The best vaccine news we could hope for

That’s true

I put this on the other vaccine thread but it seems right to copy it here again

There will be better COVID vaccines than this one in the future. Maybe this one will give me a headache for a couple of days. Maybe Group A should get it before Group B. Pfizer will make a lot of money, Astrazeneca will make a lot of money. Maybe its 90% effective, maybe its not. I've just seen a post saying we might not get enough because of Brexit.

Its all just detail. Because you know what, I'm just really b****y happy that there is a vaccine for this virus. It proves that you can vaccinate against it, that science will find a way out of the pandemic. They've created a vaccine for a virus we didn't even know about 12 months ago, and its going through all the same safety protocols, because people have pulled together to solve the greatest problem of our generation. If you want to nit-pick and find problems, on you go. I'm going to celebrate.

It seems that we shouldn’t be holding our breath folks.

The government has not been able to secure many shots so it will mean that at the moment there is only a small amount available.

I heard on the world service that this vaccine is only demonstrated 90% successful after seven days using fully healthy "younger" adults with no underlying conditions.

It was pointed out that this was in a mask-wearing situation and that the release of this press statement from the company could impact the results by making the next stage volunteers behave differently. The release of this information was apparently very irregular and the virologist speaking was hopeful but disappointed that the 90% thing had been released. He said so many interesting things, I wish I knew where I could find it again.

Personally I'm glad something seems to be working but am not going to pin my hopes on it just yet.

I think an awful lot of people will soon be very disappointed. They will have to wait. It will be quite some time before vaccines are freely available, surely, as it has to be health workers and care home residents first.

I'm quite alarmed by all the 'back to normal' comments, too. Have people really learned nothing? Why a wish to return to the ideal conditions for the next pandemic?

Moggie - You are asking if a hangover makes you feel very ill.
I don’t have much experience of hangovers, but the popularity of alcohol makes me think it can’t be too bad !!

suziewoozie ?

Alegrias2

You're welcome Callistemon. Did you see the part about how they have accelerated the timeline safely? I thought that would be relevant to this discussion. Apologies if I have misunderstood your post.

Isn’t it more accurate to add that it’s speeded up because of the various phases overlapping rather than being done sequentially? Plus of course the at risk production. None of this worries me because I have faith in the MHRA and FDA. I agree about the graphics and explanation being first rate

And side effects says a Texas man who was a trial voluteer.says the the side effect is like a severe hangover.as I don't drink not sure what this means. Will it make me feel very ill ?

You're welcome Callistemon. Did you see the part about how they have accelerated the timeline safely? I thought that would be relevant to this discussion. Apologies if I have misunderstood your post.

Thanks Alegrias

I found the information about the normal vaccine development process interesting but this is a world emergency.

Thank you and everyone like you Tweedle

This is a nice summary by JVT, in The Mirror of all places. Nice graphics.

www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/jonathan-van-tam-explains-how-vaccine-development-has-been-sped-up-in-coronavirus-crisis/ar-BB1aUkqY

I have volunteered as a ‘guinea pig’. If everyone said they would not do that, nobody would ever get the vaccine.
Maybee Another good point,

Callistemon

Don't be ridiculous.

???????

What is the Vaccine Knowledge Project?
vk.ovg.ox.ac.uk/

Don't be ridiculous.

Callistemon

It is understandable that people may show concern about having a new vaccine which has, of necessity, been developed relatively quickly and the tests completed in such a short period of time, so criticising anyone who may be hesitant to have it is rather unfair.

Understandably, people are often concerned to know how rigorously and extensively vaccines have been tested. This is especially true for new vaccines. This page aims to outline the process involved in developing and licensing a vaccine for use in the UK. The standard for testing and monitoring of vaccines is higher than it is for most other medicines, because they are one of the few medical treatments given to healthy people (mainly healthy children). This means that the level of acceptable risk is much lower than it might be for a cancer treatment, for example. It can take many years for a vaccine to pass through all the stages described below. In the case of the MenB vaccine, for example, it took nearly 20 years from the first idea to the vaccine being licensed for use.

vk.ovg.ox.ac.uk/vk/vaccine-development
Page last updated:
Monday, October 29, 2018

There’s been cautious which is a very understandable position and then there’s posting scaremongering unchecked rubbish.

Thanks Suzie all the better if it’s not a new concept, people will have more confidence to take up the Pfizer vaccine, which is needed for it to be successful.
Just read that the Oxford one might be the UK preferred option because of costs and logistics.

It is understandable that people may show concern about having a new vaccine which has, of necessity, been developed relatively quickly and the tests completed in such a short period of time, so criticising anyone who may be hesitant to have it is rather unfair.

Understandably, people are often concerned to know how rigorously and extensively vaccines have been tested. This is especially true for new vaccines. This page aims to outline the process involved in developing and licensing a vaccine for use in the UK. The standard for testing and monitoring of vaccines is higher than it is for most other medicines, because they are one of the few medical treatments given to healthy people (mainly healthy children). This means that the level of acceptable risk is much lower than it might be for a cancer treatment, for example. It can take many years for a vaccine to pass through all the stages described below. In the case of the MenB vaccine, for example, it took nearly 20 years from the first idea to the vaccine being licensed for use.

vk.ovg.ox.ac.uk/vk/vaccine-development
Page last updated:
Monday, October 29, 2018

Ok, but sorry, I don’t see the difference. Each to their own I suppose.

DiscoDancer1975

That’s strange Alegrias, Elegran, wins ‘ post of the day’, but when Esspee said a similar thing, you slated her!

I am admiring Elegran's sense of humour and grasp of sarcasm in contrast to posters who are happy to have others take risks on their behalf and not acknowledge the debt they then owe them.

It is true that a very small percentage of people end up in hospital with Covid, particularly in ICU. Nonetheless we have all seen the pictures on the television and we know that a small percentage of the population as a whole is still a large number of people. I would prefer to have the vaccine in order that life can get back to normal because I absolutely hate living like this.

I'm not too concerned about safety. However, I'm more concerned about whether this is actually the magic potion people think it will be.

Professor Anthony Costello posted the following yesterday:

"Two cautions about Pfizer trial. The completion of enrolment and vaccinations was mid-Sept so the data they released was after just six weeks. 1. This is not accepted practice for trials to release data so early and 2. If the antibody response is short-lived, so might protection."

In other words, it's too early to know what kind of protection the vaccine will give. We know that natural antibodies decrease after about four months.

The other point is that it was Pfizer who made the press announcement. Pfizer and AstraZeneca are in a race to produce the first effective vaccine and have already invested a huge amount of money and need to keep their shareholders happy. Announcing that a vaccine is ready to go would make shareholders ecstatic.

It's only six weeks until Christmas and I think any idea that a vaccine will have any effect on plans for the festive period is a tad over-optimistic.

That’s strange Alegrias, Elegran, wins ‘ post of the day’, but when Esspee said a similar thing, you slated her!

BlueSky

Suzie what I mean is (without going into details which I don’t know) the Oxford vaccine is produced in a similar way to the flu one while the Pfizer one is a totally new concept. Some people maybe sceptical of the latter. Anyway fingers crossed!

No it isn’t a new concept - has been around and worked on for about two decades I believe. I’ll see if I can find a link