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.
You are welcome to share this.
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Previously infected people who get the vaccines show the same immunity as non-infected people. "We compared the serum neutralizing antibody titers before and after two doses of the BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine in ten individuals who recovered from SARS-CoV-2 infection prior to vaccination to 20 individuals with no history of infection, against clinical isolates of B.1.1.7, B.1.351, P.1, and the original SARS-CoV-2 virus. Vaccination boosted pre-existing levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike antibodies 10-fold in previously infected individuals, but not to levels significantly higher than those of uninfected vaccinees. However, neutralizing antibody titers increased in previously infected vaccinees relative to uninfected vaccinees against every variant tested: 5.2-fold against B.1.1.7, 6.5-fold against B.1.351, 4.3-fold against P.1, and 3.4-fold against original SARS-CoV-2. Our study indicates that a first-generation COVID-19 vaccine provides broad protection from SARS-CoV-2 variants in individuals with previous infection."
Source: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.04.25.21256049v1
Commentary: This pre-print paper asserts something really important: that the antibody levels of people who have had COVID-19 (which vary wildly) reach strong immunity with the vaccines, on par with people who have not had COVID-19. Why does this matter? Because it means people who had COVID-19 should get the vaccine to ENSURE they can't get a serious case again. One of the findings of the immunity granted by the actual disease itself is that immunizing levels of antibodies were very different - and in some cases, not enough to protect someone. The vaccine fixes that. Everyone should get the COVID-19 vaccine, regardless of previous infection.
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How vaccines may fix long COVID. "It’s clear that vaccines have helped some people with long Covid with their symptoms. While the numbers are still small, these are encouraging signs. What follows is my hypothesis as to how vaccines might improve long Covid.
Back when I first learned about long Covid in June 2020, I proposed three possible mechanisms that might be causing it: 1) a persistent viral reservoir; 2) “viral ghost,” which are fragments of the virus (RNA, proteins) that linger after the infection has been cleared but are still capable of stimulating the immune system; and 3) an autoimmune response induced by the infection. Of course, other mechanisms may also contribute.
Since then, many studies have provided support for all three of these mechanisms. Research has shown that viral reservoirs are present in tissues, viral RNA is found in non-respiratory tissues and is associated with inflammation, and diverse autoantibodies are detected in some Covid patients.
The three mechanisms of long Covid I proposed above are not mutually exclusive, and all three may benefit from the vaccines. If the first is true, vaccine-induced T cells (immune cells that attack and kill infected cells) and antibody responses may be able to eliminate the viral reservoir. If the second is true, vaccine-induced immunity may be able to eliminate the viral ghost if such viral components are associated with the spike protein, which the virus uses to gain entry into cells. If the third is true, the vaccine might divert autoimmune cells, as I will describe below.
I suspect that people with long Covid have varying degrees of all three mechanisms taking place. Thus, long Covid consists of multiple types of diseases. By understanding which mechanism(s) are causing long Covid within each person, suitable treatment can be given."
Source: https://elemental.medium.com/how-vaccines-might-improve-long-covid-c1f41c4d7378
Commentary: If you or someone you know is suffering through long COVID, consider enrolling in Dr. Iwasaki's study:
And get vaccinated.
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Anxiety is causing some vaccine side effects. "It was anxiety — and not a problem with the shots — that caused fainting, dizziness and other short-term reactions in dozens of people at coronavirus vaccine clinics in five states, U.S. health officials have concluded.
Experts say the clusters detailed Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are an example of a phenomenon that’s been chronicled for decades from a variety of different vaccines. Basically, some people get so freaked out by injections that their anxiety spurs a physical reaction.
“We knew we were going to see this” as mass COVID-19 vaccine clinics were set up around the world, said Dr. Noni MacDonald, a Canadian researcher who has studied similar incidents.
The CDC authors said the reports came in over three days, April 7 to 9, from clinics in California, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa and North Carolina. The investigation was based on interviews with, and reports by, clinic staff.
Many of the 64 people affected either fainted or reported dizziness. Some got nauseous or vomited, and a few had racing hearts, chest pain or other symptoms. None got seriously ill.
All received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, and four of the the five clinics temporarily shut down as officials tried to sort out what was happening. Health officials at the time said they had no reason to suspect a problem with the vaccine itself.
Of the three COVID-19 vaccines authorized in the U.S., only J&J’s requires just one dose. That probably makes it more appealing to people who are nervous about shots and might leave them “more highly predisposed to anxiety-related events,” the CDC report said."
Source: https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-science-health-3253f563ad1db1e5f22130fcc354de08
Commentary: This is unsurprising, and the fact that it clusters around the one vaccine that requires a single dose makes a great deal of sense. The reality is that any serious problem with the vaccines would have been well documented by credible news sources by now, given that we have administered more than a billion shots planet-wide now. If the vaccine made even 0.01% of people sick, there would be over a hundred thousand people showing serious problems - and we are far below that in terms of adverse events.
The vaccine is our generation's moon shot, a massive, successful scientific undertaking. We have had over 3 million deaths worldwide from the disease; without the vaccine, we would be looking at tens of millions of deaths.
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A reminder of the simple daily habits we should all be taking.
1. Always wear the best mask available to you when out of your home and 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.
3. Wash/sanitize your hands every time you are in or out of your home for any reason.
4. Stay home as much as possible. Minimize your contact with others and maintain physical distance of at LEAST 6 feet / 2 meters, preferably more. 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 mercury or other heavy metals in the Pfizer mRNA vaccine. https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/12/09/1013538/what-are-the-ingredients-of-pfizers-covid-19-vaccine/
There is no genomic evidence at all that COVID-19 arrived before 2020 in the United States and therefore no hidden herd immunity:
Source:
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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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.