Vaccines It’s here! This preprint from India has the first data for nasal vaccines in humans that we’ve seen. It compares of the same inactivated adenovirus delivered nasally (BBV154) and intramuscularly (Covaxin), both from Bharat Biotech: Levels of antibodies and good things range from about 1.5x to almost 2x higher when delivered nasally. There were… Continue reading 2023-02-02 General
Category: Mitigation Measures
2023-01-26 General
Vaccines People ask me which vaccine they should get. I tell them it’s really between the Pfizer BA.4/5 bivalent and the Novavax, that I don’t have enough information to distinguish between those two. This paper from Novavax with data from South Africa says that three doses of Novavax works about as well as — not… Continue reading 2023-01-26 General
2023-01-12 General
Mitigation Measures This article says that the US has put in a new rule that air travellers must be fully vaccinated before getting on a plane to the US. (Confirmed at this US CDC page.) This paper from Ontario (from August) found that parents, in addition to everything else they were dealing with, had a… Continue reading 2023-01-12 General
2022-12-29 General
Mitigation Measures This article says that $14.8 million in quarantine fines have been given in BC, MB, ON, and Atlantic Canada. The article hints that most of that money will not be collected, but doesn’t really explain why. This article says that 54% of Canadians would be okay with a mask mandate if cases rise.… Continue reading 2022-12-29 General
week ending 2022-12-15 General
I have added a page with what to do if you get COVID-19 here. (Tl;dr: stay away from your loved ones, stay entertained, irrigate your sinuses with saline, take Paxlovid if you are over 65 or clinically extremely vulnerable, make sure you have good quality air (low in particulates, warm, and between 40% and 60%… Continue reading week ending 2022-12-15 General
week ending 2022-12-08 General
Treatments This paper from the UK reports promising results of a cheap liver drug against COVID-19 (at least, in human organs outside humans). This drug does so by reducing the number of ACE2 receptors. (This seems odd to me — I thought I kind of needed my ACE2 receptors!) This paper from Hong Kong found… Continue reading week ending 2022-12-08 General
week ending 2022-11-24 General
Mitigation Measures This press release from the Government of Canada says that all Canadians in federally regulated private workplaces (like banking, telecommunications and interprovincial transportation) get ten days of paid sick leave, starting on 1 Dec 2022. (They don’t get all ten days at once, it accrues.) About 6% of Canadians work in federally regulated… Continue reading week ending 2022-11-24 General
week ending 2022-11-17 General
Note: This week’s post will probably be a little briefer than normal because Life is happening to me. (Everything’s fine, just busy.) Vaccines This article reports that Canada has authorized using Novavax as a booster dose. From a practical standpoint, I think what that means is that the pharmacist doesn’t need to give you a… Continue reading week ending 2022-11-17 General
week ending 2022-11-10 General
Mitigation Measures This article reports that a poll found that 69% of Canadians would either support or “somewhat support” a mask mandate for indoor public spaces if there are rising case counts. In BC, 72% said they supported or “somewhat supported” such a mandate. Long COVID This paper from Germany lays at least part of… Continue reading week ending 2022-11-10 General
week ending 2022-10-20 General
Advice A friend of mine in Seattle told me that they’d gotten COVID-19, and asked me what they should do next. What could they do to get better sooner/faster/better? How should she protect their partner? This is the advice I gave: Isolate until you test negative The US CDC says to isolate until five days… Continue reading week ending 2022-10-20 General