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šŸ¦˜Cacatman's Personal Coronavirus COVID-19 Update Thread

Israel's Vaccination Experience
Israel has given the first shot to 4.2 million peopleā€”more than two-thirds of eligible citizens over 16 years oldā€”and a second shot to 2.8 million, according to its health ministry. The country has around 9.3 million citizens.
The study, which involved about 9,000 people, also found a 75% reduction in both symptomatic and asymptomatic infections after the first shot. The study was published as a correspondence, meaning it represents the views of the authors and not the Lancet.
 
Complications - Post Hospital Heart Damage Lingers
Heart damage is present in a significant number of COVID-19 patients after they have been hospitalized with elevated troponin levels, according to new findings published in the European Heart Journal.

The studyā€™s authors used MRI examinations to evaluate 148 COVID-19 patients. All patients had elevated troponin levels and were treated at one of six hospitals in London during the pandemicā€™s first few months. The images were obtained at least one full month following discharge, suggesting the identified damage can remain for a considerable amount of time. Forty healthy volunteers also underwent MRI scans to provide the analysis with a control group.

Overall, signs of heart damageā€”which included inflammation, scarring and restricted blood supply to the heartā€”were present in 54% of patients. The heartā€™s left ventricle did appear to be free of damage and functioning properly for 89% of patients.
 
Anaphylaxis 11.1/million with Pfizer Vaccinations
In general, anaphylaxis occurs in 1.3 per 1 million vaccinations, but it appears to occur somewhat more frequently after COVID-19 vaccination, notes David M. Lang, MD, Chair of the Department of Allergy and Clinical Immunology in Cleveland Clinicā€™s Respiratory Institute.

According to the CDC, 21 cases of anaphylaxis have been reported following the nearly 1.9 million Pfizer-BioNTech vaccinations administered in the U.S. as of Dec. 23, 2020. Thatā€™s a rate of 11.1 per 1 million vaccinations.

Most people didnā€™t have side effects. A little over 50% didnā€™t experience any side effects at all and remember, they were still 94% protected after receiving the vaccine. So, you donā€™t need to worry if you donā€™t have any symptoms after your COVID-19 vaccinations.
 
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And now back to your regularly scheduled programs. šŸ˜

Apologies @cacatman. Couldn't help myself.
 
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Pfizer vs Moderna vs Johnson-Johnson Vaccines

Target population​

The Pfizer vaccine has been authorized for use for people aged 16 and older. Modernaā€™s has been cleared for use in people 18 and older, though the company is now testing its vaccine in 12- to 17-year-olds. J&Jā€™s vaccine has been tested in people 18 and older, and thatā€™s who it was authorized for. Until testing in children and younger teens is conducted, this vaccine wonā€™t be available for use anyone under 18 years old either.

Vaccine efficacy​

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have shown astonishing ā€” and essentially equivalent ā€” degrees of efficacy, at least in the early stages after vaccination.

The Pfizer vaccine showed efficacy of 95% at preventing symptomatic Covid infection after two doses. The vaccine appeared to be more or less equally protective across age groups and racial and ethnic groups.
The Moderna vaccine was 94.1% effective at preventing symptomatic Covid-19 after the second dose. The vaccineā€™s efficacy appeared to be slightly lower in people 65 and older, but during a presentation to the Food and Drug Administrationā€™s advisory committee in December, the company explained that the numbers could have been influenced by the fact there were few cases in that age group in the trial. The vaccine appeared to be equally effective across different ethnic and racial groups.

But comparing the efficacy of those vaccines to the efficacy of Johnson & Johnsonā€™s is challenging because of differences in the designs of the Phase 3 clinical tests ā€” essentially the trials were testing for different outcomes. Pfizerā€™s and Modernaā€™s trials both tested for any symptomatic Covid infection. Pfizer started counting cases from seven days after receipt of the second dose of vaccine, while Moderna waited until day 14 to start counting cases.

J&J, by contrast, sought to determine whether one dose of its vaccine protected against moderate to severe Covid illness ā€” defined as a combination of a positive test and at least one symptom such as shortness of breath, beginning from 14 or 28 days after the single shot. (The company collected data for both.)

Because of the difference in the trials, making direct comparisons is a bit like comparing apples and oranges. Additionally, Pfizer and Modernaā€™s vaccines were tested before the emergence of troubling new variants in Britain, South Africa, and Brazil. Itā€™s not entirely clear how well they will work against these mutated viruses.

The J&J vaccine was still being tested when the variants were making the rounds. Much of the data generated in the South African arm of the J&J trial involved people who were infected with the variant first seen in South Africa, called B.1.351.

The J&J one-dose vaccine was shown to be 66% protective against moderate to severe Covid infections overall from 28 days after injection, though there was variability based on geographic locations. The vaccine was 72% protective in the United States, 66% protective in South America, and 57% protective in South Africa.

But the vaccine was shown to be 85% protective against severe disease, with no differences across the eight countries or three regions in the study, nor across age groups among trial participants. And there were no hospitalizations or deaths in the vaccine arm of the trial after the 28-day period in which immunity developed.

Itā€™s not yet known if any of these vaccines prevent asymptomatic infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Nor is it known if vaccinated people can transmit the virus if they do become infected but donā€™t show symptoms.


 
Masks Do Help!
Our review of the literature offers evidence in favor of widespread mask use as source control to reduce community transmission: Nonmedical masks use materials that obstruct particles of the necessary size; people are most infectious in the initial period postinfection, where it is common to have few or no symptoms (45, 46, 141); nonmedical masks have been effective in reducing transmission of respiratory viruses; and places and time periods where mask usage is required or widespread have shown substantially lower community transmission.

Results from more than 30 studies from around the world were analysed in detail, showing a statistically significant 53% reduction in the incidence of Covid with mask wearing and a 25% reduction with physical distancing.

Handwashing also indicated a substantial 53% reduction in Covid incidence, although this was not statistically significant after adjusting for the small number of handwashing studies included.
 
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