By the Numbers: There are 44,499,305 positive COVID cases and 719,709 deaths. 55.8% of adults fully vaccinated and 64.7% with at least one dose. As of January 1,2021, there were 350,000 COVID deaths.
Pfizer CEO Echoes Moderna Chief. US Should Return To Normal Within The Year: Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said Sunday on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanapoulos that the US should return to normal within the year. Bourla cited the Covid-19 booster shots in his reasoning.
“Finally, Moderna’s CEO said this week that the pandemic is on course to be over in about a year. “I agree that, within a year, I think we will be able to come back to normal life,” Bourla agreed, but added, “I don’t think that this means that variants will not be continuing coming. And I don’t think that this means that we should be able to live our lives without having vaccinations, basically. But that’s – again, remains to be seen.’ Bourla said an annual vaccination would be the mostly likely outcome, much as people get an annual flu vaccine to help battle those disease variants because the virus is spread all over the world, that we will continue seeing new variants that are coming out.”
Moderna CEO, Stéphane Bancel believes we’re looking at another 12 to 18 months of COVID-19 hindering normal life—though a less severe form of the disease will likely circulate around the world “forever.”
At HIMSS21, the global health conference that took place in Las Vegas recently, Bancel went on to predict that booster shots may become a routine part of life for the foreseeable future, not unlike the annual winter flu and flu shots.
“The virus is never going to go away from the planet,” Bancel. said. “The good news is the vaccines are working well at preventing hospitalization and severe disease.”
Dr. Ashish Jha, the dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, stated he doesn't generally take his cues from the CEOs of pharmaceutical companies, but he does agree with the officials from Pfizer and Moderna, the two main vaccine makers, that the coronavirus pandemic could be coming to an end next year. However, Jha stressed getting shots into arms is key to making that happen.
New Johnson & Johnson data shows second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19 – but one dose is still strong against Delta variant: Early clinical trial data released in January 2021 showed that four weeks after the first dose, the Johnson & Johnson single-shot vaccine was 66.3% effective at preventing COVID-19 infection. The initial studies also showed that it was 85% effective at preventing severe or critical disease. On September 21, 2021, Johnson and Johnson announced the results of a large, real-world Phase 3 clinical trail of its COVID-19 vaccine. This study collected data from March 1, 2020, through July 31, 2021, and found that the effectiveness of the vaccine did not diminish over the duration of the study, even after the delta variant became dominant in the U.S. The one-dose vaccine was 79% protective against COVID-19 infections and 81% protective for COVID-19-related hospitalizations. This indicates that a single Johnson & Johnson shot performs well, even in the presence of the delta and other variants.
In addition to the results of the single–shot study, on September 21, 2021, Johnson & Johnson also released data about booster shots. The trial gave people a second dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine either two or six months after the first dose. In both cases, it increased people’s defense against COVID–19.
When given two months after the first dose, protection against moderate to severe disease increased from 85% to 94% and the amount of neutralizing antibodies increased four-fold. If the booster was administered six months after the first shot, antibody levels increased 12-fold, when measured four weeks after the booster was given.
ANTIBODIES IN BREAST MILK CAN REMAIN FOR UP TO 10 MONTHS AFTER COVID INFECTION, STUDY SUGGESTS: The breastmilk of women who have been infected with Covid-19 contains virus-neutralizing antibodies for up to 10 months, according to new research.
The finding suggests that breast milk could play an important role in protecting babies against coronavirus, and could even be used to treat people with severe Covid-19.
Dr. Rebecca Powell from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital led the research,
Powell’s team took breast milk samples from 75 women who had recovered from Covid-19, and found that 88 per cent contained IgA antibodies. In most cases these could block infection because they were capable of neutralizing Sars-CoV-2.
The samples also showed that women continued to secrete the antibodies between 6-10 months after infection, demonstrating the value of human milk to combat future threats.
This research could help the one in 10 infants under the age of one who currently require significant hospital care if they become infected with Covid-19.
Scientists found that in breast milk, there was a 100-fold increase in immunoglobulin A (IgA) antibodies, which play a crucial role in immune function and fighting off infection, following the second dose.
“What is the wait time between the flu shot and a booster?”
The CDC says you no longer need to wait any time between getting a COVID-19 vaccine and any other vaccines, including the flu shot. You can get them on the same day.
Smokers up to 80% more likely to be admitted to hospital with Covid: Dr. Ashley Clift at the University of Oxford and colleagues found that smokers are 60%-80% more likely to be admitted to hospital with Covid-19 and also more likely to die from the disease, data suggests. “The study adds to our confidence that tobacco smoking does not protect against Covid-19” wrote Dr Anthony Laverty and Prof Christopher Millett of Imperial College London in a linked editorial published in the journal Thorax.
An analysis also supported the link between smoking and worse Covid-19 outcomes, finding that a genetic predisposition to smoking was associated with a 45% higher risk of infection and a 60% higher risk of hospital admission for Covid-19.
Clift said: “Our results strongly suggest that smoking is related to your risk of getting severe Covid, and just as smoking affects your risk of heart disease, different cancers, and all those other conditions we know smoking is linked to, it appears that it’s the same for Covid. So now might be as good a time as any to quit cigarettes and quit smoking.”
Fact Check-Pre-print study that claimed 1 in 1,000 risk of myocarditis following COVID-19 vaccine was withdrawn due to miscalculation: A pre-print study which claimed that there is a 1 in 1,000 risk of contracting a heart inflammation condition known as myocarditis has since been retracted due to a miscalculation.
The study which was conducted by researchers at The University of Ottawa Heart Institute, was featured in numerous blogs and social media posts as proof that the COVID-19 vaccine is unsafe for use. This erroneous article created a lot of concern and angst for people considering the vaccine.
The dominator used to calculate the incidence rate of myocarditis in the pre-print study was approximately 25 orders of magnitude off the correct figure.
Meanwhile, numerous blog posts that reported on the study did not issue an update on these blogs regarding the retraction, nor did they mention that this study was a pre-print that had not been peer reviewed.
So, while no vaccine or medication is full proof, the number of myocarditis cases given the number of vaccine doses falls in line with the other medical issues that have been raised over the course of vaccine distribution which is less than 1%.
Fact check: No, natural immunity doesn’t replace vaccination, experts say: The CDC published findings that among Kentucky residents who caught COVID during 2020, the ones that were unvaccinated were more than two times more likely to be re-infected compared to the residents who were fully vaccinated.
COVID-19 infection has been found to weaken your immune response, according to a June study published by the University of Oxford, which could put you at higher risk of catching a variant of COVID-19.
Compared with fully vaccinated people, unvaccinated individuals are also 7 times more likely to catch COVID-19, 25 times more likely to be hospitalized, and 60 times more likely to be in the ICU due to the disease, according to a new report from the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table.
Natural immunity is also a dangerous thing to pursue, doctors warned.
In Alberta, a number of residents ended up in the ICU after reportedly having a COVID party in an intentional bid to contract COVID-19 and gain antibodies against the virus.
“By necessity, to get to immunity, you first have to go through the process of getting the infection. And in the context of COVID-19, obviously, those infections can be very severe and sometimes fatal.” says Dr. Matthew Miller, assistant dean at McMaster University’s department of biochemistry and biomedical sciences. He further states “there’s a huge amount of variability in the strength of immunity that’s conferred by natural infection. We know, for example, that people who have very mild or asymptomatic cases have much lower levels of immunity than people who have had more symptomatic or severe infections.”
Can You Mix Vaccines for Booster Dose? According to official guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, whenever possible, people who received the 2 doses of the Pfizer vaccine should get booster dose if they’re eligible.
Likewise, people who receive the Moderna vaccine should receive two doses from that manufacturer. Federal regulators haven’t yet weighed in on a booster dose for Moderna, but they have approved a third dose of the vaccine for people with weakened immune systems.
As for those vaccinated with Johnson & Johnson they should stick with one dose of their vaccine for now.
“It’s an area of active research, and there’s no specific guidance for it,” said Dr. Angela Branche, an infectious disease expert with the University of Rochester’s School of Medicine.
But experts do now say it’s OK to mix the mRNA vaccines in certain circumstances.
Last winter, the CDC somewhat quietly changed its official stance on mixing and matching vaccines, from a “don’t do it ever” approach to new guidelines that say it’s OK to mix and match the two mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) in “exceptional circumstances.” Like if someone doesn’t know what they got for their first dose. Or if a second dose of the same vaccine is unavailable for some reason.
Until next time, Stay Safe, Stay Well, Practice Mitigation Factors and consider getting vaccinated if you have not already done so.
James A Vito, D.M.D.