Covid-19 Vaccine - Where, How & Costs

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www.nbcnews.com

A third Pfizer dose? The Covid-19 vaccine maker is studying booster shots.

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla spoke with NBC News' Lester Holt about the next steps for the company's Covid-19 vaccine.
www.nbcnews.com www.nbcnews.com


news.yahoo.com

Real or fake? Forged documents add another headache to COVID-19 vaccine rollout

Vaccine eligibility requires proof. But as access expands officials have yet to establish what documents will be needed for verification, or a straightforward way to sort phony documents from real ones.
news.yahoo.com news.yahoo.com
 
Forged documents? Use a driver's license or a Medicare card, or the equivalent in the EU. In the US, verification is generally quick. And if you are in a high risk group, they could always contact your doctor or other health care provider.
 
A time for leadership to come to the fore, Merkelator has not done this so far. Sadly this duty is not optional, especially where others have shown the way forward. Not intended as a political post but an observation on management of expectation and example.
 
www.euronews.com

Angela Merkel did not "refuse" the AstraZeneca vaccine

Newspapers claimed the German Chancellor refused to have the vaccine. However, she wasn't offered it because she is above the age threshold. #TheCube
www.euronews.com www.euronews.com
Many reports cited an interview the Chancellor gave with German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ).
In the interview, Merkel said: "I am 66 years old and I do not belong to the group recommended for Astra-Zeneca".

The German government states that only those people "in the top priority group who are aged between 18 and 64" can be given the AstraZeneca vaccine.
"This is a safe and highly effective vaccine, one of three currently approved for use in the European Union," the Federal Government adds on their website.

"All the authorities tell us that this vaccine can be trusted," said Merkel, who is two years older than the upper recommended threshold.
"As long as vaccines are as scarce as they are now, you can't choose what to vaccinate with," the Chancellor added to FAZ.

UK news organisations, therefore, took her quotes out of context to sound like she did not want the jab.
Germany, alongside other European Union member states, has been criticised for its perceived slowness in rolling out coronavirus vaccines to citizens.

But at a crucial moment for public health authorities across Europe, misleading headlines can trigger vaccine hesitancy and fuel anti-vax narratives.
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Ah, Le Spin, as the French might say. As Chancellor she was automatically on the list even if she hadn't been in the age range. So a rather desperate, not to mention doomed, attempt to change the narrative. Which is likely to cause even more political damage.


In other news:
www.bbc.com

Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccine: FDA approves single-shot jab

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, made by Belgian firm Janssen, is the third jab authorised in the US.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
 
The German federal government's site gives the full text of the interview in the Frankfurter Algemeine Zeitung:
www.bundesregierung.de

Merkel im FAZ-Interview: "Ich bin im Reinen mit mir"

Kanzlerin Merkel hat sich im Gespräch mit der Frankfurter Allgemeinen Zeitung über die Politik zur Bekämpfung der Corona-Pandemie geäußert.
www.bundesregierung.de www.bundesregierung.de

FAZ: Lauert da nicht das nächste Problem? Es sind bisher nur etwa zwei Drittel der gelieferten Impfdosen auch verimpft worden. Haben wir das Organisieren verlernt?
Merkel: Nein. Da gibt es zwei Gründe: Vom Biontech-Impfstoff werden viele Dosen für die zweite Impfung zurückgelegt. Außerdem gibt es derzeit bei dem AstraZeneca-Impfstoff ein Akzeptanzproblem.
FAZ: Verstehen Sie Leute, die sich nicht mit diesem Mittel impfen lassen wollen?
Merkel: AstraZeneca ist ein zuverlässiger Impfstoff, wirkungsvoll und sicher, der durch die Europäische Medizinagentur zugelassen und in Deutschland bis zum Alter von unter 65 Jahren empfohlen ist. Alle Autoritäten sagen uns, dass man diesem Impfstoff vertrauen kann. So lange die Impfstoffe so knapp sind wie zurzeit, kann man sich nicht aussuchen, womit man geimpft werden will.
FAZ: Sollten Sie angesichts dieses Akzeptanzproblems nicht mit gutem Beispiel vorangehen und sich impfen lassen?
Merkel: Ich bin 66 Jahre alt und gehöre nicht zu der für AstraZeneca empfohlenen Gruppe.
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Run it through google translate, if you like. I don't read much spin in the euronews item. There is an ongoing discussion in Germany to inject over 64s with the Astra Zeneca vaccine. The federal government is currently following its medical experts' advice. That advice may change in the coming days.
 
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apnews.com

Biden vows enough vaccine for all US adults by end of May

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Tuesday the U.S. expects to take delivery of enough coronavirus vaccine for all adults by the end of May — two months earlier than anticipated — and he pushed states to get at least one shot into the arms of teachers by the end of March to hasten school reo
apnews.com apnews.com
 
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Austria, Denmark, Israel: 1st mover Group
Austria and Denmark would work with Israel on vaccine production against mutations of the coronavirus and jointly research treatment options in an alliance called the First Movers Group.
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mobile.reuters.com

Austria and Denmark plan vaccines with Israel to bolster slow EU supply

Austria and Denmark, chafing at the slow rollout of COVID-19 vaccines within the European Union, have joined forces with Israel to produce second-generation vaccines against mutations of the coronavirus.
mobile.reuters.com mobile.reuters.com
 
I am 67 and will receive my first jab tomorrow in Fort Worth, Texas. One step forward for me.

The Texas governor has declared that on March 10 the state will no longer require masking and businesses may open 100%: https://www.texastribune.org/2021/03/02/texas-coronavirus-mask-mandate/

A bunch of steps backward in the fight to control the virus from the same governor who blamed windmills while Texans froze in darkness and many Texans still lack running water.
 
Seriously? It was made clear that in Texas, any business can remain closed or still require face coverings and other measures. Blaming it on the politicians assumes no one can rightly choose to avoid certain places and continue with best practices. And should others allow themselves to be exposed, who is at fault? Give the politics a rest please. The other problem that has been going on in the US was made obvious to me from last Summer. Out of state license plates on vehicles driving through my state, including those from states declared as "hot zones." No one forced those people to do that.

Meanwhile, as of today in the US, 80.5 million doses have been given. And now that Johnson & Johnson and Merck are working together, a vaccine oversupply is being predicted.
 
I just got my first shot today, since Indiana lowered the age to 55 and up on Monday and to 50 and up yesterday or today. It's the Moderna vaccine. I feel like someone punched me in the shoulder, a slight charlie horse; I'm not complaining though, it was expected. I'm looking forward to getting the second. 4-1-21, that day had better be legit! ;)
 
FYI, I work at a manufacturing company in Illinois and I was looking at the Illinois requirements for getting the vaccine. If you were work at a manufacturing facility within the state, you are eligible to get the vaccine within your companies zip code. I just wanted to give anyone who might work in Illinois a heads up.

Ken
 
India, Covaxin vaccine:
Late Wednesday, Bharat Biotech released interim data showing its vaccine prevents COVID-19 in 81% of patients who receive two doses. The phase 3 clinical trial involved 25,800 subjects, making it the largest ever in India, the company said.

Trials are still ongoing, and further data is needed for a "final analysis," it said. But Bharat Biotech's chairman said this interim data "demonstrates high clinical efficacy."
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www.npr.org

Data Show India's Homegrown COVID-19 Vaccine Works — 2 Months After It Was Approved

India's homegrown COVID-19 vaccine has been controversial because the Indian government approved its use before clinical trials showed it works. Now data is finally out.
www.npr.org www.npr.org
 
www.telegraph.co.uk

EU asks US for Oxford vaccine doses

www.telegraph.co.uk www.telegraph.co.uk

The EU will urge the US to allow the export of millions of doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to Europe, it has emerged.

The European Union also wants Washington to allow the free flow of vaccine ingredients for production, according to the Financial Times.

"We trust that we can work together with the U.S. to ensure that vaccines produced or bottled in the U.S. for the fulfilment of vaccine producers' contractual obligations with the EU will be fully honoured,” the European Commission told the newspaper.

This came after the commission and Italy blocked the shipment of AstraZeneca jabs to Australia as it tried to boost its vaccine rollout which has been behind that of nations like the UK.

This follows months of issues around the EU and the Oxford vaccine, which saw the jab limited to under-65s by several European countries such as Germany, a move which it reversed this month.
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Italy, Sputnik-V vaccine:
Adienne Pharma & Biotech announced a deal with Russia's sovereign wealth fund, the RDIF, to begin production near Milan. The company aims to have several million doses manufactured by the end of 2021, pending Italian regulatory approval.

"Adienne will become our first production in Europe," said RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev, according to Bloomberg. "Launch of production in Italy will help meet the rising demand for Sputnik V and protect many people not only in Europe but also in other parts of the world as the vaccine could later be exported."
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thehill.com

Swiss biopharma company to produce Russian Sputnik vaccine in Italy

A Swiss biotech company will manufacture Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine in facilities across Italy, the firm announced Monday.Bloomberg News reported that Adienne Pharma & …
thehill.com
 
In lab studies even stronger COVID-19 variants that we now know of so far couldn’t get around the immunity induced by the Pfizer jab.

www.reuters.com

Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine neutralizes Brazil variant in lab study

The COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE was able to neutralize a new variant of the coronavirus spreading rapidly in Brazil, according to a laboratory study published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Monday.
www.reuters.com www.reuters.com

Looking back at the really early days of the pandemic.

www.wired.co.uk

The hunt is on for Europe’s earliest, crucial Covid-19 deaths

Tissue samples from patients who died in the early days of the pandemic are unlocking the secrets of how Covid-19 initially spread
www.wired.co.uk www.wired.co.uk
 
CAUTION is the watchword here. But basically this wave will hospitalise or kill those who haven’t wanted the vaccine, those who can’t take it and those where it hasn’t worked. All we can do is hope to mitigate. The latter two groups have my sympathy the first group I have trouble running up any sympathy for as they were given an option but refused it.

www.google.co.uk

Another Covid surge inevitable, Chris Whitty warns MPs

‘All the modelling suggests there is going to be a further surge and that will find the people who either have not been vaccinated or where the vaccine has not worked,’ says England’s chief medical officer
www.google.co.uk www.google.co.uk
 
There are two antibody treatments available in the US that are not vaccines. They are given intravenously. I will just add that those interested should inquire with their health care provider so as to get complete information.

As of today, 93.7 million doses have been given in the US. With around 18.5 million doses shipping this week.

www.reuters.com

U.S. government to ship 18.5 million doses of COVID vaccine this week, White House says

The White House said on Tuesday that the government will distribute around 18.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines this week, fewer than last week because no new doses of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine are ready to be sent out.
www.reuters.com www.reuters.com
 
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Some experts speculate that the pandemic coronavirus will one day cause nothing more than a common cold, mostly in children, where it will be an indistinguishable drip in the steady stream of snotty kid germs. Such is the reality for four other coronaviruses that have long stalked school yards and commonly circulate among us every cold and flu season, to little noticeable effect.

But that sanguine—if not slightly slimier—future is shaky. And the road to get there will almost certainly be rocky. For the pandemic coronavirus to turn from terror to trifle, we have to build up high levels of immunity against it. At the population level, this will be difficult—even with vaccines. And with the uncertainty of how we’ll pull it off, some experts are cautioning that we should prepare for the possibility that the pandemic coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, will stick with us for the near future, possibly becoming a seasonal surge during the winter months when we’re largely indoors.
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Murray and Piot put some back-of-the-envelope numbers to this scenario, trying to account for the drop in efficacy against symptomatic disease from a variant. They come to the rough estimate that “f the B.1.351 variant becomes dominant, a simple calculation suggests that the aggregate effectiveness of vaccines for preventing B.1.351 transmission in the US could be only 50 percent.” The estimate drops to 37.5 percent when they fold in the estimate of people who will refuse vaccination.

All this means that there’s a real possibility that we could see surges in COVID-19 for the near future, especially if variant-specific vaccines are eventually needed. Piot and Murray suggest these surges could be seasonal, corresponding to when we normally see surges in common coronaviruses. This also aligns with winter months, when we spend more time indoors in less ventilated spaces together, which all help SARS-CoV-2 spread.

The two experts lay out five strategies to prepare for this unpleasant possibility: 1) Help intensify global vaccination to squash the emergence of variants; 2) Step up monitoring for variants; 3) Ready hospitals for winter surges; 4) Work to reduce transmission in the off-season; and 5) Prepare high-risk individuals for winter mitigation efforts, such as seasonal physical distancing.

It’s too early to know for sure if seasonal COVID-19 lies ahead. There’s still a lot of uncertainty, Murray and Piot note. But it’s a real possibility, and we should prepare now. “If new variants continue to appear, winter surges may become the norm,” they write. “This prospect requires advance planning and consideration of a range of strategies to mitigate the consequences for communities and health systems.”
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arstechnica.com

COVID herd immunity may be unlikely—winter surges could “become the norm”

Despite a lot of uncertainty, researchers lay out five ways to prepare for the worst.
arstechnica.com arstechnica.com
 
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