COVID-19: Vaccine and testing procedures Megathread Part 3 - Read OP

ACitizenErased

namloc1980 wrote: »

I thought they said the opposite - that they expect to use it for 65-69. They also expect to use AZ for Group 7:

”The 65-69-year-olds, there are about 190,000 and we’re working on the assumption that we’ll be giving [them] the AstraZeneca vaccine,” Chief Clinical Officer Dr Colm Henry said today.

Henry said this vaccine will also likely be used as part of the seventh phase, for those aged 18-64 with medical conditions that put them at high risk.

https://www.thejournal.ie/hospitalisations-covid19-5358115-Feb2021/

Ahh my ears failed me, thanks for that

Such a pity the time between doses is so long for the AZ vaccine, not to mention the negative press (false news IMO)

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/health-staff-say-they-are-getting-least-efficacious-vaccine-1.4488663

You can understand why the EMA wanted further efficacy (not just quality) data off AZ back in Jan though, there must have been lots of queries over the appropriate dosing interval back then.

Nephinbeg

Nephinbeg wrote: »

The hse launched their recruitment page yesterday and I find it grim enough reading to be honest: https://hbsrecruitmentservices.ie/vaccinators/.

They are looking for very specific qualified professionals, who are mostly already working in the health services, and paying them well below the going rate (plus large tax deductions if they are already working full time) to work overtime in a somewhat dangerous setting. They application documents are hilarious as well, think birth certs. Flexible hours appear to be fairly minimal too. This is all very off-putting to those who want to give a few hours a week.

I actually think this will all be changed in the next week or two when they get very little interest but just emphasises that some of the major details of the large scale roll-out are up in the air. Venues are one thing, staff is another. I wonder will legislation need to be changed to open it up to more people, especially looking at future delivery volumes. There aren't too many doctors and nurses on PUP I imagine.

A friend did some digging on this if anyone is interested. Apparently the hse are aiming to recruit mostly nurses and physios as vaccinators. The former are surely not lying around idle, not certain about physios (someone else might know if there are many available). A few weeks ago fees for doctors said to be paid €120/h for it so this would make sense based on the apparent contradiction (pro rata rate on website is much less).

Long story short, hse are aiming to do this cheap, which is quite risky seeing as an extra week of lockdown is way more expensive. It might be fine but a "lash it out and damn the expense" approach is probably more prudent. Not to be pessimistic, it will be sorted one way of the other, probably with them changing everything about the recruitment strategy.

Nephinbeg

Nephinbeg wrote: »

A friend did some digging on this if anyone is interested. Apparently the hse are aiming to recruit mostly nurses and physios as vaccinators. The former are surely not lying around idle, not certain about physios (someone else might know if there are many available). A few weeks ago fees for doctors said to be paid €120/h for it so this would make sense based on the apparent contradiction (pro rata rate on website is much less).

Long story short, hse are aiming to do this cheap, which is quite risky seeing as an extra week of lockdown is way more expensive. It might be fine but a "lash it out and damn the expense" approach is probably more prudent. Not to be pessimistic, it will be sorted one way of the other, probably with them changing everything about the recruitment strategy.

When we get into 250k per week you are looking a large portion of gp time spent vaccination tying up resources that could be used elsewhere

bilston

hmmm wrote: »

I think it was Macron yesterday who suggested we immediately give 5% of our vaccine supply to poorer countries.

I fully agree. Aside from any moral arguments, these countries have far fewer healthcare staff to start with and it is in our interest to suppress infection levels in other countries and reduce the chance of new variants emerging.

The moral argument is strong too.

One thing I was thinking about this was that the developed world seems worst hit by this virus. Is the need not greater in Europe and North America for the vaccine?

Or is the virus just as prevalent in the third world, they just have the resources to measure it (or some governments are covering the true scale of the virus in some countries)?

I get the variant argument, and it is pretty compelling, but presumably a variant can emerge anyway, so far the main variants have occurred in the Spain (last summer) UK, South Africa, Brazil and California and now Japan, havent all these countries rolled out the vaccine pretty significantly? Again, maybe other variants have emerged in poorer countries and they just haven't the resources to know about it.

Van.Bosch

josip wrote: »

If it's 900,000 vaccines by the end of Q1, that's 450,000 people.
Which would have us about two thirds through Group 3 I think.
1.1m vaccines would have us finished all of Groups 1,2,3.

If we only get 350,000 Pfizer before the end of Q1, that will mean that Group 3 is only 50% done.
All of Group 4 would be done with the 400,000+ AZs and almost all of Group 5.

Also remember group two seems to have an infinite number of people. Was meant to be 90,000 but have already given out 100,000 first doses and I thought I saw a slide saying 60,000 more first doses next week.

GazzaL

https://covid-19.geohive.ie/pages/vaccinations

I see we're still not getting daily updates on vaccination numbers, yet we're still getting daily press conferences about meaningless case numbers. Thanks Tony.

ACitizenErased

GazzaL wrote: »

https://covid-19.geohive.ie/pages/vaccinations

I see we're still not getting daily updates on vaccination numbers, yet we're still getting daily press conferences about meaningless case numbers. Thanks Tony.

im not sure where you've been for the last week but we are very much getting daily updates

Micky 32

Frank Bullitt wrote: »

Reading the news in this thread has brought a ray go light to my heart.

I live in Canada and haven't seen my folks in over a year, there is hope that I will see them sooner than I had thought.

I kinda was resigning to the fact i may never see my family in the states ever again. But as more and more news emerges I’m starting to get hopeful.

Worldwide cases are plummeting ( not all explainable either) and on top of that vaccines worlwide being rolled out. Not to mention the reductions in transmission evidence emerging. So add those 3 things together and i can see those little critters waving their little white flags in the not too distant future. So i would think that you’ll see your parents again soon enough

GazzaL

ACitizenErased wrote: »

im not sure where you've been for the last week but we are very much getting daily updates

They're not published on that tracker, I checked RTE's update today and they're still referring to figures from the 16th. Can you provide a link? Daily means every day.

Stheno

GazzaL wrote: »

They're not published on that tracker, I checked RTE's update today and they're still referring to figures from the 16th. Can you provide a link? Daily means every day.

They report daily with a lag of two days

Goldengirl

GazzaL wrote: »

They're not published on that tracker, I checked RTE's update today and they're still referring to figures from the 16th. Can you provide a link? Daily means every day.

Spookwoman posts the updates on the main thread every day .

MerlinSouthDub

MerlinSouthDub wrote: »

Just wondering why you feel family carers should get any higher priority than others? I can't see how they are at higher risk and the person they are caring for will already have been vaccinated. Parents of school or university age kids would be at significantly higher risk than a family carer, for example.

Did I ask a question or make a statement?

blackcard

GazzaL wrote: »

https://covid-19.geohive.ie/pages/vaccinations

I see we're still not getting daily updates on vaccination numbers, yet we're still getting daily press conferences about meaningless case numbers. Thanks Tony.

Obviously you are not aware that Tony's wife died today

Cork2021

Vaccines working well in the UK.

Hopefully we’ll see the benefits of our roll out by middle to end of March.!

https://twitter.com/coronavirusgoo1/status/1362839709081350148?s=21

is_that_so

Van.Bosch wrote: »

Also remember group two seems to have an infinite number of people. Was meant to be 90,000 but have already given out 100,000 first doses and I thought I saw a slide saying 60,000 more first doses next week.

HCW are Groups 2 & 4. Based on the original numbers Group 2 should be almost done for first shots at least.

Micky 32

Interestingly in Israel people who got their first jab (0-8 days afterwards ) infections rose 2x vs people who weren’t vaccinated :eek:. However as the days passed infections plummeted and at day 21 efficacy was at 91%.

Interesting finding. They think the explanation is that they became complacent and changed their behaviour as soon as they got the jab thinking they would be fine and not catch the virus.

wheresthebeef

is_that_so wrote: »

HCW are Groups 2 & 4. Based on the original numbers Group 2 should be almost done for first shots at least.

A lot of group 4 were done before group 2, so chances are we’re further ahead in some respects with group 4 already partially done.

Van.Bosch

wheresthebeef wrote: »

A lot of group 4 were done before group 2, so chances are we’re further ahead in some respects with group 4 already partially done.

And are being counted as group 2 I take it?

No issues with it, it should mean we move from 3 to 5 pretty quickly

greenheep

Micky 32 wrote: »

Interestingly in Israel people who got their first jab (0-8 days afterwards ) infections rose 2x vs people who weren’t vaccinated :eek:. However as the days passed infections plummeted and at day 21 efficacy was at 91%.

Interesting finding. They think the explanation is that they became complacent and changed their behaviour as soon as they got the jab thinking they would be fine and not catch the virus.

Or is it possible that people caught it on the way to or from the vaccine centre, when perhaps they would have otherwise been staying home shielding.

Harpon

Given how effective just one dose of the Pfizer vaccine is, would it not make sense to just give one dose of this going forward, given the severe lack of supply for all vaccines? Has this question been asked to nphet does anyone know?

Mr.Wemmick

greenheep wrote: »

Or is it possible that people caught it on the way to or from the vaccine centre, when perhaps they would have otherwise been staying home shielding.

This was my worry yesterday at the UK vaccine center as I knew there would be a lot of people in the center coming and going, and some not wearing masks correctly.
I doubled up and wore two masks.. glad I did as everyone had to sit for 13 minutes after the vaccine with a timer before being allowed to leave. The idea being to check there's no immediate after effect from the jab.

Harpon

Harpon wrote: »

Given how effective just one dose of the Pfizer vaccine is, would it not make sense to just give one dose of this going forward, given the severe lack of supply for all vaccines? Has this question been asked to nphet does anyone know?

What is not known is if delaying dose 2 excessively results in immunity waning quicker. The idea is dose one generates the immunity and dose 2 fixes it for long term

ACitizenErased

Another feel good & good news story:

Irish Defence Forces Deliver First Vaccines To Islands Off The West Coast of Ireland
https://corksafetyalerts.com/news/irish-defence-forces-deliver-first-vaccines-to-islands-off-the-west-coast-of-ireland/

Deathofcool

Leo saying we should be doing 100k next week.

Close to 1.25 million doses April, May, June

https://twitter.com/LeoVaradkar/status/1362825360887468034?s=20

ACitizenErased

Varadkar confirming in the video above that vulnerable U70s are being brought forward

hmmm

Deleted User wrote: »

What is not known is if delaying dose 2 excessively results in immunity waning quicker. The idea is dose one generates the immunity and dose 2 fixes it for long term

Understood. However the data emerging from Israel is making a strong case for delaying it, and also there is the possibility that Pfizer will start pushing out the new variant vaccine in Q3 which might be worth delaying the 2nd shot for.

The prospect of vaccinating an extra couple of hundred thousand people in the near term must be attractive. I'd be interested to know whether the EMA would consider something like the evidence from Israel, or is it completely a non-runner without other data.

iamwhoiam

ACitizenErased wrote: »

Varadkar confirming in the video above that vulnerable U70s are being brought forward

Are they bringing them forward to ahead of the 65-70 age group do we know ?


PS . I watched again and I understand him as saying that in group 5 those with underlying conditions will be prioritised in that group






e next groups to be offered COVID-19 vaccines are:

other healthcare workers not in direct patient contact (group 4)
people aged 65 to 69, prioritising people with medical conditions which put them at high risk of severe disease (group 5)

iamwhoiam

Yevon wrote: »

I wonder why Leo did that video and not the Minister for Health?

And not fully explain what it actually meant


It means those aged 65-70 will be prioritised in their own group 5 before others with no underlying conditions aged 65-70

Dressoutlet

iamwhoiam wrote: »

And not fully explain what it actually meant


It means those aged 65-70 will be prioritised in their own group 5 before others with no underlying conditions aged 65-70

I think you are wrong, he said during the week they were getting advice on moving group 7 up.