Coronavirus (Covid19) Corner

[Stanley]

All I have to say is that I refuse to take advice from someone who describes me as 'Multi morbid'.
I can see the sense in what David said but to be honest, I have better things to do than give it that much thought. I've had the booster and the flu jab. If they offer me another in six months I'll take it. Onward and upward!

[Big Kev]

Austria has 'locked down' the unvaccinated, the anti vaxers must be jumping up and down...
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-59283128

[Stanley]

Good, I have no sympathy for them.

[PanBiker]

Austria has 'locked down' the unvaccinated, the anti vaxers must be jumping up and down...
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-59283128

Aye, but they can still go to work or to the supermarket for shopping or out for exercise, not really what I would consider a lock down.

[Wendyf]

We had a run out to the Rohan shop at Long Preston yesterday and passed under a railway bridge over the A65 which had "Covidcon" painted in large letters on one side and "Deathvax" on the other.

[Big Kev]

The canal bridge, on Kelbrook Road, has been targeted a few times. It gets painted over fairly quickly.

[Stanley]

There is a charge under army regs of 'spreading alarm and confusion'. Perhaps we need something similar in Civvy Street.

[Stanley]

The WHO warn about the increase in Covid cases and first in their recommendations of measures to counter the threat is to concentrate on mask wearing, the cheapest and most effective measure. After that comes vaccinations and Booster jabs.
The one thing that is obvious at the moment here is that only the old are wearing masks even on public transport.

[Big Kev]

All boosted with the Pfizer, both of us in jabbed and out 10 minutes before the appointment. It was empty when we arrived so no hanging around, back indoors for a brew now then I'd best cook some tea.

[Tripps]

That - and this press article, confirm my idea that the Oxford Astrazenica 'vaccine' is deliberately not being used for booster jabs.

This asks the question why is Astrazenica not used for booster jabs?

I've had a quick look at the article which is about two months old, and it resembles one of the PM's bumbling style non-replies. I'm not a lot wiser (but still curious as to the real reason).

[Big Kev]

I was under the impression that testing showed the Pfizer vaccine was the best one to use as a booster.

[Tripps]

The article says this - and I'll leave it at that. It's a puzzle to me, as well as the fact, if I remember correctly, that the Astrazenica was produced at cost, and the Pfeizer is a lot more expensive.

"The AstraZeneca jab is also one of just two vaccines to have received the green light from the UK’s medicine regulator last week for a potential booster campaign in Britain. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) recommended both the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines for any British booster programme, with chief executive Dr June Raine declaring them both “safe and effective” as third doses."

[Stanley]

If there was a financial reason it's doubtful if We'd get to know about it David, beyond our pay grade!

[Big Kev]

All boosted with the Pfizer, both of us in jabbed and out 10 minutes before the appointment. It was empty when we arrived so no hanging around, back indoors for a brew now then I'd best cook some tea.

No noticeable side effects yet

[Stanley]

Good. I didn't have any at all Kev but I know people who did. Best of luck! (But be kind to yourself for at least a week. Can't do any harm.)

[Stanley]

Has Europe gone mad? Lots of reports about more riots and violence. Why not just accept the jabs? I don't understand these people, is it an age thing?

[Tizer]

No, it's a social media and gullibility thing. They're all sending each other negative messages and boosting each others belief in false stories. It will carry on and get worse unless we properly regulate the big social media firms. There was also a report last week about a flood of climate denial stories now being written in foreign languages - no wonder we can't get China, Russia and India to agree to COP26 on coal and oil. It probably applies to anti-vax and covid stories too. Some of this is happening on Wikipedia as well as social media.

[Tripps]

The question I've been asking for a while was answered (sort of) today by Nadim Zahawi - currently Education Minister, but recently Minister for Vaccines. Quite a typically demanding interview by Nick Ferrari, but the question came from a listener to LBC.

Why is the Astrazenica vaccine not being used for booster jabs?

He said there had been a trial - supervised by Professor Jonathan Van Tam which had found that the AZ, though still an absolutely fantastic vaccine had performed a lot less well in producing a response that a full dose of Pfeizer or a half dose of the Moderna.

Their political correspondent, speaking just afterwards said it was ten times more effective. I guess he has read the trial results.

Strange that this was not widely announced before the roll out, and where can we see the peer reviewed results of the trial? I wouldn't really even know where to look. It didn't take very long did it?

This is an interesting background piece on Mr Zahawi. He didn't sue so I guess it's all true. There's a lot more for the really curious.

21 May 2021 Going Postal. Question time review.

As a Question Time regular, Puffins are familiar with Nadhim Zahawi, Conservative MP for Stratford-on-Avon and Minister for Covid Vaccine Delivery.
Previously we have learned of Mr Zahawi’s £25 million property empire, his well-paid connections with the Caribbean tax havens and Kurdish Iraq’s oil concessions, and his horses having their stables heated on his Westminster expenses.
Following his January 6th appearance on Question Time (the review being published on the 7th) the QT Review spotlight illuminated Warren Medical, a company set up in June 2020 at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. Warren Medical’s three company directors were Mr Zahawi’s wife, confusingly declaring herself as Ms Lana Fawsi Jamil Saib, and two of Mr Zahawi’s sons, confusingly declaring themselves as Jaafar Shanshal and Ahman Shanshal. Even more confusingly, the Zahawi’s family interest in the medical business was not declared in Nadhim Zahawi’s December 2020 list of parliamentary interests.

Interestingly, the subsequent Minister for Vaccine Deployment’s family had no previous medical experience other than, in the interests of equality of opportunity, Jaafar Shanshal having been employed as a researcher by Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

May QT Review claim a scalp? Signed and dated documents lodged at Companies House show that the day after QT Review was published, January 8th 2021, Ms Saib and Messrs Shanshal applied to have Warren Medical struck off the company’s register and be dissolved.

[Tizer]

Why is the Astrazenica vaccine not being used for booster jabs? He said there had been a trial - supervised by Professor Jonathan Van Tam which had found that the AZ, though still an absolutely fantastic vaccine had performed a lot less well in producing a response than a full dose of Pfizer or a half dose of the Moderna. Their political correspondent, speaking just afterwards said it was ten times more effective. I guess he has read the trial results.

Pfizer and Moderna may be around 90-95% effective against covid infection and AZ around 70% but no way are the former ten times better than AZ. If they were, then AZ would be only 9% effective. In preventing hospitalisation and death all three were 100% effective. LINK

[Big Kev]

Pfizer booster update from Chez Kev. P has a red mark at the injection site and a slight tenderness, none of that nonsense from old elephant skin Kev. We have both noticed a slight ache across the shoulders this morning, could be a side effect but could also be a result of sitting in a theatre watching granddaughter's dancing school show (I was awake, honest m'lud). Two paracetamol later and it's fettled.

[Tripps]

Thanks for the link that's a very good summary of where we are currently at, and how we got here.

I just watched Professor Van Tam heading the briefing last Monday 15 Nov '21, which I missed at the time. I watched the first twenty minutes, and I heard no mention of any trial which he supervised on the variation between Pfeizer/ Moderna mRNA jabds and AZ. In fact I don't think I heard the word Astrazenica spoken at all throughout. It would have been the ideal time to speak of his trial I'd have thought.

I did hear the JCVI guy say that Pfeizer efficacy waned after 12 - 16 weeks though. That seems to me to be at the very low end of expectations at the time. He made a big thing about the gap between doses being extended to 12 weeks rather than the 3-4 weeks which obtained when it was tested, and the fact that a half dose of Moderna was better than a full dose.

I am not anti - vax - and hope it keeps me alive and out of hospital, but there is much information which we are not being told about. In view of the crazy reaction of some people perhaps that's the wisest thing to do.

[Stanley]

"In view of the crazy reaction of some people perhaps that's the wisest thing to do"
I suspect you are on the money again there David. The anti-vax movement are getting enough ammunition without help from the scientists.
Like you, I don't need to know the details. I have faith in the professions to look after me. I know that nothing is 100% foolproof but so far they have served me well. The one thing that is true about all anti-vax protesters is that they don't have this faith. Many of them will eventually get Covid, they may change their minds then.....

[Big Kev]

Pfizer booster update from Chez Kev. P has a red mark at the injection site and a slight tenderness, none of that nonsense from old elephant skin Kev. We have both noticed a slight ache across the shoulders this morning, could be a side effect but could also be a result of sitting in a theatre watching granddaughter's dancing school show (I was awake, honest m'lud). Two paracetamol later and it's fettled.

Slept like a log for nearly 9 hours last night and any aches have gone, P still has a red mark on her arm. All good here.

[Tizer]

Tripps, for more on the AZ vaccine go to this morning's Radio 4 Today programme and listen to it starting at 07.30. It's an interview with Pascale Soriot, AZ's CEO, because of the official opening of the new Cambridge centre but it's mostly about the vaccine, both political and biological aspects. On vaccine efficacy he explains the difference between antibody response (Pfizer and Moderna' main effect) and T cell response (AZ's main effect). The antibody response is best for preventing infection, the T cell response for preventing serious health effects and hospitalisation. He agrees with the interviewer that Macron's claim (wrong) that AZ vaccine was not effective in the elderly has probably contributed to the present dire covid situation in continental European countries. (If you want to get more information you could probably pop in and ask Pascale today!)

[Tripps]

for more on the AZ vaccine go to this morning's Radio 4 Today programme

Thanks - I've just done just that. It answers most of the questions I've been struggling with over the last few days. You have a good knack of finding the imoportant stuff.

So- there was a decision not to use AZ for boosters. First time I've seen a direct reference to it.

M. Soriot sounds perfectly reasonable chap - not at all like the bogeyman from 'Big Pharma' that we hear so much about in the crevices of the Interwebthingy. I liked him. He explained (as you did) the difference between mRNA and his injection - I'm still reluctant to use the word 'vaccine' .

Sounds like the way forward might be to alternate between an mRNA and AZ and thus get the advantages of both?