CDC shares 8 new charts that show how powerful Pfizer's vaccine is against COVID-19 and the Delta variant https://www.businessinsider.com/cdc-charts-show-pfizer-vaccine-works-against-covid-delta-2021-8 On Monday, independent experts to the CDC voted unanimously to recommend Pfizer's vaccine to everyone over 16. Their decision was data-driven, and factored in both the risks and benefits of vaccination. They reviewed graphs and tables showing that, while vaccinated people can get mild infections, Pfizer's vaccine does a great job keeping people alive and out of the hospital. Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine is now not only approved for everyone over 16 years old, it's recommended. On Monday, an independent advisory committee to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted unanimously to support recommending the vaccine. The decision of those 14 experts was based on overwhelming evidence that Pfizer's 2-shot immunization, named Comirnaty, which was fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration last week, is not only safe but also works very well at preventing disease. The independent experts on the CDC panel cheered on the creation of the COVID-19 vaccines in the midst of a pandemic, calling it a "miraculous accomplishment" and "a moment of incredible scientific innovation." Here are eight charts and graphs that lay out why Pfizer's vaccine was given a big thumbs up: COVID-19 vaccines are doing a great job keeping people healthy, alive, and out of the hospital. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ACIP meeting Aug. 30, 2021 https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/meetings/slides-2021-08-30.html The CDC committee looked at data from across the US showing unvaccinated adults are being hospitalized for COVID-19 at rates roughly 16 times higher than the vaccinated. As of August 23, 0.006% of vaccinated Americans (fewer than 9,000 people) have had a severe enough case of COVID-19 to be hospitalized, according to CDC data. The number of vaccinated people who've died from COVID-19 is even smaller. Of the 636,015 American COVID-19 deaths, just 2,063, or 0.3% have been in vaccinated people, a tiny fraction when you consider that more than 174 million people are fully vaccinated in the US. Unvaccinated people under age 50 are getting hospitalized at especially high rates this year. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ACIP meeting Aug. 30, 2021 The CDC tracks these rates of COVID-19 hospitalizations through COVID-NET, a system which collects data from 250 hospitals across 14 states (located in different areas of the country) every week. It's true that more vaccinated people are now catching COVID-19, due to the Delta variant. But their cases are generally mild and the vaccines are still preventing severe disease well. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ACIP meeting Aug. 30, 2021 This graph was compiled by the CDC for the advisory committee, and it is based on 14 separate studies from independent experts around the world, who all aimed to evaluate how well COVID-19 vaccines work in the face of the Delta variant. The blue colored circles represent Pfizer-only studies, while the red circles are for studies that evaluated both Pfizer and Moderna. The Y-axis on the left represents vaccine effectiveness, as determined in each study. As you can see, the effectiveness of Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson's vaccines againstanyinfection ranges widely in these new studies, from around 40% to 80%. That's in line with what we know about Delta — it is more contagious. Delta spreads more easily from person to person than other variants, and thus vaccinated people are now more vulnerable to COVID-19 infections when they are exposed to other people who are contagious. However, the COVID-19 vaccine remains over 80% effective against severe disease in all of these new studies, suggesting that the vaccines are still doing their primary job of fighting off severe infections in vaccinated people very well, even with Delta here. Hospitalizations of vaccinated patients remain rare, even with Delta. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ACIP meeting Aug. 30, 2021 These two graphs, also created by the CDC, pull together findings from six different studies across the US, UK and Israel, which each aim to compare COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness before and after Delta showed up. The blue dots represent pre-Delta effectiveness percentages, while the orange dots represent vaccine effectiveness with Delta. As you can see in the graph on the left, vaccine effectiveness is reduced for anysymptomatic disease with Delta, but the graph on the right adds more nuance to the story, telling us that hospitalizations and severe COVID-19 cases are still rare in vaccinated people. So instead of getting really sick and landing in the hospital, fully vaccinated people who catch COVID- have more mundane symptoms, like headache, sniffles, or a fever. In the young and generally healthy 16-29 year old age group, the amount of suffering that could be avoided through more vaccinations is staggering. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ACIP meeting Aug. 30, 2021 This graph takes into account a lower vaccine effectiveness with Delta and still shows (in light blue bars) a huge number of hospitalizations that could now be avoided by using Pfizer's vaccine in young adults from ages 16 to 29. For every million doses administered of Pfizer's vaccine, 9,980 people under 29 could avoid hospitalization from COVID-19. The dark blue bars represent even more severe intensive care unit COVID-19 cases. For every one million doses of Pfizer's vaccine administered, 1,300 people from ages 16 to 29 will not end up in the ICU, the CDC estimates. The red bars on the right directly compare how those tangible benefits outweigh the potential risk of myocarditis for every age group. Myocarditis is a temporary, treatable condition. For every million doses of Pfizer vaccine given, roughly 136 teens and young adults, most of them teenage boys, have a risk of myocarditis after vaccination, the CDC says. The panel said the benefits of Pfizer's shot outweigh the very small risk of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart, in teens and young adults. Myocarditis is more common among young men from 16-24, as shown in the chart. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ACIP meeting Aug. 30, 2021 This chart shows the number of myocarditis cases to be expected after vaccination with Pfizer's shot, broken down by age and sex, per million doses. It's estimated here that fewer than 150 myocarditis cases in teens and young adults ages 16-29 would materialize, for every 1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine given to such young people. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of COVID-19 cases, some of them life-threatening, could be avoided by vaccination in that same age group. Myocarditis is both temporary and treatable, and the risk of potentially developing the heart condition is actually far worse after a viral infection like COVID-19 than it is with vaccination. Allergic reactions after Pfizer's vaccine are also exceedingly rare, and treatable. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ACIP meeting Aug. 30, 2021 In the table above, the line circled in red shows the number of expected anaphylaxis cases per million doses of vaccine administered, for Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson's shots. For Pfizer, the expected rate of anaphylaxis after vaccination is now five cases per million shots given, which is less than half of what experts initially thought. Anaphylaxis is generally treatable with epinephrine, which all COVID-19 vaccination sites nationwide are required to have on hand. "I'm delighted to say that we now have a fully FDA approved, CDC recommended vaccine available," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said during a White House briefing on Tuesday afternoon, in a nod to all this new data. "For anyone who's been waiting to get vaccinated until we had more evidence on safety and effectiveness, I hope yesterday's announcement will have you join the more than 170 million people who have decided to protect themselves against COVID 19 by getting vaccinated."
https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajplung.00223.2021 The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein subunit S1 induces COVID-19-like acute lung injury in Κ18-hACE2 transgenic mice and barrier dysfunction in human endothelial cells Spike Protein Induces Alveolar Inflammation and Acute Lung Injury K18-hACE2 mice instilled with S1SP displayed a rapid and sustained decline in body weight, unlike mice receiving SP or saline. WT type instilled with S1SP exhibited a significant but less pronounced decrease (Fig. 1A). Strong alveolar inflammation was also shown by increased concentrations of leukocytes and proteins in BALF of transgenic mice instilled with the S1SP, and significantly less in WT type receiving S1SP, whereas similar baseline values were observed in K18-hACE2 mice receiving SP or saline (Fig. 1, B and C). Monocytes, macrophages, and neutrophils were primarily increased in S1SP-instilled K18-hACE2, but only neutrophils increased in WT-type mice Spike Protein Elicits “Cytokine Storm” in BALF and Serum Mice instilled with S1SP displayed a cytokine storm in BALF (Fig. 2A) and serum (Fig. 2B), in agreement with the observed neutrophil, monocyte, and macrophage recruitment (Fig. 1D). Minimal cytokine levels were observed in mice exposed to either saline or SP. Spike Protein Induces Morphologically Evident ALI and Activates the NF-κB and STAT3 Pathways in the Lungs K18-hACE2 mice instilled with S1SP revealed alveolar septal thickening, alveolar edema, hyaline membranes, and extensive leukocyte infiltrates when compared with saline or SP controls and, to a lesser extent, —WT mice receiving S1SP (Fig. 3A); these observations were confirmed by quantification in the Lung Injury Index (Fig. 3B). Western analysis of lung homogenates demonstrated a dramatical increase in the phosphorylation of STAT3 in K18-hACE2 mice instilled with S1SP compared with all other groups (Fig. 3C), whereas phosphorylation of IκBα (I-kappaB alpha - cytosolic inhibitor of NF-κB) increased in both K18-hACE2 and WT mice instilled with S1SP (Fig. 3C). Ingenuity Pathway Analysis Ingenuity Pathway Analysis of the significantly upregulated and downregulated cytokines and chemokines in BALF computationally revealed a prominent association of our in vivo model system with diseases and biofunctions aligned with inflammatory disease, and most specifically, lung infection, inflammation, and permeability of microvascular endothelial cells (Fig. 4A).
https://portlandpress.com/bioscirep...RS-CoV-2-spike-protein-S1-induces-fibrin-ogen SARS-CoV-2 spike protein S1 induces fibrin(ogen) resistant to fibrinolysis: implications for microclot formation in COVID-19 Discussion In this laboratory analysis, we provide evidence that spike protein does indeed play a major role in hypercoagulability seen in COVID-19 patients. It causes anomalous clotting in both purified fluorescent fibrinogen and in PPP from healthy individuals, where the nature of the clots were shown to be amyloid (ThT as our amyloid dye of choice). An interesting observation was that these dense deposits were noted both in smears exposed to spike protein, and when thrombin was added. The addition of thrombin causes purified (Alexa Fluor™ 488) fibrinogen to polymerize into fibrin networks. Typically, these networks are net-like (Figure 3A). In the presence of spike protein, the structure changed to form dense clot deposits (Figure 3B). These deposits were seen in our fluorescent fibrin(ogen) model and PPP from healthy individuals exposed to spike protein. In healthy PPP exposed to spike protein, followed by incubation with ThT, there was a significant increase in anomalous clots with an amyloid nature, (Figure 4D), when compared with the healthy PPP. In the current paper, we did not analyze blood samples and clotting propensity of PPP from other patient cohorts, e.g. those with bacterial pneumonia or other acute viral diseases. However, our group (and others) have previously studied blood from HIV patients, where significant hypercoagulation in this patient cohort was noted [36–39]. We have also, recently, reported significant hypercoagulation in patients suffering from long COVID/PASC [40]. Spike protein also caused major ultrastructural changes in WB (as viewed with the SEM), where platelet hyperactivation was noted (Figure 6C,D). Increased in spontaneously formed fibrin network, as well as anomalous clot formation were also observed in SEM micrographs (Figure 6E–H). Interestingly, extensive spontaneous fibrin network formation was noted, without the addition of thrombin. This is in line with results that were recently published, where we showed similar ultrastructure in blood smears form COVID-19 positive patients. In these patients, platelet hyperactivation, anomalous clotting with amyloid signal, and spontaneous fibrin fiber formation were also observed [6,7]. With the microfluidics flow system, clots were formed, by infusing the entire microchannel with thrombin, thus simulating a hypercoagulable state, where endothelial damage was extensive. Given that the flow channel was made entirely of plastic and was devoid of any endothelial cells, the main component under investigation was the PPP (mostly fibrinogen protein) itself, which, in the case of the COVID-19 samples, may have contained downstream effects of some endothelial changes that would give rise to the hypercoagulable state that is characteristic of the disease. The flow setup used in the present study could not directly account for endothelial changes but nonetheless demonstrated that COVID-19 also results in changes in the clotting profile of the PPP. This was evident in the rapid rate of thrombin consumption and fibrin formation in COVID-19 clots, and also in the nature of the PPP clots that were formed. The clots that were observed in the healthy PPP with added spike protein, were of particular interest as they demonstrated a bridge between healthy PPP clots and COVID-19 clots. As described in the ‘Results’ section, the healthy PPP clots were relatively small and orderly, while COVID-19 PPP clots were large, disorderly masses that formed rapidly and disrupted PPP flow in the channel. The healthy PPP clots with added spike protein, were a combination of the two, demonstrating disorderly clumped clot areas, coexisting with laminar fibrous PPP clots (which were larger than the healthy PPP clots). This intermediate state may arise from a number of factors, including the interaction of other biological actors which were absent from the flow setup and the time of exposure to spike protein. Further investigations would be beneficial for understanding the clotting mechanisms that are altered in the presence of spike protein. One of the obvious differences, which was inadvertently observed while trying to clean the channels with high-speed water flow (i.e. by mechanical means), was the ease of healthy PPP and healthy PPP with added spike protein clot dissolution. However, there was a complete failure to dislodge or disturb COVID-19 PPP clots from the channels. Given the clot lysis and dissolution is a complex interplay between biochemical and biophysical factors, investigation of the effects of different therapeutic agents could elucidate this phenomenon [41]. The flow protocol used in this study would be a useful platform for testing different treatments for clinical application. A further limitation of this exploration is the use of PPP in investigating clot formation at a scale appropriate to the microvasculature. While the protocol enables the study of fibrin microclots, which are of interest in COVID-19, it excludes the influence of RBCs, which are known to heavily influence the non-Newtonian flow behavior of blood at that scale [42]. The inaccuracy of the flow regime arising from this exclusion and from the variability of viscosity introduces error into the results. Nonetheless, the inclusion of flow an appropriate spatial scale has enabled us to observe COVID-19 PPP clot formation over space and time, under dynamic conditions, and has given insights which would otherwise prove difficult to glean. A further avenue for exploration would include examining clot stability and removal for other patients with acute inflammatory responses arising from acute infections. Longstaff and co-workers found increased fibrinolytic resistance in inflammatory conditions arising from acute infection [43]. Examining this phenomenon in our microfluidic setup would be beneficial. Given that microclots can block microcapillaries and thereby inhibit oxygen exchange, we have recently also studied plasma samples, using proteomics results from Long COVID/PASC, T2DM, with acute COVID-19 and compared results with plasma samples from healthy individuals. Interestingly, plasma from T2DM and form healthy individuals, immediately digested fully after a first trypsinization step, however, persistent microclots remained in the plasma samples from Long COVID/PASC and from acute COVID-19 samples, still contained large anomalous (amyloid) deposits (microclots) [40]. After a second trypsinization, the persistent pellet deposits were solubilized. We detected various inflammatory molecules that are substantially increased in both the supernatant and trapped in the solubilized pellet deposits of acute COVID-19 and Long COVID/PASC, versus the equivalent volume of fully digested fluid of the control samples and T2DM [40]. Of particular interest was a substantial increase in α(2)-antiplasmin (α2AP), various fibrinogen chains in both acute COVID-19 and Long COVID/PASC digested microclots. A comparison between healthy plasma and acute COVID-19 solubilized clots also showed a significant increase in coagulation factor XIII A chain, VWF Complement component C7 and CRP [40]. In the current study, mass spectrometry confirmed that spike protein causes structural changes to β and γ fibrin(ogen), complement 3, and prothrombin. These proteins become less resistant to trypsinization and changes the conformation, in such a way that there is a significant difference in peptide structure before and after spike protein addition. The current results therefore confirm results we have found in our recent proteomics analysis [40]. Our recent data suggest that there is an increase in (2)-antiplasmin inside the microclots of both acute COVID-19 and Long COVID, and we also note pathophysiology in the fibrinogen chains. In the present paper, we could induce fibrinogen chain pathology, after adding spike protein to healthy plasma. To result in an increase in molecules like α2-antiplasmin and VWF (and others), in patients with acute COVID-19 and also those with Long COVID/PASC, many physiological pathways should be activated. See Figure 9 (adjusted from [40, 44–46]) for a visual representation of the coagulation pathway and where it may be affected by S1.
SinoVac COVID-19 Vaccine Has ‘0 To 40’ Antibody Levels Compared To Pfizer’s 1,300 https://www.ibtimes.com/sinovac-cov...y-levels-compared-pfizers-1300-expert-3285248 A study in China found that SinoVac and SinoPharm were 70% effective in preventing COVID-19 infection A preprint study in Brazil found that SinoVac was only 54% effective in preventing coronavirus infection Singapore had previously refused to count SinoVac jabs in the country's tally of vaccinations The China-made COVID-19 vaccine, SinoVac, has been found to produce significantly lower levels of antibodies compared to the vaccine developed by Pfizer-BioNTech, prompting residents in Singapore to get booster shots. Antibody levels in people who have received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine were normally between 1,300 and 2,000 international units per milliliter. However, the numbers are much lower in individuals who received two shots of the SinoVac vaccine. “For Sinovac, it is zero to 40. We have a few with 200 to 300,” Dr. Leong Hoe Nam, an infectious diseases specialist at Rophi Clinic in Singapore, told South China Morning Post. Dr. Leong noted that the lower antibody levels in SinoVac recipients have prompted an increasing number of individuals to get Pfizer as a booster shot. “They took the Sinovac shots, did the blood test and saw low antibody levels, then opted for Pfizer as the third dose,” he added. A study conducted by researchers in China found that the SinoVac and SinoPharm vaccines had a combined efficacy of 70% in preventing an infection caused by the more contagious Delta variant in the city of Guangzhou. The study, which has yet to be peer reviewed, also noted that the shots were 100% effective in preventing severe infections and deaths. However, a Brazilian preprint study comparing SinoVac to the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine found that recipients of the Chinese-made vaccine had lower protection levels against the virus. SinoVac recipients were 54% less likely to contract COVID-19 and 74% less likely to die of the virus compared to the unvaccinated. The efficacy waned in the older population, reducing the risk of death by only 35% in people over the age of 80. In comparison, AstraZeneca reduced the risk of infection by 70% and the risk of death by 90%. The Singaporean government had previously excluded people who received the SinoVac shots from the country’s total count of vaccinations. Health Minister Ong Ye Kung cited inadequate efficacy data as the reason for the move. "We don't really have a medical or scientific basis or have the data now to establish how effective SinoVac is in terms of infection and severe illnesses on Delta," Ong said during a July media briefing, according to Reuters. Singapore’s Ministry of Health later announced it will consider people who received vaccine shots included in the World Health Organization’s emergency use list, such as SinoVac, Sinopharm and AstraZeneca, as fully vaccinated, in an effort to be more “inclusive.” “What is important now is the difference between those who are vaccinated and not vaccinated and less so between different vaccines,” Ong said at a press conference in early August. Despite this, the Singaporean government is still offering third doses of vaccines to residents who had taken the SinoVac jab as part of a “heterologous vaccination strategy.” "We have not stopped them although data is still lacking considering what the effectiveness is of this strategy using two different vaccines – we call this a heterologous vaccination strategy," Director of Medical Services Kenneth Mak said during a virtual doorstop interview.
If we have GRU propaganda downplaying the effectiveness of western vaxxes. Do we have Langley propaganda downplaying the effectiveness of Gynese vaxxes? Chile began one of the world's fastest inoculation campaigns against COVID-19 in December, having now fully vaccinated more than 60% of its population, predominantly with Sinovac's (SVA.O)CoronaVac. That vaccine was 86% effective in preventing hospitalization, 89.7% effective in preventing admission to intensive care units and 86% effective in preventing deaths within the population between February and July, health official Dr Rafael Araos said in a press conference on Tuesday. In April, the same study found that CoronaVac was 67% effective in preventing symptomatic illness, 85% effective in preventing hospitalizations and 80% effective in preventing deaths, suggesting its capacity to prevent the more serious impacts of the virus has strengthened, while its capacity to stop symptomatic illness diminished.
That's the issue many of the Natural Herd Immunity dipshits can not figure out how to resolve...the MASS DEATHS that will result far beyond the elderly and then there's the ethical problem when the virus mutates begins to target younger adults and children (e.g. Delta Variant). Just as important, I don't think western countries will be OK with mass cremation scenes in the streets of North America because the morgues can not keep up with the dead. Simply, Natural Herd Immunity is not a suitable public health policy in today's society...it never will be not because we say so... it is the virus's ability to mutate and produce Variants of Concern...targeting people like the young. Today, Natural Herd Immunity and Vaccination Herd Immunity need to work together because some in the population can not be vaccinated. wrbtrader