Coronavirus Tidbits #103 12/13/20
Quick links
News Diagnostics Drugs Devices Epidemiology/Infection control Tips Politics Feel good du jour Comic relief Perspective/Poem Bits of beauty
Announcements:
First, there is now a Resources Page here for the most commonly asked questions I’m getting.
Happy to continue to answer your questions/concerns as best I can, so don’t be shy about that.
New post:
Genes May Hold Key To New Treatments For Covid-19 Infections
Exciting work shows why some people become deathly ill and others remain asymptomatic. https://bit.ly/3gHrwz9
News
It’s interesting that Allegany and Garrett Counties have the highest Covid-19 rates in Maryland yet we are not designated to receive the Pfizer vax initially. Not surprising, but curious whether it is just ignoring the needs of rural America again.
Or perhaps it is related to all the Covid deniers and anti-maskers like this one:
Allegany County, Maryland Commissioner Creade Brodie Jr. had no interest in doing his job & wants you to stay home rather than address the virus killing your neighbors. This is how our small town politicians are talking about public health, @GovLarryHogan pic.twitter.com/nLBUGPo78S
— Cassie Conklin (@conklin_cassie) December 6, 2020
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And while cases skyrocket all over the country, we have this sort of info suppression:
I've always been HONEST about what I'm experiencing as an ER doctor on the frontlines of the pandemic, but @YumaRegional wants to SUPPRESS the TRUTH. Healthcare providers must be able to communicate with the public during a deadly pandemic. @jamielandersxhttps://t.co/SsudtWZnFv
— Cleavon MD (@Cleavon_MD) December 11, 2020
and Rebekah Jones’ (@GeoRebekah) home being raided.
Jones said the computers and phone seized from her home by state police Monday could expose her sources in the government to retaliation.(CNN)
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Interesting perspective on Biden’s appointments for health care:
“underscores how Biden has based his highest-profile health selections more on leadership and managerial ability than on health care expertise. And amid a devastating global pandemic, Biden may be taking the long view on health care, tapping a health secretary capable of seeing past the pandemic to address issues like Affordable Care Act protections or even high drug prices.”
https://www.statnews.com/2020/12/08/biden-health-picks-signals-covid-19/?
Diagnostics:
still an incredible, negligent lack of accurate, rapid testing.
Drugs:
Good news – Pfizer’s vaccine receives FDA approval!
Yes, there will be unpleasant side effects and some unexpected bad news along the way…but given how devastating Covid is, I am thrilled to see such progress in such a very short time.
I had expressed some of my own concerns @Forbes in https://bit.ly/381LAbN
Some of my biggest questions have been answered; others will be as they accrue more patients.
Now our task (besides getting access to it) is to help reassure and encourage folks to take the vaccine.
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“While Pfizer’s vaccine requires 2 doses, strong protection of about 82% occurred after the first doses…Akiko Iwasaki, PhD, an immunobiologist, said one striking finding was that people were protected as early as 12 to 13 days following the first dose. She added that high affinity antibodies and longer-term immunity will likely require the second dose and that all vaccines should stick to the two-dose regimen.
the FDA’s analysis shows that the vaccine also seems to provide equal protection among other groups at risk for more severe disease, including Blacks, Latinos, and those who are obese.
Pfizer gave US officials an option to request 100 million to 500 million more doses and warned that demand could outstrip supply” (Trump chose not to)
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At the @US_FDA advisory meeting, good information about the different monitoring systems that will be used to track adverse events. It's inevitable some people will get sick after vaccination – whether the vaccine caused that or not will require careful investigation. pic.twitter.com/B3DFCXtcMO
— Dr. Tom Frieden (@DrTomFrieden) December 10, 2020
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The People’s Vaccine—Moderna’s Coronavirus Vaccine Was Largely Funded By Taxpayer Dollars
I wrote about this @Forbes bit.ly/37xBK14; I expect it to be approved this coming week by the FDA.
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Derek Lowe wrote a breakdown on AstraZeneca’s vaccine here:
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https://twitter.com/MamaDoctorJones/status/1336540981638868992?s=20
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How it started How it's going pic.twitter.com/ahKxcWn6z9
— Carl Zimmer (@carlzimmer) December 12, 2020
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Scathing review of the FDA’s taking 3 weeks to confirm Pfizer’s data, a process that usually takes months: https://www.medpagetoday.com/blogs/marty-makary/90080?
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t…and a lot of this comes back to the vaccine having been so politicized through Operation Warp Speed–a name that was colossally stupid.
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And a good perspective on why the FDA might want to tread slowly and cautiously with a totally new type of vaccine…this is definitely worth a read:
Covid-19 vaccine safety and the public trust: lessons from Paul Meier and polio
https://www.statnews.com/2020/12/07/covid-19-vaccine-safety-lessons-paul-meier-polio/?
Devices:
How COVID-19 Vaccines Will Get from the Factory to Your Community
The two major U.S. developers of the early COVID-19 vaccines are Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna. They both developed mRNA vaccines, a relatively new type of vaccine. A major supply chain issue is the temperature requirement for these vaccines.
Moderna’s vaccine can remain at minus 4 F for up to six months, and then for a month in a refrigerator, according to the company. Pfizer says its vaccine has a shorter shelf life of five days after being transferred from ultracold storage to a refrigerator, leaving a short window to administer the vaccines.
Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech use different distribution strategies because of different requirements for their vaccines, and Moderna’s participation in Operation Warp Speed. The Conversation US,
Epidemiology/Infection control:
Racial disparities in severe COVID risk were substantial:
— Atul Gawande (@Atul_Gawande) December 9, 2020
Non-white vs white essential workers = 2.4X risk
Non-white vs white non-essential workers = 3.3X risk pic.twitter.com/npcvJhAPH0
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Nice (and useful!) Dataviz from NPR and U Minn re hospital occupancy
You’ll want to bookmark this:
Also:
- World map with country-by-country counts of new cases, new cases per 100,000 residents, total cases and total cases per 100,000
- Heat map indicating COVID risk level by four color-coded categories
NPR started the series in the spring and has archived it as an ongoing collection.
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New online COVID-19 mortality risk calculator could help determine who should get vaccines first
Calculator generates mortality risk estimates for individuals and communities based on sociodemographic info and medical history
Risk Calculator = https://covid19risktools.com:8443/riskcalculator
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-12/jhub-sb121120.php
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Think children have no problems from Covid? Small study…but
Elevated biomarker for blood vessel damage found in all children with SARS-CoV-2
Study found high proportion of children with SARS-CoV-2 infection met clinical criteria for thrombotic microangiopathy
https://www.eurekalert.org/
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Healthcare workers 7 times as likely to have severe COVID-19 as other workers
And risk twice as high for those with jobs in social care and transport sectors
https://www.eurekalert.org/
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COVID-19 found in the cornea: Are transplants a transmission risk?
A multi-institutional study finds that COVID-19 can be found in post-mortem corneal tissue, highlighting the importance of the donor screening process
Tips, general reading for public:
StayAtHome
Wash your hands.
Rinse and repeat.
Politics:
Everyone at the negotiating table—including Senate Rs—has agreed to a compromise. Except one. Mitch McConnell is refusing to bring it to the floor unless it wipes away all COVID-related lawsuits filed that “allege injury or death” due to corporate negligence. (3/5)
— Rep. Katie Porter (@RepKatiePorter) December 9, 2020
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Signing this seditious, anti-democratic, anti-American document should be their political obituary—and the first line of their real obituaries. https://t.co/tn54LnZRD3
— Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) December 11, 2020
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Worth looking at the whole thread. start here:
https://twitter.com/GrassrootsSpeak/status/1336713647050153984?s=20
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Anne Frank memorial in Idaho defaced with Nazi swastika stickers https://t.co/Xrj9ZJIwon
— Larry Lynam (@scopedbylarry) December 10, 2020
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CDC official tells Congress she was told to delete email seeking to alter scientific report https://t.co/j7qrz91oAz pic.twitter.com/ajPVLDJMjB
— The Hill (@thehill) December 10, 2020
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Trevor Noah nails it.
https://twitter.com/TheDailyShow/status/1337004636394369024s=20
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Several state officials said they will not comply with a new CDC requirement to submit personal information of people receiving COVID-19 vaccines, including names, birth dates, ethnicities, and addresses. (New York Times)
Feel good du jour:
Thinkin’ about this pony working up the courage to jump over a tiny step pic.twitter.com/CwtSzc46XT
— Nerd Girl Says (@Rachael_Conrad) December 8, 2020
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Meet the scientist painter who turns deadly viruses into beautiful works of art https://t.co/TslVRasAmF
— onisillos sekkides (@onisillos) December 10, 2020
Comic relief:
Lucy has a take on this … pic.twitter.com/Vobfmw0nqA
— John Treacy (@jvtreacy) December 12, 2020
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https://twitter.com/MackayIM/status/1337002564588486657?s=20
The translation of this is pretty amusing…
Perspective/Poem
Leadership:
"I really am sorry, from the bottom of my heart. But if the price we pay is 590 deaths a day then this in unacceptable."
— DW News (@dwnews) December 9, 2020
German Chancellor Angela Merkel begs Germans to follow coronavirus restrictions in an unusually emotional appeal ahead of Christmas. pic.twitter.com/dNRge9cvdJ
Bits of beauty:
While this pic is blurry, it was really nice to have a virtual Chanukah candle lighting with my friends in Lancaster; I actually feel more connected and with some sense of community than pre-Zoom. Grateful for this unexpected gift.
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