MHRA approves Pfizer jab for use in UK

[AuntieStella]

News just breaking on BBC

If we don’t know if the vaccine stops you transmitting it then what is the point of prioritising NHS staff? Surely it should overall be on the basis of personal risk from covid

If we don’t know if the vaccine stops you transmitting it then what is the point of prioritising NHS staff? Surely it should overall be on the basis of personal risk from covid

^This

@Calledyoulastnightfromglasgow

If we don’t know if the vaccine stops you transmitting it then what is the point of prioritising NHS staff? Surely it should overall be on the basis of personal risk from covid

Err - the point is that there'll be far less NHS staff absence if they don't catch it and don't need to isolate if people around them catch it. More NHS staff actually at work, working, will massively improve the NHS treatments etc, reduce waiting times, reduce unnecessary suffering/deaths, etc. It's not all about Covid. It's about getting NHS staff back to work and keeping them working.

People keep saying that we don't know whether the vaccine will stop transmission of the virus. Whilst, the trials were not designed to assess this commonsense would suggest it's highly likely they will stop transmission. If people aren't infected themselves they won't infect others. We also know that those who are asymptomatic are generally less infectious as they will transmit in lower viral load.

@Belladonna12

People keep saying that we don't know whether the vaccine will stop transmission of the virus. Whilst, the trials were not designed to assess this commonsense would suggest it's highly likely they will stop transmission. If people aren't infected themselves they won't infect others. We also know that those who are asymptomatic are generally less infectious as they will transmit in lower viral load.

Phizer haven't relied on common sense, they say they do not know.

The vaccine doesn't stop you becoming infected with CV, it means that you have the antibodies to fight the infection off.

Phizer haven't relied on common sense, they say they do not know.

Obviously they will say that as the trial wasn't designed to assess it. They have nothing to gain from stating the obvious.

The vaccine doesn't stop you becoming infected with CV, it means that you have the antibodies to fight the infection off.

That's not how it works. If you are immune to something and fight it off before it invades the body you don't usually pass it on .Why do you think primary school children are vaccinated against flu each year? It's also why they will be vaccinating care workers and NHS workers as a priority.

Thus is a good paper on the unknowns of type and extent of immunity - unknown for both the disease and the vaccine

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/940896/S907_NERVTAG_certifying_COVID_immunity.pdf

It also says there are two further studies due to report soon which might give useful evidence on whether the wild infection gives sterilising immunity

AuntieStella, thank you for the link. Illuminating. Do you know who the authors are or what is assets publishing?

The paper refers to Covid-2 but government scientists talk about Covid-19. Do you know what is the link between the two?

Thanks in advance.

@Petronius16

AuntieStella, thank you for the link. Illuminating. Do you know who the authors are or what is assets publishing?

The paper refers to Covid-2 but government scientists talk about Covid-19. Do you know what is the link between the two?

Thanks in advance.

I think the virus is SARS Cov 2 but the illness it causes is Covid 19z

19

Ah, thank you.

I think the website is one of the official government ones.

The authors of the paper are NERVTAG - one of the specialist groups which advise SAGE

Info on NERVTAG (including membership) here:

www.gov.uk/government/groups/new-and-emerging-respiratory-virus-threats-advisory-group

As a part of the testing Pfizer's vaccine was injected into more than 21,000 people in 6 countries around the world.
After 28 days (allowing ample time for the shots to take effect) only 8 of those people got Covid.
Pretty amazing!

Interesting dig into the trial data here, including number of participants by age group, race, etc as well as efficacy by age group (fairly similar efficacy).
mobile.twitter.com/fperrywilson/status/1336296300858503168

parker is it though? Were they then deliberately exposed to covid or just living in their community? Even in tier 4 areas here the numbers infected aren’t huge