Fogbow

Jim wrote: ↑Wed Jan 12, 2022 2:26 pm Legalized marijuana to the rescue!!!

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ajherrington/2022/01/11/study-finds-cannabis-compounds-prevent-infection-by-covid-19-virus/?sh=596c41ae1753

Compounds in cannabis can prevent infection from the virus that causes Covid-19 by blocking its entry into cells, according to a study published this week by researchers affiliated with Oregon State University. A report on the research, “Cannabinoids Block Cellular Entry of SARS-CoV-2 and the Emerging Variants,” was published online on Monday by the Journal of Natural Products.

The researchers found that two cannabinoid acids commonly found in hemp varietals of cannabis, cannabigerolic acid, or CBGA, and cannabidiolic acid, also known as CBDA, can bind to the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. By binding to the spike protein, the compounds can prevent the virus from entering cells and causing infection, potentially offering new avenues to prevent and treat the disease.

High Demand for Drug to Prevent Covid in the Vulnerable, Yet Doses Go Unused
The treatment could be lifesaving for many who cannot get protection from the vaccine, but confusion about the drug has made some doctors slow to prescribe it.

By Amanda Morris and Sheryl Gay Stolberg
March 6, 2022

► Show Spoiler

Sasha Mallett, Sue Taylor and Kimberly Cooley all have immune deficiencies that make them especially vulnerable to Covid-19, and all have tried to get the same thing: a new treatment that can prevent the disease in people who either cannot produce antibodies after receiving a coronavirus vaccine or cannot get vaccinated at all.

Ms. Cooley, a liver transplant recipient in Duck Hill, Miss., got the antibody drug, called Evusheld, from her transplant team at the University of Mississippi Medical Center with no trouble. But Ms. Taylor, of Cincinnati, was denied the treatment by two hospitals near her home. And Dr. Mallett, a physician in Portland, Ore., had to drive five hours to a hospital willing to give her a dose.

As much of the nation unmasks amid plummeting caseloads and fresh hope that the pandemic is fading, the Biden administration has insisted it will continue protecting the more than seven million Americans with weakened immune systems who remain vulnerable to Covid. Evusheld, which was developed by AstraZeneca with financial support from the federal government, is essential to its strategy.

But there is so much confusion about the drug among health care providers that roughly 80 percent of the available doses are sitting unused in warehouses and on pharmacy and hospital shelves — even as patients like Ms. Taylor, 67, and Dr. Mallett, 38, go to great lengths, often without success, to get them.

Because they have a weakened response to the coronavirus vaccine and may not be able to fight off Covid-19, many immunocompromised people have continued to isolate themselves at home and feel left behind as the country reopens. Evusheld, which is administered in two consecutive injections, appears to offer long-lasting protection — perhaps for half a year — giving it considerable appeal for this group.

For now, though, the drug is in short supply. Because it is authorized only for emergency use, it is being distributed by the federal government. The Biden administration has purchased 1.7 million doses — enough to fully treat 850,000 people — and had nearly 650,000 doses ready for distribution to the states as of this past week, according to a senior federal health official. But only about 370,000 doses have been ordered by the states, and fewer than a quarter of those have been used.



https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/06/us/p ... tment.html

Moderna announced on Thursday that it had asked the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use authorization for a second booster dose of its COVID-19 vaccine for all adults.

Moderna said in a press release that it requested the authorization for all adults with the intent that health care providers and the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention can have flexibility in determining the appropriate use for a second booster shot.

It said it made the request based in part on recent data from the U.S. and Israel following the emergence of the highly contagious omicron variant.

This comes after Pfizer and BioNTech on Tuesday asked the FDA for emergency use authorization for a second booster dose of their vaccine for adults age 65 and older.

Lani wrote: ↑Fri Mar 18, 2022 3:01 am And now omicron #2 is spreading. BA.2. Also seems to be mild - compared to the original virus - not a lot of data about the vaccines currently in use.

Sam the Centipede wrote: ↑Fri Mar 18, 2022 3:10 am

Lani wrote: ↑Fri Mar 18, 2022 3:01 am And now omicron #2 is spreading. BA.2. Also seems to be mild - compared to the original virus - not a lot of data about the vaccines currently in use.

Some data in Europe suggests that the omicron subvariants are not milder than the original virus, but obviously cause less harm overall because so many people are protected against severe disease by vaccines and/or prior infection.

I haven't looked, I don't have an opinion, just sayin' that "but it's milder" tropes sometimes appear without good foundation.

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is planning to give Americans age 50 or older the option of a second booster of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna coronavirus vaccine without recommending outright that they get one, according to several people familiar with the plan.

Major uncertainties have complicated the decision, including how long the protection from a second booster would last, how to explain the plan to the public and even whether the overall goal is to shield Americans from severe disease or from less serious infections as well, since they could lead to long Covid.

Much depends on when the next wave of Covid infections will hit, and how hard. Should the nation be hit by a virulent surge in the next few months, offering a second booster now for older Americans could arguably save thousands of lives and prevent tens of thousands of hospitalizations.

But if no major wave hits until the fall, extra shots now could turn out to be a questionable intervention that wastes vaccine doses, deepens vaccination fatigue and sows doubt about the government’s strategy. The highly contagious Omicron subvariant BA.2 is helping to drive another surge of coronavirus cases in Europe and is responsible for about a third of new cases in the United States, but health officials have said they do not anticipate a major surge caused by the subvariant

The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday authorized a second booster shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna coronavirus vaccines for people 50 and older, a decision intended to help shore up protection against severe illness.

The shots, which can be given at least four months after a first booster dose, are not a permanent solution to the pandemic. But with a still-more-transmissible version of the omicron coronavirus variant becoming dominant in the United States, even a short-term immunity boost among those at risk of severe illness could provide a valuable layer of protection.

The second booster is expected to become available immediately after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reaches a decision on who should get it.

MN-Skeptic wrote: ↑Tue Mar 29, 2022 11:56 am I had my first booster at the very end of October, so 6 months later would be around the end of April. Since there are two weddings I’m looking forward to in July, I’ll certainly get the 2nd booster by Memorial Day.

AndyinPA wrote: ↑Tue Mar 29, 2022 12:26 pm

I hope to have a Great Lakes cruise set up for September, three weeks after we get back from the train trip.

MN-Skeptic wrote: ↑Tue Mar 29, 2022 11:56 am I had my first booster at the very end of October, so 6 months later would be around the end of April. Since there are two weddings I’m looking forward to in July, I’ll certainly get the 2nd booster by Memorial Day.

filly wrote: ↑Wed Mar 30, 2022 2:45 pm

MN-Skeptic wrote: ↑Tue Mar 29, 2022 11:56 am I had my first booster at the very end of October, so 6 months later would be around the end of April. Since there are two weddings I’m looking forward to in July, I’ll certainly get the 2nd booster by Memorial Day.

So if I'm reading you and Andy correctly, you ladies are timing your boosters based on your plans? Just wondering if you're concerned about the BA 2 Variant surging in the next few weeks?

AndyinPA wrote: ↑Wed Mar 30, 2022 3:05 pm

filly wrote: ↑Wed Mar 30, 2022 2:45 pm

MN-Skeptic wrote: ↑Tue Mar 29, 2022 11:56 am I had my first booster at the very end of October, so 6 months later would be around the end of April. Since there are two weddings I’m looking forward to in July, I’ll certainly get the 2nd booster by Memorial Day.

So if I'm reading you and Andy correctly, you ladies are timing your boosters based on your plans? Just wondering if you're concerned about the BA 2 Variant surging in the next few weeks?

Yeah. I’m already rethinking that.

The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday authorized a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11.

Children in the age group can get a booster shot at least five months after they’ve received the primary two-dose series, the FDA said in a statement.

The booster shot is 10 micrograms, the same dosage as the primary series for the age group and a third of the dosage given to people ages 12 and up.

The FDA’s decision will now go to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which will make a recommendation about how the boosters should be used for the age group. The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday authorized a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11.

Foggy wrote: ↑Sun Jul 03, 2022 5:26 pm I will continue to pester ol' Wifehorn. She saw something saying they're updating the booster for additional variants, and will be ready by early autumn. Then we'll get our second booster.

New COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness Data Showcase Protection Gained by 3rd and 4th Doses

A third and fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose offered substantial protection among adults with healthy immune systems who were eligible to receive them during Omicron variant evolution in early 2022, according to a new MMWR published today. The findings of this study, in conjunction with recently published data showing people infected with BA.2 may also have antibodies that can protect against illness with BA.5, suggest that currently available vaccines may provide protection against serious illness caused by the currently circulating BA.5 variant.

To evaluate effectiveness of 2, 3, and 4 doses of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna) among adults with healthy immune systems, experts examined VISION Network data on more than 214,000 emergency department/urgent care visits and more than 58,000 hospitalizations with a COVID-19–like illness diagnosis in 10 U.S. states from mid-December 2021 through mid-June 2022.

Study findings show:

When BA.1 was the predominant variant, vaccine effectiveness (VE) was 61% for two doses against COVID-19-associated hospitalizations; VE increased to between 85%–92% after receipt of a third/booster dose.

When BA.2/BA.2.12.1 became predominant, vaccine effectiveness with two doses was 24% against COVID-19-associated hospitalizations and increased to 52%–69% after a third/booster dose.

Patterns were similar for emergency department and urgent care encounters, with lower VE during BA.2/BA.2.12.1 predominance and higher VE with 3 or 4 doses compared to VE with 2 doses.

Among adults ages 50 years and older during BA.2/BA.2.12.1, vaccine effectiveness against COVID-19–associated hospitalization was 55% more than 4 months after a booster/third dose and increased to 80% more than a week after the fourth dose COVID-19 vaccines remain our single most important tool to protect people against serious illness, hospitalization, and death. Getting vaccinated now will not prevent you from getting an authorized variant-specific vaccine in the fall or winter when they are recommended for you. Given recent increases in deaths and hospitalizations associated with the BA.5 variant, everyone should stay up to date with recommended COVID-19 vaccinations, including additional booster doses for those who are moderately to severely immunocompromised and adults over 50.





https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2022 ... ID-VE.html