D&D and the rising pandemic

[Eltab]

I don't have a problem with it if they put a lot of it back into their research ...

Moderna already has their next R&D project: make the protection stick long-term.

And they do owe their lab teams some hefty bonuses. Imho.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Moderna already has their next R&D project: make the protection stick long-term.

And they do owe their lab teams some hefty bonuses. Imho.

Agreed. Like I said, I have no problem with anyone getting paid. I just don't like it when ALL the money gets taken away by some rich guy at the top. If the massive profits go back into research (with some bonusses all around for a job well done) then the system is working like it ought to. They can make profits again the next time they come up with something worthwhile - I have no issue with that!

 

[Umbran]

Pfizer, though, wasn't called out.

The measure that makes sense is probably not the absolute number of doses, but the fraction of doses manufactured that have gone to poorer countries.

Also, we would want to look at the manufacturing cost of each. If Pfizer does it cheaper, they can cut the price and still realize the same profits.

Because, let us not kid ourselves that Pfizer isn't making a mint on this - they took in $3 billion in covid vaccine revenue in the first three months of 2021, and $9 billion in vaccine sales in the second quarter. Which suggests to me that Pfizer is selling a lot more than Moderna, so they darned well ought to be making more available to poor countries than Moderna.

 

[Zardnaar]

Big vaccine push on. Nationwide 82/58% 1st/2nd dose vaccine and there's a mass vax event for Saturday.

Aucklands hit 87% single dose where the outbreak mostly is. 63% double dosed. 43 cases today.

Boring stuff.

If you're super keen the first 5 minutes or so is the important part.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

LOTS of interesting things on the horizon!

Several new therapeutics on the horizon. In addition to Merck’s pill, AstraZeneca’s new monoclonal antibody therapy promises up to a whole year of protection Neither, researchers point out, are a substitute for vaccination, because they’re not preventative.

New treatments offer hope with vaccines for 'interlocking benefits' against COVID-19

COVID-19 vaccines offer the best protection against severe illness and death, but new antibody and antiviral treatments offer "interlocking benefits."

www.yahoo.com

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

This article on Merck’s new antiviral pill has a nice pros & cons section at the end:

Are new COVID antiviral pills a pandemic game changer?

The easy-to-administer treatments could soon become a potent tool in the fight against coronavirus, but a variety of obstacles may limit their effectiveness.

www.yahoo.com

Looks like the biggest stumbling blocks are its price ($700) and a somewhat narrow therapeutic window- it has to be administered before severe symptoms manifest.

This small window of opportunity means that for it to be most effective, we need accurate, rapid tests for diagnosing COVID, and an acceptance of contact tracing. I suspect solutions to the former will come in the relatively near future, while the latter will be more problematic. Still, one thing that might sway contact tracing skeptics is that some researchers believe that administering the pill to asymptomatic people who have been in contact with someone diagnosed with COVID may be functionally similar to getting vaccinated.

 

[Eltab]

This small window of opportunity means that for it to be most effective, we need accurate, rapid tests for diagnosing COVID, and an acceptance of contact tracing. I suspect solutions to the former will come in the relatively near future, while the latter will be more problematic. Still, one thing that might sway contact tracing skeptics is that some researchers believe that administering the pill to asymptomatic people who have been in contact with someone diagnosed with COVID may be functionally similar to getting vaccinated.

Fully agree about the first point. Something that tells you "You do / don't have COVID" while being as easy inexpensive and reliable as a pregnancy test, would go a long way toward controlling the germ - and address the 'Expert's blessing required' bottleneck problem.

A medicine pack to take when your friends at work have caught COVID, if presented like a "COVID-formulated One-A-Day" (or Geritol or Flintstones based on age), would address one of the big gaps in our response to date: something that can be easily worked into daily routine.

I saw in a grocery a 'Healthy You' liquid vitamin that was mostly covered with a standard label "not endorsed by the FDA to treat any disease" but featured Zinc and Vitamin D as chief ingredients ... so we know what the intended purpose of that product really is.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Fully agree about the first point. Something that tells you "You do / don't have COVID" while being as easy inexpensive and reliable as a pregnancy test, would go a long way toward controlling the germ - and address the 'Expert's blessing required' bottleneck problem.

A medicine pack to take when your friends at work have caught COVID, if presented like a "COVID-formulated One-A-Day" (or Geritol or Flintstones based on age), would address one of the big gaps in our response to date: something that can be easily worked into daily routine.

I saw in a grocery a 'Healthy You' liquid vitamin that was mostly covered with a standard label "not endorsed by the FDA to treat any disease" but featured Zinc and Vitamin D as chief ingredients ... so we know what the intended purpose of that product really is.

I’m not sure it will be OTC any time soon. You’d probably need to see a doctor first, for the near future. And that means some kind of contact tracing.

Eventually, though, if/when it becomes available OTC, you might be able to get it at an institution’s on-site dispensary out of their first-aid kit.

 

[Umbran]

Fully agree about the first point. Something that tells you "You do / don't have COVID" while being as easy inexpensive and reliable as a pregnancy test, would go a long way toward controlling the germ - and address the 'Expert's blessing required' bottleneck problem.

I'm sorry, folks, but at $700, your insurance company is NOT going to cover it based on a self-test. The self-test, at best, tells you you need to see a physician immediately if you want this drug.

 

[Zardnaar]

If it gets approved here go see doctor $3.50 USD prescription.