Vaccines
BioNTech (which is the company behind Pfizer’s vaccine) is going to partner with an additional 13 companies to make up to 2 billion (yes, billion with a B) doses this year.
There’s a nice study done by Public Health Scotland where they looked at household members of healthcare workers who did and did not get vaccinated. Members of the vaccinated worker’s household had an infection rate that was at least 54% lower than the unvaccinated workers’ households.
Yes, there is the problem that health care workers who don’t get a vaccine might be more casual about precautions, and their households are likely to have similar attitudes towards precautions, but it shows again that just like “my mask protects YOU”, “my inoculation protects YOU”!
There’s an interesting New York Times article on the AZ trials in South Africa. Vax trials don’t usually go to the Global South, but it was hella important that this one did; there were also a ton of challenges. Recommended.