Posted on 04/27/2021 7:26:25 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican

Many ill informed and frightened Americans are refusing the COVID-19 vaccines. Its their choice. However there are many Indians who will gladly accept it. Hopefully they will get it lest it goes to waste.
Including many FReepers on this site. I'm glad I took the vaccine. Now I don't have to worry about getting the disease.
—>> “ Many ill informed and frightened Americans are refusing the COVID-19 vaccines.”
Many ill informed and frightened Americans are accepting the COVID-19 vaccines.
It is a experimental therapy.
The Label states such.
The data is having daily issues. Have a look at state by state in today’s numbers. NY had over 110 deaths, and California sub 30? Seriously? Maybe not so hard to do when Los Angeles and San Diego counties do not report.
These numbers look managed to me, and I’ve been watching them for over a year.
Arizona had 40 deaths a week ago, and sub 10 today. But Navajo Nation had over 30.
Michigan was well over 100 again, though this wasn’t that huge a deviation from recent numbers. California clearly bogus.
Regardless, the 7 day average is about as horizontal as you can get, and it is thus at about 35% higher a level than last year’s immediate post Peak low in late June. This likely doesn’t mean the virus is worse now. It more likely means it’s a national reality now rather than just a Northeast regional reality last Spring. So higher numbers.
When Brazil and India strains arrive, this is not going to be pretty.
A lot of people, including FReepers are in denial about this whole covid thing. Hopefully Moderna and Pfizer are working on a booster shot that'll give us protection against those strains. This virus is shaping up to mutate as often as influenza so we'll have to take yearly shots.
You can still get COVID fully vaccinated, just want to let you know.
Or not take them. Many don't get the Flu shots every year. I have never gotten them. I got COVID, it was mild for me, I've had worse seasonal allergy symptoms. I went and got a antibodies test yesterday - awaiting the results to see if I still have them.
It’s not binary. It’s not 0 or 1. When flu shot vaccines are released, they have done a good job of designing it for the strains expected that year.
But “released” is not a discrete date. It’s a process of months. Flu shots are called 40-60% effective. That doesn’t mean if they release in, say, late September, that it’s 40-60% effective then. It means it’s 90% effective in September and 10% effective in February. Averages out to 40-60%.
Same effect now. There are already hints about booster shots, phrased carefully to address fading immunity (and not different strains, as is done for flu).
These vaccines are pretty old now. 5 months, like the Feb vs late September situation.
It's like that for most people. But every now and then, you draw the short straw and it kills you.
Nearly 600,000 have died in a year. That's a significant number.
mRNA technology is supposed to make covid vaccines more effective, so far we’ve seen them do better than AstraZeneca and J&J vaccines. But it’s still early, time will tell.
Pfizer is expected to file for full FDA approval in the next month. Moderna is expected to follow within a few weeks of them. There are no signs they won’t be granted full FDA approval.
When the FDA fully approves these vaccines, this objection vanishes. Do you have another one ready to go? If not, you’ve still got some time to conjure one up.
Not necessarily more effective - per se - but much faster to develop and modify as needed for any future variants that evade the immune system.
It currently takes about 6 months of retooling and manufacturing to bring the seasonal flu vaccine to market, which is why it’s always based on last season’s active strains. It’s also why it’s only about 40-60% effective most years. mRNA vaccines can be prototyped within days. The original Moderna COVID-19 prototype dose was created over a weekend after the release of the original Wuhan SARS-CoV-2 genome. Manufacturing then becomes trivial as you simply alter the nucleotide sequence to match any new variants and all new doses are made with that.
They could put doses for a new variant on store shelves in weeks; not months. And do it cheaper as well. That’s the power of the third generation vaccines on the mRNA platform.
You’re right that it’s possible, but the data from Israel demonstrates that in the real world, it reduces the chances of asymptomatic COVID-19 by 94% and reduces the chances of symptomatic COVID-19 by 97%: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/11/pfizer-covid-vaccine-blocks-94percent-of-asymptomatic-infections-and-97percent-of-symptomatic-cases-in-israeli-study.html
The smallpox vaccine is 95% effective. That was good enough to wipe smallpox off the face of the Earth. It’s gone now. I’m glad I got my COVID-19 vaccine. I rest easier knowing I’ve cut any risks to me and those around me to near zero.
But smallpox was a stable virus, it did not mutate as often as COVID-19.
As much as you have been watching the numbers, I’d think it would be obvious how numbers are being backfilled as states report late. OK for instance, only reports approximately once a week, and their numbers are averaged, with 7 identical days added retroactively. San Diego reports 0 deaths most mondays and many tuesdays now. Florida doesn’t report deaths until they have a death certificate. And yes, CA has the lowest infection and death rates in the nation. Today’s number is not final. Like every day before this, more will be added as states report late.
California’s cases have been steadily dropping since January 14th and deaths since February 1.
The Brazil variant is already in the US (first case Jan 25, 2021, now 2,565 confirmed cases of P.1).
The India variant (B.1.617) arrived in the US Feb 23, 2021 and has 123 confirmed cases here.
Both show some resistance to neutralizing antibodies from the April 2020 and original Wuhan variants, but Pfizer and Moderna are still pretty effective against them. (https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2021/04/20/double-mutant-covid-variant-heres-what-we-know-as-israel-reports-vaccine-efficacy-against-variant-first-detected-in-india/?sh=22ab13db2fb3 and https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-pfizer-brazil/pfizer-biontech-covid-19-vaccine-neutralizes-brazil-variant-in-lab-study-idUSKBN2B02JC and https://www.healthline.com/health-news/covid-19-vaccines-are-still-effective-amid-rising-number-of-variants#Evidence-shows-the-vaccines-work-against-leading-variants)
The vaccines continue to work against all known variants, though effectiveness may be somewhat reduced. Pfizer and Moderna are working on a shot for the fall that will drastically improve effectiveness against the variants. Once they get full FDA approval (should happen this summer), they can more rapidly deploy new “boosters” to combat any new variants that emerge.
True, and we’ll probably need one or two “boosters” (technically not a booster since it’s a slightly modified vaccine) for the variants. Pfizer and Moderna are already testing their’s. Once full FDA approval is granted (likely this summer), they’ll be able to use the vaccine license modification pathway that’s used for seasonal flu shots, which will enable them to put out boosters to combat new variants very fast (as quickly as a few weeks).
There’s no need to worry or panic over any of this. All evidence thus far indicates that we have the upper hand and that we can move more quickly than the virus can adapt. This thing is on its way out.
Biden Administration is disappointed. They're milking this thing for all its worth. If this Wuhan virus never came from China, I think President Trump would get reelected. But that's another topic for a different day.
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