Other countries offering choice of vaccine

[doireallyneedaname]

I have relatives in Cyprus who are able to choose with vaccine they’d like - AZ or Pfizer.

They have been given an appointment for next week and told that they will be told beforehand which vaccine they are having, and if they want the other they can reschedule for that one.

I just read a news article which seems to confirm this.

Appreciate the population is minuscule compared to the UK and many other countries but given the recent news re AZ efficacy against the SA strain (which I believe will likely be the same against further mutations) - I can’t help but wish we’d order more Pfizer and give people the choice.

I had first vaccination on Thursday as my area has already started on the Over 65 group.
Had no idea what I’d get but it was Pfizer....there was one woman who refused it because she wanted the ‘English’ one. The volunteers there said it was unusual but there had been a few refusals for that reason.
I was delighted to get Pfizer but would have been equally happy with anything!

@MessAllOver I’m not worried about 10% less efficacy, I’m worried about a significantly less effective vaccine against the SA variant and others like it. I’d have no concerns taking AZ if it was just to combat our dominant strain. But our dominant strain won’t be for long, and then we are back to square one.

@CrackOpenTheGin It does seem like that, doesn’t it. I don’t see anyone beating down our doors for some AZ though. Not anymore.

We don’t even know if we can vaccinate someone again with a different vaccine within that sort of timeframe.

Different live vaccines need to be given at the same time or a month apart, that's the same for all live vaccines. None of these are live vaccines. Please name any vaccine there has ever been that has not been able to be given due to someone having already been given a different vaccine. Or at least explain what you think the risk is.

@doireallyneedaname

Also, some of these replies are just really odd. It would seem many believe that we are using AZ because it’s the “chosen” vaccine, the safest for “us” etc. It’s not. It’s being used because it’s the one we have a shit tonne of. If we had a shit tonne of Pfizer it’d be that. So no, it’s not being used with our best interests in mind. Sure, it does a great job with the current strain (not as good as the other vaccinations, still) - but not with the SA variant. It’s not hard to understand.

You seem obsessed with the SA variant. It's one of the only few 'arguments' you're using. Do you understand that a mixture of 70% and 90% effective vaccines is miles better than no vaccine at all? The UK has a tonne of AZ - why would they not use it and wait for the Pfizer instead?

Over 90% of the population will develop only mild symptoms if they catch Covid (even those who catch the SA variant). That fact, combined with a 70% effective vaccine or whatever the number for AZ is, is already great. What's wrong with continuing to offer AZ?

I'd like to ask, what is your suggestion to this issue OP? Would you like the UK to stop using the Oxford batches they already have, and leave millions of people without vaccines for now, until they can get more Pfizer? I just don't understand what your proposed solution is.

[quote doireallyneedaname]@MessAllOver I’m not worried about 10% less efficacy, I’m worried about a significantly less effective vaccine against the SA variant and others like it. I’d have no concerns taking AZ if it was just to combat our dominant strain. But our dominant strain won’t be for long, and then we are back to square one.[/quote]
Sorry OP I’m going to repeat myself here. You do realise this isn’t a once in a lifetime vaccine don’t you? Down the line everyone might agree that one vaccine is superior to another and worldwide that might be the one to use. Right now we are trying to stop deaths and stop people being admitted to hospital so we can start to open up again.

Can you tell me you at least understand that?

It seems the choice for many will be AZ or nothing for some months... so we'll all have to make our own risk assessments.

@doireallyneedaname
Is there a study which shows how effective Pfizer or Moderna against the SA variant? I thought that only AZ has done this research.

@justanotherneighinparadise Don’t be so patronising.

@greenlynx Yes, there is.

[quote doireallyneedaname]@justanotherneighinparadise Don’t be so patronising.[/quote]
I’m not being at all patronising!! I’m asking if you understand that?

Fwiw, my DF, aged 72, was vaccinated last week with AZ. He has several health conditions which make him vulnerable and although personally we might have had a preference for Pfizer, we're over the moon that he now has some level of protection, including against severe illness from the SA variant. It is such a relief.

For the avoidance of any doubt I would take (and would advise everyone!) to take the first vaccine offered to them, wherever they may be.
Aris Katzourakis, Professor of Evolution and Genomics, Oxford UK.

More vaccines soon, so which one is the best?

All of them.

They're ALL safe. They ALL protect against severe COVID-19 & death. When it's my turn, I'll take any of them.
Dr Angela Rasmussen, Virologist.

Oops, forgot the links!

mobile.twitter.com/ArisKatzourakis/status/1358743817147588612

mobile.twitter.com/angie_rasmussen/status/1360251624648675330

@CoffeeandCroissant Yes, that’s true..... for the current dominant strain here. Not the SA strain which could become dominant.

Why do you think the SA variant will be one dominant? From what I read the Bristol strain shares features from both the SA mutation and the Kent mutation so if they can’t squash it then right now that one is the most likely to blow up.

@justanotherneighinparadise We don’t actually know yet if all vaccines will require annual boosters. AZ most definitely will, as we know.

@justanotherneighinparadise Why do you think it wouldnt? As far as I’m concerned we are better served with a vaccine available now that tackles it in case it does.

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.thesun.co.uk/news/13960263/new-covid-strain-bristol-liverpool-variant-concern-investigated/amp/

Jesus H Fucking Christ!

Why?

Pfizer is more effective is it? Based on what criteria?
What studies?

AZ is if no use/is far less effective against the SA strain is it? 10% FFS!
Based in what criteria?
What studies?

What have you been reading?
Who wrote it?
What were their qualifications?

I swear to God when this is all over I will lead a bloody army of pissed off members of the public to Fleet Street, and anywhere else they choose to hide, and tan the hides of so very many journalists!

So far they have managed to start, repeat, mangle such a large amount of misinformatio (whilst assuring their Dear Reader that they have no axe to grind) that perfectly sensible people now believe they have enough knowledge about virology and epidemiology that they can make a clear choice... a clear choice that nobody who actually does know what they are talking about could or would make!

Add to them the utter utter fuckwits that post lies, disinformation and all sorts of conspiracies across social media. Look at the damage they are doing to the BAME community! No, really, use your covid honed research skills AND JUST BLOODY LOOK AT IT!

If I could track anyone of them down I'd stuff their own words down their throats, parade them through town, naked, tarred and feathered.

Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarhh!

[quote doireallyneedaname]@justanotherneighinparadise Why do you think it wouldnt? As far as I’m concerned we are better served with a vaccine available now that tackles it in case it does.[/quote]
Because the virus is under pressure and it is mutating as we speak. There is no point worrying about the South African mutation when what we need to be doing is curbing community spread which is causing this thing to mutate. The more people it runs through the more it mutates.

This will be another thread that we’ll be able to return to in 2 months time to say I told you so...just like those threads in March when people said the virus would never get to UK, those that said EOTHO would lead to a second wave and that holidays abroad in a pandemic were not a good idea no matter what the government said.

In 2 months time this board will be full of very pissed off people who received the AZ vaccine.

But we don't have Pfizer available for everyone now. We have some Pfizer and some AZ.

These vaccines didn't even exist this time last year. If you come back in a year's time, you'll probably be offered your choice between several products which are a lot better than what we have right now. The question is whether you're willing to wait.

[quote greenlynx]@doireallyneedaname
Is there a study which shows how effective Pfizer or Moderna against the SA variant? I thought that only AZ has done this research.[/quote]
"Concerning Pfizer’s vaccine, results show key mutations N501Y, 69/70-deletion, D614G, and E484K from variant B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 have little effect on neutralization by sera elicited by two doses of the vaccine."
www.nature.com/articles/s41591-021-01270-4

(Caveat: lab study with engineered viruses that do not include the full set of spike mutations found in the UK or SA variants.)

You still haven't answered my question OP. Ok, so the SA variant may become dominant. What's your suggestion? We stop using AZ vaccines? Do you realise it'll be months before a similar supply of Pfizer is available?