Clarifying COVID-19 (aka Yes cuz all these sites want to hurt people 🙄)
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Here's the science behind the COVID vaccine in pregnancy
Existing evidence on the safety and efficacy of getting a COVID vaccine in pregnancy all points the same way: the shot is important for maternal and fetal health.
COVID-19 vaccine side-effects less likely in pregnant people, says study
Pregnant people experienced lower rates of side-effects from the COVID-19 vaccine than their counterparts who weren't pregnant, a new Canadian study suggests.
Fact Check: Most cases of myocarditis after COVID-19 vaccines are not irreversible
Medical experts on the basis of evidence so far disagree with claims made on social media that myocarditis following the COVID-19 vaccine is irreversible. Social media claims that “over the years,” many children diagnosed with myocarditis will die are unfounded, representatives from the Myocarditis Foundation say.
An Evidence-Based Approach to Covid-19 Vaccination | NEJM
This article from the FDA compares broad U.S. recommendations on Covid vaccination
with those from other countries and announces the adoption of an evidence-based approach
to such recommendations.
Pfizer vaccine 70 percent effective against omicron hospitalizations: research
A new South African study finds that the two-dose Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is 70 percent effective at preventing hospitalizations due to the omicron variant.The research publ…
What we know about the safety, efficacy of mRNA vaccines amid recent scrutiny
Infectious disease experts say mRNA vaccines have been studied for decades, they are safe and effective, and were instrumental in saving lives during the COVID pandemic.
Bruce Arthur: Doug Ford’s shaky math, twisted logic block hospital vaccine mandates, and prolong the pandemic
The decision, after weeks of foot-dragging and citing numbers that weren’t backed up, was the latest in a string of moves that give comfort to the anti-vaccine community.
Where are the Double Blind Placebo Controlled Randomized Trials about Vaccines - VAXOPEDIA
Learn about the role of double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized trials in vaccine research. Explore how they provide reliable evidence on vaccine safety and efficacy.
RFK Jr. resurrects an old antivax half-truth about “saline placebos” in randomized controlled trials of vaccines | Science-Based Medicine
RFK Jr. has resurrected the misleading claim that childhood vaccines have never been tested in randomized controlled trials with a saline placebo controls.
Almost none of the vaccines on the list that weren’t licensed based on RCTs using saline controls are not first generation vaccines, which means that it would have been unethical to test them against a saline control.
The bottom line is that, if you trace back the history of the vaccines developed for a disease like, say, measles, you will eventually find the RCT testing the first effective vaccine against it and that vaccine will have had a placebo control. It might not have been saline (although in most cases decades ago it was), but it will have been a placebo that was “inert” with respect to preventing that disease. Also, clinical trial standards have evolved over the last 70 years. If a vaccine was approved 60+ years ago using methodology that today we might consider inadequate, that does not change the calculus when it comes to testing new vaccines against the same disease. Such vaccines can’t ethically be tested against saline placebo.
This is what it could look like to produce a vaccine that works on all COVID-19 variants
With new coronavirus variants continuing to emerge, the development of a so-called universal vaccine offering broad, long-term protection needs to be the focus of an intense effort, one that may share characteristics of the widely hailed Operation Warp Speed, scientists suggest.
Quebec confirms 1st death related to rare AstraZeneca-linked blood clots, emphasizes benefits outweigh risks
The Quebec Health Ministry has confirmed the death of a woman in the province after the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine she received in early April led to a rare blood clot in her brain.
Interim Com-COV2 trial data evaluated two-dose COVID-19 vaccination regimens with
first dose of BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) or ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (Oxford-AstraZeneca) alongside
second dose as either homologous vaccination, heterologous NVX-CoV2373 (Novavax) vaccination,
or heterologous mRNA-1273 (Moderna) vaccination.1 These data showed that ChAdOx1 nCoV-19
vaccination followed by NVX-CoV2373 vaccination drove optimal T-cell immunogenicity
and excellent antibody induction. These heterologous vaccine approach findings are
now likely to be extrapolated in developing scheduling strategies for other vaccines.
COVID-19 update: Pandemic toll, antiviral treatments, natural immunity, and crackdowns on medical exemptions
An extra 19 488 Canadians died during the COVID-19 pandemic than would have been expected normally, according to Statistics Canada.
However, additional deaths from COVID-19, delayed medical care and a rise in substance use were likely offset by fewer deaths from influenza and other causes thanks to
Had COVID? You’ll probably make antibodies for a lifetime
People who recover from mild COVID-19 have bone-marrow cells that can churn out antibodies for decades, although viral variants could dampen some of the protection they offer.
COVID vaccine effects wane over time but still prevent death and severe illness
Governments are launching booster programmes over fears about waning immunity levels, but vaccines are still highly effective at what matters most – preventing severe disease.
The impact of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination on Alpha & Delta variant transmission
Background Pre-Delta, vaccination reduced SARS-CoV-2 transmission from individuals infected despite vaccination, potentially via reducing viral loads. While vaccination still lowers the risk of infection, similar viral loads in vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals infected with Delta question how much vaccination prevents transmission.
Methods We performed a retrospective observational cohort study of adult contacts of SARS-CoV-2-infected adult index cases using English contact testing data. We used multivariable Poisson regression to investigate associations between transmission and index case and contact vaccination, and how these vary with Alpha and Delta variants (classified using S-gene detection/calendar trends) and time since second vaccination.
Results 54,667/146,243(37.4%) PCR-tested contacts of 108,498 index cases were PCR-positive. Two doses of BNT162b2 or ChAdOx1 vaccines in Alpha index cases were independently associated with reduced PCR-positivity in contacts (aRR, adjusted rate ratio vs. unvaccinated=0.32[95%CI 0.21-0.48] and 0.48[0.30-0.78] respectively). The Delta variant attenuated vaccine-associated reductions in transmission: two BNT162b2 doses reduced Delta transmission (aRR=0.50[0.39-0.65]), more than ChAdOx1 (aRR=0.76[0.70-0.82]). Variation in Ct values (indicative of viral load) explained 7-23% of vaccine-associated transmission reductions. Transmission reductions declined over time post-second vaccination, for Delta reaching similar levels to unvaccinated individuals by 12 weeks for ChAdOx1 and attenuating substantially for BNT162b2. Protection in contacts also declined in the 3 months post-second vaccination.
Conclusions Vaccination reduces transmission of Delta, but by less than the Alpha variant. The impact of vaccination decreased over time. Factors other than PCR Ct values at diagnosis are important in understanding vaccine-associated transmission reductions. Booster vaccinations may help control transmission together with preventing infections.
### Competing Interest Statement
DWE declares lecture fees from Gilead outside the submitted work. No other author has a conflict of interest to declare.
### Funding Statement
This study was funded by the UK Government's Department of Health and Social Care. This work was supported by the National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit (NIHR HPRU) in Healthcare Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance at Oxford University in partnership with Public Health England (PHE) (NIHR200915), and the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, Oxford. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the National Institute for Health Research, the Department of Health or Public Health England. DWE is a Robertson Foundation Fellow and an NIHR Oxford BRC Senior Fellow. ASW is an NIHR Senior Investigator.
### Author Declarations
I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.
Yes
The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:
The study was performed as public health surveillance and NHS Test and Trace program quality assurance, under Section 251 of the NHS Act 2006 with approvals from Public Health England (PHE), the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS Test and Trace. PHE's Research Ethics and Governance Group (PHE's Research Ethics Committee) reviewed the study protocol and confirmed compliance with all regulatory requirements. As no regulatory or ethical issues were identified, it was agreed that full ethical review was not needed, and the protocol was approved.
I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals.
Yes
I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance).
Yes
I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines and uploaded the relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material as supplementary files, if applicable.
Yes
Applications to use the data in this study can be made to NHS Digital's Data Access Request Service, please see for more details.