Immunity
A huuuge study in Denmark looked for reinfections and from that, figured out the efficacy of getting sick in preventing later infections and found that it was 80·5%, 47·1% for those aged 65 years and older. And yes, mRNA vaccines are like 95% efficient, so yes, the mRNA vaccines are higher efficacy than actually getting sick (as I mentioned yesterday).
Also out of Denmark, this study found that at a mink farm, 75% of the minks tested positive for COVID-19 and all had antibodies in their blood. Two months later, 75% of the mink tested positive for active COVID-19. Ulp.
This paper found antibodies in the mucous of the upper respiratory tract of people who had been vaccinated, which means that antibodies are not just in the blood. That, in turns, means you are much less likely to transmit the virus, even if you get infected yourself. The paper also found that antibody levels were higher in people who got vaccinated than in people who only got sick with COVID-19.
Variants
Public Health England has officially classed B.1.617.2 (one of the “Indian variants” as an official Variant of Concern. I presume/hope that means that BC will start tracking/reporting it harder.
Pets
A pet hospital in London found that pets are getting myocarditis much more than they did before the pandemic, and some of the animals tested positive for B.1.1.7. I wonder if we’re going to have to vaccinate our pets.