Medical Discussion of Coronavirus

[Kamban]

What is this double mask nonsense? Is the cdc just messing with us now and seeing what they can get away with?

Cotton balls up our noses next?

Oh no. Our state of SC is one of the worst in littering and some of the trash by our roadside can put some third world countries to shame. It used to be beer cans / bottles ( what is up with the stupid Blue Bud bottles shattered everywhere) and paper. Now I see discarded surgical and cloth masks everywhere. It is a real eyesore.

Double masking will double the trash from the discarded masks. Any other states have this problem too?

[StarTrekDoc]

worst in littering and some of the trash by our roadside can put some third world countries to shame. It used to be beer cans / bottles ( what is up with the stupid Blue Bud bottles shattered everywhere) and paper. Now I see discarded surgical and cloth masks everywhere. It is a real eyesore.

Double masking will double the trash from the discarded masks. Any other states have this problem too?

Individual freedom without taking on individual responsibility.

Like masking in public, unleashed dogs and driving slow in the fast lane with your turn signal on.

We are who we are - warts and all

[ginmqi]

Reading more about what we know/not-know about the variants that are already circulating in the US...and the fact that we do NOT know how effective the Pfizer/Modern vaccine is against these variants at this time....it seems to me that the more prudent thing is to continue to be very cautious even for those who are already vaccinated.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/transmission/variant.html

We cannot assume that being vaccinated at this stage = full protection against COVID and full protection from spreading COVID.

I am VERY disappointed since I want to travel as much as any of you...but to me it seems that it may be better to continue exercise caution with limited travel in 2021....

[Jaqen Haghar MD]

i guess it is not cdc recommended but just something fauci said.

“fauci!”

[Kamban]

Reading more about what we know/not-know about the variants that are already circulating in the US...and the fact that we do NOT know how effective the Pfizer/Modern vaccine is against these variants at this time....it seems to me that the more prudent thing is to continue to be very cautious even for those who are already vaccinated.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/transmission/variant.html

We cannot assume that being vaccinated at this stage = full protection against COVID and full protection from spreading COVID.

I am VERY disappointed since I want to travel as much as any of you...but to me it seems that it may be better to continue exercise caution with limited travel in 2021....

The virus has mutated since the start when the vaccines were developing and by the time the vaccines were fully developed the mutants were more prominent, deadlier and contagious. Now Moderna and Pfizer are developing mRNA against these variants. By the time they do the Phase I/II there will be even more variants. Are we going to be like the dog forever chasing its tail.

Like we have developed lock down fatigue, mask fatigue, social distancing fatigue, we will soon develop vaccine fatigue. Even the vaccinated will refuse to get that new and improved booster shot since it is only a matter of time before it becomes old and useless.

[artemis]

The virus has mutated since the start when the vaccines were developing and by the time the vaccines were fully developed the mutants were more prominent, deadlier and contagious. Now Moderna and Pfizer are developing mRNA against these variants. By the time they do the Phase I/II there will be even more variants. Are we going to be like the dog forever chasing its tail.

I can't see why they'd need to even repeat Phase 3 testing, much less Phase 1 and 2. A slight modification of the spike protein mRNA in the current vaccine really isn't any different from the tweaking we do each fall with the influenza virus vaccine. We don't treat each year's flu vaccine as a completely new vaccine; why should we do that with an mRNA COVID vaccine? Now if they picked a different protein on the SARS-CoV-2 to target, then it would make sense to do more trials. But spike protein is spike protein.

[StarTrekDoc]

+1 artemis - exactly. Eventually we'll be at whack-a-mole stage -- multivalent vaccine a la flu vaccine. Great thing on the mRNA is ability to code and add/change manufacturing without much R+D delay.

The question is - duration of vaccines and whether need to booster -- yearly would be ideal and tie to flu vaccine schedule.

[HikingDO]

Reading more about what we know/not-know about the variants that are already circulating in the US...and the fact that we do NOT know how effective the Pfizer/Modern vaccine is against these variants at this time....it seems to me that the more prudent thing is to continue to be very cautious even for those who are already vaccinated.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/transmission/variant.html

We cannot assume that being vaccinated at this stage = full protection against COVID and full protection from spreading COVID.

I am VERY disappointed since I want to travel as much as any of you...but to me it seems that it may be better to continue exercise caution with limited travel in 2021....

I understand your caution, but where is the endpoint? If we don’t travel this year after getting vaccinated, when do we? Like influenza, covid will most likely continue to mutate and won’t be going anyway anytime soon. I feel that unfortunately we’re just going to have to learn to live with it.

[fatlittlepig]

US Covid report card:
testing F
Isolating positive cases F
contact tracing F
messaging F
govt support to people F
Vaccine development A
fda approval process F
vaccine delivery F

[Tim]

I understand your caution, but where is the endpoint? If we don’t travel this year after getting vaccinated, when do we? Like influenza, covid will most likely continue to mutate and won’t be going anyway anytime soon. I feel that unfortunately we’re just going to have to learn to live with it.

Non medical person asking for curiousity. Basically not qualified to make an intelligent choice. Has anyone taken a look at the allegations of the Wuhan Lab?

https://video.foxnews.com/v/6227902415001#sp=show-clips

[Hatton]

I can't see why they'd need to even repeat Phase 3 testing, much less Phase 1 and 2. A slight modification of the spike protein mRNA in the current vaccine really isn't any different from the tweaking we do each fall with the influenza virus vaccine. We don't treat each year's flu vaccine as a completely new vaccine; why should we do that with an mRNA COVID vaccine? Now if they picked a different protein on the SARS-CoV-2 to target, then it would make sense to do more trials. But spike protein is spike protein.

I hope this is how the FDA looks at this issue.

[nephron]

Unfortunately, there is a real disconnect between people administering the vaccine and those who want to receive the vaccine. If you talk to many of the vulnerable (including healthcare workers before they were got the vaccine), you would find large amounts of people willing to wait overnight or camp out in order for the opportunity to receive a shot. And then when you look at the administration schedule, it's some 9:30-3 business hours, cancelling for adverse weather, etc. There are patients dying everyday who would have taken the vaccine if given the chance. And then you hear about thousands of shots being discarded because of poor planning or mismanagement. There really shouldn't be all these news stories about thousands of shots being spoiled because there shouldn't be thousands of injections sitting in a freezer not being administered. It really should be administer 24/7 until you run out of shots and then reschedule. I'm certain that you could find volunteers who would administer at all hours of the day in exchange for getting the vaccine earlier. I feel guilty telling my patients who ask that I have already been vaccinated when I know that many of them may not get a chance for several months.

[Lordosis]

US Covid report card:
testing F
Isolating positive cases F
contact tracing F
messaging F
govt support to people F
Vaccine development A
fda approval process F
vaccine delivery F

I wonder which of those criteria were not under complete government control

[CordMcNally]

US Covid report card:
testing F
Isolating positive cases F
contact tracing F
messaging F
govt support to people F
Vaccine development A
fda approval process F
vaccine delivery F

Depending on how these strains mutate and evolve, vaccine development may become more and more irrelevant.

[Panscan]

why dont we figure out how to get the current vaccine into arms before we talk about other boosters or etc. That's a pretty big non starter for me. By the time those would ever be developed or marketable we'd be at herd half immunity or some kind of thing where a majority are infected with a similar virus who likely have some degree to a mutated one. At some point we just have to deal with it.