Working from the SARS-CoV-2 genome in February, it took BioNTech two days (!) to come up with a set of vaccine candidates. The rest of the time since then has been taken up with testing and paperwork. Tweaking a basically-working vaccine to accommodate a changed spike protein will probably not take all that long, and it shouldn’t impact the safety of the vaccine. (We do that for the influenza vaccine – which admittedly works completely differently – all the time without starting the testing process from scratch.)
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Really? I know you’re being sarcastic. I’m just looking forward to when I don’t have to care any more.
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I cannot pretend to know even the basics of vaccine production, the problem, as described in the report, was that the virus continually mutates, so will require continuous surveillance and reaction possibly more frequently than a flu vaccine.
You know, it could even be true. And there’s fuckall he can do about it if so.
I watched 60 Minutes last night, the first in a long time.
The first piece was about counting vites. Likely not believed by some, but reassuring that the people involved and were interviewed were adamant that the counting is unbiased.
The third piece was about Ken Burns, before tge pandemic, so likely filler, making the point tyat lots unites people in the US.
And the middle piece was about US preparations for distributing the Vaccine. A General is in charge, he’s spent his life in the army handling supplies. He looked as oltimistic that the Pfizer vaccine will be successful, but he seemed certain that they have made enough preparations so the minute the Vaccine is ready, innoculation can begin immediately. And they are preparing for the need to keep it cold. No bluster, no hype, just reassuring.
And the general did say his biggest worry is that people will refuse to be vaccinated.
I’d be first in line.
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healthcare workers, followed by other front line workers would be first in line. ( in the us, probably followed by the rich and famous. ) it’ll take a while for any vaccine to become publicly available
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One of the advantages of mRNA vaccines is that this can be done safely with fairly moderate effort. BioNTech has been doing research on this for quite some time (including vaccines for SARS-CoV-1 and MERS-CoV, and various types of cancer) even though the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine is the first BioNTech mRNA vaccine that is actually about to be marketed as a product.
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Ferret medicine presumably would have saved the Norwegian minks, right?
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No. Just, no. You can’t say that about the President of the United States. Address him by his proper title or not at all.
It’s “Weak loser.”
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Pretty sure he will. And they will. It won’t be ready in the kind of amount you need for public vaccinations until his term is well under way. It will be given to medical workers, all at the Covid house, and no doubt military. I’m sure they’ll have a schedule of vulnerabilities to prioritise too. I have never expected to get a vaccine until late next year.
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The big thing will be that there will actually be a national policy about it. There won’t be any of this “Let the states make their own decisions” thing happening such that Iowa can re-infect Illinois just because its governor wants to pander to anti-vaxers etc.
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Although if the 90% effectiveness rate is born out, than the uptake rate required for herd immunity will be lower. On the gripping hand, non-compliance is likely to be concentrated, rather than evenly spread so there will still be populations that are vulnerable to outbreaks.
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I would avoid drawing too many conclusions from that report. Viruses are always mutating and transmission between species can accentuate that but there is a big difference between a noticable mutation in the spike protein vs. something that affects immune response. It is certainly a concern that this could happen but “mutation in the spike protein” isn’t something that should automatically fill you with dread.
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Counter-Point: The President-Elect has only been on the job for a few days and look what he’s already accomplished on a COVID vaccine!
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What’s wrong with buying health outcomes?
Given the lack of coherent industrial or health policy in the USA, why shouldn’t a central buyer just specify the outcome and buy whatever product is most effective? For example, Gilead launched Harvoni in the USA for hepatitis C at a price tag of $83k/patient (the price has since come down with competition). The Aussie government looked at that price tag and went “hellllll no” and instead negotiated a deal with Gilead to buy ~$3B worth of the product for Oz at a bulk discount and got it on a per patient basis for much much less than $83k.
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I see what you did there?
At some point, I can see it being cost effective to manufacture the doses on a ship, and then helicopter (or drone-haul) the stuff inland to where it’s needed.
But I know fuck-all about the manufacturing pricesses involved, so I’m about as reliable as Trump with this topic…
Yes, but I’ll trust it when it’s avalable.
Though apparently the Canadian government has plans, and that does place “the vulnerable” in early.
So I’ll gladly go as early as I can, and proudly wear the “I Vaccinated” button or sticker.
Assuming it doesn’t conflict with the very expensive drug I’m getting every six months. My luck, I’ll just miss a window and have to wait almost six months. But it depends on tye vaccine.
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Because they care more about their stock portfolios than anything else on the planet, living or dead. If Covid goes on long enough it will be a cataclysm for their wealth.
They may yet decide that it is better to be the richest people in the ruble than slightly less rich now, but enough of them will put on enough pressure that McConnell will need to at least negotiate.
Can I live in the timeline where we don’t get fake “I Vaccinated” stuff on the black market?
Because that is what I expect will happen.
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