Thursday, July 29, 2021
Third dose of Pfizer vaccine boosts antibodies up to 11-fold against the Indian 'Delta' variant
A third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine could offer strong protection against the Indian 'Delta' variant, data reveals, as a separate study finds protection provided by the vaccine could wane after six months.
New data released by the company on Wednesday showed antibody levels increased five-fold among people ages 18 to 55 who were given the booster shot.
The third dose was especially effecting for the elderly, with antibody levels spiking 11-fold among people aged 65 to 85 who had already received the standard two doses.
In the slides published online, the researchers wrote there there is 'estimated potential for up to 100-fold increase in Delta neutralization post-dose three compared to pre-dose three.'
The new data come at a welcome time with separate pre-print research finding that the efficacy of the Pfizer vaccine falls from 96 percent to only 84 percent after six months.
The Delta variant continues to spread across the country, making up at least 83 percent of all new infections.
Pfizer produces the most commonly used vaccine in the U.S., having been administered over 190 million times, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Early adopters of the vaccine may soon has their immunity to the virus slightly diminished.
Research, which has not been peer-reviewed, led by Pfizer and Syracuse University in New York finds that the vaccine was 91 percent effective in preventing the virus for six months.
After the time-span, the efficacy slightly falls to only 84 percent.
If it continues to drop at that rate, researchers say, the vaccine could drop below 50 percent efficacy 18 months after administration.
Those who are fully vaccinated and contract COVID are still less likely to experience serious symptoms or hospitalization, though.
Pfizer's vaccine was first given emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in December, and was first distributed to priority populations like the elderly and health care workers that month.
Those who received the vaccine first may have already had its efficacy drop, meaning a third dose could be required soon.
The company plans to submit its application for emergency use authorization for the third dose to the FDA as early as August, according to slides distributed before an earnings call.
Clinical studies on a Delta variant-specific vaccine may begin soon as well.
Pending regulatory approval, the company plans to kick off trials in August, and has even already produced the first batch of the vaccine to be used.
Rumbles about the potential for a third dose in the near future have been happening for months.
Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has said in the past that he expects a third dose to be needed in the coming months.
Though, he said earlier this month that he does not expect booster shots to be needed for the fully vaccinated at this time.
Fauci said earlier this week, though, that those who are vulnerable to the virus even after vaccination still may require a third dose.
Some elderly people, and people with conditions like cancer or who have received an organ transplant, are found to have not developed the sane antibody levels as others post vaccine.
The Delta variant has also shown a rare ability to cause breakthrough cases among fully vaccinated people.
The ability to cause breakthrough cases was cited by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as the reason for the reintroduction of masks for fully vaccinated people in some parts of the country.
If Pfizer's findings - which are not peer-reviewed - are correct, then the third dose could be a valuable tool in combatting the variant.
The company's findings also found that a third dose could be particularly effective in combating the South African Beta variant.
The variant accounts for less than 10 percent of active cases in the United States.
Pfizer also revealed on the earnings call that they are working on a flu vaccine that uses the same mRNA technology used to develop its COVID vaccine.
Moderna, who also developed an mRNA COVID vaccine, began trials of an mRNA flu vaccine at the start of the month.
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Dan Crenshaw Tweets Stunning Revelation on New CDC Mask Guidelines
On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced a new mask guideline for students, teachers, and staff in K-12 to wear masks regardless of vaccination status, as well as in certain indoor settings, again, also regardless of vaccination status. The move was met with swift criticism, especially and including from former President Donald Trump. Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), though, takes issue with the data used to justify the new guidelines.
The “game changer” data the CDC used for the mask mandate is from a single study from India.
The study that influenced this decision? It followed healthcare workers who were vaccinated with a vaccine NOT EVEN APPROVED IN THE U.S.
That’s right. So they’re not even using a comparable case study that can be applied to vaccinated Americans.
The study was rejected in peer review. But CDC used it anyway. Remember what I said about public health officials losing our trust?
The excerpt Rep. Crenshaw references comes from Andrew Joseph's article published by STAT, "CDC Again Recommends Indoor Masking, Even for Some Vaccinated People."
The excerpt in question reads:
An administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told STAT that health experts do not have studies proving that fully vaccinated people are transmitting the virus. Rather, the official said, the updated guidance is based on studies showing that vaccinated people who contract the Delta variant have similarly high levels of virus in their airways, which suggested that they may be infectious to others. With other variants, vaccinated people had substantially lower levels of virus in their noses and throats compared to unvaccinated people.
Joseph also wrote:
The CDC says breakthrough cases still appear to be rare given how many people have been vaccinated, and the vast majority of infections are asymptomatic or mild. It’s also thought that because so many of those cases are so tame, many go undetected. However, many experts argue that breakthrough infections that cause no symptoms shouldn’t really be considered as cases. Mild or asymptomatic breakthrough infections are signs that the vaccines — whose top aim is to stave off death and severe illness — are doing their job, experts stress.
Guidelines on masks have been met with particular drama in the U.S. House of Representatives, after Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) reimposed a mask mandate on the House floor.
As Carson covered, Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) gave a particularly impassioned floor speech about the absurdity of the mask mandate, especially while illegal immigrants testing positive continue to come to this country via the southern border.
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Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS
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