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

Cork2021 wrote: »

THE VARIANTS!!!!

https://twitter.com/profshanecrotty/status/1355262019562209282?s=21

Brilliant. The more you read into the science, and avoid RTE, the more positive the outlook becomes.

Goldengirl wrote: »

Healthcare workers including myself , who have or may have had the infection previously have been reporting a greater reaction to the second dose of Pfizer .
I reported this here a few weeks ago.
Might mean that your body is reacting to that second dose strongly because it doesn't actually need it ?

Not because it "doesn't need it", but because the immunity is already there.

The second reaction though ensures that the immune system is sufficiently primed and develops a longer-lasting immunity.

The immune system works like brain memory in some ways. Sometimes it needs to recall or practice fighting off an infection to ensure that it remembers how do it over a longer term.

thecretinhop wrote: »

my brother is in cat 4. by my reckoning it is late April he gets it. 170k 80 85 190k 75 80 100k a week vac at best? am I wrong?

Group 4 starts on Monday

Goldengirl wrote: »

Healthcare workers including myself , who have or may have had the infection previously have been reporting a greater reaction to the second dose of Pfizer .
I reported this here a few weeks ago.
Might mean that your body is reacting to that second dose strongly because it doesn't actually need it ?
I would not be surprised if the second dose was deemed unnecessary for those who have already tested positive in the future , but that is my non expert opinion

That's interesting, that as convalescents you can still get a more pronounced reaction against the 2nd dose. In one of the studies they assessed the 2nd dose reactogenicity in convalescent healthcare workers and they had a rough time after the 1st dose with the 2nd having almost no effect in both immune response and reactogenicity matters. Which would be what one might expect - 2nd dose passively destroyed by the immune response.

A more pronounced reaction to the 2nd dose is actually a good thing, that means it still boosted the immune response and possibly gave an extra round or two of B cell maturation (good against potential variants and more chances of LLPCs ending up in bone marrow and staying there).

The recent findings that we have germline antibodies (basically templates from birth) that bind the RBD and can even neutralize the virus to some extent, might be good news for just a simple homologous boost dose strategy. Like what Pzier/BNT are now testing. The extra maturation rounds could give a much broader protective response even without a different variant specific booster shot due to those germline antibody templates.

Irish Times wrote:

Prof Brian MacCraith, chair of the vaccine taskforce, said first doses for over-85s would be completed this week, and the vaccination of 80-84 year olds would commence.

First doses are to be completed in long-term care facilities this week and for healthcare workers during the second week of March.

Meanwhile, those with specific medical conditions such as cancer and chronic kidney disease and the immunocompromised will begin to be vaccinated from next week (March 8th).

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/rapid-covid-19-tests-to-be-used-in-monitoring-school-outbreaks-1.4497580

Interview with Katie Hannon here from Sat:
https://www.rte.ie/radio/radioplayer/html5/#/radio1/21915427

Quotes a number of 72,000 over 85s

Late cancellation/'rebalancing' of delivery from AstraZeneca last Friday and of another due this week to give a combined shortfall of 25,000 doses. They expect to recoup this 25,000 next weekend/following week - net effect of zero.

Expected doses Q1: 1.25M
Expected Q2: 3.8M
Vaccinatable population over 18: 3.75M
80% or 3M to have first dose by end of June

37 vaccinations centres, 11 large & 26 county based. At full capacity, the large centres should be capable of 300,000 doses per week, and the smaller ones 200,000 per week ->500,000 combined.

Registration system will be capable of 'vaccine certification'.

16k on Friday seems incredibly low, no?

Icantthinkof1 wrote: »

That’s great if that’s the case but aren’t group 4 getting the Pfizer vaccine? How will there be Pfizer vaccines for them when the under 85’s still have to vaccinated with Pfizer’s?

On that radio interview, Brian MacCraith said that group 4 will be divided into two sub groups and group 4A would be recommended to receive an MRNA vaccine. These would include cancer patients, those with chronic kidney disease and others who are immunosuppressed. I would assume that the others in the group 4b might start going ahead with Astra Zeneca concurrently? He said that both groups should start on Monday 8th March.

He also said that they were still working on identifying these patients and where they would be vaccinated. Some would be through hospital consultants and others through GPs so they have a bit more to consider before they hit the target of starting in 7 days time in my opinion. Fingers crossed though!

Deleted User wrote: »

Just off the phone with my mother, my father had a telephone appointment with his doctor, he has 2 conditions on the group 4 list, he is 63. He asked the GP when he will get the vaccine and he said May! This is a Cork City GP.

Surely this can't be right?

That sounds wrong, group 4 will be startting April at the latest. I'd say the person was only looking at your fathers age and assumed he would be group 6.

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Just off the phone with my mother, my father had a telephone appointment with his doctor, he has 2 conditions on the group 4 list, he is 63. He asked the GP when he will get the vaccine and he said May! This is a Cork City GP.

Surely this can't be right?

Its discussed on that rte link just above after 11 minutes.

Group 4 are due to be started after 70+ are done.
4A are those with cancer, chronic kidney disease, immune compromised and are to start next Monday. Working to identify this cohort now.

Deleted User wrote: »

I phoned my father myself. The gp said his diabetes is undercontrol so he will not be in group 4 due to that ( is this correct?). But his bmi is 43. He is working on it it is down from much higher since last year and the gp said that that wont let him get it faster!

The GP is wrong since obesity qualifies him for group 4; https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/39038-provisional-vaccine-allocation-groups/#aged-16-69-and-at-very-high-risk-of-severe-covid-19-disease

I'd go back to the GP and just point that out to them.

I have some sympathy here for GPs, as they're expected to be experts in this, when they're still only pulling it together themselves.

That said, this rollout is revealing cracks in the GP system that have been hidden for years. My over-70s father-in-law was told by his GP that because he doesn't have a medical card he won't be included in this rollout and will have to wait until it's open to the wider public.

So he's changing GP to one who will get it for him. My suspicion is that the other GP hasn't joined the HSE programme, so *he* can't distribute any vaccines, but doesn't want to lose any patients, so he's just telling his patients they can't get it yet.

seamus wrote: »

The GP is wrong since obesity qualifies him for group 4; https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/39038-provisional-vaccine-allocation-groups/#aged-16-69-and-at-very-high-risk-of-severe-covid-19-disease

I'd go back to the GP and just point that out to them.

I have some sympathy here for GPs, as they're expected to be experts in this, when they're still only pulling it together themselves.

That said, this rollout is revealing cracks in the GP system that have been hidden for years. My over-70s father-in-law was told by his GP that because he doesn't have a medical card he won't be included in this rollout and will have to wait until it's open to the wider public.

So he's changing GP to one who will get it for him. My suspicion is that the other GP hasn't joined the HSE programme, so *he* can't distribute any vaccines, but doesn't want to lose any patients, so he's just telling his patients they can't get it yet.

You’re right though, from talking to my GP, the only info they have on group 4 at the moment is what we can all see online. The details haven’t been decided and Ronan Glynn has said that there will be a very long and comprehensive list of conditions that qualify that will be published. I suspect the GPs either don’t know or maybe assume they will be doing some of group 4 after the over 70s but a lot has still to be decided (supposed to be this week)