COVID-19: Vaccine/antidote and testing procedures Megathread [Mod Warning - Post #1]

Thierry12 wrote: »

For the 2021?

Rollout starting before end of year.

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/health-pharma/eu-agrees-deal-for-300m-doses-of-biontech-pfizer-s-covid-vaccine-1.4406320

Dempo1 wrote: »

Seems to me Governments getting ahead of themselves, I get being prepared etc but NO vaccine has actually been fully approved, I'm more concerned about the fact our own government only discussing logistics now, just extraordinary.

The harsh reality, which seems lost on some, is at best it will be 6 months before general public get access (this assuming approval) and we're not looking at just a quick GP visit.

I just get a sense of "A vaccine has been found Hysteria setting in"

A rather strange way of looking at forward planning. I would have imagined the more time you have for planning the better chance you have of ironing out any kinks and getting it right when the time comes.
There is a lot to be said for the old carpentry saying of measure twice, cut once.

stephenjmcd wrote: »

Yeah you'll need a well oiled supply chain here, does anyone in Dept of Health or HSE have experience in this is a big enough question, perhaps external planners will be required.

Now if we had say 1 or 2 storage units in the country that could handle -80 you'd get a little more time in terms of arrival into the country then into that storage and plan in advance what doses are needed where and when, take them out and into cool boxes or suitable refrigeration units closer to the vaccine centre.

100% going to need defence forces assistance when it comes to transport, much like what happened with PPE, they were waiting at the stand in Dublin Airport and the plane was unloaded straight away and transported to central storage under Garda escort. Absolutely wont be a Monday to Friday thing. I've read the UK plans are likely to be 8am to 8pm 7 days a week over a number of months for the rollout.

It'll certainly be interesting to see what the plan is when its made public. So far the line of well we're working on it, doesn't fill me with confidence when other countries have laid out what the plan is.

This is where the infamous Gerry Killeen could step in.
He is well experienced in the area having worked with a similar type of vaccine which required cold storage for the Ebola virus .
If it can be done in African temperatures it surely can be done here .
Lots of drugs eg heparin have to be kept cold while infusing over longer periods of time . A few cold storage refrigerated units on site in Croke Park or places like that and an army of professionals jabbing the population, will be grand

AssetBacked2 wrote: »

It's despicable how the media report on the data around covid. Remember when Italy was all over the news headlines when **** hit the fan? Now you wouldn't see many headlines about them. Why not continue to pump Italy since it was such a big deal at the beginning?

Similarly, with Czech Republic, which is actually comical. They have been making headlines the last few weeks but the funny thing is that they are only experiencing their first wave now. This isn't them getting a bad second wave but is just them getting a second wave. That bit gets left out in the "EU experiencing covid second wave" hysteria.

Journalists tend to operate in a bubble in Ireland and that bubble is twitter. I don't see any other outlet where they liaise, discuss and follow stories to the same extent as they do on twitter. But twitter is not representative of society in any great form, I even know you can block or hide people from discussing on your posts!

Eh think you are taking your media hysteria line of reasoning a bit too far. Covid is dangerous virus and the Czech Republic have had over 4k deaths in a month from it. Per capita its the equivalent of all of our covid deaths since March happening in 30 days. First wave or second wave that is newsworthy. There were 5k deaths in Europe yesterday. It is quite clear that the continent as a whole is in a second wave. Reporting on the crisis in Europe has actually been quite muted.

No details, but the Chinese manufacturer Sinopharm is saying that the data from their trials is "better than expected".
https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-vaccine-china-idUSKBN27R1Q1

It's feeling like day 2 of US election counting. One vaccine is in the bag, and we only need one of the others to come in to mean that we should see widespread availability in the middle of next year.

hmmm wrote: »

No details, but the Chinese manufacturer Sinopharm is saying that the data from their trials is "better than expected".
https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-vaccine-china-idUSKBN27R1Q1

It's feeling like day 2 of US election counting. One vaccine is in the bag, and we only need one of the others to come in to mean that we should see widespread availability in the middle of next year.

Rumours on Twitter saying Ox/AZ ready to read out in next 2 weeks and data is better than Pfizer.

I'll say it again though..J&J is the vaccine to watch for. Single shot..no cold chain required, phase I/II data looked really promising.

Hmmzis wrote: »

Slight, but important nitpick - it's an inactivated type, not attenuated. Attenuated candiates are very few so far and they would take much longer to develop since one would very much like to be sure it's attenuated enough and still similar strucurally to be of use.

Inactivated vaccines are inert, formaline and/or beta propoilactone is used to inactivate the viral particles. They are not all that immunogenic on their own but with a good adjuvant can induce some excellent antibody and T helper responses. They can't induce killer T cells (CD8+) as that requires the antigen to be inside a cell and then presented on the cell wall in MHC-I (mRNA, viral vectors, DNA and attenuated can and do induce these responses).

Thanks for fixing that..

So would it be correct to say an inactivated vaccine would be better at inducing neutralising ABs that could deal with spike mutations?

Voltex wrote: »

Thanks for fixing that..

So would it be correct to say an inactivated vaccine would be better at inducing neutralising ABs that could deal with spike mutations?

Not quite, that requires proper germinal center development and B cell maturation. Basically, any vaccine that induces a decent response should be capable of doing that. Viral vectors and attenuated could have the upper hand here as they induce an actual viral infection that stimulates all the right pathways (animal models have been used to study that). I haven't read much on that about in regards to mRNA and DNA vaccines.

hmmm wrote: »

Billboard are reporting that Ticketmaster are working on a plan which will require either evidence of vaccination or a negative test to attend sports events or concerts.

https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/touring/9481166/ticketmaster-vaccine-check-concerts-plan

This should give people a lot more confidence attending large events like these.

It will also up the numbers of those getting vaccines.
I had a feeling something along these lines was going to come into play. Especially when vaccines became available.
Nobody will be compelled to take the shot or take a test, but their options in practically all areas without one or the other will become increasingly limited.

Ronin247 wrote: »

Does the news that people only have immunity for 2 to 6 months after having the virus change the whole vaccine situation??
If the actual "live" virus doesn't give immediate lasting immunity what difference would a vaccine provide?

Nope. See rabies and HPV for examples.

AssetBacked2 wrote: »

It's a bit too Orwellian in any event so presumably will get a big fat no from the public like that nonsensical Health Passport Ireland rubbish which utterly bombed when announced a few weeks ago.

People say that because we're not used to living with diseases that present this kind of danger to our society anymore. But 80 years ago there were all sorts of measures taken to help prevent the spread of transmittable diseases. For example, if you read any of Enid Blyton's Malory Tower series (about a girls boarding school, written between 1946-51) you'll find a scene near the start of each book, where the characters have to hand in their Health Certificates at the start of every term. These certs specified that they had not been in contact with an infectious disease during the holidays. If they do not have a cert for some reason, they most stay in isolation at school until they have passed a quarantine period. Students who contract mumps are kept in quarantine either at school or at home until they are certified safe to return.

That was just how life was when contagious, potentially dangerous diseases were understood to a decent degree but couldn't be vaccinated against. Information was the best tool people had to prevent transmission. Right now our freedoms are being massively curtailed to control the spread. Information we'd normally consider personal is being gathered about people with a new Covid diagnosis, to trace their contacts. In a few months, as vaccination is rolled out, there may be a need for information to be provided in certain places, about if people have been vaccinated or not. It's not Orwellian, it's just a really practical way to help stop a virus spreading.