quick fix is open the borders and offer it to visitors at pharmacies.America could soon be swimming in COVID-19 vaccines: The shift from scarcity to surplus could bring its own problems
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...cine-us-surplus-april-coronavirus/4595458001/
In just two months, the United States could be swimming in COVID-19 vaccine. The 500 million 0.5 or 0.3-milliliter doses expected to be shipped by then literally are enough to fill a 55,000-gallon swimming pool.
As hard as it is to imagine now as people frantically call, click and line up to get vaccinated, the nation is close to shifting from a situation of scarcity to one of abundance.
“It's not a switch that flips, but it's a sliding scale that happens differently community by community,” said Andy Slavitt, White House senior adviser for the COVID Response Team. “This is not something that will start at some magical day in the future. It has begun today, and it's something that we have to make sure we're addressing."
With a plentiful supply of vaccines, there will be more urgency to convince the reluctant to accept it, experts say. Otherwise, the abundance of vaccines will become a stagnating surplus that threatens to undermine the nation's ability to move beyond the pandemic.
"When we start to have more vaccine available, we're really going to be in bad shape because what we're going to see is a lot of people who don't want to get vaccinated," said Bernadette Boden-Albala, dean of the public health program at the University of California, Irvine.
So far, about 18% of all Americans have been immunized against COVID-19. Boden-Albala thinks there will be vaccine surpluses in some areas as soon as early April.
Then, the challenges will start.
"If we've got whole states in this country that don't want to mask and don't want to socially distance, then I'm very concerned we'll have people there who don't want to be vaccinated either," she said.
Spreading the message: Free vaccine
Messaging will matter, experts say.
The easiest group to reach will be those who've simply put it off because of the hassle to get an appointment.
For them, the message needs to be that immunization's quick, easy and free, said Christopher Morse, an expert on health communication at Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island.
"You want to tell them it's free and how easy it is to get an appointment," he said. "Something like, 'In the time it takes you to order a cup of coffee, you could be vaccinated against COVID-19.'"
The message should not be "we've got tons of vaccine" because then people will be convinced they can put it off for longer, he said.
Some people who haven't gotten vaccinated simply haven't had the time or felt rushed to do so. Messages about why it's worth their while will be needed, experts say.
"You might say, 'Get vaccinated, spend Easter with your family,' Or a church might encourage people to be fully vaccinated so they can sing together," said Dr. Kelly Moore, deputy director of the nonprofit Immunization Action Coalition.
Younger people who don't necessarily feel at risk might be convinced to get vaccinated to help others. But they might be more enticed so they can go out to the movies again, eat dinner with friends or hang out in bars.
"They're going to be focusing more on the social impact versus the health impacts," Morse said.
Mobile clinics, pop-up vaccination sites and public service announcements from local leaders will be important to reach those in low-income communities of color where vaccine uptake has lagged because of access and hesitancy.
Such efforts have begun in some places, but they must ramp up significantly as a greater percentage of the population is immunized and the extent of vaccine reluctance becomes clear, experts say.
In California, Orange County is sending eight-person vaccination travel teams into homeless camps, jails and other hard-to-reach populations.
"They come in a van, no appointments required," and they vaccinate whoever is available, said Margaret Bredehoft, deputy agency director of public health services.
Dr. Rebecca Weintraub, director of the Global Health Delivery Project at Harvard University, says such "last mile" delivery channels need to be prepared now to reach vulnerable communities.
"We're going to see vaccination availability, for example, at food banks," she said.
Setting these smaller vaccination events up requires a lot of precision, said Moore.
"You want to make sure you have enough people together when you pop open one of the vaccine vials," she said. "For the Pfizer vaccine, you've got six hours to give five doses. For Johnson & Johnson, it's five doses and for Moderna, it's 10. You don't want doses to go to waste when only two people show up."
The politics of vaccine hesitancy
Public health officials are buoyed by one apparent shift: Vaccine hesitancy among Black Americans, which started out high, appears to be falling. In December, just 42% said they planned to get vaccinated. That number is now 61%, according to a Pew Research Center poll released Friday.
Vaccine hesitancy overall also is falling. In September, 49% of Americans told the Pew research group they probably or definitely wouldn't take the vaccine. By last month that number had fallen to 30%.
But that still leaves 75 million people who may not be taking the doses already purchased by the U.S. government for use. Experts say at least 65% of people, and likely closer to 85%, must be vaccinated to reach herd immunity.
And there are significant partisan differences in terms of who wants a vaccine. Pew found 83% of Democrats said they'd gotten vaccinated or planned to get vaccinated, compared to only 56% of Republicans.
"We’re going to see a point where there’s a real polarization where people are getting vaccinated and people are not," said Dr. Corey Casper, CEO of the Infectious Disease Research Institute in Seattle and a professor of global health at the University of Washington.
While areas with high vaccination rates will see few infections, communities with lower rates may continue to see cases. "They’re going to see a huge use of resources in those areas. It’s going to hurt their economies," he said.
He had expected COVID-19 would be the nation's common enemy, but it hasn't played out that way. The extreme distrust of anything from the government from people on the right has surprised him. "I've never seen anything like this," he said.
"We’re making progress with other groups, but we haven’t seen the dial moving very much among white Republicans. That’s a concern,” said Thomas Bollyky, director of the global health program at the Council on Foreign Relations, a Washington, D.C., think tank.
Will employers require vaccination?
It appears unlikely Americans will be forced to get a shot. Employer mandates for vaccination would be tricky, said Michelle Mello, a law professor and legal health expert at Stanford University.
From a regulatory standpoint, it would be difficult to enforce because so far all three vaccines being used in the United States have emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration, not a license, said Mello.
There's also not yet solid data showing vaccination makes it less likely someone can transmit COVID-19.
"Once that exists, it would allow employers to say it's an intervention that prevents harm to others," Mello said. But for now, she thinks most employers will embrace incentives rather than mandates.
"Everyone sees the benefit of making it voluntary," she said, though employers might think of sweetening the pot. "If some percentage of your workers are going to feel like crap after their doses, maybe you give them the day after off."
What would US do with extra vaccine?
If the U.S. does end up with a surplus of vaccines, what will it do with it?
The Council on Foreign Relation's Bollyky said there might be an appetite to help the rest of the world.
"You might start to see, sometime this summer, a willingness to donate some, though not necessarily, all vaccine," he said.
There are two reasons for it: One based on health, and one on politics.
Diseases don't respect borders. If COVID-19 continues to rage elsewhere, the U.S. will remain at risk. Almost all high-income countries – 94% – have begun vaccinating residents. Only four out of the 29 lowest-income countries have, according to the Council.
While the U.S. has held back its vaccine for its residents, Russia and China have stepped into the breach, making doses available to other nations.
"There are reports the Biden administration is looking into starting to donate more vaccine in Asia to counteract the potential influence that China may gain from donating doses," Bollyky said.
Helping other nations won't just score political points, it will also help protect Americans against a wily foe we're still figuring out, said Moore, of the Immunization Action Coalition.
"The virus will exploit its advantages if we let down our guard or allow many around the world to go without the protection of vaccination," she said.
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quick fix is open the borders and offer it to visitors at pharmacies.
and see all those Canadians piling up at the border?
Just Kidding.
We should trade them for Whistler Blackcomb.
Just Kidding.
We should trade them for Whistler Blackcomb.
Alaska becomes 1st state to remove eligibility requirements for COVID-19 vaccine
https://theweek.com/speedreads/9712...move-eligibility-requirements-covid19-vaccine
Officials in Alaska shared some good news on Tuesday evening, announcing that anyone 16 and older who lives or works in the state is now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.
Alaska is the first state to drop eligibility requirements for the vaccine, giving access to all. Previously, health care workers, educators, and senior citizens were given top priority, followed by people who work essential jobs, those at risk for developing a serious illness from COVID-19, and anyone 55 or older.
"Soon, this virus will be a preventable disease if people choose to get vaccinated," Dr. Anne Zink, Alaska's chief medical officer, said. Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R), who tested positive for COVID-19 last month, told reporters he believes "we'll get enough Alaskans that want to be part of this process that we're going to put this behind us as quickly as possible."
Alaska has the country's highest COVID-19 vaccination rate, with 25 percent of the population at least partially vaccinated, compared to the national average of 18 percent,theAnchorage Daily Newsreports.Catherine Garcia
https://theweek.com/speedreads/9712...move-eligibility-requirements-covid19-vaccine
Officials in Alaska shared some good news on Tuesday evening, announcing that anyone 16 and older who lives or works in the state is now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.
Alaska is the first state to drop eligibility requirements for the vaccine, giving access to all. Previously, health care workers, educators, and senior citizens were given top priority, followed by people who work essential jobs, those at risk for developing a serious illness from COVID-19, and anyone 55 or older.
"Soon, this virus will be a preventable disease if people choose to get vaccinated," Dr. Anne Zink, Alaska's chief medical officer, said. Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R), who tested positive for COVID-19 last month, told reporters he believes "we'll get enough Alaskans that want to be part of this process that we're going to put this behind us as quickly as possible."
Alaska has the country's highest COVID-19 vaccination rate, with 25 percent of the population at least partially vaccinated, compared to the national average of 18 percent,theAnchorage Daily Newsreports.Catherine Garcia
What needs to be added in with that article is that Alaska started having significant instances where they had excess vaccine at sites so they moved to making it eligible to all while still prioritizing. Which is a good move. Not necessarily the right move for other states. If you announce eligibility for all too soon without the vaccine to go with it, it can get chaotic.
Califorinia/Pasadena has a little disaster going there in that department. They are a line-jumping culture already without opening it up to more.
Pasadena Cancels COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic After Slots Filled by Hollywood and Media Employees
https://variety.com/2021/film/news/...-clinic-hollywood-media-employees-1234926792/
This post aged well.
Not going well with the AstraZeneca vaccine. Remember that the EU countries trashed the mRNA vaccines as risky and wanted a "traditional" vaccine. Setting the table for their lack of supply and issues today...
Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Italy halt use of AstraZeneca vaccine due to safety concerns
https://www.france24.com/en/video/2...of-astrazeneca-vaccine-due-to-safety-concerns
Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Italy halt use of AstraZeneca vaccine due to safety concerns
https://www.france24.com/en/video/2...of-astrazeneca-vaccine-due-to-safety-concerns
COVID-19 brings a new dawn for messenger RNA vaccines
https://www.axios.com/whats-next-for-rna-vaccines-eeb8a8f7-d7e1-4538-8f3b-05a8742ba6ec.html
The blockbuster success of messenger RNA vaccines in the COVID-19 pandemic could give a boost to efforts to use the technology to tackle cancers, malaria and other intractable illnesses.
Why it matters: There's a pressing need for new ways to prevent infection from viruses like HIV and influenza that conventional vaccines have struggled to address and to treat rare genetic diseases and cancers that kill millions each year. Vaccines and therapies based on messenger RNA (mRNA) hold promise as a solution, but the technology is still in its infancy.
"The pandemic has alerted the world to how good this platform is," says Drew Weissman, an immunologist at the University of Pennsylvania whose research underpins the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech.
https://www.axios.com/whats-next-for-rna-vaccines-eeb8a8f7-d7e1-4538-8f3b-05a8742ba6ec.html
The blockbuster success of messenger RNA vaccines in the COVID-19 pandemic could give a boost to efforts to use the technology to tackle cancers, malaria and other intractable illnesses.
Why it matters: There's a pressing need for new ways to prevent infection from viruses like HIV and influenza that conventional vaccines have struggled to address and to treat rare genetic diseases and cancers that kill millions each year. Vaccines and therapies based on messenger RNA (mRNA) hold promise as a solution, but the technology is still in its infancy.
"The pandemic has alerted the world to how good this platform is," says Drew Weissman, an immunologist at the University of Pennsylvania whose research underpins the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech.
- "It will hopefully make future studies and approvals easier."
- Proteins — a broad class of molecules that includes antibodies, enzymes and some hormones — are at the center of the immune system's response to viral and bacterial invaders and, when a protein malfunctions, disease can result.
- Vaccines and therapies that use mRNA can, in theory, be used to train the immune system to recognize invaders and aberrations and correct or restore proteins involved in a host of diseases.
- But the technology faces hurdles around its delivery within the body, its effectiveness against some diseases and its production.
- It includes infectious diseases like malaria and influenza. And cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia and cancers are all potential targets for mRNA-based therapies.
- But some conditions — like diabetes, which results from misregulation of insulin in the body — may not be ripe for mRNA therapy because "we don't have control over how much protein is produced by the RNA," Weissman says.
- With mRNA therapies, the goal in cases like cystic fibrosis may be to restore the properfunction of a protein, whereas in others, mRNA could be a way to deliver replacement proteins or gene-editing enzymes to treat genetic diseases before birth.
- Moderna, for example, has 24 mRNA vaccines in development, and in January, the company announced it was pursuing three new vaccines: for HIV, seasonal flu and the Nipah virus, which causes encephalitis and has a fatality rate as high as 75%.
- Clinical trials — one for a seasonal influenza vaccine, another for a universal flu vaccine, a vaccine for genital herpes and two for HIV — are underway at Penn, Weissman says.
- She and others are taking advantage of the speed at which mRNA vaccines can be made by plugging in mRNA sequences to make vaccines that trigger different levels of immune response, allowing researchers to home in on sweet spots for diseases like TB where too strong an immune response can be dangerous.
- For cancer, mRNA is being investigated as a way to deliver to cells the code for proteins in a tumor, which could even be personalized to match an individual's cancer mutations. The cells then produce those proteins, training the immune system to recognize and destroy the cancer.
- Some early results are promising, but its success has been limited in other studies.
- Weissman told MIT Tech Review's Antonio Regalado he's come up with a solution to get the nanoparticles that carry mRNA to bone marrow stem cells and he hopes to use it to deliver gene therapy for sickle cell anemia.
- The fragility of mRNA also means there can be strict manufacturing and storage needs.
- And the full cost of treatments is unknown — large-scale manufacturing of mRNA vaccines is still being optimized and, despite their pandemic moment, "RNA vaccines might yet face financial headwinds," Elie Dolgin writes for Nature News.
The Euros are refusing to take the AZ vaccine and it’s putting a damper on the whole global effort. Furthermore, we in the US, have a substantial amount of AZ doses sitting around for an EAU that we most likely will not give but are probably holding off because we don’t want to upset the rest of the world that already authorized its use.
It’s just a big mess with the AZ vaccine because with the Euros balking and us not authorizing it yet.
As I said the other day, this is soon to be renamed Bidenovax.
Along with the others.