https://www.fool.com/investing/2021/06/19/covid-vaccines-from-moderna-biontech-are-amazing/
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Pfizer's COVID Vaccine Is Even More Amazing Than You Think
- Thread starter ginfreely
- Start date
Once the pandemic started, people spent much of the rest of 2020 waiting for vaccines to arrive. When they did -- thanks to Pfizer, BioNTech, and Moderna -- the results were much better than most had hoped for.
With much of the country vaccinated, daily cases are now down more than 95% in the U.S. But the story isn't over.
With much of the country vaccinated, daily cases are now down more than 95% in the U.S. But the story isn't over.
Simply the best
The Pfizer-BioNTech drug -- now marketed as Comirnaty -- was the first to share phase 3 data. In mid-November 2020, they announced their drug was 95% effective in protecting against COVID-19.Moderna followed two weeks later with its own impressive results. Since then, a few others have followed suit. To date, Johnson & Johnson's is the only additional jab to receive authorization in the U.S.
| Manufacturer | Efficacy vs. Wild-Type SARS-CoV-2 | Authorized in the U.S. |
|---|---|---|
| Pfizer(NYSE:PFE)/BioNTech(NASDAQ:BNTX) | 95% | Yes |
| Moderna(NASDAQ:MRNA) | 94.1% | Yes |
| Johnson & Johnson | 67% | Yes |
| AstraZeneca | 79% | No |
| Novavax | 90.4% | No |
Of course, it isn't an apples-to-apples comparison. The earlier clinical trials had more of a static target. As times goes on, there are actually different versions of the virus circulating.
Every once in a while, a mutation gives the virus some enhanced properties. That can show up as an illness with more severe symptoms or even one that's easier to spread.
Several of those mutations -- known as variants -- of the SARS-CoV-2 virus have been circulating in different parts of the world. And both investors and society at large are focused on how well the existing vaccines are able to protect against them.
SOURCE: CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (CDC).
Bigger, stronger, faster
When viruses hijack the machinery of a cell to make copies of themselves, those copies sometimes end up with slight errors. The errors, or mutations, usually don't have much impact, as we never even know they exist.Every once in a while, a mutation gives the virus some enhanced properties. That can show up as an illness with more severe symptoms or even one that's easier to spread.
Several of those mutations -- known as variants -- of the SARS-CoV-2 virus have been circulating in different parts of the world. And both investors and society at large are focused on how well the existing vaccines are able to protect against them.
| Variant | Initial Source | Variant Name |
|---|---|---|
| B.1.1.7 | United Kingdom | Alpha |
| B.1.351 | South Africa | Beta |
| P.1 | Brazil | Gamma |
| B.1.617.2 | India | Delta |
The delta variant has already become the dominant strain in the U.K. and is on its way to becoming the same in the U.S. That's troubling because the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said the mutation is more contagious than other variants and causes more severe symptoms.
It already makes up 10% of all new cases in the U.S. That's up from just 6% in a week. Thankfully, the Pfizer vaccine holds its own against the mutation.
That full regimen was 92% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID from the alpha mutation. It dropped to 79% effective against the delta variant. Although there have been no studies of the Moderna vaccine, the performance is expected to be the same, according to White House medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci.
The story isn't as rosy after one jab. In that period before the second dose does its magic, the effectiveness was a far less robust 33%. Previously, the CDC had said the first shot of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine was 80% effective at preventing COVID.
All told, it's establishing a trend of slightly waning efficacy with each subsequent variant. Still, almost 18 months removed from the original sequencing of the virus, Pfizer's (and theoretically Moderna's) vaccines continue to offer protection far greater than even the best year's flu vaccine.
It already makes up 10% of all new cases in the U.S. That's up from just 6% in a week. Thankfully, the Pfizer vaccine holds its own against the mutation.
Hit me one more time
Albert Bourla, Pfizer's CEO, has said that his company tested its vaccine against the variants and has them covered. That's true ... kind of. Analysis in the U.K. showed two doses of the company's vaccine still provided significant protection from the mutated virus.That full regimen was 92% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID from the alpha mutation. It dropped to 79% effective against the delta variant. Although there have been no studies of the Moderna vaccine, the performance is expected to be the same, according to White House medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci.
The story isn't as rosy after one jab. In that period before the second dose does its magic, the effectiveness was a far less robust 33%. Previously, the CDC had said the first shot of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine was 80% effective at preventing COVID.
All told, it's establishing a trend of slightly waning efficacy with each subsequent variant. Still, almost 18 months removed from the original sequencing of the virus, Pfizer's (and theoretically Moderna's) vaccines continue to offer protection far greater than even the best year's flu vaccine.
More where that came from
Beyond the vaccines' efficacy in fighting variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, there's still another reason to be hopeful that the worst of the pandemic is behind us. Since Pfizer's and Moderna's drugs use messenger RNA (mRNA) -- instructions for cells to make proteins -- they can be easily modified to address new variants. In fact, the leader of the Moderna vaccine team said it could be changed in a matter of weeks, if needed.Now that the manufacturing networks have been put in place, any modified vaccine would arrive much faster than the initial drug. Bourla said on Pfizer's most recent earnings call that the company is conducting a study designed to obtain regulatory approval in 100 days for an updated vaccine, if needed. That data is expected in early July.
When the Pfizer vaccine first arrived, it was considered a scientific marvel as the first ever to be authorized using mRNA. As the pandemic goes on, it's becoming clear that it might have been even more impressive than first thought.
Good news! Pfizer is 79% effective against Indian variant and moderna expected to be the same.
So few people die from Covid as a percentage of those infected I see absolutely no reason why all these vaccines are needed in the first place.
The same result could be achieved simply by allowing the virus to spread. Nothing beats natural immunity from catching and recovering from the disease.
The same result could be achieved simply by allowing the virus to spread. Nothing beats natural immunity from catching and recovering from the disease.
What rubbish are you talking about? There are more than 3m dead in the world. That’s a lot of people not few.
US COVID-19 deaths hit 600,000, equal to yearly cancer toll
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/new...600-000--equal-to-yearly-cancer-toll-15021214
It's not a lot considering the fact that 60 million people die annually.
3 million out of 60 million is a very small percentage. Add to that the fact that the vast majority died with Covid rather than because of Covid and you'll realise that the actual numbers that died because of Covid are very low.
Covid has killed only 0.03% of the world's population. It has hardly made a dent.
In the grand scheme of things nothing matters indeed.
https://www.mphonline.org/worst-pandemics-in-history/
HIV/AIDS PANDEMIC (AT ITS PEAK, 2005-2012)
Death Toll: 36 millionCause: HIV/AIDS
First identified in Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1976, HIV/AIDS has truly proven itself as a global pandemic, killing more than 36 million people since 1981. Currently there are between 31 and 35 million people living with HIV, the vast majority of those are in Sub-Saharan Africa, where 5% of the population is infected, roughly 21 million people. As awareness has grown, new treatments have been developed that make HIV far more manageable, and many of those infected go on to lead productive lives. Between 2005 and 2012 the annual global deaths from HIV/AIDS dropped from 2.2 million to 1.6 million.
FLU PANDEMIC (1968)
Death Toll: 1 millionCause: Influenza
A category 2 Flu pandemic sometimes referred to as “the Hong Kong Flu,” the 1968 flu pandemic was caused by the H3N2 strain of the Influenza A virus, a genetic offshoot of the H2N2 subtype. From the first reported case on July 13, 1968 in Hong Kong, it took only 17 days before outbreaks of the virus were reported in Singapore and Vietnam, and within three months had spread to The Philippines, India, Australia, Europe, and the United States. While the 1968 pandemic had a comparatively low mortality rate (.5%) it still resulted in the deaths of more than a million people, including 500,000 residents of Hong Kong, approximately 15% of its population at the time.
ASIAN FLU (1956-1958)
Death Toll: 2 millionCause: Influenza
Asian Flu was a pandemic outbreak of Influenza A of the H2N2 subtype, that originated in China in 1956 and lasted until 1958. In its two-year spree, Asian Flu traveled from the Chinese province of Guizhou to Singapore, Hong Kong, and the United States. Estimates for the death toll of the Asian Flu vary depending on the source, but the World Health Organization places the final tally at approximately 2 million deaths, 69,800 of those in the US alone.
FLU PANDEMIC (1918)
Death Toll: 20 -50 millionCause: Influenza
Between 1918 and 1920 a disturbingly deadly outbreak of influenza tore across the globe, infecting over a third of the world’s population and ending the lives of 20 – 50 million people. Of the 500 million people infected in the 1918 pandemic, the mortality rate was estimated at 10% to 20%, with up to 25 million deaths in the first 25 weeks alone. What separated the 1918 flu pandemic from other influenza outbreaks was the victims; where influenza had always previously only killed juveniles and the elderly or already weakened patients, it had begun striking down hardy and completely healthy young adults, while leaving children and those with weaker immune systems still alive.
SIXTH CHOLERA PANDEMIC (1910-1911)
Death Toll: 800,000+Cause: Cholera
Like its five previous incarnations, the Sixth Cholera Pandemic originated in India where it killed over 800,000, before spreading to the Middle East, North Africa, Eastern Europe and Russia. The Sixth Cholera Pandemic was also the source of the last American outbreak of Cholera (1910–1911). American health authorities, having learned from the past, quickly sought to isolate the infected, and in the end only 11 deaths occurred in the U.S. By 1923 Cholera cases had been cut down dramatically, although it was still a constant in India.
FLU PANDEMIC (1889-1890)
Death Toll: 1 millionCause: Influenza
Originally the “Asiatic Flu” or “Russian Flu” as it was called, this strain was thought to be an outbreak of the Influenza A virus subtype H2N2, though recent discoveries have instead found the cause to be the Influenza A virus subtype H3N8. The first cases were observed in May 1889 in three separate and distant locations, Bukhara in Central Asia (Turkestan), Athabasca in northwestern Canada, and Greenland. Rapid population growth of the 19th century, specifically in urban areas, only helped the flu spread, and before long the outbreak had spread across the globe. Though it was the first true epidemic in the era of bacteriology and much was learned from it. In the end, the 1889-1890 Flu Pandemic claimed the lives of over a million individuals.
THIRD CHOLERA PANDEMIC (1852–1860)
Death Toll: 1 millionCause: Cholera
Generally considered the most deadly of the seven cholera pandemics, the third major outbreak of Cholera in the 19th century lasted from 1852 to 1860. Like the first and second pandemics, the Third Cholera Pandemic originated in India, spreading from the Ganges River Delta before tearing through Asia, Europe, North America and Africa and ending the lives of over a million people. British physician John Snow, while working in a poor area of London, tracked cases of cholera and eventually succeeded in identifying contaminated water as the means of transmission for the disease. Unfortunately the same year as his discovery (1854) went down as the worst year of the pandemic, in which 23,000 people died in Great Britain.
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