Viruses / Vaccines 2

hedonist

Hope it passes quickly, mickey. Feel better!

mickeyrat

not sure this belongs here exactly but.....

https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-public-rochelle-walensky-843cd83bf1d616846ff455f7f5f0d30d

 

COVID-19 Government and politics Public health Rochelle Walensky Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

CDC director announces shake-up, citing COVID mistakes

By MIKE STOBBE

Today

NEW YORK (AP) — The head of the nation's top public health agency on Wednesday announced a shake-up of the organization, saying it fell short responding to COVID-19 and needs to become more nimble.

The planned changes at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — CDC leaders call it a “reset”— come amid criticism of the agency's response to COVID-19, monkeypox and other public health threats. The changes include internal staffing moves and steps to speed up data releases.

The CDC's director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, told the agency's staff about the changes on Wednesday. It's a CDC initiative, and was not directed by the White House or other administration officials, she said.

“I feel like it's my my responsibility to lead this agency to a better place after a really challenging three years,” Walensky told The Associated Press.

The Atlanta-based agency, with a $12 billion budget and more than 11,000 employees, is charged with protecting Americans from disease outbreaks and other public health threats. It’s customary for each CDC director to do some reorganizing, but Walensky’s action comes amid a wider demand for change.

The agency has long been criticized as too ponderous, focusing on collection and analysis of data but not acting quickly against new health threats. Public unhappiness with the agency grew dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts said the CDC was slow to recognize how much virus was entering the U.S. from Europe, to recommend people wear masks, to say the virus can spread through the air, and to ramp up systematic testing for new variants.

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“We saw during COVID that CDC’s structures, frankly, weren’t designed to take in information, digest it and disseminate it to the public at the speed necessary,” said Jason Schwartz, a health policy researcher at the Yale School of Public Health.

Walensky, who became director in January 2021, has long said the agency has to move faster and communicate better, but stumbles have continued during her tenure. In April, she called for an in-depth review of the agency, which resulted in the announced changes.

"It’s not lost on me that we fell short in many ways” responding to the coronavirus, Walensky said. "We had some pretty public mistakes, and so much of this effort was to hold up the mirror ... to understand where and how we could do better."

Her reorganization proposal must be approved by the Department of Health and Human Services secretary. CDC officials say they hope to have a full package of changes finalized, approved and underway by early next year.

Some changes still are being formulated, but steps announced Wednesday include:

—Increasing use of preprint scientific reports to get out actionable data, instead of waiting for research to go through peer review and publication by the CDC journal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

—Restructuring the agency's communications office and further revamping CDC websites to make the agency's guidance for the public more clear and easier to find.

—Altering the length of time agency leaders are devoted to outbreak responses to a minimum of six months — an effort to address a turnover problem that at times caused knowledge gaps and affected the agency’s communications.

—Creation of a new executive council to help Walensky set strategy and priorities.

—Appointing Mary Wakefield as senior counselor to implement the changes. Wakefield headed the Health Resources and Services Administration during the Obama administration and also served as the No. 2 administrator at HHS. Wakefield, 68, started Monday.

—Altering the agency's organization chart to undo some changes made during the Trump administration.

—Establishing an office of intergovernmental affairs to smooth partnerships with other agencies, as well as a higher-level office on health equity.

Walensky also said she intends to “get rid of some of the reporting layers that exist, and I'd like to work to break down some of the silos." She did not say exactly what that may entail, but emphasized that the overall changes are less about redrawing the organization chart than rethinking how the CDC does business and motivates staff.

“This will not be simply moving boxes" on the organization chart, she said.

Schwartz said flaws in the federal response go beyond the CDC, because the White House and other agencies were heavily involved.

A CDC reorganization is a positive step but “I hope it's not the end of the story,” Schwartz said. He would like to see "a broader accounting” of how the federal government handles health crises.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

mickeyrat

Your first brush with coronavirus could affect how a fall booster works  https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/08/22/coronavirus-immune-response-boosters/ 

Cropduster-80

Moderna sues Pfizer and BioNTech alleging patent infringement over Covid vaccine

"We believe that Pfizer and BioNTech unlawfully copied Moderna’s inventions, and they have continued to use them without permission,” Moderna's chief legal officer said.

It’s absurd really.  If the government wants to build a road through my front yard they can seize my house.  Why the government can’t just seize the rights to the vaccine is beyond me.  Suing a company who may or may not have copied a vaccine during a pandemic shouldn’t even be possible 

dankind

https://youtu.be/OMN9xGyRyRg

mace1229

Cropduster-80 said:

Moderna sues Pfizer and BioNTech alleging patent infringement over Covid vaccine

"We believe that Pfizer and BioNTech unlawfully copied Moderna’s inventions, and they have continued to use them without permission,” Moderna's chief legal officer said.

It’s absurd really.  If the government wants to build a road through my front yard they can seize my house.  Why the government can’t just seize the rights to the vaccine is beyond me.  Suing a company who may or may not have copied a vaccine during a pandemic shouldn’t even be possible 

But they don't just seize your property, then compensate you at market value for it. So for them to just seize a vaccine I would imagine they'd have to pay billions in market value. And then hire the same company to manufacture it. So I don't see any point in it really. And except for the first couple months, we've had more vaccines than we can give out, so production isn't an issue. Having one company not steal the rights to a vaccine doesn't seem like its going to prevent anyone from getting it. 

Cropduster-80

mace1229 said:

Cropduster-80 said:

Moderna sues Pfizer and BioNTech alleging patent infringement over Covid vaccine

"We believe that Pfizer and BioNTech unlawfully copied Moderna’s inventions, and they have continued to use them without permission,” Moderna's chief legal officer said.

It’s absurd really.  If the government wants to build a road through my front yard they can seize my house.  Why the government can’t just seize the rights to the vaccine is beyond me.  Suing a company who may or may not have copied a vaccine during a pandemic shouldn’t even be possible 

But they don't just seize your property, then compensate you at market value for it. So for them to just seize a vaccine I would imagine they'd have to pay billions in market value. And then hire the same company to manufacture it. So I don't see any point in it really. And except for the first couple months, we've had more vaccines than we can give out, so production isn't an issue. Having one company not steal the rights to a vaccine doesn't seem like its going to prevent anyone from getting it. 

True but the government also funded a lot of the development at least once the pandemic started.  Minus Pfizer.  

They eliminated down side risk to big pharm then big pharm will probably pay hundreds of millions of dollars litigating a case which will be passed on to consumers via drug prices 

its crazy 

the good old days where when the rights to the polio vaccine was given away

mickeyrat

interesting. pfizer was out first. by a couple weeks.

mickeyrat

https://apnews.com/article/covid-vaccine-omicron-booster-shot-227514678d25a99b65b7ee092735fb03

 

COVID-19 Robert Califf

US clears updated COVID boosters targeting newest variants

By LAURAN NEERGAARD

52 mins ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. on Wednesday authorized its first update to COVID-19 vaccines, booster doses that target today’s most common omicron strain. Shots could begin within days.

The move by the Food and Drug Administration tweaks the recipe of shots made by Pfizer and rival Moderna that already have saved millions of lives. The hope is that the modified boosters will blunt yet another winter surge — and help tamp down the BA.5 omicron relative that continues to spread widely.

“These updated boosters present us with an opportunity to get ahead" of the next COVID-19 wave, said FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf.

Until now, COVID-19 vaccines have targeted the original coronavirus strain, even as wildly different mutants emerged. The new U.S. boosters are combination, or “bivalent,” shots. They contain half that original vaccine recipe and half protection against the newest omicron versions, BA.4 and BA.5, that are considered the most contagious yet.

The combination aims to increase cross-protection against multiple variants.

“It really provides the broadest opportunity for protection,” Pfizer vaccine chief Annaliesa Anderson told The Associated Press.

The updated boosters are only for people who have already had their primary vaccinations, using the original vaccines. Doses made by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech are for anyone 12 and older while Moderna's updated shots are for adults — if it has been at least two months since their last primary vaccination or their latest booster. They're not to be used for initial vaccinations.

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There’s one more step before a fall booster campaign begins: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must recommend who should get the additional shot. An influential CDC advisory panel will debate the evidence Thursday — including whether people at high risk from COVID-19 should go first.

The U.S. has purchased more than 170 million doses from the two companies. Pfizer said it could ship up to 15 million of those doses by the end of next week. Moderna didn't immediately say how many doses are ready to ship but that some will be available “in the coming days.”

The big question is whether people weary of vaccinations will roll up their sleeves again. Just half of vaccinated Americans got the first recommended booster dose, and only a third of those 50 and older who were urged to get a second booster did so.

Here’s the rub: The original vaccines still offer strong protection against severe disease and death from COVID-19 for generally healthy people, especially if they got that important first booster dose. It’s not clear just how much more benefit an updated booster will bring — beyond a temporary jump in antibodies capable of fending off an omicron infection.

Still, “people have to realize this is a different kind of booster than was previously available. It will work better at protecting against omicron,” said virologist Andrew Pekosz of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Even people who had an earlier omicron version still can get reinfected so “you should definitely go for the booster even if you’ve been infected in the last year,” added Pekosz. He thinks “if we can get good buy-in to use this, we might really be able to make a dent" in COVID-19 cases.

The FDA cleared the modifications ahead of studies in people, a step toward eventually handling COVID-19 vaccine updates more like yearly changes to flu shots.

FDA vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks stressed the agency considered “the totality” of evidence. Pfizer and Moderna have previously brewed vaccine doses updated to match earlier mutants — including the omicron strain named BA.1 that struck last winter — and tested them in people. Those earlier recipe changes were safe, and the BA.1 version substantially boosted virus-fighting antibodies — more than another dose of the original vaccine — although fewer that recognized today's genetically distinct BA.4 and BA.5 strains.

But instead of using those BA.1 shots, FDA ordered the companies to brew even more up-to-date doses that target those newest omicron mutants, sparking a race to roll them out. Rather than waiting a few more months for additional human studies of that very similar recipe tweak, Marks said animal tests showed the latest update spurs “a very good immune response.”

“One needs to refresh the immune system with what is actually circulating,” Marks said. That's why FDA also is no longer authorizing boosters made with the original recipe for those 12 and older.

The hope, Marks said, is that a vaccine matched to currently spreading variants might do a better job fighting infection, not just serious illness, at least for a while.

What's next? Even as modified shots roll out, Moderna and Pfizer are conducting human studies to help assess their value, including how they hold up if a new mutant comes along.

And for children, Pfizer plans to ask FDA to allow updated boosters for 5- to 11-year-olds in early October.

It’s the first U.S. update to the COVID-19 vaccine recipe, an important but expected next step -- like how flu vaccines get updated every year.

And the U.S. isn’t alone. Britain recently decided to offer adults over 50 a different booster option from Moderna, a combo shot targeting that initial BA.1 omicron strain. European regulators are considering whether to authorize one or both of the updated formulas.

___

AP Health Writer Matthew Perrone contributed to this report.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

mickeyrat

pretty good reporting about Montana's changing response.....

https://www.propublica.org/article/montana-covid-response-pushed-hospital-to-brink?utm_source=pocket-newtab

HughFreakingDillon

WHO says "the end of the pandemic is in sight". I'm no epidemiologist, but declaring this JUST as schools get going again and we're headed for flu/indoor socialization season?

YIKES. 

‘The end is in sight’: COVID-19 deaths at lowest levels since March 2020, WHO says (msn.com)

mrussel1

HughFreakingDillon said:

WHO says "the end of the pandemic is in sight". I'm no epidemiologist, but declaring this JUST as schools get going again and we're headed for flu/indoor socialization season?

YIKES. 

‘The end is in sight’: COVID-19 deaths at lowest levels since March 2020, WHO says (msn.com)

I guess if deaths are your markers, then that's the case.  I can tell you that my FL office has ten active cases this week alone.  Last month we had about 20.  There are about 65 people there, so literally half.  Everything has been generally mild though, thankfully. 

OnWis97

mrussel1 said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

WHO says "the end of the pandemic is in sight". I'm no epidemiologist, but declaring this JUST as schools get going again and we're headed for flu/indoor socialization season?

YIKES. 

‘The end is in sight’: COVID-19 deaths at lowest levels since March 2020, WHO says (msn.com)

I guess if deaths are your markers, then that's the case.  I can tell you that my FL office has ten active cases this week alone.  Last month we had about 20.  There are about 65 people there, so literally half.  Everything has been generally mild though, thankfully. 

Admittedly, I'm burned out on following the details of this (though remain devoted to trying to keep from getting/spreading it).

Someone correct me if I am wrong...it feels like contracting covid is probably more common than ever but contracting it seriously is less common (particularly on a per-case basis).

Correct? It feels like it's almost getting into "flu" territory (i.e., rarely but sometimes fatal...always annoying).

How are people doing traveling? My wife and I are going from St. Paul to St. Louis for PJ. We're driving because I was nervous about what to do if we catch it on the plane...skip the concert? (obviously, if test positive).  How do we get home? Just mask up and take the flight? Try to rent a car? Are we at the point where we were pre-2020 with illness (i.e., don't go coughing on people, but sometimes you're going to be out and about)? I pushed the driving (my wife's kinda pissed and she's very nervous my OCD-having ass will never want to fly again) and I did it because I am almost crippled by the thought of finding out I have Covid with a return flight scheduled (even driving eight hours, since stops are a must, would be hard for me).

Anyone else traveling for PJ and, if so, are you just better able than I am (I legit have OCD) not to worry about it?

HughFreakingDillon

OnWis97 said:

mrussel1 said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

WHO says "the end of the pandemic is in sight". I'm no epidemiologist, but declaring this JUST as schools get going again and we're headed for flu/indoor socialization season?

YIKES. 

‘The end is in sight’: COVID-19 deaths at lowest levels since March 2020, WHO says (msn.com)

I guess if deaths are your markers, then that's the case.  I can tell you that my FL office has ten active cases this week alone.  Last month we had about 20.  There are about 65 people there, so literally half.  Everything has been generally mild though, thankfully. 

Admittedly, I'm burned out on following the details of this (though remain devoted to trying to keep from getting/spreading it).

Someone correct me if I am wrong...it feels like contracting covid is probably more common than ever but contracting it seriously is less common (particularly on a per-case basis).

Correct? It feels like it's almost getting into "flu" territory (i.e., rarely but sometimes fatal...always annoying).

How are people doing traveling? My wife and I are going from St. Paul to St. Louis for PJ. We're driving because I was nervous about what to do if we catch it on the plane...skip the concert? (obviously, if test positive).  How do we get home? Just mask up and take the flight? Try to rent a car? Are we at the point where we were pre-2020 with illness (i.e., don't go coughing on people, but sometimes you're going to be out and about)? I pushed the driving (my wife's kinda pissed and she's very nervous my OCD-having ass will never want to fly again) and I did it because I am almost crippled by the thought of finding out I have Covid with a return flight scheduled (even driving eight hours, since stops are a must, would be hard for me).

Anyone else traveling for PJ and, if so, are you just better able than I am (I legit have OCD) not to worry about it?

our hospitals in winnipeg are literally in crisis. my MIL needed an ambulance the other day, and had to re-route to a farther hospital as the one she would normally go to was "full". Seriously. Full. that's not just covid, mind you, it's staffing, funding, staff sickness, etc. But the thought scares me. Some patients who had strokes were not being treated when they should have been and their "brains were literally dying" as they didn't have the equipment/manning available to help them all. that's fucked up. 

elvistheking44

Curious. I’ve had my two shots and a booster. Are people getting their fourth shot now, as in two shots and two boosters?

mickeyrat

elvistheking44 said:

Curious. I’ve had my two shots and a booster. Are people getting their fourth shot now, as in two shots and two boosters?

I have. 2nd booster was reserved for +50 as of my 2nd in June.

plan on combo in Dec on recommendation of my Doc.

brianlux

Just as the president has declared the pandemic is over and people have stopped wearing masks and are gathering in large numbers indoors again, I am hearing about more people I personally know who have come down with COVID than I have in all of the last 2 1/2 years.

My response is to isolate from people more than ever.  I am turning into a virtual recluse.  Were it not for my wife, I might be considered a hermit.  And she is more active these days, so ironically, she is my weak link.  It's all too depressing.

Lerxst1992

brianlux said:

Just as the president has declared the pandemic is over and people have stopped wearing masks and are gathering in large numbers indoors again, I am hearing about more people I personally know who have come down with COVID than I have in all of the last 2 1/2 years.

My response is to isolate from people more than ever.  I am turning into a virtual recluse.  Were it not for my wife, I might be considered a hermit.  And she is more active these days, so ironically, she is my weak link.  It's all too depressing.

Cases are definitely on the rise again in Metro NY

mickeyrat

Lerxst1992 said:

brianlux said:

Just as the president has declared the pandemic is over and people have stopped wearing masks and are gathering in large numbers indoors again, I am hearing about more people I personally know who have come down with COVID than I have in all of the last 2 1/2 years.

My response is to isolate from people more than ever.  I am turning into a virtual recluse.  Were it not for my wife, I might be considered a hermit.  And she is more active these days, so ironically, she is my weak link.  It's all too depressing.

Cases are definitely on the rise again in Metro NY

vax rates?

hospitalizations and deaths up?

The Juggler

Got it for the first time at Pearl Jam in Camden. I guess my symptoms were considered mild but I was in pretty bad shape as the fever kept going up a day or two into it. Now I am on day 8 and, basically, feel fine despite still testing positive.