Coronavirus (2021) thread

[MillionMilesAway]

I agree. The Vaccines Minister said that vaccine nationalism was counter productive (on this morning’s breakfast TV).

The first half of his BBC appearance was by some way the most clear and competent I've heard from him.
The second half wasn't as good.

Interesting that he's a chemical engineer (like me, by degree), and thus will have an idea of how things work, and at least should understand the terminology. However, it was 30 years ago, and he's never worked in the chemistry field, going into the political arena almost immediately.

 

[MillionMilesAway]

If Moderna creates a 'booster' for use in the autumn, so as to combat new variants, would that work independently for everyone, or would people need to have had the initial vaccine? The UK apparently has 17 million of the initial on order but is not expected to take delivery until March.

That's an interesting question, hadn't thought about it.

Probably too soon to tell, as it would need test work. I think it's safe to say that any manufacturer will not be ignoring the issue.

 

[Ban-jani]

In layman’s terms, the EU have been slow to order and approve, are now refusing to pay until delivery guarantees have been made and are also threatening vaccine companies about deliveries to the UK until they get what they want?

 

[Gabriel]

I think it's unclear. I doubt Zahawi would want to announce it anyway.

If AZ have e.g. 50 million doses and have promised 60 million doses, then AZ have a problem to solve. It seems that most of the AZ vaccine is made in the UK. As far as I can tell, this is the situation they've got into (numbers being arbitrary, obviously).

Whether a %age of UK supply is reallocated to the EU is politics and diplomacy!

I can only find mention of one AZ site (see link) being capable of producing 20 million per year, but perhaps there are other sites in the UK, too. However, given that these companies have had problems with their setups in Belgium and have had to slow production to make the necessary changes, then the same might apply in the UK if sites suddenly have to increase production. It could be that most of the UK supply has been made in the UK but that is why more is needed from the European-based plants.

https://careers.astrazeneca.com/united-kingdom

 

[BlueAnorak]

What is the latest evidence re primary school children and spreading covid? are they still considered to be lower risk than adult to adult?

New varriant in schools:
Primary school - infections slightly higher.
High School- Doubling of infectiousness in the 12-14 age group to a level newly equivalent to adults.
I keep looking for the breath viral load graphs that were published before Christmas for the the new variant to show the reason why.

 

[MillionMilesAway]

I can only find mention of one AZ site (see link) being capable of producing 20 million per year, but perhaps there are other sites in the UK, too. However, given that these companies have had problems with their setups in Belgium and have had to slow production to make the necessary changes, then the same might apply in the UK if sites suddenly have to increase production. It could be that most of the UK supply has been made in the UK but that is why more is needed from the European-based plants.

https://careers.astrazeneca.com/united-kingdom

That's fair - I could certainly see that there may be a pause at any stage if a production line is being expanded/amended, and we're not going to know.

Cobra Biologics near Stoke are one of the makers, an independent who aren't part of AZ.
They have a viral vaccine production line which shouldn't have been too difficult to re-tool, but a typical drug plant (e.g. making dexamethasone, or a generics company) would be very difficult/impossible to re-tool without a complete rebuild.

 

[BlueAnorak]

Krouts trying to lay off the blame for the piss poor vaccination delivery in the EU I see.

 

[shemnel]

New varriant in schools:
Primary school - infections slightly higher.
High School- Doubling in infections in the 12-14 age group to a level newly equivalent to adults.
I keep looking for the breath viral load graphs that were published before Christmas for the the new variant to show the reason why.

cheers, this Lancet comment is a little confusing but suggests transmission via primary school kids is low compared to other groups but was perhaps underestimated?

The role of schools and school-aged children in SARS-CoV-2 transmission

Schools form a fundamental part of our society. They are crucial for passing on knowledge and values to younger generations and essential for the mental wellbeing of children and parents alike. Unfortunately, they also present a seemingly excellent environment for the spread of respiratory...

www.thelancet.com

 

[Gabriel]

That's fair - I could certainly see that there may be a pause at any stage if a production line is being expanded/amended, and we're not going to know.

Cobra Biologics near Stoke are one of the makers, an independent who aren't part of AZ.
They have a viral vaccine production line which shouldn't have been too difficult to re-tool, but a typical drug plant (e.g. making dexamethasone, or a generics company) would be very difficult/impossible to re-tool without a complete rebuild.

Interesting, I think myself and most people would have no idea about just how difficult it is to convert production plants.
Think there were always going to be pauses and that is why late Feb/March are going to be difficult months for everyone, in all countries.

 

[Rammy Blue]

Regardless of this current row about vaccine distribution, at least we’ve already jabbed a good number which offsets any potential supply problems. Bear in mind too, that the J&J and Moderna vaccines aren’t too far away either. We should be fine.