Corona Virus

[WalshFan88]

That's true, UtW. I had forgot that AZ was a two dose system but they were holding off on doses, which is why I think I thought it was a one dose deal.

Here in the States you normally actually can pick your manufacturer, sometimes by choosing where you go to get the shot. Some pharmacies, stores, or health departments are doing one or the other. And now that Biden has opened up the vaccines, you can go anywhere to get it and not on a rollout by your state's department of health. Now with more availability, you can be more "choosy".

I chose a place that gave Moderna which was HyVee, a grocery store/pharmacy chain in the US. It was before it was generally available. At that time they were still following the state department of health's rollout. I qualified under Phase 1c, which is those under 65 with preexisting conditions. Same with my dad. My mom got hers early. She works in a school and was considered an essential worker, so she actually got hers before Phase 1b, which was seniors/above age 65. She was in the Phase 1a here in IL. Gov. Pritzker did a good job with the rollout but I'm glad it's generally available.

I'm not sure that I'm convinced that waiting longer between doses is a good idea or that it's better than the one-month cycle of Moderna and Pfizer if I'm being honest. I think that one shot does NOT offer enough protection, especially if that shot was built for a two dose administration. That seems like an awfully long time to wait with a half-strength dose. Is it better than nothing, of course, but I'd be concerned that for the at-risk people, that wouldn't be enough to keep them from getting ill. I think that seeing how people react to their second doses of Moderna and Pfizer, they are building enough of an immune reaction since there is significantly more side effects after the 2nd administration of the vaccine. I do think the people who have more signs of feeling under the weather the day after the second shot means that they built a stronger reaction than those who got away with nothing more than a sore arm. Only time will tell but I do have a lot of confidence in the mRNA vaccines.

[WalshFan88]

And now J&J's vaccine is on hold in the US while we wait for data about blood clots.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/13/healt...fda/index.html

[UndertheWire]

I think the delayed second dose was the right approach for the UK at the time. Infection rates, hospitalisations and deaths were very high in January and the aim was to give protection to the greatest number of the most vulnerable people as quickly as possible. If you have a vaccine that's 76% effective against symptomatic infection after one does and 86% after two, you can do the maths and work out that if you have 200 does, you can give one dose to 200 people and 152 will be protected whereas if you give two doses, you only protect 86. One thing that has helped is that vaccinations were targeted at the most vulnerable first and delivered in a very efficient way. We're told that 95% of those over 50, as well as other vulnerable groups have had a first dose and increasing numbers are now getting their second. Unfortunately, because of supply problems, people aged 45-49 are only just being offered a first dose this week. The booking and organisation is excellent, just not enough vaccine.

I'm not worried about having to wait for a second dose as it's the first that gives the greatest benefit, but what worried me is the variants. In the last few days we have been hearing of a large number of cases of the SA variant in London and that's the one where the AZ vaccine may be considerably less effective. It doesn't take long for infections to spread from London to the rest of the country.

[WalshFan88]

I think with the ones offered here in the States that are two-dose (Moderna and Pfizer), perhaps it's not as strong on the first dose. I certainly wouldn't ever recommend only getting one. I think the fact people build more of a reaction to the second dose and usually never the first dose is a good sign that the 2nd dose is the one that does the heavy lifting. 95 percent effectiveness is a great metric for Moderna, and that's why I chose that over Pfizer, which last time I checked was 94.5. That's only a .5 percent difference but I felt like with my health I need all the help I can get. Still, they are very comparable. I would have gladly taken the Pfizer if it was between it and J&J. However, I wouldn't have taken J&J's vaccine unless it was the only option here and that it was confirmed to be the only vaccine available going forward at least for the short term. I'm definitely in the "get both doses of the two-dose system" camp for vaccines if you can do it. However if it's one dose or bust, obviously take the one dose. I just worry it's not enough for some.

For most healthy people, the effectiveness of the J&J here in the States is enough to keep you out of the ICU on a vent and keep you protected. If you are healthy, you might get away with no signs or only get very very mild cold-like symptoms if you've been vaccinated with J&J. However, the at risk crowd really needs more effectiveness IMO. It might keep them from dying, but they could still end up very very sick with COVID-19. Of course, if you can only get a one-dose vaccine (and it gets reopened in the US), is it better than nothing absolutely. But I think if at all possible, opt for Moderna first, Pfizer second, and J&J as a last resort. I realize that what I'm saying only applies to those of us in the US and those with multiple clinics. Hopefully a two-dose system will make it's way to other countries soon as I really feel it is the best way to go for the best protection.

I hear Moderna is working on a booster for the variants. Moderna and Pfizer use mRNA methods which can smartly pick up on similarities between the variants and the original, so there will be some degree of coverage against the variants. How much we do not know yet, but it's believed to give some level of protection on the variants. I'll gladly take a Moderna booster (likely one dose) to offer the best protection. The J&J and AZ shots using adenovirus are built to detect the original virus and not pick up on small changes.

[WalshFan88]

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-v...rkGzqUe_4V-FrM

This is excellent news for those that have taken the Moderna vaccine. I will take it as soon as it's available.

[Glennsallnighter]

Still waiting here in Ireland too. Like in the UK we will be told what vaccine we are getting - we don't get to choose. That said I will be happy to take whatever is offered to me. Astrazeneca and probably J&J will only be given to the over 60s due to the fact that the blood clot issues (which are tiny really) seem to effect younger people.
However we have abandoned the idea of prioritising different groups and are now just administering the vaccines on an age sliding scale.
Hoping to get mine by June now ....... but we'll see!!

[Ive always been a dreamer]

Well, here in the U.S., even though we did a horrible job of managing the pandemic in 2020, we were very successful in developing highly effective vaccines. And we have also been very successful in administering the vaccines so far this year. Unfortunately, almost a third of our population still are reluctant to get vaccinated, and, supply will begin to outnumber demand for the vaccine in the very near future. Hopefully, we will turn our efforts now toward eliminating some of this vaccine hesitancy so we can achieve herd immunity and get this virus under control once and for all. And then, we can also begin shipping our vaccines to other countries throughout the world and help eradicate COVID across the globe. Hallelujah! for that day to come!!!