Εμβόλια κατά Δέλτα Το εμβόλιο της Pfizer/BioNTech αποδείχθηκε περίπου ~88% αποτελεσματικό προς την εμφάνιση συμπτωμάτων για τον ιό τύπου Δέλτα (B 1.617.2 aka India variant), ενώ το εμβόλιο Oxford/Astrazeneca ~60%. [1] Όπως και με προηγούμενες μεταλλάξεις, αυτά τα αποτελέσματα συμφωνούν με την εικόνα που παρουσιάζουν τα επίπεδα αντισωμάτων εμβολιασμένων ασθενών…

Vaccines vs Delta The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has been shown to be ~88% effective against symptomatic disease against Delta (B 1.617.2 aka India variant), whereas the Oxford/Astrazeneca vaccine showed ~60% efficacy. [1] As with previous strains, this correlates well with neutralising antibody titres. [2] Antibodies generated from the J&J vaccine were…

What kinds of clots are we dealing with They are not due to thickness of blood per se, but related to an immune response (read on for specifics). Antibodies cause the platelets to clump together, which leads to clots. They are called Vaccine-induced Prothrombotic Immune Thrombocytopenia (VPIT), which is a…

Samples of blood from patients who have received two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine (BNT162b2) were collected by researchers. The antibodies in these are able to neutralise all the major currently circulating variants of SARS-CoV-2. The UK (B.1.1.7) and Brazilian (P.1) variants show no or a modest reduction in effectiveness…

Variants B 1.1.7 (UK) & B 1.351 (South Africa) Three new variants of SARS-CoV-2 have attracted much attention recently, due to their prevalence. These are B 1.17 (aka “UK variant”), B 1.351 (aka “South Africa variant”) and P.1 (aka “Brazil variant”). [1–3] The pertinent question is whether vaccines are still…

Moderna’s Vaccine Candidate The FDA has released its briefing document for Moderna’s mRNA COVID-19 vaccine candidate. [1] Similar to Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna have opted for multiple-dose vials, which should significantly ease the strain on the production lines of medical-grade glass and other materials. These can be stored at higher temperature than…

Pfizer and BioNTech have filed an application for Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) for their vaccine candidate BNT162b2. [1–3] Efficacy data seem consistent across age groups and different ethnicities, albeit only hispanic/latino are significantly represented minorities.

News broke this morning that the Phase III clinical trial of Pfizer/BioNTech’s mRNA vaccine candidate BNT162-b2 has achieved over 90% efficacy in the first (and only) interim analysis. The independent analysts looked at 94 cases of symptomatic COVID-19. [1–3] The efficacy describes the relative reduction in disease for the vaccinated…

Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech, Novavax and Astrazeneca/Oxford all released the protocols for their Phase III vaccine trials against SARS-CoV-2 in late August/September. [1–4] The question on everyone’s mind is timeline. When are they happening and more importantly when are they done and have an answer? …