15 states with the new B.1.1.7 strain; FDA, get the AstraZeneca vaccine approved!

Discussion in 'Coronavirus Pandemic Discussions' started by CenterField, Jan 17, 2021.

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  1. CenterField

    CenterField Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    OK, the CDC said that by March the more infectious B.1.1.7 strain will be the dominant strain in the United States.

    https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7003e2.htm?s_cid=mm7003e2_w

    As of yesterday, it had been found in 15 states:

    Utah, New Mexico, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Maryland, Indiana, Minnesota, Connecticut, Texas, Pennsylvania, Georgia, New York, Florida, California, and Colorado.

    https://bestlifeonline.com/new-covid-strain-states/

    In some other regions of the world, we've seen this strain getting from one case to dominant status in three weeks. It is about 56% more contagious. There is no evidence that it is more lethal or causes more serious disease, and there is evidence that both the Moderna and the Pfizer vaccine are protective against it. However, the concern is that since it spreads faster, it will contribute to overwhelming the healthcare system. Certain areas like Arizona are reaching capacity, and the new strain hasn't even be found in Arizona yet; when it gets there, Arizona will be in more trouble.

    One big problem is that by now everybody is sick and tired of epidemiological precautions and prone to dropping them. It should be the opposite, since now we are facing an even more infectious virus. So we should become more careful, not less; but my hope for that is slim.

    Given that epidemiological precautions are not very likely to stop this strain, what we need is faster rollout of the vaccines. We need to be vaccinating at least 1 million people per day, ideally 2 million, but we're vaccinating about 400,000 per day. More needs to be done. Get the National Guard involved, train more people to administer the vaccine, do a huge push in all levels (federal, state, county), get Moderna and Pfizer to produce more... And at this time I'd accelerate the approval process and issue an EUA for the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.

    We are in a race against the virus. Several reputable countries have approved the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine already. It is already being used in millions of people. Sure, the company botched their trial with the different dose strengths and the different intervals between doses 1 and 2, which caused the delay for the American approval: the FDA wants to see a new trial with standard doses and interval. But even if the efficacy is as low as 62% like in one of the AstraZeneca data sets (in all other data sets it's higher than that), it does seem that for the 48% that receive this vaccine but still catch the virus, the resulting illness is not serious or fatal and doesn't require hospitalization, so there is at least partial protection. We've approved flu vaccines with lower efficacy than 62%, and the FDA has established that 50% is the minimum threshold. So, get it done, FDA!

    See, Oxford/AstraZeneca is the maker we contracted the most with, pre-ordering 300 million doses (while we pre-ordered only 100 million from Pfizer and Moderna each, initially).

    So at this point and facing the rapid spread of the more infectious strain, we should be getting those 300 million Oxford/AstraZeneca doses. The FDA must speed this up.
     
    Last edited: Jan 17, 2021
  2. Eleuthera

    Eleuthera Well-Known Member Donor

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    Goody, more advertising rhetoric from Pharma....
     
  3. CenterField

    CenterField Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Typo in my post that I've just noticed - I meant 38% that received the Oxford/AstraZeneca shot but still caught the virus, rather than 48%.
     
    Last edited: Jan 20, 2021

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