Thursday, October 26, 2023
Children who get Covid shot are infectious for same amount of time as non-vaccinated, study finds
Children vaccinated against Covid are infectious for the same amount of time as their non-vaccinated peers, a new study out of California has found.
Whether or not students had received their bivalent Covid booster made no difference to the length of time they shed pieces of the virus after testing positive.
Both groups of kids aged seven to 18 were infectious for three days on average, according to the results from April to September 2022.
The study adds more doubt about the importance of giving Covid booster shots to children. Until earlier this year, several states including California and Illinois mandated the vaccines in schools.
Experts from Stanford University and the University of California, Los Angeles, who carried out the study: ‘Return-to-school policies may not need to discriminate by vaccine or booster status.’
Crucially, though, lead author Dr Neeraj Sood said the team did not look at the vaccines' abilities to prevent infection in the first place.
The study also took place before Pfizer's original bivalent booster was approved. That vaccine offered better protection against the Omicron subvariants that were circulating at the time. The youngest children in the study likely did not receive a booster but rather the standard two-dose vaccine course.
Levels of immunity and protection have ebbed and flowed with different vaccines and virus variant combinations.
The report was published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. The 76 children involved in the study were from the Los Angeles-area included in the study ranged in age children seven to 18 years old.
The goal was to measure the impact of the virus on the children's cells to better understand how it behaves and for how long it is contagious.
The researchers studied their level of viral shedding, the number of virus particles that a child emits through coughing, sneezing, or talking that are then spread throughout the environment.
WHO says healthy kids and teens don't need Covid vaccinations
The World Health Organization (WHO) revised its Covid vaccine recommendations and suggested that healthy children and adolescents may not need a shot.
Every child tested positive for the Covid-19 Omicron variant. Of the 76 children, including 41 seven to 12-year-olds, 52 were vaccinated.
Children who had been vaccinated were infectious for three days, the same duration as children who were not vaccinated.
Researchers did not say whether they were surprised by their results. But what they found was similar to a study in adults with the Omicron variant, which also could not find an association between the length of time that a person is contagious and their vaccination status.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that all children, including babies as young as six months, receive a bivalent booster shot containing components of both the original virus strain as well as the omicron variant.
Yet uptake has remained low. A July 2023 study published in the journal Annals of Medicine reported that just 39 percent of children aged five to 11 and 55 percent of teenagers have gotten a booster dose.
Bivalent boosters have been shown to be highly effective at preventing severe enough cases to land a child in the hospital or at an urgent care clinic, but it is not clear to what extent the shots can prevent infection in the first place.
Covid vaccines are highly effective at preventing severe illness in the elderly, but protection against initial infection tends to be much weaker.
And children do not typically get dangerously sick with Covid, which has led many parents to believe there is not enough benefit to justify the shot.
Pandemic fears prompted many state and local officials to shutter schools in 2020 in order to protect children.
However, children are typically not nearly as vulnerable to severe illness as older adults, especially seniors.
This fact has contributed to an overall lack of enthusiasm among parents for pediatric booster shots, as many parents simply do not believe they are worth getting.
There is a tiny risk of heart inflammation in younger people after being vaccinated with the mRNA vaccines, but the majority of cases are mild and subside on their own.
Still, the tiny risk of a severe Covid infection has left many parents wary.
Widespread school closures have been blamed for fomenting a mental health crisis among school-aged children, as well as causing a downward spiral in academic performance overall.
A Brookings Institution study last year found that average fall 2021 math test scores in grades three to eight were 0.20 to 0.27 standard deviations (SDs) lower relative to same-grade peers in fall 2019.
Standard deviations are used to show how much test scores vary from the overall average, and a decrease of 0.20 to 0.27 SDs suggests a major decline in math performance.
At the same time, reading test scores decreased by 0.09 to 0.18 SDs.
Proponents for keeping schools open, which includes about 60 percent of American parents, have cited plummeting academic achievement as a clear indication that in-person instruction is far superior to consigning children to learn via Zoom at home.
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Like Pfizer, the Covid Train May Have Run Out of Track for Moderna
It appears the Covid party for big pharma may finally be coming to an end. Last week, TrialSite reported on the fact that Pfizer will be lucky to generate $13 billion for their Covid product line. With a stagnant to declining stock price, sophisticated investors are concerned. The analysts are still generally upbeat (after all, the company is diversified both in product portfolio and R&D pipeline). But an ominous sense, one based on behavior over the past couple of years, brings dark clouds over the company. Cash flow for the pharmaceutical giant for the twelve months ending June 30, 2023, at $51.168 billion represented a 36.44% decline year-over-year. Pfizer's annual cash flow from operating activities for 2022 was $29.267 billion, a 10.17% decline from 2021. In August of this year, TrialSite speculated Pfizer’s Covid train could be out of track. Now, it looks as if the train has pulled out of another station.
Moderna Loses Value
Moderna became famous during the Covid pandemic because of their mRNA vaccine. The company was named after their innovative shot. But now demand for the jab has waned, and the company appears rudderless. Last week, it was reported Moderna erased $6.8 billion in market value after rival shot maker Pfizer slashed its profit outlook the previous Friday, sounding the alarm on dwindling demand for its Covid shots and pills. Moderna’s stock closed at the lowest since November 2020, when the company was still trying to get its Covid serum authorized for use in the United States.
“Covid-19 vaccine revenue concerns should be at all time high right now,” said Hartaj Singh, an analyst at Oppenheimer. “A good third-quarter print should allay some of these fears. And good guidance early next year in 2024 potential revenues could get the stock’s mojo back.”
Moderna’s stock has dropped about 83% from its August 2021 high when the company’s market capitalization was almost $200 billion. This isn’t good for a company which was once compared with Tesla, but this year, Moderna is one of the worst performing S&P 500 companies.
“Too Early to Predict”
According to Moderna’s management, the company still expects between $6 billion to $8 billion from the Covid shots, while cautioning it is still too early to predict US vaccination rates. Wall Street analysts predict Moderna’s Covid sales will be lower based on an updated guidance range from Pfizer. However, Pfizer has recovered a bit recently, gaining 3.6% as the drug maker’s post-pandemic growth strategy was weighed and investors’ expectations were reset, according to some on Wall Street. Similar to Moderna, Pfizer’s stock has dropped, losing about half its value from its pandemic record high. As with Pfizer, the Covid train tracks appear to have run out for Moderna. They better be ready for the next engine.
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Increasing Recognition Of Vaccine Injuries
The push to increase vaccination rates comes amid an increasing recognition of vaccine injuries in Australia and overseas.
In Australia, the government operates a vaccine injury compensation scheme that has paid out over $7.3 million (US$4.87 million) to 137 claimants. It has received 3,501 applications and is progressing with 2,263, according to figures obtained by News.com.au in March this year.
The Department of Social Services has previously estimated the government could be liable for a payout of $77 million (US$49.35 million).
In the UK, the increasing number of vaccine adverse effects had resulted in a lawsuit against vaccine manufacturer AstraZeneca, with families and patients arguing that their loved ones died or suffered severe reactions after taking its vaccine, according to their lawyers.
Meanwhile, multiple doctors and COVID-19 patients have also reported that their discussion of vaccine adverse effects has been labelled as misinformation.
The former president of the peak medical body, the Australian Medical Association, came out in December last year to say that discussion around vaccine injuries is being “censored” despite data confirming COVID-19 vaccines can cause adverse reactions.
Dr. Kerryn Phelps said she herself had suffered from a vaccine injury and that she faced “obstruction and resistance” to openly discuss the issue, according to a submission to the federal Parliament’s inquiry into Long COVID.
She said that while current COVID-19 vaccines may reduce the risk of developing Long COVID by an estimated 15 to 41 percent, recent data shows the risk remains for most people after immunisation, with some adverse events going on to cause “long-term illness and disability.”
Dr. Phelps also revealed in her case, that the vaccine injury resulted in dysautonomia with intermittent fevers and cardiovascular implications including breathlessness, inappropriate sinus tachycardia, and blood pressure fluctuations.
“I have spoken with other doctors who have themselves experienced a serious and persistent adverse event including cardiological, rheumatological, autoimmune reactions and neurological consequences,” she wrote in her submission.
She said while there is higher awareness about the unusual blood clotting from AstraZeneca, “less generally recognised are the reported adverse reactions after mRNA vaccines by Pfizer and Moderna beyond myocarditis and pericarditis.”
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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)
http://snorphty.blogspot.com (TONGUE-TIED)
https://immigwatch.blogspot.com (IMMIGRATION WATCH)
https://awesternheart.blogspot.com (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)
http://jonjayray.com/blogall.html More blogs
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