Lunchtime pandemic reading.
Standard disclaimer: this is a roundup of informative pieces I've read that interest me on the severity of the crisis and how to manage it. I am not a qualified medical expert in ANY sense; at best I am reasonably well-read laity. ALWAYS prioritize advice from qualified healthcare experts over some person on Facebook.
This is also available as an email newsletter at https://lunchtimepandemic.substack.com if you prefer the update in your inbox.
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Research is well underway for a nasal-spray version of COVID-19 vaccines. "Resistance represents a major challenge for antibody-based therapy for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)1–4. Here we engineered an immunoglobulin M (IgM) neutralizing antibody (IgM-14) to overcome the resistance encountered by IgG-based therapeutics. IgM-14 is >230-fold more potent than its parental IgG-14 in neutralizing the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). IgM-14 potently neutralizes the resistant virus raised by its corresponding IgG-14, the newly emerged United Kingdom B.1.1.7, Brazilian P.1, and South African B.1.351 variants of concern (VOCs), and 21 other receptor-binding domain (RBD) mutants, many of which are resistant to the IgGs that have been authorized for emergency use. Although engineering IgG into IgM enhances antibody potency in general, selection of an optimal epitope is critical for identifying the most effective IgM that can overcome resistance. One single intranasal (IN) dose of 0.044 and 0.4 mg/kg IgM-14 confers prophylactic and therapeutic efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 in mice, respectively. IgM-14, but not IgG-14, also confers potent therapeutic protection against the P.1 and B.1.351 variants. IgM-14 exhibits desirable IN pharmacokinetics and safety in rodents. Our results demonstrate that IN administration of an engineered IgM can improve efficacy, reduce resistance, and simplify the prophylactic and therapeutic treatment of COVID-19. "
Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03673-2
Commentary: Word of nasal sprays first cropped up in March of 2021; it's good to see progress being made on the development of these sprays.
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Canada authorizes mix and match. "The National Advisory Committee on Immunization now says Canadians who have received one dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine can safely get a second dose of either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna in the ongoing effort to get the jabs into arms as quickly as possible."
Source: https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2021/06/01/if-i-had-astrazeneca-for-my-first-jab-should-a-switch-to-pfizer-for-my-second-heres-what-health-experts-say-about-mixing-vaccines.html
Commentary: The recommendation appears to only apply to those who received the AstraZeneca vaccine for their first dose; people who received an mRNA first dose (Pfizer or Moderna) are encouraged to stick with their respective brand for the second dose for maximum effiacy.
We are realizing very quickly that mRNA vaccines may be the wave of the future. They've performed far above expectations and are showing no substantial, serious side effects; the older vaccines based on adenoviruses like AstraZeneca and J&J appear to have slightly more complications and somewhat lower efficacy.
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The US Government begins more aggressive dose-sharing. "Already the United States has committed $4 billion to support COVAX, and we have launched partnerships to boost global capacity to manufacture more vaccines. My administration supports efforts to temporarily waive intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines because, over time, we need more companies producing life-saving doses of proven vaccines that are shared equitably. We have already shared more than 4 million doses of vaccine with Canada and Mexico, and last month, I announced that, by the end of June, the United States will share 80 million doses of our vaccine supply with the world.
Today, we’re providing more detail on how we will allocate the first 25 million of those vaccines to lay the ground for increased global coverage and to address real and potential surges, high burdens of disease, and the needs of the most vulnerable countries. At least 75 percent of these doses—nearly 19 million—will be shared through COVAX, including approximately 6 million doses for Latin America and the Caribbean, approximately 7 million for South and Southeast Asia, and approximately 5 million for Africa, working in coordination with the African Union and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. The remaining doses, just over 6 million, will be shared directly with countries experiencing surges, those in crisis, and other partners and neighbors, including Canada, Mexico, India, and the Republic of Korea."
Source: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/06/03/statement-by-president-joe-biden-on-global-vaccine-distribution/
Commentary: At this point, it makes total sense to start sharing more supply. Vaccinations in the USA have leveled off or declined, and except for kids under 12, every other cohort is eligible, which means that by this point, if you're above the age of 12 and you really wanted to get vaccinated, you'd at least have your first shot.
The pandemic won't end until the fire is put out everywhere. It's fine for your apartment to not be on fire, but that's of limited benefit if the other apartments in your building are on fire.
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A reminder of the simple daily habits we should all be taking.
1. Wear the best mask available to you when you'll be around other people, even after you've been vaccinated. Respirators are back in stock at online retailers, too. Wear an N95/FFP2/KN95 that's NIOSH-approved or better mask if you can obtain it. If you can't get an N95 mask, wear a surgical mask with a cloth mask over it.
2. Get vaccinated as soon as you're able to, and fulfill the full vaccine regimen. Remember that you are not vaccinated until everyone you live with is vaccinated.
3. Wash/sanitize your hands every time you are in or out of your home.
4. Stay home as much as practical. Minimize your contact with others and avoid indoor places as much as you can; indoor spaces spread the disease through aerosols and distance is less effective at mitigating your risks.
5. Get your personal finances in order now. Cut all unnecessary costs.
6. Replenish your supplies as you use them. Avoid reducing your stores to pre-pandemic levels in case an outbreak causes unexpected supply chain disruptions.
7. Ventilate your home as frequently as weather and circumstances permit, except when you share close airspaces with other residences (like a window less than a meter away from a neighboring window).
8. Masks must fit properly to work. Here's how to properly fit a mask:
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Common misinformation debunked!
There is no basis in fact that COVID-19 vaccines can shed or otherwise harm people around you.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-covid19vaccine-reproductivepro-idUSL1N2MG256
There is no mercury or other heavy metals in the Pfizer mRNA vaccine.
Source: https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/12/09/1013538/what-are-the-ingredients-of-pfizers-covid-19-vaccine/
There is no basis in fact that COVID-19 vaccines pose additional risks to pregnant women.
Source: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2104983
There is no genomic evidence at all that COVID-19 arrived before 2020 in the United States and therefore no hidden herd immunity:
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There is no evidence SARS-CoV-2 was engineered, nor that it escaped a lab somewhere.
Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/01/29/experts-debunk-fringe-theory-linking-chinas-coronavirus-weapons-research/
Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-020-0820-9
Source: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/05/anthony-fauci-no-scientific-evidence-the-coronavirus-was-made-in-a-chinese-lab-cvd/
There is no evidence a flu shot increases your COVID-19 risk.
Source: https://www.factcheck.org/2020/04/no-evidence-that-flu-shot-increases-risk-of-covid-19/
Source: https://academic.oup.com/cid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/cid/ciaa626/5842161
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Disclosures and Disclaimers
To be clear, I declare no competing interests on anything I share related to COVID-19. I am employed by and am a co-owner in TrustInsights.ai, an analytics and management consulting firm. I have no clients and no business interests in anything related to COVID-19, nor do I financially benefit in any way from sharing information about COVID-19.
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A common request I'm asked is who I follow. Here's a public Twitter list of many of the sources I read.
https://twitter.com/i/lists/1260956929205112834
This list is biased by design. It is limited to authors who predominantly post in the English language. It is heavily biased towards individual researchers and away from institutions. It is biased towards those who publish or share research, data, papers, etc. I have made an attempt to follow researchers from different countries, and also to make the list reasonably gender-balanced, because multiple, diverse perspectives on research data are essential.
This is also available as an email newsletter at https://lunchtimepandemic.substack.com if you prefer the update in your inbox.