COVID-19 treatment and vaccine update thread

[hitbyambulance]

In other news, there's a big breakthrough in treatment.

"Researchers engineer a tiny antibody capable of neutralizing the coronavirus"

Obviously early and more research is necessary, but really promising.

this was an article of interest - i hadn't known of this before.

[Daehawk]

A Few Covid Vaccine Recipients Developed a Rare Blood Disorder

One day after receiving her first dose of Moderna’s Covid vaccine, Luz Legaspi, 72, woke up with bruises on her arms and legs, and blisters that bled inside her mouth.

She was hospitalized in New York City that day, Jan. 19, with a severe case of immune thrombocytopenia — a lack of platelets, a blood component essential for clotting.

The same condition led to the death in January of Dr. Gregory Michael, 56, an obstetrician in Miami Beach whose symptoms appeared three days after he received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Treatments failed to restore his platelets, and after two weeks in the hospital he died from a brain hemorrhage.

It is not known whether this blood disorder is related to the Covid vaccines. More than 31 million people in the United States have received at least one dose, and 36 similar cases had been reported to the government’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, VAERS, by the end of January. The cases involved either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine, the only two authorized so far for emergency use in the United States.

Hematologists with expertise in treating immune thrombocytopenia said they suspected that the vaccine did play a role. But they said that cases after vaccination were likely to be exceedingly rare, possibly the result of an unknown predisposition in some people to react to the vaccine by developing an immune response that destroys their platelets. The disorder has occurred, rarely, in people who received other inoculations, particularly the measles-mumps-rubella one.

“I think it is possible that there is an association,” Dr. James Bussel, a hematologist and professor emeritus at Weill Cornell Medicine who has written more than 300 scientific articles on the platelet disorder, said in an interview. “I’m assuming there’s something that made the people who developed thrombocytopenia susceptible, given what a tiny percentage of recipients they are.”

He added: “Having it happen after a vaccine is well-known and has been seen with many other vaccines. Why it happens, we don’t know.”

[Kraken]

So if the association is real, it's one in a million? We could have 300+ dead! Pretty good odds compared to covid.

[El Guapo]

My dad is getting the (first dose of) the vaccine on Wednesday, which is exciting.

[dbt1949]

I finally found a local drug store that gives out the vaccine and got on the waiting list.
I'm expecting to wait for weeks or months. We'll see.

[Daehawk]

Just like the flu you can still catch COVID after having both doses of vaccine.

[Blackhawk]

Just like the flu you can still catch COVID after having both doses of vaccine.

Just like the flu, the chances are way less. And just like the flu, that means significantly fewer people spreading it around. And just like the flu, the two work together to drop your chances even more.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

And I think that the efficacy of the Covid vaccines are higher than the flu vaccine. I think the effectiveness of the flu vaccine is often ~50%. In comparison, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are 95% effective, at least in mitigating serious cases.

[stessier]

And I think that the efficacy of the Covid vaccines are higher than the flu vaccine. I think the effectiveness of the flu vaccine is often ~50%. In comparison, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are 95% effective, at least in mitigating serious cases.

And the biggie is there has either been 0 or 1 death from someone vaccinated, if I recall correctly.

[YellowKing]

Got my second dose this morning. Now I wait for the other shoe to drop....

I really love our hospital staff. They had a classic rock station blaring and the whole place was a party atmosphere. I was in and out in 20 minutes, and 15 of that was the mandatory waiting in the lobby after the shot to make sure there were no reactions.

[Defiant]

Why you don't want to schedule a mammogram in the 4-6 weeks after getting the second dose:

The new guidelines were issued after reports of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines causing swollen lymph nodes in the armpit area where the shot was administered.

That area of the body is also where enlarged lymph nodes can be a sign of breast cancer, according to Dr. Jennifer Ashton, ABC News chief medical correspondent.

"What they're seeing in real time is enlarged lymph nodes in women who have had the COVID-19 vaccine and they don't want that to produce confusion with results of their mammogram," Ashton, a board-certified OBGYN, said of the SBI's new guidelines. "But the most important thing is to realize that just seeing an enlarged lymph node in an armpit without a breast finding is not necessarily a sign of breast cancer."

https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/well ... e-75849345

[YellowKing]

Update - had no side effects from the second dose, and neither did my mom. If you pressed me I could point to a very mild headache and some tiredness, but that could just as easily have been the result of being cooped up with two kids on a rainy Saturday.

[Lorini]

Update - had no side effects from the second dose, and neither did my mom. If you pressed me I could point to a very mild headache and some tiredness, but that could just as easily have been the result of being cooped up with two kids on a rainy Saturday.

My arm was in great pain and pain killers (both Tylenol and Motrin) did nothing. Today is the first day since Thursday night when I got the vaccine that I didn't wake up with a painful arm.

[Unagi]

Update - had no side effects from the second dose, and neither did my mom. If you pressed me I could point to a very mild headache and some tiredness, but that could just as easily have been the result of being cooped up with two kids on a rainy Saturday.

My arm was in great pain and pain killers (both Tylenol and Motrin) did nothing. Today is the first day since Thursday night when I got the vaccine that I didn't wake up with a painful arm.

Is this the 1st or 2nd shot for you ?
I’ve heard different reactions on the 2nd shot.

[malchior]

We got our 1st on Thursday and I had what I call typical vaccine arm pain the next day with a little atypical (for me) radiating pain to my hand. My wife had a different experience with pain radiating up to her neck.

[Zaxxon]

It's awesome to see OOers getting their shots. Can't wait for mine. Summer can't come quickly enough...

[Ralph-Wiggum]

My oldest brother and his wife in NY got an email this morning saying that they were now eligible for the vaccines since his wife has asthma and he has cancer. Neither of those things is true. Still, they tried to log on to the site but it was down. My guess they had mistakenly sent out those emails to a bunch of people and their servers crashed with the demand.

[Lorini]

Update - had no side effects from the second dose, and neither did my mom. If you pressed me I could point to a very mild headache and some tiredness, but that could just as easily have been the result of being cooped up with two kids on a rainy Saturday.

My arm was in great pain and pain killers (both Tylenol and Motrin) did nothing. Today is the first day since Thursday night when I got the vaccine that I didn't wake up with a painful arm.

Is this the 1st or 2nd shot for you ?
I’ve heard different reactions on the 2nd shot.

Second, sorry, should have said. Arm pain is still there today but much lessened thankfully.

[ImLawBoy]

I saw a slot open up (March 20), but by the time I filled in the information required it was gone. I'll keep looking . . . .

[ImLawBoy]

Appointments for tomorrow for the first dose! (Hoping that these don't disappear. )

[jztemple2]

My wife and I are both eligible for the vaccine, being over 65, but she is still in early recovery from her back surgery so even the idea of sitting somewhere in line isn't feasible. Not that there are any appointments available, all our local ones are snatched up almost as soon as they are announced. Since they are doing shots at our local Publix supermarket we'll just get an appointment there when she is able to do so and the rush calms down.

Meanwhile, I thought folks might enjoy today's XKCD comic:

[Zarathud]

Appointments for tomorrow for the first dose! (Hoping that these don't disappear. )

With the weather, I expect you can get your shot outside!

[ImLawBoy]

Appointments for tomorrow for the first dose! (Hoping that these don't disappear. )

With the weather, I expect you can get your shot outside!

This is going to be interesting. My wife's appointment is at 12:45 and mine is at 3:45. If we can get out of the alley, we're on main roads the whole way there. The key will be getting out of the alley (and then back into the garage).

[dbt1949]

Alley Oop!

[ImLawBoy]

Looks like our best bet for making our appointments is going to be getting a Lyft/Uber. Trapped in a small vehicle with someone who let's others in their vehicle all the time sounds like a super safe way to travel to a vaccination!

[edit]Wondering if the bus might be safer. Potential for more people, but better spacing. Hmmm.[/edit]

[Lorini]

I guess it's too cold to crack the window in the car?

[Grifman]

My 93, almost 94 year old mom had gotten both of her doses, no side effects whatsoever. Very happy that I don't have to worry about infecting her when I visit now.

[Jeff V]

I guess it's too cold to crack the window in the car?

My son wouldn't stop whining that his water was frozen when coming home from the water park yesterday. I threatened to open the window and freeze him as well.

[ImLawBoy]

First dose administered! Of course, the bus never showed up for my wife and we couldn't get a Lyft. My dad offered to come out from the suburbs to drive us. While he was on his way, my wife talked to the vaccination folks, and they said they'd hold her appointment since she was going to be late, but that they needed a letter from my son's doctor confirming that he qualifies as medically fragile. We called the practice and told them and they said they'd e-mail us a letter when they could. It still wasn't here when my wife got to the appointment. She called again and left a message, and as she was leaving they called back and said they'd get the note over in 10 minutes and to go back in. My wife went back in and showed them the letter on her phone, and then they claimed that we weren't in the current phase of vaccinations. My wife pulled up the city's website and showed them and they finally relented. My dad brought her home and picked me up. I was in and out in 10 minutes.

[Zaxxon]

First dose administered! Of course, the bus never showed up for my wife and we couldn't get a Lyft. My dad offered to come out from the suburbs to drive us. While he was on his way, my wife talked to the vaccination folks, and they said they'd hold her appointment since she was going to be late, but that they needed a letter from my son's doctor confirming that he qualifies as medically fragile. We called the practice and told them and they said they'd e-mail us a letter when they could. It still wasn't here when my wife got to the appointment. She called again and left a message, and as she was leaving they called back and said they'd get the note over in 10 minutes and to go back in. My wife went back in and showed them the letter on her phone, and then they claimed that we weren't in the current phase of vaccinations. My wife pulled up the city's website and showed them and they finally relented. My dad brought her home and picked me up. I was in and out in 10 minutes.

Congrats. Step by step, we approach herd immOOnity.

[Kraken]

After a clown show rollout, MA's government is getting pressured to do what they should have done all along -- set up a central registry and contact people when an appointment is available for them. Of course that will take awhile to set up and implement. Meanwhile, we're still near the bottom in % of residents immunized. Since neither Wife nor I are in the current risk cohort, we haven't even tried to navigate the system. Our number is supposed to come up in April.

[dbt1949]

Arkansas still doesn't have a central registry. I guess you're just supposed to call hospitals,doctors, and pharmacies until you can get on a list.
Every once in awhile the news talks of some location that is giving shots....after the fact. How in the hell are we supposed to do that?

[Kraken]

Our number is supposed to come up in April.

Make that May. Or June, July, or August. Definitely by August.

"If you start talking about when the vaccine would be more widely available to the general population, I was hoping that that would be by the end of April, namely, have gone through all the priorities and now say, OK anyone can get it," Fauci said. "That was predicated on J&J, the Johnson product, having considerably more doses than now we know they're going to have."
Johnson & Johnson will have fewer than 10 million vaccine doses available if the US Food and Drug Administration authorizes it for emergency use in the coming weeks, a federal health official told CNN earlier this month.

"So, that timeline will probably be prolonged, maybe into mid- to late May and early June, that's fine," Fauci said.

He downplayed the shifted expectations and noted that there will be several months between when vaccinations are generally available and when each person will individually be able to access one.

"You can say, let's say in May, vaccines are going to be widely available to almost anybody May, June, but it may take to June, July and August to finally get everyone vaccinated," he said.

[Daehawk]

Isn't the J&J coverage worse than a flu shot resistance? Why would a person take that over the 90%+ vaccines? I mean some side effects and 2 shots is worth it I think.

[Kraken]

You don't need to choose. Vaccination sites aren't going to have a selection. Circumstances will determine which one(s) you can get. We might reach a point where CVS has J&J and Walgreen's has Astro Zenaca, but you won't be able to shop around anytime soon.

[Max Peck]

The J&J vaccine isn't as good as the mRNA vaccines in terms of preventing COVID-19 infection, but in the clinical trials it was 100% effective at preventing severe symptoms that result in hospitalization or death, so I wouldn't turn up my nose at receiving it. It's also much cheaper and doesn't require any special storage infrastructure, so it may well be the vaccine of choice for the masses once it's available in sufficient quantity.

[Lorini]

Isn't the J&J coverage worse than a flu shot resistance? Why would a person take that over the 90%+ vaccines? I mean some side effects and 2 shots is worth it I think.

From my understanding, it's basically the same as the flu shot. Smoove can speak to this better than I, but for public health, a single dose is a lot better than having to hope people get two doses, even if that single dose isn't as effective in prevention as the other.

Keep in mind that right now, there are more people who want the vaccine than there is vaccine. But it's not going to be that way forever. Eventually there will be more vaccine available, and then those who are vaccine hesitant might certainly want to just deal with one vaccine that will stop them from having to be hospitalized or stops them from dying.

[Daehawk]

Can you get the 1 shot type now and in some time...like maybe a few months....get one of the 2 shot types?

[Lorini]

Can you get the 1 shot type now and in some time...like maybe a few months....get one of the 2 shot types?

I'm sure that hasn't been studied. You might grow an extra arm??? Who knows

[Unagi]

Can you get the 1 shot type now and in some time...like maybe a few months....get one of the 2 shot types?

Can’t really pick your type and also, most (all?) states are not re-vaccinating anyone at all, at this time.