Vaccine Megathread No 2 - Read OP before posting

timsey tiger wrote: »

There is so much detail in that report, that not breaking down the figures for the different vaccines they have makes it seem like they are trying to not highlight something.

It follows on from their report last week.

Two doses of AZ is 92% effective at preventing hospitalisation while Pfizer is 96%.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/v...-delta-variant

Polar101 wrote: »

I was wondering, if it's decided that a booster vaccine is needed for "everyone" next winter/spring, how are the mass vaccinations going to be done? Right now they're using universities, city halls and the like 7 days a week, but you'd think a lot of those spaces will be used for their original purposes eventually, so will the necessary infrastructure be available for vaccinations?

If a booster is needed for everyone, it will depend on why. Assuming it's non related to a new variant and more down to immunity reducing over time (those in the trials are the canary in the coal mine), then there would not be as big an urgency.

So there's no problem rolling boosters out to nursing homes and let gp's work it like they do the flu vaccine, same for pharmacies.

A new vaccine evading variant would be completely different. Assuming it completely evades T cells etc...

Sunday Times reports that Ireland could be left with as many as 400,000 unused AstraZeneca doses in the month of July unless it changes the age cohorts.

I'd say there might be a fair bit of pressure on NIAC at this point.

Give the AZ to the pharmacies, let anyone who wants it get AZ there or wait for Moderna/Pfizer from the MVCs.

Caquas wrote: »

You accuse me of revisionism but you are rewriting history when the ink is barely dry.

Forget the reopening scheme? That was the core of the national response to the pandemic.

No, the core of the national response was to reduce deaths and prevent the health system being overloaded.

Caquas wrote: »

Travel wasn't a consideration? What about the 5-km or 10km or county limits? Everyone was talking about the prospect of summer holidays abroad.

This was to reduce the opportunity for the virus to spread, same reason international travel was reduced, the vaccine program was designed to save lives, not to allow people to travel again, that is a side effect of the vaccine program.

Caquas wrote: »

Whatever vaccine you got was the best for the at risk categories? Nonsense, that's my basic point with Fintan O'Toole is repeating in today's IT. Many older people are still awaiting their second AZ jab - if they waited they would now have immunity.

As said earlier, and ignored by you for whatever reason, 1 dose of the vaccines gives good protection, the reason for the second dose is for longevity and improved efficacy, however your chance of dying is greatly reduced after 1 vaccine dose. Every Pfizer dose given to an older person is stretching out the time it takes to vaccinate everyone, everyone who got AZ will have a second dose by mid July before a lot of the population has even got a first dose.

Caquas wrote: »

There is nothing illogical or "revisionist" in acknowledging that we have the benefit of hindsight but that the issue should be have been foreseen by those making the decisions.

You say it was "the right decision at the time". Do you mean that the decision-makers couldn't have foreseen that AZ jabs meant a 12 week wait which reversed their carefully laid plans? Or do you mean that it is right that older people are waiting longer?

Look, there's a captain hindsight meme you can go wild with, your statement that with the benefit of hindsight we should have had better foresight is a complete nonsense statement.

However, even with hindsight, the decisions made were correct at the time they were made.

If an older person had waited, their option would be to get J&J at the pharmacy and also means being completely vulnerable to the virus in the intervening weeks.

PhoenixParker wrote: »

Give the AZ to the pharmacies, let anyone who wants it get AZ there or wait for Moderna/Pfizer from the MVCs.

This is what should have happened day 1. NIAC completely dropped the ball.

Strazdas wrote: »

I think it would be intolerable to have 400k doses on the shelves and not used, not with loads of people in the country still awaiting a first dose.

This was foreseen a long time ago and a few of us here said they should have planned for it at that time, not this cross that bridge when it comes to it nonsense that we're seeing now

WoollyRedHat wrote: »

I agree but I believe the decision will be made to grant authorisation of the vaccine to the 20s and 30s age bracket, with TH now pushing for it and NIAC never unequivocally ruled it out, it was restriction based on the time period.

Also, the Delta variant has really shaken things up. If that didn't exist, they could give reasons for not using AZ, but now there is huge pressure to speed up vaccinations.

The thing is how many younger people are going to want AstraZeneca now when you have to wait 8 weeks for the second dose. If it got going in July they'd be waiting until September for their second dose. That's just reality whether you'd personally take it yourself or not.

The next cohort is 30-34 how many of them want to wait double time now they're so close. Not many. Lots of younger people want to go on foreign holidays restriction free asap. Az kills that chance for the rest of the summer.

Leftwaffe wrote: »

When will they be taking bookings for 30-35 year olds? Or has that happened already?

Not open for registration through the portal yet (35 and up is, next group is 30-34). Paul Reid/HSE on Thursday refused to speculate on when registration will open for 30-34. Not sure if there’s been any update since then.

Seeing appointments going out in many centres for those in 35-39 cohort the last few days gives me hope we may see it open late next week but hard to call. A fairly high proportion of the 30-39 age bracket have already got at least one dose (25% was reported this week from being health care workers, Cohort 4/7, done by GP etc.) so might get through it quicker than first thought.

Wolf359f wrote: »

But those not at risk of Covid will not (for the most part) take AZ knowing they have hate to wait 8 weeks for their travel passport.
They most likely will accept the small risk AZ has, but wont accept having to wait an additional 4 weeks to travel abroad. J&J would probably be snapped up in that cohort, well before Pfizer/Moderna and certainly well before AZ

Let's wait and see - they could be offered an mRNA vaccine as their second dose or the AZ second dose could be brought forward even further.

podgeandrodge wrote: »

I see pharmacies can soon offer the 1 dose Janssen vaccine to people. Do they verify if you've already had another vaccine, or can you 'double up' ?

Edit: I see on one site that they are "asking" people not to register if they have already had any previous dose of another vaccine, as stocks are limited. But not sure if there is verification here.

It's available in pharmacies the last two weeks if your over 50. They do register you through a portal which identifies if you have been previously vaccinated

In Germany, one of of the most safety-conscious and rule-bound places in the world, everyone over 18 has had the opportunity to get any EMA-approved vaccine as long as they have given informed consent I know of people in their 20s and 30s who took AZ because they didn’t want to be waiting for the MRNA ones.

Why has the notion of individual consent just gone completely out the window here? All medicines have potential side effects, even serious ones. Just open a packet of painkillers and take a look. It is my choice to take a painkiller. It should also have been my choice to have taken AZ or a one shot J&J but that choice was taken from me.

robinbird wrote: »

Significant numbers of 18 -. 34 year olds already vaccinated through GPs.

Have you a link to that?