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"We have lots of theories, just no proof" for the win. Given it PV and knowing the history there, the whole thing is likely a huge "deep fake" event
yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com
A very information-dense, but short article. Picked up a few things I didn't know:her notes on yesterday's VRBPAC meeting:
Annual COVID-19 booster? FDA cliff notes
A consequential meeting took place at the FDA today.
That surprised me as well. We've been remarking on the seasonality for quite some time. Just upthread we discussed this, pointing to 3 years worth of data.
We also know case counts are undercounted these days. I think wastewater will be the only semi-reliable "case count" metric going forward, and even with that, we have portions of the country that wastewater doesn't account for.A very information-dense, but short article. Picked up a few things I didn't know:her notes on yesterday's VRBPAC meeting:
Annual COVID-19 booster? FDA cliff notes
A consequential meeting took place at the FDA today.
- I wasn't aware that newborns were quite as susceptible to COVID hospitalizations as they apparently are (roughly the same as the age 65-74 cohort). I had thought that generally, when anyone very young got COVID, they skated right on through it (as is typically the case for RSV, though it can scare the bejeebuz out of parents!).
- That pharma companies could (and should) be doing more to test the immunity boosts of their vaccines. Dr. Jetelina writes:
A common theme throughout the pandemic FDA meetings is that “it’s too hard to measure anything other than antibodies” and “we don’t have the data needed to make a decision.” The FDA could require sponsors to do detailed investigations, e.g. assessing lymph nodes, bone marrow, and breakthroughs. This would help us understand immunity better, so we can make better recommendations.
- That there's really no more debate in the vaccine-research community about the value of the bivalent vaccine. Dr. Jetelina does lay out the devil's advocate position first, and then:
There is a problem with [bivalent vaccine] data though: people who got the bivalent vaccine are likely very different, in environment and behaviors (like masking), from people who didn’t get the bivalent vaccine. So, we don’t know if this difference in outcomes results from the vaccine, per se.Moderna surprised us today with new data, though: a randomized trial in the U.K. They randomly gave people the original vaccine or the bivalent vaccine (BA.1 formula) as a booster. The bivalent vaccine did better. This really put the debate to rest.
- I was surprised she expressed hope that dang-near "magic" vaccines can be developed:
There are clearly limitations to the vaccines. We can do better. An NIH presenter said they are focusing on new vaccines that are
- Variant proof;
- Longer lasting; and/or
- Have enhanced ability to block infection/transmission.
This will take time, though, without an Operation Warp Speed 2.0-level investment or global collaboration. In addition, unlike the first generation mRNA vaccines, we don’t have decades of groundwork. We are really starting from scratch, and it will take time to understand what works and why.
One thing I do disagree with Dr. Jetelina about is that she believes that seasonal COVID patterns are not yet apparent:
The FDA thinks it’s already seeing seasonal patterns. (I disagree, although we agree this will eventually happen.)
Going by confirmed case counts, there have been both distinct winter peaks AND late summer/early fall peaks. This winter's peak, sadly, seems to be manifesting as as a rise in COVID deaths** more than as a sharp rise in confirmed case counts (which have risen, but mildly).
** 7-day average deaths of 286 on 11/29/2022 and 553 on 1/13/2023. Death numbers are being reported about 2 weeks in arrears, so at present the rise in deaths is still ongoing and has not shown signs of peaking.
One of the commenters on Dr. Jetelina's article makes a good point about infants getting COVID:
Right, and that was included in the discussion as well. I believe Pfizer and Moderna, IIRC, indicated their estimated time was 100 days from lab to pharmacy. Though I am not sure how that tracks with the last update. I think it was Novovax that indicated closer to 6 months, which the committee acknowledged is not a sustainable model for this approach.
Yeah...this is a big difference. Florida will always be able to tell you exactly which one is coming to the rest of the country in the fall. We are crazy like that. For flu, we have to rely on other parts of the world and what they experienced. The crazy 'Murica Floridians will be doing a service to the country in a completely bass akwards way
Was very helpful, thanks my friend.
The crazy 'Murica Floridians will be doing a service to the country in a completely bass akwards way
It's been three years and people still don't understand that the US has seasonal temperature variations between northern states and southern states.The crazy 'Murica Floridians will be doing a service to the country in a completely bass akwards way
You think it's funny Floridians getting sick and in some cases dying, do you?
Smdh
This is exactly right. Florida has consistently told us in June/July what is to come to the rest of the country in the winter. I'm well beyond the personal choice stuff. People can do whatever they want. If they don't care about doing the correct thing, why should I? that's fine by me. It sucks that they continue to put our healthcare workers through this. They are the guinea pigs one way or the other in terms of attempting to predict what is to come during the winter in the rest of the country. Their choices, their decisions. I have no sympathy left now and empathy flew out the window probably a year and a half ago. All that's left is to sit back and watch personal responsibility come home to roost. Like I said before, with the advent of these new vaccines, they'll likely be doing the country a service and completely unaware that they are. The irony there is REALLY thick.
The reason why Florida gets surges ahead of the rest of the country is because it's hot there in the summer and that's when people are indoors. It's been like this through the whole pandemic.This is exactly right. Florida has consistently told us in June/July what is to come to the rest of the country in the winter. I'm well beyond the personal choice stuff. People can do whatever they want. If they don't care about doing the correct thing, why should I? that's fine by me. It sucks that they continue to put our healthcare workers through this. They are the guinea pigs one way or the other in terms of attempting to predict what is to come during the winter in the rest of the country. Their choices, their decisions. I have no sympathy left now and empathy flew out the window probably a year and a half ago. All that's left is to sit back and watch personal responsibility come home to roost. Like I said before, with the advent of these new vaccines, they'll likely be doing the country a service and completely unaware that they are. The irony there is REALLY thick.
Fully and completely aware. We're also a good indicator of severity because of how few are actually fully vaccinated.The reason why Florida gets surges ahead of the rest of the country is because it's hot there in the summer and that's when people are indoors. It's been like this through the whole pandemic.This is exactly right. Florida has consistently told us in June/July what is to come to the rest of the country in the winter. I'm well beyond the personal choice stuff. People can do whatever they want. If they don't care about doing the correct thing, why should I? that's fine by me. It sucks that they continue to put our healthcare workers through this. They are the guinea pigs one way or the other in terms of attempting to predict what is to come during the winter in the rest of the country. Their choices, their decisions. I have no sympathy left now and empathy flew out the window probably a year and a half ago. All that's left is to sit back and watch personal responsibility come home to roost. Like I said before, with the advent of these new vaccines, they'll likely be doing the country a service and completely unaware that they are. The irony there is REALLY thick.
Fully and completely aware. We're also a good indicator of severity because of how few are actually fully vaccinated.The reason why Florida gets surges ahead of the rest of the country is because it's hot there in the summer and that's when people are indoors. It's been like this through the whole pandemic.This is exactly right. Florida has consistently told us in June/July what is to come to the rest of the country in the winter. I'm well beyond the personal choice stuff. People can do whatever they want. If they don't care about doing the correct thing, why should I? that's fine by me. It sucks that they continue to put our healthcare workers through this. They are the guinea pigs one way or the other in terms of attempting to predict what is to come during the winter in the rest of the country. Their choices, their decisions. I have no sympathy left now and empathy flew out the window probably a year and a half ago. All that's left is to sit back and watch personal responsibility come home to roost. Like I said before, with the advent of these new vaccines, they'll likely be doing the country a service and completely unaware that they are. The irony there is REALLY thick.
www.statista.com
I'm sure Commish appreciates the help, but this doesn't salvage his talking point from two years ago. Your observation applies to vaccine uptake in all states, not just the one that he's picking on for partisan reasons.
Partisan? He lives there
meh....he can believe what he wants to like the rest instead of engaging in good faith. It's easier, whatever. Reality is, I DO live here and we have really good local news groups that I take at their word these days. I'll also take 3 years of history showing that Florida has been a fantastic indicator for what states not in the south are likely to expect during the winter. Not just in type, but in severity as well. I'll be completely honest in one regard though. I have NO idea how any of these sites come up with their numbers for states...especially ones like Florida who refuse to report on numbers. I don't have an account on that site, so I can't see their sources, but I generally thought once the revolt by states happened last August/Sept/Oct, that these stats pretty much went out of date immediately. The last time I was out on the Johns Hopkins site (Oct/Nov) we were struggling to clear the 72% mark for "vaccinated" and less than 10% had bivalent....not nearly enough to debunk my "talking point from two years ago". Are states back to reporting again? Genuine question. I'll also throw out there the fact that even when Florida WAS reporting, they would NOT report on those who weren't permanent residents of the state which is almost 10ish% of our population from October through April/May.
I showed you statistics on state-by-state vaccination rates. Citing evidence in support of one's position is good-faith argumentation. Doubling down after somebody corrects you isn't.
Not sure why I'm even bothering responding to this but there's a reddit thread on this.More on the slimiest of slimy Pfizer doctors... Until now, I thought he was just some schmuck research executive. Nope, he is that and also an actual Medical Doctor. Talk about a profession that keeps taking reputational hits since the Covid Era began...
Thorough background on Dr. Jordan Trishton Walker...
Who is "Jordon Trishton Walker"?
Project Veritas recently released a video featuring "Jordon Trishton Walker," Pfizer executive who revealed shocking new info. But finding anything about him is tough. Here is what I've found so far.brianoshea.substack.com
That video is a sham and a complete fake. The guy is not a Pfizer exec or anything of the sort. No R&D director would say the things he is or speak that way.
That people believe this nonsense is frightening.
Data from Florida comes out weekly on Worldometers. I don't know if that's vetted and distributed by the state of Florida, or else is collected by other means (e.g. from healthcare/hospital systems directly).
I'm not seeing vaccinations on there. But given the comments above, I went back to JHU (pretty much the only place I ever took/take numbers from through this whole fiasco) and it seems like there are parts they are providing and parts they aren't. Testing is officially out the window but has nothing to do with my assertion. They also do a straight-up vaccination % without counting X, not counting Y, half counting Z etc. It continues to be just as I described above. Just cracking 71% vaccinated. We will continue to be a great indicator, in June/July, for what is to come in the winter in a bunch of the rest of the country. Our vaccine numbers are plenty low to give us a good idea of the severity and the like. I'd tell people to look across the entirety of the south for severity, but Florida has, by far, the best set of hospitals and treatment of them, Alabam, Miss, LA, etc etc....severity likely won't be as accurate in those places as it will Florida and what the rest of the country with similar resources will be able to handle
Sorry...not following. My position was two fold:
coronavirus.jhu.edu
My mistake -- Worldometers does not show vaccination data. I thought you were saying that Florida was not publicly reporting any COVID numbers at all (confirmed cases, deaths,etc.).
To be honest, I DID think that. They already do "residents only". That might be true everywhere now though which, if true, gives me even less confidence in the numbers overall. The other thing I have to remember is to be specific in my words as we have very different parts of this state. For example, the state might be reporting 70% vaccinated, but our local (regional) number is <50%. I need to work on remembering that my local situation isn't all over the state.
![[icon]](/data/avatars/m/5/5167.jpg?1660313464){kind=avatar}
Fully and completely aware. We're also a good indicator of severity because of how few are actually fully vaccinated.The reason why Florida gets surges ahead of the rest of the country is because it's hot there in the summer and that's when people are indoors. It's been like this through the whole pandemic.This is exactly right. Florida has consistently told us in June/July what is to come to the rest of the country in the winter. I'm well beyond the personal choice stuff. People can do whatever they want. If they don't care about doing the correct thing, why should I? that's fine by me. It sucks that they continue to put our healthcare workers through this. They are the guinea pigs one way or the other in terms of attempting to predict what is to come during the winter in the rest of the country. Their choices, their decisions. I have no sympathy left now and empathy flew out the window probably a year and a half ago. All that's left is to sit back and watch personal responsibility come home to roost. Like I said before, with the advent of these new vaccines, they'll likely be doing the country a service and completely unaware that they are. The irony there is REALLY thick.Percentage of people vaccinated against COVID-19 by state U.S. 2023| Statista
As of April 2023, about 69 percent of the U.S. population had been vaccinated against COVID. Rhode Island had one of the highest shares of people vaccinated.
m.timesofindia.com
Oh good. Yet another YouTube professor with an earth-shattering opinion but no, you know, peer-reviewed data. The only drum beat that's growing is the list of people who realize they can turn a profit by sucking in gullible people who "do their own research".Drum. Beat. Grows...
Coronavirus vaccine: MIT Professor calls for immediate suspension of COVID mRNA vaccine - The Times of India
Recently, MIT Professor Retsef Levi took to Twitter to share the harm mRNA vaccines are causing in young people. \"The evidence is mounting and indispu
Oh good. Yet another YouTube professor with an earth-shattering opinion but no, you know, peer-reviewed data. The only drum beat that's growing is the list of people who realize they can turn a profit by sucking in gullible people who "do their own research".Drum. Beat. Grows...
Coronavirus vaccine: MIT Professor calls for immediate suspension of COVID mRNA vaccine - The Times of India
Recently, MIT Professor Retsef Levi took to Twitter to share the harm mRNA vaccines are causing in young people. \"The evidence is mounting and indispu
Everyone has a theory....the echo chamber is getting louder. That's about it. Well, that and people are realizing they can generate quite a bit of ad revenue on youtube
Can't help but wonder how many billions people have generated in this space throwing out this sort of stuff. Always follow the money, right?
Their ad revenue goes up with more views, too, so anyone posting links to those Youtube sites elsewhere helps them make money.
Can't help but wonder how many billions people have generated in this space throwing out this sort of stuff. Always follow the money, right?
How many billions did Pfizer and Moderna grift off U.S. taxpayers?
www.newsweek.com
It's not an "article". It's an opinion piece. It's also mostly fabrications, but beyond that it amounts to "we should have let the lunatics help make the decisions".Excellent Newsweek article on what went wrong the last three years...
It's Time for the Scientific Community to Admit We Were Wrong About COVID
Intellectual elitism, credentialism, and classism must end. Restoring trust in public health—and our democracy—depends on it.
It's not an "article". It's an opinion piece. It's also mostly fabrications, but beyond that it amounts to "we should have let the lunatics help make the decisions".Excellent Newsweek article on what went wrong the last three years...
It's Time for the Scientific Community to Admit We Were Wrong About COVID
Intellectual elitism, credentialism, and classism must end. Restoring trust in public health—and our democracy—depends on it.
