COVID-19 (artist formerly known as Wuhan strain novel Corona virus)

Damn. I hope that isn't signs of that new variant doing damage.

 

On the one hand, they live more densely in some respects. On the other, this could be the result of the dominance of the UK variant, in which case we will see another uptick between now and March as it becomes the dominant strain here that otherwise we may not have.

 

So we are calling this variant the British Flu, right?

 

Have a feeling spring outdoor sports will get shut down again, robbing the kids another season, after wrestling, basketball, volleyball and other HS indoor sports finish.

 

there is a Tory who is butt hurt about "UK variant". and he was and is a "Chinese flu" guy. like a virus gives a [uck fay] about geopolitics

 

If the South Africa variant becomes dominant strain, probably. And it'll be another 400,000 deaths in a year. Unless the vaccine for that one undergoes even more rapid dev to stick than the first, already incredibly rapid, vaccine.

 

Wouldn't it be easier to develop a vaccine targeting a variant than it was to develop the original vaccine?

Also, I was under the impression that the prevailing opinion, at least as of now, is that the vaccine will still work, albeit with lower efficacy.

I know you talked about this above, but this is what I was reading when epidemiologists were starting to sound the alarm a few nights back.

 

Even if the vaccine is useless against this variant, the vaccine is still useful against others, or if and when this variant mutates further.

I haven't seen anything definitive about whether the antibodies formed due to the vaccine show efficacy against this variant; just hopes and speculations. Unless there is newer information. But it seems a bit early.

The struggle with a vaccine isn't development. It is safety. Anytime you change the markers, the delivery, or anything like that related to a vaccine, there are safety concerns.

So given that, the question is whether it would be considered a new vaccine, and need all new trials.

 

Makes sense. Pfizer has said they can update in 6 weeks, so hopefully that's a signal that it won't be completely new.

 

Is this still as true with mRNA vaccines as they are with traditional vaccines? The only change would be the mRNA sequence, updated to mimic the spike of the South Africa variant or other variants.

 

https://nypost.com/2021/01/24/cdc-director-we-dont-have-many-doses-as-wed-like-for-ny/

 

my fear is a scenario where we keep lagging behind the next strain and this just keeps going

 

I'm okay with it

 

You don't want to risk creating a sequence that causes the immune system to attack the host. So, I'd say, very much, yes.

 

https://www.axios.com/moderna-vaccine-new-variants-6128e1a0-8533-4f6d-bec5-cfdb9c6b9c9d.html

 

This is great. A 6 fold reduction, but still sufficient quantities to neutralize.

And developing a booster for South Africa vaccine.

 

that's a relief. now crank them out and get them into people fast.

 

Just found out my neighbor is scheduled to get her second dose next week. She's early 20s and works at a daycare part time, yet she managed to get the vaccine in the initial phase. Dafuq?

 

huh.

 

She doesn’t care for an elderly family member does she? Were daycares prioritized?