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COVID Variants

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THIS JUST IN: Preliminary Omicron neutralizing antibody study

COVID Variants Vaccines

⬇️ TL;DR: IN A LAB DISH (so NOT in real life), antibodies from vaccinated individuals (two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech), were significantly less effective at neutralizing Omicron compared to the original variant—about a 20-40-fold reduction in neutralization. While this is substantially more loss of neutralization than previous variants…this does NOT tell us how well the vaccines Read more…

Do COVID-19 vaccines promote the emergence of new variants?

COVID Variants Uncertainty and Misinformation Vaccines

A: No. Vaccines REDUCE opportunities for viral replication needed for variants to emerge. Since the recent Omicron news, we are hearing this myth make the rounds again. ➡️ TL;DR: The virus has more opportunity to replicate in unvaccinated populations, creating a FAR bigger risk for the development of SARS-CoV-2 mutations. Even so, the good news Read more…

Will the COVID-19 vaccines encourage the emergence of new variants or immune evasion?

Biology/Immunity COVID Variants Vaccines

A: No. Vaccines REDUCE opportunities for viral replication needed for variants to emerge. ➡️ TL;DR: The virus has more opportunity to replicate in unvaccinated populations, creating a FAR bigger risk for the development of SARS-CoV-2 mutations. Even so, the good news is that the emergence of variants that fully evade vaccine induced immunity is considered Read more…

Are vaccinated people infected with Delta *really* as contagious as the unvaccinated?

COVID Variants Infection and Spread

A: Probably not. And when you count the reduction in getting infected in the first place, vaccinated people are much less likely to transmit the virus. 💥 TL;DR: Vaccinated people likely *can* transmit the virus, but this risk is NOT the same as the unvaccinated. Among growing concerns about Delta, recent news that vaccinated people Read more…

What should I make of the “leaked” CDC slides last week? Is Delta worse than we thought?!

COVID Variants Data and Metrics Infection and Spread

A: KEEP CALM AND VAX ON. Just when we thought our summer might be more relaxing than last year, SARS-CoV-2 is humbling us again. But despite the emotionally amped up headlines (which are, after all, designed to make you click), we’re here to reassure you that in countries with access to vaccinations, the trajectory is Read more…

What should I do about the large discrepancies in vaccine efficacy against the Delta variant being reported across studies?

COVID Variants Vaccines

A: Delta variant, waning immunity, imperfect measurement, or something else? There are a number of reasons why COVID-19 vaccine efficacy may differ across studies. These new reports are measuring the effectiveness of the vaccines in real world settings instead of in a clinical trial. Isolating individual variables in a real-world setting can be difficult. Instead, Read more…

Euro Cup heartbreak, big crowds, and Delta still rising – Update from England

COVID Variants Data and Metrics

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 POSTCARDS FROM ENGLAND 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿: Euro Cup heartbreak, big crowds, and Delta still rising. The lads still did everyone proud, but the boisterous Euro Cup crowds may not have been the best news for COVID-19 cases over the past several weeks. Cases continue to rise in the UK, thanks to the more transmissible Delta variant Read more…