We had a significant head start over every country besides the UK.
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Experts at the World Health Organisation have said that two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine can be spaced up to six weeks apart - just half the 12 week gap that recipients in the UK are being told to wait.
WHOâs strategic advisory group of experts on immunisation, known as SAGE, formally published its advice after a full review of the vaccine, which is the first to get emergency approval from the UN health agency to fight the coronavirus pandemic. It said an interval of 21 to 28 days between the doses is recommended.
In the UK, patients are currently expected to wait up to 84 days for a second dose of the vaccine, after the government decided on a new protocol in an effort to get as many people vaccinated as possible.
The unilateral decision, not apparently backed by any scientific data, has led to criticism at home and abroad. But a spokesperson for the WHO, Dr Margaret Harris, said data from the British experiment could help contribute to possible revisions in the WHO recommendation.
In its new guidance, the WHO noted that âa number of countries face exceptional circumstances of vaccine supply constraints combined with a high disease burden,â and said some have been considering delaying the administration of a second dose as a way to broaden initial coverage.
The agency said this âpragmatic approachâ could be considered as a response to âexceptional epidemiological circumstances.â
âWHOâs recommendation at present is that the interval between doses may be extended up to 42 days (6 weeks), on the basis of currently available clinical trial data,â it said, adding: âShould additional data become available on longer intervals between doses, revision of this recommendation will be considered.â
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This is the best we can do and the greatest vaccine rollout in human history.
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This is how we could get rapid tests done here over the summer, but at least you usually only had to camp out from like 430 AM or so to get a test before they ran out.
Fewer than two weeks before the new administration takes over and everyone gets⌠reminded that you canât fix stupid.
Itâs very very likely our Worldometers 7dma for daily deaths surpasses 9/11 today. We would only need 3,293 today and that seems like a lock.
Averaging a 9/11+ every single day for the foreseeable future with still zero visible plan on how to meaningfully deal with this situation other than wait for vaccinations that are happening at a snails pace is probably even more insane than what we saw Wednesday. Has Biden even come out and announced what his day 1 Covid plan is? Because if he has I havenât seen it and we are 12 days away from inauguration.
So far, heâs said he plans to invoke the Defense Production Act for PPE, testing, and raw materials for vaccines. And heâs proposed a Pandemic Testing Board to increase testing capacity. He wants mask mandates everywhere, but thatâs up to the states. And he plans on putting scientists in charge.
So pretty much what we have now? I mean putting scientists in charge I guess is new but if you donât plan on acting on any of their advice then Iâm not sure how good that is.
The bottom line is we wonât have enough people vaccinated to matter until summer, maybe later. Give this thing another 6 months at this rate of death and we are hitting a million dead. A bunch of half measures donât really excite me much and I doubt will have much of an impact. The problem now isnât that we donât have PPE/testing it is that the vaccine rollout is a clusterfuck and there is no top down approach to getting this thing under control. It sounds like Bidenâs plan is basically more of the same.
That being said if he gets vaccines out faster that is good. But that is literally the only thing on that list that will have any impact on changing the course we are on.
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NB it should be noted this is 30 days old, before the supply could be known and before issues like âfill and finishâ were envisaged and experienced.
Seems ambitiousâŚ
I read an article where Biden plans on sending out all the vaccines have at once to get more people the first shot. Apparently right now we are holding back 50% of the supply for second shots in case they canât manufacture the rest of the vaccine fast enough.
Why wouldnât Biden plan on acting on the advice of scientists?
Maybe you just have unreasonable expectations of what is possible within our current health care infrastructure.
If it were up to me, I would hold back some percentage of the supply to ensure that everyone who gets the first shot can get the second one on the prescribed schedule, but it doesnât have to be 50%.
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Iâm pretty sure the scientists unilaterally think we should have greater restrictions on public activity. Biden has openly said he wonât do that. Thatâs why I think that.
Iâm not sure how much authority Biden has on limiting public activity. Seems like thatâs something the states are responsible for.
Not even sure if it matters. All the good faith was wasted over the summer, then it was specifically poisoned by Trump.
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Jinxed myself hard with my earlier post. Colleague called out so now I get a covid tent shift today and tomorrow. So close.
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It seems like Trump has taken an awful lot of heat here for his inaction (in addition to poisoning the well like CN said). If Bidenâs âplanâ is basically identical to Trumpâs in actual practice he deserves the same criticism. From what I have seen of what he has said he pretty much intends to continue on the current path with Covid, maybe with faster vaccine production/distribution.
More testing/PPE does literally nothing at this point. Those things are plentiful already.
If I were him I would have already formed a multi-state task force with every governor willing to come to the table to agree on stricter regulation as the primary members. I would entice them with moving Day 1 to push legislation through congress to fund states willing to take more extreme Covid measures and fund individuals negatively affected. I would then attempt to do it Day 1. He will have control of all branches, he could do it. He seems to be pulling a Trump and fixating on the wrong things. Focusing on PPE now is like when Trump became the king of ventilators.
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Canadians travelling to Florida for vaccinations
Some Canadian snowbirds - retired people who travel south for the winter - are finding they are able to get vaccinations in Florida earlier than they could if they remained at home.
Florida is allowing anyone over the age of 65 to be vaccinated for no charge. That includes non-citizens.
Canada is prioritising health workers and people living in group homes.
Getting a vaccine there is like winning the lottery, one couple tell CBC News. They say they were able to book vaccinations for other Canadian friends, who are now planning to travel to Florida for the jab after initially postponing their trip due to lack of vaccination.
Link for aboveâŚ
The below test is used in LA and I believe places here in Chicago use it too