DavidS wrote:
But after noticing the approximately 50% usage of AZ, I had second thoughts. If you have supply worries about a two-shot vaccine, it could make sense to ‘jab one, store one’.
I read yesterday that Ireland keeps one Moderna vaccine in storage for every 2 people still awaiting their second Moderna vaccine. Apparently this is a recommendation from Moderna themselves, presumably to avoid issued if there are any delays.
I imagine, but have no evidence of, similar strategies (perhaps even recommendations) for the other manufacturers. Given the volatility with the AZ supply, that would seem a prudent policy, but there is more flexibility with the timing of the second dose for that. Of course if you are already building that flexibility into your time table, then you would indeed need a backup.
Could be.
This was Ireland last week:
filter: Ireland Mfr Delivered 1st Dose 2nd Dose ?? Dose %Usage --- ---------- ---------- ---------- -------- ------ AZ 122,400 95,595 43 0 78.1 CN 0 0 0 0 0.0 COM 450,450 263,823 147,994 0 91.4 MOD 40,800 13,257 1,883 0 37.1 SPU 0 0 0 0 0.0 UNK 0 0 0 0 0.0 --- ---------- ---------- ---------- -------- ------ TOT 613,650 372,675 149,920 0 85.2
and this week:
filter: Ireland Mfr Delivered 1st Dose 2nd Dose ?? Dose %Usage --- ---------- ---------- ---------- -------- ------ AZ 201,600 129,005 50 0 64.0 CN 0 0 0 0 0.0 COM 511,290 303,896 161,936 0 91.1 MOD 40,800 17,139 2,360 0 47.8 SPU 0 0 0 0 0.0 UNK 0 0 0 0 0.0 --- ---------- ---------- ---------- -------- ------ TOT 753,690 450,040 164,346 0 81.5
Kicking the second jab supply question further down the line was the whole point of going to the 12 week gap, for both Pfizer and AZ vaccines.
It doesn’t fully solve the problem though – just delays it – but arguably from a pandemic-management perspective it is better to get a first jab into as many people as possible. E.g. if you have a supply of 5m and no prospect of more, it is better to use it for 5m first (and perhaps only) doses than to give two doses to 2.5m people. Certainly the UK has taken this approach, and our infection/hospitalisation/death numbers have plummeted even though well over 90% of our 25m million people who’ve had a vaccine have only had one dose so far. The effect of vaccination is yet to be seen in EU data because so few people have had a jab.
If EU countries are still using the three week gap then yes, it is pretty much a case of use one / store one – if you believe sticking to the dosing regimen is more important than giving as many people as possible a first jab.
What is the source for that data? If I read it correctly it shows Ireland having given 1.1m doses in the last two weeks alone…. that fails my sniff test in relation to Ireland’s population (just under 5m) – at that rate it would be only 6 more weeks to give two doses to 80% of Ireland’s population!
ourworldindata.org shows Ireland having given a total of 617,050 doses as of 14 March (admittedly 4 days ago but it still doesn’t tally).
EDIT: Oh, they are cumulative?
The source is the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control section 6
and my data above is indeed cumulative. The source data is broken down by week, so it is a 7,000 row csv file. There is an Excel spreadsheet too.
There are rows for ‘ALL’, and also rows for age ranges and setting eg health care, which is how I double-counted the first time round :-)
The EMA clears the AZ vaccine for continued use, as expected.
no monopoly of xenophobia there, unfortunately. You have probably heard of a certain Mr Johnson, not to mention a certain Mr Farage?
Is it really fair to categorise criticism of anti-democratic supra-national governments like those of the European and former Soviet Unions as “xenophobia”?
Or is it possible to abhor such political cults without fearing or lacking sympathy for fellow human beings who are trapped within them?
Airborne_Again wrote:
The EMA clears the AZ vaccine for continued use, as expected.
EMA has never de-cleared the vaccine. Anyway, in Norway it will not be used in a while. Not until the detailed reason for the deadly side effect, and a way to prevent it is found.
DavidS wrote:
Fuji_Abound wrote: I am afraid there has been a long history of running down the Brits., which is such a shame.But no monopoly of xenophobia there, unfortunately. You have probably heard of a certain Mr Johnson, not to mention a certain Mr Farage?
:-)
There is a line between xenophobia and reasonable (and justified) criticsm. My point is the EU would seem to have pursued a number of blind alleys in recent months which it is reasonable to conclude are entirely for political gain. Even on a diverse and excellent pan European forum where we are all friends such as this I sense this is the concensus.
I feel that we all too often dismiss reasonable arguments by showing one or other of the currenty popular cards without asking the question, was the argument motivated (in this case) by xenophobia. I appreciate it can be a fine line.
Personally I have all the time in the world for our friends in Europe. One of my very best friends is French. I voted to remain in Europe.
The post Brexit treatment that has been dished out to the UK makes me regret by previous vote.
However I speak my mind as I find it, and most certainly without any angst against Europeans in general, but (now) more than a modicum of angst at the implied criticsm of the way the UK has conducted itself post Brexit, which I find astonishing given that we are in the middle of a world wide effort to deal with Covid without any place for petty politcs.
Fuji_Abound wrote:
The post Brexit treatment that has been dished out to the UK makes me regret by previous vote.
Not sure what you mean here. I just had to spend 6 weeks in continental Europe (family emergency) and in all the conversations with my friends regarding Brexit (to the extent that we did talk about it), the consensus was one of regret and bewilderment. Don’t confuse what the UK papers write and what hapless politicians a la VDL say with reality. What Covid has shown up in a brutally clear light is the mind boggling incompetence of the EU, both on national levels (the bickering in the country I was in was something to behold) and of course in Brussels.
