Every COVID-19 vaccine and treatment in development and on trial, so far.

[Gordon_R]

Lower efficacy and inconsistent results in trials of Sinovac in various countries:

Sinovac: Brazil results show Chinese vaccine 50.4% effective

Latest results show Sinovac's Covid-19 vaccine is less effective in Brazil than previously suggested.

www.bbc.com

 

[Gordon_R]

Lengthy article on the various vaccines, and the controversy over the efficacy of single doses:

How effective is a single vaccine dose against Covid-19?

Pretend it didn't happen – expert advice on how to behave after receiving a single dose of any of the Covid-19 vaccines.

www.bbc.com

 

[Gordon_R]

Competition for limited vaccine production is going to become ugly:

Coronavirus: Vaccine supply fears grow amid EU export threat

The EU calls for "fair" distribution after vaccine companies cut back on pledged supplies.

www.bbc.com

 

[Gordon_R]

Blood thinners (heparin) seem to have a life saving effect in severe illness, where blood clotting and organ failure are factors:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/blood-thinners-covid-19-manitoba-study-1.5887145

 

[Gordon_R]

Licencing agreement should help improve production of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine:

Coronavirus: EU demands UK-made AstraZeneca vaccine doses

The bloc says UK plants are obliged to help make up for possible shortfalls in EU production.

www.bbc.com

 

[Gordon_R]

New vaccine found to be effective, including trails in SA:

Covid-19: Novavax vaccine shows 89% efficacy in UK trials

The vaccine is the first to show in trials that it is effective against the UK variant of the virus.

www.bbc.com

 

[Gordon_R]

More detailed article about the Novavax trials in SA, and the effects of the variant mutation:

MAVERICK CITIZEN NEWSBREAK: Novavax vaccine offers some protection against South African coronavirus strain, clinical results show

Clinical results from the Novavax vaccine trials in South Africa and the United Kingdom have shown the vaccine to be effective against the coronavirus variants dominating in those countries.

www.dailymaverick.co.za

 

[Gordon_R]

The J&J vaccine passes its trials, but has lower efficacy against the SA variant:

Coronavirus: Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine trial shows protection against Covid-19 deaths and severe disease

‘Brilliant news,’ says J&J principal investigator of the South African arm Professor Glenda Gray, who herself enrolled in another vaccine trial. But vaccine efficacy of the single-shot J&J jab is lower in the variant now dominant in South Africa than in global trial results.

www.dailymaverick.co.za

 

[Gordon_R]

Encouraging real-world efficacy data from the over-60s phase of Israel's vaccine rollout:

Covid: Israel's vaccine rollout linked to infection fall

Less than 0.1% of vaccinated people caught coronavirus, and far fewer became ill.

www.bbc.com

Prof Malka Gorfine, Hagai Rossman, Prof Eran Segal, and Dr Uri Shalit analysed national data by age and city.

They identified bigger falls in infections and hospitalisations both in the over-60s, who were vaccinated first, and in the cities which vaccinated the largest proportion of their populations earliest.

These relative changes were not seen in earlier lockdowns.

This gives early but encouraging signs the falls can be linked to the vaccine, and not just to current restrictions.

Separately, Israel's second-largest healthcare provider Maccabi published figures showing 66 people out of a group of 248,000 vaccinated (0.03%) caught the Covid-19 virus, more than a week after receiving the second dose of the vaccine.

Of those 66, all had mild symptoms and none were hospitalised.

Unlike the MoH, Maccabi compared the infection rate with 900,000 unvaccinated people with a similar demographic profile. In this group during the same time period, 8,250 caught Covid - 11 times as many.

They estimated this meant the vaccine was 92% effective when used in a population - very similar to the 95% Pfizer found in a controlled clinical trial.

 

[Gordon_R]

Slightly off-topic, but interesting article on the technology behind those fancy glass vials used to package vaccines:

The tough little bottles crucial to fighting Covid

Vials made of extremely tough glass are being made by the million to hold Covid vaccines.

www.bbc.com

Covid-19 vaccines that use mRNA, such as those made by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, require storage at around -80C. Valor glass can withstand temperatures from between -180C and 400C.

Resistance to extreme heat is useful because pharmaceutical firms wash vials and heat them to around 350C to sterilise them before filling them with products.

 

[Gordon_R]

Clinical trial results on the efficacy of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, published in a peer reviewed paper:

Russia's coronavirus vaccine is 91.6% effective, a new study shows

The Lancet has published an interim analysis of phase 3 trial data from the Sputnik V vaccine. Russia approved the shot in August 2020.

www.businessinsider.co.za

Reference: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00234-8/fulltext

 

[Gordon_R]

Encouraging (unpublished) real-world study results from the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine. Both single dose efficacy (including over 65s), and reduced probability of onward transmission of the virus:

Covid-19: Study showing Oxford vaccine slows virus spread 'superb' - Hancock

As results show the Oxford jab may cut transmission, the health secretary says it offers a "way out".

www.bbc.com

 

[Geoff.D]

Slightly off-topic, but interesting article on the technology behind those fancy glass vials used to package vaccines:

The tough little bottles crucial to fighting Covid

Vials made of extremely tough glass are being made by the million to hold Covid vaccines.

www.bbc.com

Are they reusable? Or at recyclable?

 

[Gordon_R]

Are they reusable? Or at recyclable?

Doubtful. Any used medical containers must be disposed of.

 

[Gordon_R]

There are already plans for a revised Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine (later this year) to deal with mutated variants:

Covid: New Oxford vaccine 'ready by the autumn' to tackle mutations

An improved jab that will be more effective against variants can be made quickly, says Oxford-AstraZeneca.

www.bbc.com

 

[Gordon_R]

A UK study will look at varying the vaccine dose sequence, and alternating different types, to evaluate effects on immunity:

Covid trial in UK examines mixing different vaccines

Giving different first and second jabs could offer more flexibility and may offer better protection.

www.bbc.com

 

[Gordon_R]

Side-effects have been rare and mostly minor:

Covid vaccines extremely safe, finds UK regulator

Almost all the side-effects of the two vaccines being used in the UK are mild and expected, says MHRA.

www.bbc.com

Around 3 in every 1,000 people given the vaccines were affected.

Almost all cases were mild, such as sore arm, tiredness and and 'flu-like' illness.

Severe allergic reactions to the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine can happen but are very rare - between one and two cases per 100,000 doses administered, experts estimate.

 

[Gordon_R]

Approval granted for volunteer human challenge trials, which will study the infection process under highly controlled conditions:

Covid-19: World's first human challenge trials to start in UK

Healthy, young volunteers will be deliberately infected with a low dose of coronavirus.

www.bbc.com

The trials will help scientists work out the smallest amount of coronavirus needed to cause infection, and how the body's immune system reacts to it.

Initially, the study will use the virus that has been circulating in the UK since the pandemic began in March, which is of low risk to healthy adults, to deliberately infect volunteers.

In time, a small numbers of volunteers are likely to be given an approved vaccine and then exposed to the virus, helping scientists to find out the most effective ones.

 

[Geoff.D]

Approval granted for volunteer human challenge trials, which will study the infection process under highly controlled conditions:

Covid-19: World's first human challenge trials to start in UK

Healthy, young volunteers will be deliberately infected with a low dose of coronavirus.

www.bbc.com

Truly brave or must be some of the dumbest people on earth.

 

[Grant]

Truly brave or must be some of the dumbest people on earth.

Without the brave, we would probably still living in caves and huts