Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #108

[anneg]

Dyson debuts 'Zone' headphones with odd air-purifying visor

I don't think I will be rushing to buy this!

 

[anneg]

@jjenny, I am double vaxed with Moderna as of November, 2021 but yet have to have my booster. So would you advise a Moderna booster as well?

I'm not @jjenny but the CDC advises taking one of the MRNA vaccine boosters (either the Moderna or Pfizer booster), at least 5 months after completing your primary COVID-19 vaccination series.
COVID-19 Booster Shot

 

[Estelle]

I'm not @jjenny but the CDC advises taking one of the MRNA vaccine boosters (either the Moderna or Pfizer booster), at least 5 months after completing your primary COVID-19 vaccination series.
COVID-19 Booster Shot

Thanks. A question I have, however, is whether to have a Moderna or Pfizer booster. As they are both MRNA, would it make any difference? I really like Moderna as I haven't heard anything negative about it. I am flying to Dublin in July, so I thought I would have my booster in May.

Any advice is welcome.

 

[anneg]

Thanks. A question I have, however, is whether to have a Moderna or Pfizer booster. As they are both MRNA, would it make any difference? I really like Moderna as I haven't heard anything negative about it. I am flying to Dublin in July, so I thought I would have my booster in May.

Any advice is welcome.

I think the only difference is that if you have a Pfizer booster, you might get some benefit from it being slightly different from Moderna. But if you want to have a Moderna booster, that's fine!

Here's what I wrote earlier in this thread:

I've had the Pfizer shots and booster, but I'm considering getting Moderna for my fourth shot. Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding suggests it would probably be a good idea to switch up boosters. He cites this paper in Science Translational Medicine:
mRNA-1273 and BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccines elicit antibodies with differences in Fc-mediated effector functions
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scitranslmed.abm2311

Excerpt from abstract:
"...real-world vaccine efficacy has begun to show differences across the two approved mRNA platforms, BNT162b2 [Pfizer] and mRNA-1273 [Moderna]; these findings suggest that subtle variation in immune responses induced by the BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 vaccines may confer differential protection."

 

[sds71]

A 60-year-old man allegedly had himself vaccinated against COVID-19 dozens of times in Germany in order to sell forged vaccination cards with real vaccine batch numbers to people not wanting to get vaccinated themselves.

The man from the eastern Germany city of Magdeburg, whose name was not released in line with German privacy rules, is said to have received up to 90 shots against COVID-19 at vaccination centers in the eastern state of Saxony for months until criminal police caught him earlier this month, the German news agency dpa reported Sunday.

Man in Germany gets 90 COVID-19 shots to sell forged passes – WAVY.com

 

[Sundog]

Not sure if someone has already posted about a new omicron subvariant that has emerged in the UK, called XE which is a combination of omicron BA.1 and BA.2. Not a variant of concern at this time, but WHO is watching it.

https://www.nbc4i.com/news/u-s-world/new-mutant-omicron-variant-xe-could-be-most-transmissible-yet-who-says/?nxs_link=article-image_3_title_1&email=1f691e70cf5d530b3f7620c85607caee3dbb0b52&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Curated Daily News 2022-04-02&utm_term=Daily News

Just days after the BA.2 strain of coronavirus achieved world dominance, international health officials are already turning their attention to a new, mutant variant believed to be even more transmissible – XE.

XE is a combination of the first form of omicron to spread across the globe, BA.1, and so-called “stealth omicron,” the subvariant BA.2, that is now dominant.

The highly transmissible XE strain was first detected in the United Kingdom on January 19, according to the WHO document, and there have been more than 600 documented cases in the UK since.

Preliminary findings suggest that XE may be about 10% more transmissible than BA.2, which is considered 50-60% more transmissible than its omicron predecessor, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert.

How deadly XE turns out to be is still a question mark when it comes to XE as health experts continue to monitor the subvariant’s spread.

“The transmissibility and the severity of this new recombinant variant is still being investigated, so we will closely monitor the latest situation,” said Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Communicable Disease Branch at Hong Kong’s Center for Health Protection (CHP).

 

[jjenny]

A 60-year-old man allegedly had himself vaccinated against COVID-19 dozens of times in Germany in order to sell forged vaccination cards with real vaccine batch numbers to people not wanting to get vaccinated themselves.

The man from the eastern Germany city of Magdeburg, whose name was not released in line with German privacy rules, is said to have received up to 90 shots against COVID-19 at vaccination centers in the eastern state of Saxony for months until criminal police caught him earlier this month, the German news agency dpa reported Sunday.

Man in Germany gets 90 COVID-19 shots to sell forged passes – WAVY.com

Its a good sign that this dude is still alive. Even with the safest meds, if you take 100 times the dose, well... But he is still alive after so many doses of the vaccine.

 

[jjenny]

I think the only difference is that if you have a Pfizer booster, you might get some benefit from it being slightly different from Moderna. But if you want to have a Moderna booster, that's fine!

Here's what I wrote earlier in this thread:

The abstract says Moderna elicited higher concentrations of those cells and antibodies. I had Moderna for all of mine 4 shots. Data pretty much shows that Moderna is the best vaccine of the three used in the US in terms of preventing deaths. When I was exposed to covid by an infected relative (that was after two primary Modernas and one Moderna booster) apparently I never even got infected. My relative who was immuno compromised was infected despite being vaxxed and boosted (with Pfizer for all three). Because relative was on immuno suppressants maybe Moderna would have not worked for the relative either, but there is no way to know.

 

[jjenny]

@jjenny, I am double vaxed with Moderna as of November, 2021 but yet have to have my booster. So would you advise a Moderna booster as well?

First booster is recommended after five months. All of mine were Moderna's. I think Moderna is a bit stronger than Pfizer.

 

[anneg]

John Campbell has a new video discussing the new XE strain, which is a recombinant variant of Omicron BA.1 and BA.2. He says that bottom line, he isn't worried about it, but it's interesting.

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[weepingangel]

So here we go with wave number whatever this one is 5?


Amid climbing Mass. COVID-19 cases, health experts urge booster shots


Wastewater samples show rise in COVID levels in Massachusetts


Boston-area coronavirus wastewater jump shows ‘a new wave has begun’

 

[UltRight]

Let's see if I can post links...

Human genetic variants identified that affect COVID susceptibility and severity

Basically, if you do not have one of these 13 loci, you are going to be just fine.

 

[musicaljoke]

Let's see if I can post links...

Human genetic variants identified that affect COVID susceptibility and severity

Basically, if you do not have one of these 13 loci, you are going to be just fine.

This study reported in the journal, Nature, is certainly interesting and I look forward to reading further research on the link between human genetics and severity of Covid. However, the study does not say that those without a known genetic link will be just fine. That is most certainly not true.

There are many other factors that the study alludes to which affect outcomes, including age, access to health care, underlying conditions, and other socio-demographic factors which we all know about and have seen during these past two years. In addition, not all the genetic links have been found. The study is far from over.

 

[SouthAussie]

Let's see if I can post links...

Human genetic variants identified that affect COVID susceptibility and severity

Basically, if you do not have one of these 13 loci, you are going to be just fine.

I think that there will be very few people who know if they personally have a variant in one or more of these 13 loci.

We are rarely sent for genetic testing, unless there is a specific reason. And if we are sent for genetic testing, the dr is looking for a variant in a specific gene - due to other indicators that all may not be well in a particular area of our health.

imo

 

[margarita25]

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I don't think I will be rushing to buy this!

 

[CharlestonGal]

Let's see if I can post links...

Human genetic variants identified that affect COVID susceptibility and severity

Basically, if you do not have one of these 13 loci, you are going to be just fine.

That's an interesting paper, but not particularly useful in any real way. Covid is a population-level epidemiological problem. The conclusion that some individuals are more susceptible to severe disease than others doesn't stop the spread of the disease in the population as a whole. Which is the actual problem.

IMO

 

[doublestop]

Let's see if I can post links...

Human genetic variants identified that affect COVID susceptibility and severity

Basically, if you do not have one of these 13 loci, you are going to be just fine.

How are we supposed to know if we have them?

 

[Lilibet]

Let's see if I can post links...

Human genetic variants identified that affect COVID susceptibility and severity

Basically, if you do not have one of these 13 loci, you are going to be just fine.

Ummm…so how do I know I’m “going to be just fine” if I don’t know if I have these genetic variants mentioned in the article? This is of no practical value in the real world of this pandemic that has killed millions and caused long term effects in countless others. Minimizing the severity of Covid-19 is not allowed here.

 

[CSIDreamer]

Let's see if I can post links...

Human genetic variants identified that affect COVID susceptibility and severity

Basically, if you do not have one of these 13 loci, you are going to be just fine.

I wonder if that would be helpful for vaccine development and such. If so, very good news for the scientific community. JMO

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Covid boosters: FDA advisers to meet to discuss what shots we'll need next (nbcnews.com)

The panel meets Wednesday as some experts question whether getting additional doses every few months is a practical public health strategy.

Food and Drug Administration advisers will meet Wednesday to hash out what the future of Covid-19 boosters looks like in the United States.

It's a question that looms large: Just a week ago, the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention signed off on a second booster dose for people ages 50 and up, four months after their first booster.

But fewer than half of eligible adults have even received that first booster shot, and some health experts question whether getting additional doses of the vaccines every few months to protect against mild illness is a practical public health strategy...