Vaccines
The AstraZeneca vaccine is more effective when there’s a three month delay between dose 1 and dose 2. Unfortunately, the effectiveness drops quite a bit after the fifth week, from 84% in the fifth week to 58% after the seventh.
Moderna is doing a long-term study of its vaccines, but is having a problem because so many of the test participants are dropping out to get a vaccination.
The US governmental report on the Johnson&Johnson vaccine (which the FDA might approve tomorrow!) is out. It is not as good — 72% effectiveness against severe/critical illness (in the US, presumably against COVID Classic), less in South Africa and Brazil.
It doesn’t protect completely against hospitalization completely (75% after 28 days). All the deaths were in the placebo arm, but there weren’t that many. Few side effects (less than the mRNA vaxes).
Long COVID
This is early and anecdotal, but it looks like a lot of Long COVID patients report getting much better after getting vaccinated! This might be placebo effect, it might be coincidence, but it’s hugely encouraging to think there might be such a simple treatment. 😲
An oddness: one Long COVID patient reported that she smelled like an onion until her first vaccination!
Don’t Do This
68% of people at a (indoor) gym for a fitness class got COVID-19. They were six feet apart, but unmasked (and breathing hard).