was the original viruses doubling time?

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I think he is saying that once this variant spreads everywhere, it will run out of hosts, for good. While it may slip past natural immunity, from prior infection, immunity to an infection of this variant will provide protection.

I tend to agree with the sentiments in your first paragraph. Unfortunately that seems to mean that this will go from a "pandemic of the unvaccinated" to a "pandemic of the cautious," as people who have taken care to avoid infection may need to accept that as a permanent way of life. The last two years have shown that "Covid Fatigue" will eventually result in an end to things like mandates and restrictions, so masked, distanced isolation will increasingly be left to the individual to maintain.

 

[CrimeAway]

Information about the benefits of getting a booster (as soon as you qualify). It suggests that boosters may help against variants.

Here's another study that explores the role of vaccination following Covid infection in boosting antibody quality, and ability to neutralize variants. There is hope that boosters can also stimulate this response through the process of somatic hypermutation.

Medscape:
COVID-19 Antibodies Get Stronger With Repeated Vax 'Boosts': Study

Paper:
Previous Infection Combined with Vaccination Produces Neutralizing Antibodies with Potency against SARS-CoV-2 Variants | mBio

 

[Grouse]

Sometimes I find that the FT grounds me after reading tabloid articles.

https://twitter.com/i/events/1468540008860557312

 

[sds71]

Federal health officials on Wednesday authorized a new COVID-19 antibody drug for people with serious health problems or allergies who can’t get adequate protection from vaccination.

Antibody drugs have been a standard treatment for treating COVID-19 infections for over a year. But the AstraZeneca antibody drug cleared by the Food and Drug Administration is different. It's the first intended for long-term prevention against COVID-19 infection, rather than a short-term treatment.

People who could benefit from the antibody drug include cancer patients, organ transplant recipients and people taking immune-suppressing drugs for conditions like rheumatoid arthritis.

New COVID-19 antibody drug OK'd to protect most vulnerable

 

[CrimeAway]

Some more optimistic news about the benefits of a booster vaccine.

Medscape:
Risk for Severe COVID-19 and Death Plummets With Pfizer Booster

Paper 1:
https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa2115926

Paper 2:
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2115624?query=recirc_curatedRelated_article

 

[MimosaMornings]

We are on the road, driving from Michigan to Florida-- just stopped at a Mcdonalds--not one person dining in- very clean , staff wesring masks

Safe travels!

 

[beatrixpotter]

Federal health officials on Wednesday authorized a new COVID-19 antibody drug for people with serious health problems or allergies who can’t get adequate protection from vaccination.

Antibody drugs have been a standard treatment for treating COVID-19 infections for over a year. But the AstraZeneca antibody drug cleared by the Food and Drug Administration is different. It's the first intended for long-term prevention against COVID-19 infection, rather than a short-term treatment.

People who could benefit from the antibody drug include cancer patients, organ transplant recipients and people taking immune-suppressing drugs for conditions like rheumatoid arthritis.

New COVID-19 antibody drug OK'd to protect most vulnerable

This is great. I know some people who have had ZERO antibody response to their vaccines.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Will children need Covid-19 booster shots? (nbcnews.com)

A booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine appears to provide strong protection against the omicron variant, the companies said.

As scientists race to answer crucial questions about the omicron variant of the coronavirus, many parents are wondering whether their children will need booster shots.

The Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine appears to be less effective against the omicron variant, according to early data from South Africa. On Wednesday, Pfizer and BioNTech announced that their own lab results also suggest the initial two-dose vaccine may be insufficient to prevent infection, though it may still protect against severe disease. A booster shot, however, does appear to provide strong protection against the omicron variant, the companies said.

When it comes to kids, though, several medical and vaccine experts say it is too soon to know whether they'll need booster shots. They also cautioned that the delta variant is still the dominant variant in the U.S. ...

 

[WichitaFalls]

Omicron’s Explosive Growth Is a Warning Sign

Like it or not, the Omicron variant is already here, and it’s spreading fast. Just how bad will this get?

• Omicron’s explosive growth is a warning sign. We’re not back to where we were in early 2020, Sarah Zhang writes, but early data hint that the coming wave could be very, very large. If that’s what happens, then millions of unvaccinated and immunocompromised Americans could be at risk of requiring hospitalization.
• Will our immunity hold up? The first few experiments are coming back with mixed results. As the new variant takes over, “more vaccinated people will probably contract the variant and, even, get sick,” Katherine J. Wu writes. Still, vaccines’ effectiveness against severe disease isn’t likely to suffer more than “a small drop.”
• Boosters are more important than ever. At this point, they’re more a must-have than a perk, Katie notes. And there’s no reason to delay: You should still be able to get an Omicron-specific injection later on, if necessary.
• Don’t count on rapid tests to stop a surge. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was criticized this week for dismissing the idea of sending every American a free rapid COVID testing kit. But Psaki might not be totally off base, the physician Benjamin Mazer argues. It’s true that these tools remain expensive, imperfect, and even harder to find in the United States. But they’re everywhere in Germany and the U.K.—and yet they haven’t seemed to help.

 

[pocketaccent]

So we have Delta which is causing severe disease and Omicron that is quickly rising. Should we soon expect to hear about people contracting both strains at the same time? Certainly possible, no? Will their symptoms be more severe? Scary thought.

 

[WichitaFalls]

So we have Delta which is causing severe disease and Omicron that is quickly rising. Should we soon expect to hear about people contracting both strains at the same time? Certainly possible, no? Will their symptoms be more severe? Scary thought.

It's all so exhausting, isn't it? Just about the time I think I have my head around the latest, it changes. It's like a see saw of emotions, from "we've got this" to "oh crap, maybe I shouldn't make Christmas plans." Sigh.

 

[MimosaMornings]

So for the over the counter you need to rapid test, isolate and then rapid test 2-3 days later?

Our work is considering going back to PCR because of people taking the rapid getting a negative, three days later they have a “cold” or “just allergies” and the next rapid comes back positive.

 

[pocketaccent]

BBM

CDC chief says omicron cases mostly mild so far with more than three-quarters of patients vaccinated | KTLA

...
The first U.S. case was reported on Dec. 1. As of Wednesday afternoon, the CDC had recorded 43 cases in 19 states. Most were young adults. About a third of those patients had traveled internationally.

More than three-quarters of those patients had been vaccinated, and a third had boosters, Walensky said. Boosters take about two weeks to reach full effect, and some of the patients had received their most recent shot within that period, CDC officials said.
...

 

[Deleted member 158085]

The Food and Drug Administration authorized the first injectable monoclonal antibody cocktail for long-term prevention of Covid-19 among people with weakened immune systems before they have been exposed to the coronavirus.

The FDA issued an emergency use authorization Wednesday for AstraZeneca’s antibody cocktail, Evusheld, for what is known as pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, against Covid-19.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/09/fda...antibody-treatment-for-immunocompromised.html

 

[margarita25]

Please post any and all updates, reports that you can. Greatly appreciated.

SARS-CoV-2 Variants - Coronavirus COVID-19 **NO DISCUSSION**

 

[margarita25]

Some more optimistic news about the benefits of a booster vaccine.

Medscape:
Risk for Severe COVID-19 and Death Plummets With Pfizer Booster

Paper 1:
https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa2115926

Paper 2:
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2115624?query=recirc_curatedRelated_article

That would be great if you could also please post some of these in the vaccine development thread. I know it’s tiring, but we gotta keep chugging, documenting, learning. Thanks in advance.

Covid-19 Vaccine Development

 

[ilovewings]

We are in Georgia now --- so far on our journey we have had several pit stops and
and an overnight stay at a motel, and to be honest I havent masked up-- we didnt
linger at the gas stations and there were hardly any people in these places--there
were no sanitary precautions in place at the motel ---it is just the way it is these
days-- While I am nervous about not masking up, I believe in the vaccine to
a great extent, especially with the booster---Iwill be counting the days
though (incubation)---At some point one has to try and live a quasi normal life,
although we will not be dining out or being around crowds of people.