That science guy on Saturday morning TV is no longer available, so I will
volunteer.
I just got my first shot yesterday (Moderna). I think Texas has this right:
priority 1A (healthcare, first responders and nursing homes). Then Level 1B -
anyone over 65 or a person over 16 with a specified co-mobidity. Travis county
(Austin) has moved to Level 1B and I assume is finishing up with 1A.
Considering the number of people involved, I thought the process was very well
organized. Including the 15 minute "observation" period after the shot, whole
process was about 30 minutes. The facility I went to vaccinated started with
7,000 doses a couple of weeks ago. (I don't know the county numbers). It was
doing about 1,000 on Saturday, but are nearing the end of their allocation.
Because some people do not show up, they contact people throughout the day to
move up appointments (mine was originally scheduled for January 20th) and also
will vaccinate people at end of day "as available" so none of the vaccine is
wasted once it is thawed.
As to "effectiveness" see the following article. This is a bit different than
what I assumed it meant, but is still great news. I consider myself in good
health though I have had a procedure for afib and my wife thinks I am too fat.
So I assume had I been in the trial, I would have been one of the 90% of the
94. I intend to wear my mask in public until the all clear is sounded because
people who have been vaccinated can still be spreaders.
"The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine reports 90% efficacy, which means that – of the 94
confirmed cases of COVID-19 – their vaccine prevented COVID-19 symptoms for 90%
of those who received the vaccine compared with placebo. This is very high and
will probably change by the end.
(i.e be lower? - see following)
We don’t know what the overall effectiveness of the vaccine will be in
preventing COVID-19 symptoms, severe disease or deaths, and it may be several
years before studies report on the effectiveness of BNT162b2 for different
groups. However, it is unlikely that it will be 90%.
But then very few vaccines – aside from
measles<https://www.cdc.gov/measles/vaccination.html> and
chickenpox<https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/varicella/index.html#:%7E:text=Two%20doses%20of%20the%20vaccine,immune%20systems%20or%20pregnant%20women.>–
are 90% effective. The flu vaccine is around 40%-60%
effective<https://www.cdc.gov/flu/vaccines-work/vaccineeffect.htm>, but it
still saves millions of lives. And that’s something to celebrate.
https://theconversation.com/pfizer-vaccine-what-an-efficacy-rate-above-90-really-means-149849
[https://images.theconversation.com/files/368661/original/file-20201110-19-70s6ki.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C20%2C6720%2C3360&q=45&auto=format&w=1356&h=668&fit=crop]<https://theconversation.com/pfizer-vaccine-what-an-efficacy-rate-above-90-really-means-149849>
Pfizer vaccine: what an 'efficacy rate above 90%' really
means<https://theconversation.com/pfizer-vaccine-what-an-efficacy-rate-above-90-really-means-149849>
Disclosure statement. Zania Stamataki is a viral immunologist at the University
of Birmingham, UK. She is a member of the British Society for Immunology and
she cultures SARS-CoV-2 in category 3 ...
theconversation.com
________________________________
From: pa64-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <pa64-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> on behalf of
Thornton <allenthornton@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, January 10, 2021 7:48 AM
To: pa <pa64@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [pa64] 95%
You guys are all high school graduates, right? I have a question. What does a
95% effective vaccine mean? Is that in the individual? Or does that mean in a
group: If you vaccinate 100 people. 95 will be protected? Also what does
protection mean? If you directly expose an individual to covid, he will he get
it only 5% of the time? Or does it mean that only 5% of vaccinated individuals
will get covid in today’s environment? Or of 100 people directly exposed to
covid only 5 will test positive? Have symptom? be hospitalized? Die?
Youth wants to know?
