Covid-19 Vaccines - Updates And Questions

Rihana · Dec 13, 2020

Hopikrishnan said: ↑

Couple of happy, useful things to see:
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I happened to read about that yesterday when I was starting the thread. Felt very nice to read that the Serum Institute of India is already mass producing the AstraZeneca version. And that India will deploy its vast election machinery to deliver 600 million doses of the vaccine to the ones who need it first. Something about the election infrastructure being useful in this way was an uplifting feeling.

Rihana · Dec 13, 2020

OK looks like it is easier to ask here than search in Google for answer.

Since taking the vaccine cannot be made compulsory at least for a long time, here's my ignoramus question: With the flu shot, even if one takes it, one can still get the flu as each year's flu shot does not provide protection against all possible strains of the virus. Could this "not all strains covered" thing apply to the Covid vaccine also?

MalStrom · Dec 13, 2020

Rihana said: ↑

OK looks like it is easier to ask here than search in Google for answer.

Since taking the vaccine cannot be made compulsory at least for a long time, here's my ignoramus question: With the flu shot, even if one takes it, one can still get the flu as each year's flu shot does not provide protection against all possible strains of the virus. Could this "not all strains covered" thing apply to the Covid vaccine also?
Click to expand...

Covid-19 is a novel coronavirus and the antibody is being made against its unique spike proteins. So this particularly antibody is highly effective against Covid-19. This virus also doesn’t mutate as rapidly as the flu virus so far, so it is more encouraging as an antibody target. The flu virus is an elusive target because it can mutate very quickly.
You can certainly get infected with other coronavirus strains but those are already floating around and do not appear to cause lethal infections. The long term efficacy of the Covid-19 vaccine is not yet known. It is possible that we may need to get annual shots and it may need to be tweaked if the virus evolves.

Hopikrishnan · Dec 13, 2020

Rihana said: ↑

OK looks like it is easier to ask here than search in Google for answer.
Since taking the vaccine cannot be made compulsory at least for a long time, here's my ignoramus question: With the flu shot, even if one takes it, one can still get the flu as each year's flu shot does not provide protection against all possible strains of the virus. Could this "not all strains covered" thing apply to the Covid vaccine also?
Click to expand...

That is a journalist sort of question to supply answers for the readers, no matter what one's own information or presumptions are.
So far as said in post #13, the virus has been slow to mutate into lethal and more virulent strains. Although it has jumped from bat to people, then people to mink, and cats, it has low infection mortality rate. We wouldn't know what the future holds. In the meantime, there is no point in worrying too much.

Many may have already seen this video:

ashima10 · Dec 13, 2020

Hi guys. I didn't tell anybody but I volunteered for the Russian vaccine trials for C-19.

I received my first shot today and wanted to let you know that it’s completely safe with иo side effects whatsoeveя. It has really boošteđ my immuniķişhty and that I feelshκι χoρoshό я чувствую себя немного странно и я думаю, что вытащил ослиные уши

ashima10 · Dec 13, 2020

Apologizing in advance ! The non sense that i m!

Laks09 · Dec 13, 2020

MalStrom said: ↑

It is possible that we may need to get annual shots and it may need to be tweaked if the virus evolves
Click to expand...

I hate this possibility the most. I can’t imagine taking a crying, screaming, kicking, dodging, anxiety ridden kid to the pediatrician’s office to get a shot. My ped told me to skip the flu shots because it was just not worth the fight. I hope efficacy is better for the covid-19 shot.

On a different note, I was reading up on availability. Kids younger than 12 are currently not even in the horizon for getting this? When will the pediatric tests be complete? Elementary age kids not getting it will be a problem because they seem to be the asymptomatic carriers.

MalStrom · Dec 13, 2020

Laks09 said: ↑

I hate this possibility the most. I can’t imagine taking a crying, screaming, kicking, dodging, anxiety ridden kid to the pediatrician’s office to get a shot. My ped told me to skip the flu shots because it was just not worth the fight. I hope efficacy is better for the covid-19 shot.

On a different note, I was reading up on availability. Kids younger than 12 are currently not even in the horizon for getting this? When will the pediatric tests be complete? Elementary age kids not getting it will be a problem because they seem to be the asymptomatic carriers.
Click to expand...

It may take a long time for this vaccine to be approved for kids. Medical experts tend to be extremely conservative with the pediatric population.
Since the current avatar of Covid-19 is not as serious in children as in older people the hope is that the herd immunity achieved by vaccinating sufficient numbers of the adult population will make it safe for everyone else. Children who are in risk groups will likely have to continue taking precautions.

Hopikrishnan · Dec 14, 2020

OK... I wanted to know how the devil one would stick a vaccine stored at -70C into a person who is warm blooded, prone to frost bites. Obviously there has to be a clever procedure.

I cringed when reading the procedure to inject that darn pfizer vaccine into a client.

The vials are to be stored between -60C to -80C temperature by the outfit that received it.
Then vials (required for dispensing) are taken out, put in a regular fridge and thawed.
And then it is diluted with 1.8 mL of 0.9% Sodium Chloride solution, followed by use within 6 hours.
A 0.3mL of the diluted vaccine is taken in a syringe and injected into the client (intra muscular injection).

Pfizer says get your own Sodium Chloride solution (not provided). This is like a Christmas toy with "batteries not provided" instruction.
This mixing a non-pfizer thing with a pfizer thing made me worry. Should I worry ?

Here is the print-out of the handling, diluting, and injecting procedure. Look at the pictures also:
https://www.fda.gov/media/144413/download

MalStrom · Dec 14, 2020

Hopikrishnan said: ↑

OK... I wanted to know how the devil one would stick a vaccine stored at -70C into a person who is warm blooded, prone to frost bites. Obviously there has to be a clever procedure.

I cringed when reading the procedure to inject that darn pfizer vaccine into a client.

The vials are to be stored between -60C to -80C temperature by the outfit that received it.
Then vials (required for dispensing) are taken out, put in a regular fridge and thawed.
And then it is diluted with 1.8 mL of 0.9% Sodium Chloride solution, followed by use within 6 hours.
A 0.3mL of the diluted vaccine is taken in a syringe and injected into the client (intra muscular injection).

Pfizer says get your own Sodium Chloride solution (not provided). This is like a Christmas toy with "batteries not provided" instruction.
This mixing a non-pfizer thing with a pfizer thing made me worry. Should I worry ?

Here is the print-out of the handling, diluting, and injecting procedure. Look at the pictures also:
https://www.fda.gov/media/144413/download
Click to expand...

This is a very standard procedure we follow in the lab for handling mRNA and many frozen reagents. Nobody is going to be injecting table salt mixed with tap water. Sterile medical-grade sodium chloride vials are standard diluents made by many manufacturers and any healthcare facility will be equipped to use them.