You got me there. Greek and Latin and double dutch to me.sanjaykumar wrote:Ca+2 influx is important/critical to many cellular functions include clonal expansion/immune activation, EDTA is a chelator of divalent metal cations, the local availability of Ca+2 may be restricted at a certain local EDTA concentration. EDTA is used in vaccine formulations.
The half-dose regimen wasn’t tested on anyone over 55 — the group considered at high risk from COVID-19.
Ultimately, 1,367 trial participants — none of them over 55 — received the half-dose/full-dose regimen. Two full doses were given to 4,440 adult participants, from all age groups.
(In any case 95% or even 90% is nothing to sneeze at - in fact is is much better than anyone expected 6 months ago)The data is currently being evaluated by Britain’s independent medicines regulator, provides “100 percent protection” against severe COVID disease requiring hospitalization.
It is important from the point of view of what dosage ends up getting actually used in the end. There was an article in the news recently that India will most likely not approve low/high dosage as AZ has not gone through the trials with this regiment. If true, then it is not appropriate to use the data from low/high or even the average when communicating the level of protection offered by it. However, it is heartening to hear that even with high/high dosage there is a sharp drop in hospitalization.Amber G. wrote:Vayutuvan: Wrt to low dose vs full dose - what some experts say - described in simpler terms:
One way to explain is the immune system’s response to the chimpanzee virus. The vaccine triggers a reaction not only to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, but also to components of the viral vector. It’s possible that the full first dose blunted this reaction
By giving a half-dose first, it is possible that AstraZeneca got the "right dosing".
Some, who have worked with this type of vaccine do say that they are not surprised and have see this before in their lab/studies.
(Also a low first dose can lead to better protection than a high first dose because a lower first dose leads more quickly to the establishment of ‘memory’ immune cells that are triggered by a second-dose boost. -- Waiting longer between the two doses could achieve the same effect per them - as they have seen such results - Remember people have worked with this type of vector vaccine)..
To me what is important, is the data seem pretty good. (This view is shared by people who I respect).
(Another aspect - "this (low dose) has not been "tested" in xyz condition" is not really that significant - As I said before it is not a safety issue).
Translation: Calcium ions (Ca 2+) are critical for some celluar functions in human body. The chemical EDTA which is used in vaccine formuations, tends to attract and bond Calcium ions thus reducing their *local* availability for certain concentrations of EDTA (which can cause issues).Vayutuvan wrote:You got me there. Greek and Latin and double dutch to me.sanjaykumar wrote:Ca+2 influx is important/critical to many cellular functions include clonal expansion/immune activation, EDTA is a chelator of divalent metal cations, the local availability of Ca+2 may be restricted at a certain local EDTA concentration. EDTA is used in vaccine formulations.
The two-day end-to-end dry run was being carried out in Krishna district in Andhra Pradesh, in Rajkot and Gandhinagar in Gujarat, Ludhiana and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar (Nawanshahr) in Punjab and Sonitpur and Nalbari districts in Assam.
It is being conducted to test the laid out mechanisms for COVID-19 vaccination in the states and provide insights into any gaps to be addressed before the commencement of the actual vaccination drive, according to officials.
They said said the exercise tested the functionality of Co-WIN, which is an online platform for monitoring the delivery of COVID-19 vaccine, deployment of team members, checking cold storage, transportation arrangements and other arrangements while following all necessary protocols.
Krishna district Collector A Md Imtiyaz, who inaugurated the dry run at the urban primary health centre at Prakash Nagar in Vijayawada, said 'the (dummy) vaccine was transported from the central storage facility to cold chain points at various places'.
Nth time: - it is not helpful, indeed it is some what wrong (IMO)) to keep repeating such "news"/rumors ..In any case low/high dose regiment is going to be approved by GoI in a short time - per *all* reputable reports....There was an article in the news recently that India will most likely not approve low/high dosage as AZ has not gone through the trials with this regiment. If true,
To be clear: It is true that although the correct dosing was discovered due to "error" but the whole process, is of course, not some work done "blindly" - The work is based on solid science and data and hence the confidence and all this excitement.India is likely to see the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine approved for EUA.. as ..data submitted by Serum Institute of India (SII) appears satisfactory...
That is certainly helpful. Even padyams in Andhramahabharatam (written in my mother tongue Telugu) require pratipadaartham and taatparyam for me to understand.SriKumar wrote:Translation: Calcium ions (Ca 2+) are critical for some celluar functions in human body. The chemical EDTA which is used in vaccine formuations, tends to attract and bond Calcium ions thus reducing their *local* availability for certain concentrations of EDTA (which can cause issues).
Did you even read the TOI news report in full? Scroll down to where it says the following, "In India, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) is likely to approve the vaccine only in two full doses".Amber G. wrote: Nth time: - it is not helpful, indeed it is some what wrong (IMO)) to keep repeating such "news"/rumors ..In any case low/high dose regiment is going to be approved by GoI in a short time - per *all* reputable reports.
No, I missed that. (I was just mentioning that the news is now being covered by many mainstream papers as the headline came in google news - this was by *no means* source of what I was reporting or - even something I normally read). In any case, I am fairly confident that whatever ToI thinks "CDSCO is "likely to do" does not matter much. India does have competent scientists and they are going to do the right thing. They are going to make decision given by the data and science. ( the updated data has gotten to them only recently).Raja wrote: .. Scroll down to where it says the following, "In India, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) is likely to approve the vaccine only in two full doses".
I am happy to be wrong about it though.
)Everything around AstraZeneca vaccine is *bizarre* and *strangely suspicious*. It is bizarre because very large publicly listed companies like AstraZeneca are very careful about messaging, especially about its reputation when the entire world is tracking companies' vaccine developments. Yes, creating a new vaccine with right dosage amount can be more than rocket science. I'm sure ICMR has its own protocol and data verification, but whenever there is UK involved, "trust but double verify". For AstraZeneca, it begins with confusing dosage experiments, mixed messages on the outcome of the results, lack of publication of data. They appear to be not targeting there vaccine for the European market, why?? I hope that there is no wicked plan of facilitating an approval in India and thereby using mass vaccination effort in India as "trial phase 4"...Here is ToI item from today:
Covid-19: Oxford vaccine may get nod in a few days
“They have not even filed an application with us yet”, Wathion said in an interview with Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad published on Tuesday.
“Not even enough to warrant a conditional marketing licence”, he said. “We need additional data about the quality of the vaccine. And after that, the company has to formally apply.”
They could have checked out my post (<just a few posts above>) in brf (and could easily verify) that EU market has 400 million doses commitment/preordered !They appear to be not targeting there vaccine for the European market, why??
]It'd be news if California, or any populated area in thr world that has a decent outbreak, doesn't have the UK variant. It's just a matter of whether it's been detected yet, the question of presence, IMO, is not really a question.Amber G. wrote:I don’t have a firsthand knowledge / talked with a direct source but there is a lot of chatter that a California group has uncovered a new UK SARSCoV2 variant in US. Not published/officially reported yet but I think as public has a right to know about more infectiously transmissible variants as soon as possible, so if verified, I hope they report is soon rather waiting for publishing (and doing diligent checking).
California, especially southern California, is quite bad.. ICU's are reaching near 100% capacity --Most doctors, by now has (or will soon get) gotten vaccines (including Moderna ) though.
Stay safe!Amber G. wrote:ToI writers/editors do not disappoint with their idiocy and prejudices. ( One still sees occasional articles about India's covid efforts just in the lens of Islamaphobic/blame on it's minority). Any way just to take one small point...They could have checked out my post (<just a few posts above>) in brf (and could easily verify) that EU market has 400 million doses commitment/preordered !They appear to be not targeting there vaccine for the European market, why??
Amber G. wrote:I don’t have a firsthand knowledge / talked with a direct source but there is a lot of chatter that a California group has uncovered a new UK SARSCoV2 variant in US. Not published/officially reported yet but I think as public has a right to know about more infectiously transmissible variants as soon as possible, so if verified, I hope they report is soon rather waiting for publishing (and doing diligent checking).
FWIW Wpost and a few newspapers are now doing "breaking News" ..Interesting .. I posted (while replying to Vayutuvan's query about why people think how/low dose worked better etc)vera_k wrote:Efficacy of Oxford jabs at 95% if given 3 months apart
This is potentially good news. However manufacturing this vaccine appears to have been paused for the past few months.
..Amber G. wrote:Vayutuvan: Wrt to low dose vs full dose - what some experts say - described in simpler terms:
<snip>
(Also a low first dose can lead to better protection than a high first dose because a lower first dose leads more quickly to the establishment of ‘memory’ immune cells that are triggered by a second-dose boost. -- Waiting longer between the two doses could achieve the same effect per them - as they have seen such results - Remember people have worked with this type of vector vaccine)..
To me what is important, is the data seem pretty good. (This view is shared by people who I respect).
(Another aspect - "this (low dose) has not been "tested" in xyz condition" is not really that significant - As I said before it is not a safety issue).
where did you see this?vera_k wrote:Efficacy of Oxford jabs at 95% if given 3 months apart
This is potentially good news. However manufacturing this vaccine appears to have been paused for the past few months.
The company has manufactured 40-50 million doses so far and would sell these shots primarily in India initially.
“For the first month, we may give most of the volumes to India because if we have to export, we have to go through the WHO pre-qualification procedure, which may take another month or so," Poonawalla said.
The company is manufacturing 50-60 million doses of Covishield a month and will increase its capacity to 100 million doses by March after commissioning its third plant. Poonawalla said he expects a shortage of vaccines in the first six months, but after that, as more vaccine manufacturers’ products are launched, the supply-demand mismatch will ease.
Well, it's a lot cheaper both to purchase and to transport/store than the Pfizer/Moderna ones, so naturally it'd have an advantage in poorer countries. Also, phase 4 trials are by definition done on the general public after a medication/vaccine is approved for use by the general public, so nothing conspiratorial there.chanakyaa wrote:Everything around AstraZeneca vaccine is *bizarre* and *strangely suspicious*. It is bizarre because very large publicly listed companies like AstraZeneca are very careful about messaging, especially about its reputation when the entire world is tracking companies' vaccine developments. Yes, creating a new vaccine with right dosage amount can be more than rocket science. I'm sure ICMR has its own protocol and data verification, but whenever there is UK involved, "trust but double verify". For AstraZeneca, it begins with confusing dosage experiments, mixed messages on the outcome of the results, lack of publication of data. They appear to be not targeting there vaccine for the European market, why?? I hope that there is no wicked plan of facilitating an approval in India and thereby using mass vaccination effort in India as "trial phase 4"...Here is ToI item from today:
Covid-19: Oxford vaccine may get nod in a few days
AstraZeneca vaccine not ready for quick European approval, watchdog official says“They have not even filed an application with us yet”, Wathion said in an interview with Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad published on Tuesday.“Not even enough to warrant a conditional marketing licence”, he said. “We need additional data about the quality of the vaccine. And after that, the company has to formally apply.”
Inferring from timeline committed in the past.vijayk wrote:where did you see this?
So, AstraZeneca/Oxford's shot finally gets the nod. Hopefully only a matter of days before emergency authorized in India?AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine has been approved for emergency supply in the UK, with the first doses being released today so that vaccinations may begin early in the New Year.
The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has provided authorisation for emergency supply of COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca, formerly AZD1222, for the active immunisation of individuals 18 years or older. The authorisation recommends two doses administered with an interval of between four and 12 weeks. This regimen was shown in clinical trials to be safe and effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19, with no severe cases and no hospitalisations more than 14 days after the second dose.
. No matter, ended up getting the Pfizer shot last week. I would have had no problem with getting the AstraZeneca jab, given the good efficacy at preventing severe disease (that's the biggest selling point of these vaccines imho). But I have little confidence in any of the Chinese vaccines (w/ their sparse data transparency)- no thanks.Very interesting strategy, and certainly the opposite of what is happening in the US.Throughout this global pandemic we have always been guided by the latest scientific advice. Having studied evidence on both the Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccines, the JCVI has advised the priority should be to give as many people in at-risk groups their first dose, rather than providing the required two doses in as short a time as possible.
Everyone will still receive their second dose and this will be within 12 weeks of their first. The second dose completes the course and is important for longer term protection.
From today the NHS across the UK will prioritise giving the first dose of the vaccine to those in the most high-risk groups. With two vaccines now approved, we will be able to vaccinate a greater number of people who are at highest risk, protecting them from the disease and reducing mortality and hospitalisation.
The JCVI’s independent advice is that this approach will maximise the benefits of both vaccines. It will ensure that more at-risk people are able to get meaningful protection from a vaccine in the coming weeks and months, reducing deaths and starting to ease pressure on our NHS.
Not just the UAE but seemingly most of the muslim bloc are all in with the chini vaccines.Amber G. wrote:Meanwhile NYTimes etc are reporting that -
(Few points from the story - few points/my understanding - read the full article for details)
Sinopharm reports its inactivated virus COVID19 vaccine had a 79% efficacy rate in interim late-stage trials.
(Last month, UAE Flag of United Arab Emirates reported Sinopharm’s vaccine had 86% efficacy (100% for moderate/severe COVID)
Apparently UAE officials have already begun to use the Sinopharm vaccine as of last month based on its earlier 86% efficacy numbers.
Sinopharm vaccine does not require freezing.
“The analysis shows no serious safety concerns,” the UAE Ministry of Health said, adding that the findings showed the vaccine was 100 percent effective in preventing moderate and severe cases of covid-19.
====
From what I know - Sinopharm has 2 diff vaccine candidates. But from NYTimes (or WaPost) article it is not clear which is which — if same vaccine or diff. Wished they had better clear reporting on this detail. (data on Chinese websites etc is pretty difficult to get and trust from my side is low too).
The six people affected were Indian citizens. Most airlines are asking for a recent (1or two day prior) test before allowing anyone on board.Zynda wrote:Apparently, so far there have been 6 cases of newer strain of Covid detected in India (mostly all 6 are UK returnees I think) & 3 of them are in Karnataka. Why the hell is UK not imposing a travel ban on its citizens? As usual, many of the returnees at the airport are providing incorrect addresses & telephone/mobile numbers making tracing challenging. Unless there are very serious side effects from the vaccines, Indians will get it or have to get it...I know some of the more accurate & reliable models are predicting very low number of cases in India by March, but not sure if they considered or accounted this new super infectious strain.