COVID-19 treatment and vaccine update thread

[hitbyambulance]

i meant, get a provider to sneak it to me in that capacity

[Kraken]

How to know that the pandemic is truly over: My supermarket today had my favorite hand sanitizer, as well as large bottles of lavender-scented liquid hand soap, on sale for 5 cents a bottle. I bought 10 bottles of each, and if there's any left when I make my main grocery run on Thursday I'll buy 10 more. The sanitizer smells sort of like chocolate mint.

[Smoove_B]

Just confirming what was stated months ago:

White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha says the U.S. may face a shortage of booster doses this fall:

"I would like to get to a point where every adult in America who wants a vaccine can get one ... We're not quite there yet."

I haven't seen a list or a proposal on how they're going to gate or tier access to boosters if they don't have enough for all adults, but it's unfathomable that this is the position we're in as we head into another pandemic winter.

[Zaxxon]

The best part is how he casually pre-gatekept by using the word 'adult.' So even before we begin, it's sounding like it'll be adults-only for now.

[Smoove_B]

Yeah, that's something else people seem to have just started to realize - the very clear telegraphing that it's all about *adults*. At the risk of R&P, last week the CDC released updated guidance for schools (AKA Let 'er Rip) a few days after releasing a report indicating pediatric COVID-19 hospitalizations are up in August of 2022 - likely due to low vaccinations. While that's true (low vaccinations) the fact that we're collectively going out of our way to encourage spread is really something. The disconnect is...jarring.

[Zaxxon]

Yeah, that's something else people seem to have just started to realize - the very clear telegraphing that it's all about *adults*. At the risk of R&P, last week the CDC released updated guidance for schools (AKA Let 'er Rip) a few days after releasing a report indicating pediatric COVID-19 hospitalizations are up in August of 2022 - likely due to low vaccinations. While that's true (low vaccinations) the fact that we're collectively going out of our way to encourage spread is really something. The disconnect is...jarring.

Yeah, I don't get it. Vaccination rates in kids are low, which is both a signal that it's *more* important to vaccinate the ones that are willing, and that it's *less* of a burden to make it available to their age groups (since fewer folks will take them up on it). But I guess we're just gonna let it ride.

[stessier]

I think they may be surprised at how many people don't want the boosters compared to how many are already vaccinated. At least around me, many of the vaccinated are only in that category because it looked like they would be forced in order to keep their job. Since that is no longer on the table, they aren't getting any more shots.

[LawBeefaroni]

Just confirming what was stated months ago:

White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha says the U.S. may face a shortage of booster doses this fall:

"I would like to get to a point where every adult in America who wants a vaccine can get one ... We're not quite there yet."

I haven't seen a list or a proposal on how they're going to gate or tier access to boosters if they don't have enough for all adults, but it's unfathomable that this is the position we're in as we head into another pandemic winter.

There's not going to be a shortage of booster doses. There will be a shortage of people getting boosters.

[Smoove_B]

Yes, that's correct - and drifts into the politics. Without work mandates, the number of people that will willingly get vaccinated (or boostered) is diminished. Without mandating it for children to attend schools its the same. We know this (in public health) about vaccines - it's an established pattern. And I guess since we lost that legal battle already, we might as well give up on masking. Or testing. Or supporting people that are sick.

Maybe *this* winter will convince people otherwise.

(I know it won't)

[Smoove_B]

There's not going to be a shortage of booster doses. There will be a shortage of people getting boosters.

Here's my guess - they're going to gate the next set of shots to elders and high risk people, completely boxing out people under the age of 50. Then some amount of time will pass (2 weeks? A month?) and they'll declare 30-49 or 40-49 now eligible. And then slowly roll it out to younger and younger.

Hopefully the people <50 can get it before the next wave hits, but I'm not entirely counting on it.

But yes, they're still going to end up throwing out vaccines, no doubt.

[Zaxxon]

Sure would be nice if they made it high-risk only (using whatever definition you want), but gated it there for something like 7 days. Then roll down the critera/age windows extremely quickly. Like, it's arriving to begin jabs too late for the expected fall wave. Unless there are far fewer doses available than we've been led to expect, priority #1 should be running us out of doses, not perfecting a staged roll-out.

[stessier]

Sure would be nice if they made it high-risk only (using whatever definition you want), but gated it there for something like 7 days. Then roll down the critera/age windows extremely quickly. Like, it's arriving to begin jabs too late for the expected fall wave. Unless there are far fewer doses available than we've been led to expect, priority #1 should be running us out of doses, not perfecting a staged roll-out.

+1

Particularly since no part of any of this has been "perfectly staged".

[Smoove_B]

All I can say on a local level is that everything is currently focused on monkeypox (vaccinations, contact tracing) and I've yet to see any information about setting up large-scale vaccination sites or notifying private-sector partners to expect delivery on a specific day or even a general week.

For something that's allegedly happening in <30 days, I'm just not seeing the same level of activity that came before the last set of mass vaccination efforts. I fully admit I'm pretty far down the ladder, but I do get lots and lots of shared information. I mean, I guess it's possible they're not involving state and local health officials and maybe all the private / chain pharmacies have the information, but somehow I doubt it.

To be fair, nothing has been approved yet either (boosters for under 50, upcoming bi-valent vaccine) so maybe there's something drafted that's just waiting for the FDA/CDC approvals to occur....whenever that might be.

[LawBeefaroni]

Here's the thing. People will die as a result of the decision, whatever it is. It's all about optics and culpability right now. "Out of an overabundance of caution" gets you off the hook for a lot of failings.

The calculus is on the fact that deaths are the main metric and older people have higher COVID mortality. Never mind that they have higher mortality for just about anything. So boost them up to avoid bigger COVID death numbers and keep things humming along.

[Zaxxon]

[FishPants]

Sure would be nice if they made it high-risk only (using whatever definition you want), but gated it there for something like 7 days. Then roll down the critera/age windows extremely quickly. Like, it's arriving to begin jabs too late for the expected fall wave. Unless there are far fewer doses available than we've been led to expect, priority #1 should be running us out of doses, not perfecting a staged roll-out.

Not sure how it was there, but in the early days in Canada the gating for boomers was infuriating. These fuckers were allowed first crack at the vaccines but were "hesitant" to get the "one I want" (eg. Pfizer instead of Moderna, or mRNA instead of a live vaccine etc) - they held up the whole damn rollout in our province for weeks while they fucked about. I'm all for prioritizing people that are in harms way (Immune depressed, Transplants etc) via GPs and to hell with the age gating; just release it - between the boomers and freedom convoy fuckwads - there's plenty of vaccine to go around.

/rant

[Defiant]

Newly updated Covid booster shots designed to target omicron’s BA.5 subvariant should be available within in the next three weeks. That begs an important question: Who’s going to be eligible to get them?

The short answer: Anyone ages 12 and up who has completed a primary vaccination series, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spokesperson tells CNBC Make It. It’s unlikely to matter whether you’ve received any other booster doses or not before, the spokesperson says — but if you’re unvaccinated, you won’t eligible for the updated formula until you complete a primary series with the existing Covid vaccines.

The longer answer is somewhat more complex, because it depends on which booster shots get approved and when

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/20/omicron ... guide.html

[Smoove_B]

Pfizer has officially asked for approval:

Pfizer asked U.S. regulators Monday to authorize its combination COVID-19 vaccine that adds protection against the newest omicron relatives — a key step toward opening a fall booster campaign.

The Food and Drug Administration ordered vaccine makers to tweak their shots to target BA.4 and BA.5 that are better than ever at dodging immunity from earlier vaccination or infection.

If the FDA quickly clears the combo shots made by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech, boosters could be offered within weeks. The U.S. has a contract to buy 105 million of the updated Pfizer doses as soon as health authorities greenlight them, and the company said doses are ready to ship.

Moderna is expected to file a similar application soon, and the U.S. has a contract to buy 66 million doses of its updated vaccine.

[Smoove_B]

Missed this yesterday because of the Pfizer announcement (above), but apparently Novavax was also approved for 12-17 year olds.

The protein-based vaccine received emergency use authorization in July for use among adults in the United States, with health officials hoping it would drive uptake among those skeptical of messenger RNA shots from Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) and Pfizer Inc (PFE.N).

However, Novavax earlier this month halved its full-year revenue forecast, saying it does not expect further sales of its COVID-19 shot in the United States this year.

The company said it was late to the U.S. market and also pointed to softer demand in the face of a global vaccine supply glut.

So far 11,990 Novavax vaccine doses have been administered in the United States, according to latest government data.

[LordMortis]

Pfizer has officially asked for approval:

Pfizer asked U.S. regulators Monday to authorize its combination COVID-19 vaccine that adds protection against the newest omicron relatives — a key step toward opening a fall booster campaign.

The Food and Drug Administration ordered vaccine makers to tweak their shots to target BA.4 and BA.5 that are better than ever at dodging immunity from earlier vaccination or infection.

If the FDA quickly clears the combo shots made by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech, boosters could be offered within weeks. The U.S. has a contract to buy 105 million of the updated Pfizer doses as soon as health authorities greenlight them, and the company said doses are ready to ship.

Moderna is expected to file a similar application soon, and the U.S. has a contract to buy 66 million doses of its updated vaccine.

So when we go to sign up how will we know what we are getting? I have been holding for my 5th shot (immunosuppressed) for the broader protection, even as I had timed my next shot (thinking semi annually) for about a week ago. While tPTB tell you not to try and time your shot and get what's available, I have been more socially sanitary then pretty much any one not named Smoove. I'ma gonna be picky. And that's just the way it's going to be. It is my expressed desire to get the next gen shot, wait a few weeks and actually... go out... for the first time in over 2.5 years... (Assuming the schools letting in haven't caused outbreak insanity at that time, which is not a very safe assumption)

[Zarathud]

First day of school in Chicago was yesterday. Followed by first notice of COVID in the building last night.

[Zaxxon]

Pfizer has officially asked for approval:

I saw yesterday (but saw on my phone and don't have a link handy) that the discussion/approval meetings are scheduled for I think 8/31-9/1, and shots in arms for 12+ year-olds by Labor Day is the goal. I will be pleasantly surprised if that's the case.

[stessier]

Pfizer has officially asked for approval:

I saw yesterday (but saw on my phone and don't have a link handy) that the discussion/approval meetings are scheduled for I think 8/31-9/1, and shots in arms for 12+ year-olds by Labor Day is the goal. I will be pleasantly surprised if that's the case.

That would be amazing!

[Smoove_B]

I still haven't seen anything on my end suggesting this is really happening, but if it's not going to involve state or local health offices for delivery, then that would make some sense.

In news I wasn't expecting to read, Moderna is suing Pfizer:

Moderna said Friday that Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine Comirnaty infringes on patents Moderna filed several years ago protecting the technology behind its preventive shot, Spikevax. The company filed patent infringement lawsuits in both U.S. federal court and a German court.

[Zaxxon]

FWIW, Moderna is not seeking to have the Pfizer vaccine pulled (which would have been a disastrous move from a PR perspective). Rather, it's all about the dough.

[Smoove_B]

FWIW, Moderna is not seeking to have the Pfizer vaccine pulled (which would have been a disastrous move from a PR perspective). Rather, it's all about the dough.

Of course! Even during a pandemic, corporations gotta corporation.

[hitbyambulance]

i guess this is technically about a 'treatment'... if schizophrenia is the desired end goal

https://www.cureus.com/articles/102748- ... -pneumonia

[Zaxxon]

Omicron booster FDA approval achieved. CDC coming tomorrow, shots potentially starting this weekend and ramping next week.

[Zaxxon]

Also:

Ample evidence suggests that many Americans will hold back from getting the updated boosters, either because they are weary of the pandemic or may not feel urgency about an additional dose. With each new shot offered, there are fewer takers.

I, too, am weary of the pandemic. It is for this reason that I feel extreme urgency about an additional dose.

[Smoove_B]

It's almost like telling everyone that everything is fine while simultaneously urging them to get vaccinated for a life-threatening communicable disease that is still in high circulation is confusing things.

[stessier]

Really happy for this and hope I can get one soon. I hesitate to speak this into the universe, but my family has thus far been untouched (as far as we know) and it would be nice to up the protection in the event our luck runs out.

[gilraen]

I had COVID at the end of June, and I'm 99% sure it was BA.4 or BA.5 variant. I've been reading that I should wait longer to get the booster - basically that I wouldn't be getting the full benefit from it when it's only been ~2.5 months since I had the virus. I guess it makes sense. But then how long am I supposed to wait?

[Zaxxon]

I had COVID at the end of June, and I'm 99% sure it was BA.4 or BA.5 variant. I've been reading that I should wait longer to get the booster - basically that I wouldn't be getting the full benefit from it when it's only been ~2.5 months since I had the virus. I guess it makes sense. But then how long am I supposed to wait?

The article says 2 months, but IMNASmoove.

[Smoove_B]

But then how long am I supposed to wait?

I saw official, knowledgeable and trustworthy people saying 3-6 months yesterday; I'll try to find something concrete.

[coopasonic]

Here I sit with fever, chills, coughing, congestion, fatigue, headache and a negative home test, I guess maybe I really did catch the flu in August. back to the office in 6 days!

I was waiting for the updated booster. Oops.

[Smoove_B]

Anecdotally, I've seen lots and lots of reports of the home tests being like 50% (or worse) reliable lately. Not sure if it's the age (the reagents are breaking down) or that newer variants are capable of causing symptoms sooner (and the tests can't detect lower levels of antigens), but over and over I've heard multiple at-home tests are negative, only to go to clinic or hospital and get a positive PCR immediately.

I mean, it could be flu, but circulating levels are minimal right now in most places (including TX).

[LordMortis]

Also:

Ample evidence suggests that many Americans will hold back from getting the updated boosters, either because they are weary of the pandemic or may not feel urgency about an additional dose. With each new shot offered, there are fewer takers.

I, too, am weary of the pandemic. It is for this reason that I feel extreme urgency about an additional dose.

Ding!

Edit

https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-a ... ccines-use

FYI

Who is eligible to receive a single booster dose and when:

Individuals 18 years of age and older are eligible for a single booster dose of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent if it has been at least two months since they have completed primary vaccination or have received the most recent booster dose with any authorized or approved monovalent COVID-19 vaccine.

Individuals 12 years of age and older are eligible for a single booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent if it has been at least two months since they have completed primary vaccination or have received the most recent booster dose with any authorized or approved monovalent COVID-19 vaccine.

Edit 2, as CVS has had best availability for me in the past, no word yet from them

https://www.cvs.com/immunizations/covid-19-vaccine

[gilraen]

Here I sit with fever, chills, coughing, congestion, fatigue, headache and a negative home test, I guess maybe I really did catch the flu in August. back to the office in 6 days!

I have 2 coworkers with these symptoms - one here in Denver, one in Toronto - and both their home COVID tests are negative. So they are convinced it can't possibly be COVID. Because there are so many things floating around that can cause 102F fever just out of the blue...

[hitbyambulance]

i checked with a few other local pharmacies and none have updated their booster guidance yet - only CVS has.

[LawBeefaroni]

Statistically speaking, if you have mild COVID symptoms but no positive test, you don't have COVID. Statistically speaking.