Vaccines
This preprint took a very careful look at Pfizer, Moderna, J&J, and Novavax in test tubes. It measured a bunch of different components of the immune system in multiple ways. In general, the mRNAs waned the most and one shot J&J the least, but J&J started from a low enough place that even after waning, the mRNAs were better. Novavax looked good on most measures, but had really low levels of killer T cells after six months.
This report from the US compared mRNAs and J&J and found:
| Brand | Against | # doses | VE |
| J&J | ER/Urgent care visits | 1 | 24% |
| J&J | ER/Urgent care visits | 2 | 54% |
| J&J/mRNA | ER/Urgent care visits | 1 J&J and 1 mRNA | 79% |
| mRNA | ER/Urgent care visits | 3 | 83% |
| J&J | hospitalization | 1 | 31% |
| J&J | hospitalization | 2 | 67% |
| J&J/mRNA | hospitalization | 1 J&J and 1 mRNA | 78% |
| mRNA | hospitalization | 3 | 90% |
I recently posted a study from Israel which says that a second booster gives 78% protection against death for people over 60, but this article points out a big flaw in the study: the vax arm was people who volunteered for the shot, who are more likely to be more health-conscious.
This study looked at effectiveness of two shots of Pfizer and pediatric Pfizer (for the 5-11 y/o) against Omicron in kids:
| Age | Against | VE |
| 12-18 | hospitalization | 40% |
| 12-18 | “severe COVID” | 79% |
| 12-18 | “non-severe COVID” | 20% |
| 5-11 | hospitalization | 68% |
Variants
Periodic reminder: BA.1 is what the lay press calls “Omicron”. BA.1, BA.1.1, and BA.2 are all in the Omicron family. BA.1 is what the general public means when they talk about “Omicron”. From this tweet:
From this blog post, looking at the difference between BA.1 and BA.2:
Treatments
This paper says that, yet again, ivermectin doesn’t do shit.
This paper says that patients given a transfusion of convalescent plasma within 8 days of testing positive for COVID-19 during the Delta wave reduced the risk of hospitalization by 58%.
Recommended Reading
This article from the UK (where they have a horrid BA.2 outbreak happening RIGHT NOW) says it is because too many people believe at least one of the three big Omicron myths:
- COVID-19 is endemic i.e. under control.
- COVID-19 is evolving to be milder.
- They have finished their vaccination program.
She debunks each of the myths.
This article talks about vaccines in kids and why the vaccine effectivenesses for kids look so much worse than what they were for adults.