Thread: Corona Virus

Originally Posted by bob10

Some countries have suspended use of AZ until further investigation is done into the blood clots. Also some have binned a particular batch linked to blood clots. AZ has not been banned in any country that I can find.

Halted vs banned, 6 of one, 1/2 a dozen of another?

South Africa has halted the AZ use and is trialling it on older health workers not just because of clotting, but also as it seems far less effective against the Sth African variant.

South Africa in shock after AstraZeneca vaccine rollout halted - BBC News

From the New York Times;


By Carl Zimmer



June 17, 2021Updated 12:35 p.m. ET




The US government is spending $ 3 billion developing pills to fight the virus early in the course of the infection, the new program will speed up the clinical trials of a few drug candidates. If all goes well, a pill should be available by the end of the year. Dr Fauci, a key backer of the program said he looked forward to the time when COVID-19 patients could pick up COVID-19 pills from a pharmacy as soon as they tested positive for the virus, or developed symptoms.

DR Fauci's support for research on anti-viral pills stems from his experience of fighting AIDS 30 years ago. Research that led to some of the first anti-viral pills for H.I.V. that block an essential virus protein and can keep the virus at bay for a lifetime. At the start of the pandemic, researchers began testing existing anti-virals in people hospitalised with severe COVID-19, but many of the trials showed little or no benefit from the anti-virals. It was discovered the choice to work in hospitals was a mistake.

Scientists now know the best time to try to block the virus is in the first few days of the disease, when the virus is replicating rapidly and the immune system has not mounted a defence. Many people crush their infection and recuperate, but in others the immune system misfires and starts damaging tissues instead of viruses. It's this that sends many people with COVID-19 to the hospital as the coronavirus replication is tapering off , so a drug that blocks replication early in an infection might very well fail in a trial on patients who have progressed to later stages of the disease.

A Pill to Treat Covid-19? The U.S. Is Betting on It. - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

Originally Posted by Grumbles

The constant changes re vaccination is confusing. Now it seems that over 60s must have AZ and the rest of the population is to have Pfizer. The questions I don't see answered is why. Are the +60s more resistant to blood clots? Are the under 60s more vulnerable to blood clotting from AZ than the +60s? What is triggering the constant downwards revisions of age suitability for the different vaccines?

I will also add these comments though. They - the medicos and the governments - consistently promote the low numbers of people getting blood clots. That is all well and good unless you become one of those low numbers. This is a matter of luck and not science. Similarly no-one is talking about the long term effects on health and lifestyle when vaccine induced blood clots have appeared.

Nope Grumpy, they reckon after 60 you ain't long for this world, but they are yet to run the economics of how much they will save to pay for this mess from the Pension Budgets.

May or not bee worth it you see.


Cynical? Moi? Too bloody right.

Originally Posted by RANDLOVER

Halted vs banned, 6 of one, 1/2 a dozen of another?

South Africa has halted the AZ use and is trialling it on older health workers not just because of clotting, but also as it seems far less effective against the Sth African variant.

South Africa in shock after AstraZeneca vaccine rollout halted - BBC News

So they are quite happy to trial it on the very people that they may need in future? Makes sense, not.

Originally Posted by RANDLOVER

Halted vs banned, 6 of one, 1/2 a dozen of another?

South Africa has halted the AZ use and is trialling it on older health workers not just because of clotting, but also as it seems far less effective against the Sth African variant.

South Africa in shock after AstraZeneca vaccine rollout halted - BBC News

No. Banned is to officially prohibit , suspend is temporarily prevent from continuing, halt is to stop abruptly.

The AZ was found to be only 10% effective against the South African variant, in a trial on 2,000 cases in Africa. AZ was still considered to be effective at stopping deaths from COVID in extreme infections. Research has shown that Pfizer and Moderna are less effective against the S.African variant. Which is a worry, as the S.A. variant has been found in Indonesia, in Jakarta and Bali.

I have had my first AZ jab and i WILL be getting the second one next month as all this fearmongering about the jab doesn't impress me one iota.

Time to take off your tin foil hats and get immunised folks because COV19 has killed millions more people than the AZ jab has

Originally Posted by bob10

No. Banned is to officially prohibit , suspend is temporarily prevent from continuing, halt is to stop abruptly.

The AZ was found to be only 10% effective against the South African variant, in a trial on 2,000 cases in Africa. AZ was still considered to be effective at stopping deaths from COVID in extreme infections. Research has shown that Pfizer and Moderna are less effective against the S.African variant. Which is a worry, as the S.A. variant has been found in Indonesia, in Jakarta and Bali.

I think we should mix it up, I'd have both shots if I could.

Will Australia join Canada in approving the mixing of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines? - ABC News

Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunization says people who received the AstraZeneca vaccine for the first dose can be offered either Pfizer or Moderna for the second.

Originally Posted by RANDLOVER

I think we should mix it up, I'd have both shots if I could.

Will Australia join Canada in approving the mixing of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines? - ABC News

Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunization says people who received the AstraZeneca vaccine for the first dose can be offered either Pfizer or Moderna for the second.

Actually this report / article agrees. Vaccine companies are updating their vaccines to be administered as variant specific boosters. And while the TGA hasn't approved a mix & match schedule, some countries are already doing it.


Which vaccine is best;

1. Wen Shi LeePostdoctoral researcher, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity
2. Hyon Xhi TanPostdoctoral researcher, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity

Disclosure statement

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.


Which COVID vaccine is best? Here's why that's really hard to answer (theconversation.com)


And mixing and matching;

1. Fiona RussellSenior Principal Research Fellow; paediatrician; infectious diseases epidemiologist, The University of Melbourne
2. John HartClinical researcher, Murdoch Children's Research Institute

Disclosure statement

Professor Fiona Russell receives funding from the NHMRC, the Wellcome Trust, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, WHO and DFAT. She is an advisor for DFAT and WHO Pacific on COVID-19 vaccines in the Asia-Pacific region.
John Hart does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.



Can I get AstraZeneca now and Pfizer later? Why mixing and matching COVID vaccines could help solve many rollout problems (theconversation.com)