Vaccines - Covid 19

[PeteC]

All posts, articles, comments, and experience with Covid vaccine(s) here in this thread please. Makes no difference where in the world you are, it all goes in here.

Tracking Covid-19 vaccinations worldwide

A quick reference point to see where Thailand stands going forward, and all other countries as well.

https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/202 ... cinations/

[PeteC]

I think important that each of us begins to evaluate each vaccine and make our choices as they (hopefully) all become available. Please list reports that you see as they become available through the media.

Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine works well in big ‘real world’ test

https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus- ... 1a59439c50

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-heal ... SKBN2AO2UA (Additional article, read at link)

A real-world test of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in more than half a million people confirms that it’s very effective at preventing serious illness or death, even after one dose.

Wednesday’s published results, from a mass vaccination campaign in Israel, give strong reassurance that the benefits seen in smaller, limited testing persisted when the vaccine was used much more widely in a general population with various ages and health conditions.

The vaccine was 92% effective at preventing severe disease after two shots and 62% after one. Its estimated effectiveness for preventing death was 72% two to three weeks after the first shot, a rate that may improve as immunity builds over time.

It seemed as effective in folks over 70 as in younger people.

“This is immensely reassuring ... better than I would have guessed,” said the Mayo Clinic’s Dr. Gregory Poland.

Vanderbilt University’s Dr. Buddy Creech agreed: “Even after one dose we can see very high effectiveness in prevention of death,” he said.

Neither doctor had a role in the Israel study but both are involved in other coronavirus vaccine work.

Both doctors also said the new results may boost consideration of delaying the second shot, as the United Kingdom is trying, or giving one dose instead of two to people who have already had COVID-19, as France is doing, to stretch limited supplies.

“I would rather see 100 million people have one dose than to see 50 million people have two doses,” Creech said. “I see a lot of encouragement on one dose” in the results from Israel, which were published by the New England Journal of Medicine.

The vaccine, made by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech, is given as two shots, three weeks apart, in most countries.

The study was led by researchers from the Clalit Research Institute and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel, with Harvard University in the U.S. It did not report on safety of the vaccine, just effectiveness, but no unexpected problems arose in previous testing.

Researchers compared nearly 600,000 people 16 and older in Israel’s largest health care organization who were given shots in December or January to an equal number of people of similar age, sex and health who did not receive vaccine. None of the participants had previously tested positive for the virus.

The vaccine was estimated to be 57% effective at preventing any symptoms of COVID-19 two to three weeks after the first dose, and 94% a week or more after the second dose.

Effectiveness was 74% after one shot and 87% after two for preventing hospitalization, and 46% and 92% for preventing confirmed infection. Reducing infections gives hope that the vaccine may curb spread of the virus, but this type of study can’t determine if that’s the case.

There were 41 COVID-19-related deaths, 32 of them in people who did not get vaccine.

Overall, the numbers compare well to the 95% effectiveness after two doses that was seen in the limited testing that led U.S. regulators to authorize the vaccine’s emergency use, Poland said. How much benefit there would be from one dose has been a big question, “and now there’s some data” to help inform the debate, he added.

“Maybe the right thing to do here to protect the most number of people ... is to give everybody one dose as soon as you can. I think that’s a very acceptable strategy to consider,” Poland said.

Israel now has vaccinated nearly half of its population. A newer variant of the virus that was first identified in the United Kingdom became the dominant strain in Israel during the study, so the results also give some insight into how well the vaccine performs against it.

Earlier this week, two U.K. studies suggested benefits even after one dose of the Pfizer vaccine or a different one from AstraZeneca. The U.K. is delaying the second shot for up to 12 weeks after the first one to try to give more people some level of protection.

[PeteC]

First Covid-19 vaccine arrives
The first 200,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine arrived from China and was received by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and high-level officials at Suvarnabhumi airport on Wednesday morning.

A Thai Airways International plane carrying the vaccine from Beijing landed at the airport at 10.05am.

"Today is a historic day with the reception of the first lot of vaccine... The government has tried its best to receive vaccine as scheduled... Without any unexpected problems, subsequent lots will arrive as planned. We will have enough vaccine to develop herd immunity," Gen Prayut said.

Relevant officials would decide who will be inoculated first, he said.

The shipment was a part of 2 million doses, worth 1.2 billion baht, the government ordered from Sinovac Life Sciences Co of China. The 200,000 doses will be stored and checked in a warehouse until Friday.

On Saturday they will be delivered to specific hospitals, with inoculations set to start next Monday.

Initial vaccination will cover medical personnel and people aged 18-59 in 13 provinces targeted for Covid-19 control and economic support.

They are Samut Sakhon, Bangkok, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi, Samut Prakan, Tak, Nakhon Pathom, Samut Songkhram, Ratchaburi, Chon Buri, Phuket, Surat Thani, and Chiang Mai.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... ne-arrives

Prachuap province had one of the harshest lockdowns ... but no vaccines for the medical staff here, go figure!

[PeteC]

200,000 greeted by the Prime Minister and high level officials. The first part of 2 million doses.
A HISTORIC DAY according to Chano-cha-cha-cha.

The UK with a similar population has already vaccinated 18 million to date!!

[PeteC]

The first 200,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine arrived from China and was received by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and high-level officials at Suvarnabhumi airport on Wednesday morning.
[..]
The shipment was a part of 2 million doses, worth 1.2 billion baht, the government ordered from Sinovac Life Sciences Co of China.

That sounds expensive to me at, if my maths is correct, around $20 per dose. And everyone knows that Chinese products are cheaper...

So how much do the vaccines cost? An astonishingly wide variety of prices, as it turns out, depending on the vaccine. But of course, all countries are being charged the same price, aren't they? Erm no, apparently not... Well, that must be because poorer countries are given a discount? Erm no, apparently not...

Take a look at this interesting article in the British Medical Journal: https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n281

South Africa’s government found itself on the defensive this week after a senior health official revealed that 1.5 million doses of the Oxford and AstraZeneca vaccine just purchased for use among health workers would cost $5.25 (£3.84; €4.32) a dose, more than twice what the European Union is paying at $2.15.
[...]
South Africa’s deputy director general of health, Anban Pillay, said his government had been told that $5.25 was the set price for a country classified by the World Bank as upper-middle income. “The explanation we were given for why other high-income countries have a lower price is that they have invested in the [research and development], hence the discount,” he added.

That principle has also been applied to the biggest players. The EU financially supported the development of the BioNTech and Pfizer vaccine and has obtained a lower price per dose ($14.70 than the US ($19.50). The Moderna vaccine’s development was subsidised by the US government, and it will cost the US about $15 a dose, while the EU is paying $18.

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is much cheaper, although neither the UK nor the US can match the EU’s $2.15 deal: they are expecting to pay about $3 and $4, respectively, per dose.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, expected to announce phase III results imminently, is also much cheaper, costing the EU $8.50, with each dose going twice as far as the other brands, since it is a single shot vaccine.

AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson have committed to not making a profit from the pandemic, while Moderna and Pfizer did not. AstraZeneca reserved the right, however, to declare the pandemic phase over and take profits from later vaccine sales.

[PeteC]

Coronavirus: How effective are the Chinese vaccines?


......"Sinovac Biotech

The vaccine, called CoronaVac, is also based on inactivated viruses. It has been tested in various phase III trials since the summer, including in Brazil (which approved the vaccine on January 19), Indonesia, Bangladesh and Turkey. The manufacturer has not released official figures on the efficacy of the CoronaVac vaccine, but evaluations by the Brazilian collaborators suggest an efficacy of up to 78%. Indonesian health authorities report an efficacy of about 65%.

Although this means that the vaccine is not as effective as the mRNA vaccines approved for use in Europe and the US, it does reach and exceed values that are common for influenza vaccines. Some of these are only 30-60% effective.

Potentially interested countries like Malaysia and Singapore are still hesitant. Thailand plans to introduce the vaccine despite its moderate efficacy. In China, the vaccine has received emergency approval.

Sinovac hopes to increase efficacy by prolonging the interval between doses. However, further studies are needed before this can happen. Prolonging the time between the first vaccination and the booster shot also increases the risk of mutations occurring.".......

Summary of all three Chinese vaccines at link:

https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-how-e ... a-56370802

[PeteC]

Prachuap province had one of the harshest lockdowns ... but no vaccines for the medical staff here, go figure!

There may have been a harsh lockdown but I would say that was quite out of proportion to the number of cases in the province. There have been very few cases here - only 18 in total since the beginning of the pandemic, only two since the turn of the year (with no onward transmission) and currently no active cases, as far as I know.

From what I can tell, the vaccines are going to the provinces where they are needed - the ones that actually had some ongoing local transmission recently, and/or still have active cases.

[PeteC]

Pfizer - $19.50 for the first million. Efficacy - 95%
Moderna - $25 - 37 a dose. Efficacy - 95%
Oxford - $25 - 37 a dose. Efficacy - 70%
Johnson and Johnson $10. Efficacy - unknown.
Russia Sputnik - $10. Efficacy - 91.4%
Sinovac - $60 a dose (in China - $29.75). Efficacy - 50.38 - 91.25% depending upon the trial.
Novavax - $16. Efficacy - 89.3%

Just to put the main contenders together.

[PeteC]

There's always back room deals going on with these people. "Make us first and make a show of it (as they've done) and we'll blah,blah,blah..."

[PeteC]

I think that posting reports here from recognized health bodies would be a good idea, however I believe that the evaluation of the various vaccines should be left to the experts - I don’t see how I could decide whether vaccine “a” is better than “b or c”?

[PeteC]

The problem with that DB is that these 'experts' nearly always have a vested interest one way or the other. 'Independent' reports are never independent.

[PeteC]

Johnson and Johnson vaccine: FDA finds the single-shot jab safe

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56186965

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/24/heal ... index.html (Longer, more detailed article)

A review by US regulators of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine has found it is safe and effective.

It paves the way for it to become the third Covid-19 vaccine to be authorised in the US, possibly within days.

The vaccine would be a cost-effective alternative to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, and can be stored in a refrigerator instead of a freezer.

Results from trials were released by Johnson & Johnson last month.

The Belgian company Janssen, which is owned by the pharmaceutical giant, said its data showed the product was highly effective against severe disease.

It comes as Ghana became the first country to receive coronavirus vaccines through the Covax vaccine-sharing initiative.

The briefing document published by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gives more detail on the data submitted by Janssen to the regulator. The FDA concludes that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has "known benefits" in reducing both symptomatic and severe illness.

Results from vaccine trials conducted in the US, South Africa and Brazil found its efficacy against the worst outcomes of the virus was "similarly high" but overall protection was lower in South Africa and Brazil, where virus variants have become dominant.

Data showed it was more than 85% effective at preventing serious illness, but only 66% effective overall, when moderate cases were included, when considering cases at least 28 days after vaccination.

Notably, there were no deaths among participants who had received the vaccine and no hospital admissions after 28 days post-vaccine.

An external committee of experts will meet on Friday to recommend whether the FDA should authorise the vaccine, possibly adding to a coming surge in vaccine availability in the US.

A White House official said the administration anticipated distributing at least three million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine next week, should it receive emergency authorisation from the FDA.

The company says it plans to deliver 20 million doses in total by late March, in line with an agreement to supply the US with 100m doses by the end of June.

[PeteC]

Below are the procedures in Thailand apparently. Seems a bit over the top to me. Those who have had the vaccine elsewhere, is the below normal?

"The procedure to get vaccinated starts by recipients undergoing screening by having their temperatures taken, and then sanitising their hands before entering the administration area. Then, they will move their way through a series of steps, detailed below:

Step 1: Register

Step 2: Record weight and blood pressure

Step 3: Pass the screening process by have their medical history and risk assessment recorded and then signing a consent to receive the vaccine

Step 4: Wait for vaccination

Step 5: Vaccination

Step 6: Rest for 30 minutes, while being observed for symptoms. Then scan the official Line account “หมอพร้อม” (“Doctor Ready”)

Step 7: Pass a final check before receiving a document confirming vaccination

Pichet says health workers will follow up with vaccine recipients after 1,7, and 30 days from being vaccinated to monitor any adverse reactions."

[Big Boy]

Obviously, I've never had the jab, but most of it looks fairly routine for all Thai hospitals I've known. The only one that I'm unsure about is step 3. No different to a flu jab really. 30 minutes rest maybe OTT, but even in the UK it was 10 minutes after the flu jab.

[PeteC]

They and other countries have to get a move on though to get the world vaccinated. They're never going to do it if that procedure keeps up when mass inoculations start. Hopefully when they see the vaccine is safe and nothing different than giving a normal injection they'll streamline things.

Where are the compressor powered inoculation air guns the military uses, or used to use. 1 person every 5 seconds is the average if the line moves properly.