The recent surge in Covid-19 is making vaccine makers to have a rethink

[LogitechMouse]

A new vaccine for a new strain of virus normally takes around 3 years at least for it to be done. The vaccines that have been created right now took only a year and knowing that viruses are slowly mutating and we're seeing it already, I just hope that the vaccine makers thought of this.

There are some vaccines that are also effective against the new variants of the virus like the Delta and the Alpha but I agree with what most people said here. Being vaccinated is one of the keys for the people not to get infected of the virus or if they will be infected then at least they will have just mild symptoms. I personally didn't take any vaccine here for some reasons but I'm not going outside either at all. I'm also taking Vit. C pills for immunity at least but there will be a time that I will take 2 dozes of vaccines too.

I think being healthy will help you to have a herd immunity. It will take time though.

[bryant.coleman]

A new vaccine for a new strain of virus normally takes around 3 years at least for it to be done. The vaccines that have been created right now took only a year and knowing that viruses are slowly mutating and we're seeing it already, I just hope that the vaccine makers thought of this.

The normal route can take anywhere between 3 and 10 years. But in case of vaccines such as AstraZeneca and Sputnik V, they were given EUA (Emergency Use Authorization) in less than 6 months, and the phase III trial data was published later. And with the mutant strains, I guess booster shots will be authorized even quickly. At this point, no one can afford to wait 3+ years to authorize a vaccine, as the confirmed death toll is moving towards the 5 million mark. That means we may need to take a certain amount of risk, regarding the side effects.

[jaberwock]

A new vaccine for a new strain of virus normally takes around 3 years at least for it to be done. The vaccines that have been created right now took only a year and knowing that viruses are slowly mutating and we're seeing it already, I just hope that the vaccine makers thought of this.

There are some vaccines that are also effective against the new variants of the virus like the Delta and the Alpha but I agree with what most people said here. Being vaccinated is one of the keys for the people not to get infected of the virus or if they will be infected then at least they will have just mild symptoms. I personally didn't take any vaccine here for some reasons but I'm not going outside either at all. I'm also taking Vit. C pills for immunity at least but there will be a time that I will take 2 dozes of vaccines too.

I think being healthy will help you to have a herd immunity. It will take time though.

The fact is that the current vaccines we have were specifically made for the original covid-19 and many variants came AFTER the vaccine was out, of course there wasn't any way that the vaccines would be great for that too, sure some of them are still good, but they are not specifically targeted for that. We will just have to force ourselves for a bit more mask, bit more distance, and some more vaccines but eventually everyone around the world will be fine.

Even there are many anti-vaxxers in the world, that is still not going to stop it because 70%+ people in almost every nation still gets vaccinated, so as long as those anti-vaxxers are under 30% that means with 70%+ we are going to be fine. The numbers are not there just yet but it is definitely getting there. Put some incentives on it and you may even see 90%+ in some poor nations as well.

[Yatsan]

As this pandemic continues despite of the fact that different pharmaceutical companies have already started distributing their created vaccines to fight back against the deadly covid-19, different variants of the mentioned virus also arise making it a hard time for the scientist to test if the created vaccine can still be efficient to be use againts those variants and if not, there is another challenge for them to again create another set of vaccines to resolve the existing problem and future use of course that will lead them to improve the vaccines or create another one from scratch.

[bosede1]

There has been a surge in the number of people who have this virus in my country in the last two months and everybody is been extra cautious and has taken preventives measures even after taking the vaccines.

[Charot12345]

The Government needs to put more effort to contain the virus and if premiums care is not taken on the best methods to defeat this deadly virus, we might end up experiencing the second batch of black death(deadly virus emanated from rodents) that kill more than 5 million persons hundreds years ago. Vaccine makers need to put on more efforts to achieve a sustainable result that can resist the virus.

Not only the government, but also its people, the doctors, the vaccine maker need to cooperate and put effort to defeat the virus. Some other countries are depending too much on the government but still not cooperating with them. They always go outside, not following safety protocols and when the number of cases rises, all the blame will be at the government.

IMO, there was a surge in covid 19 is because the vaccine was not fully studied and experimented. Developing a vaccine at a short amount of time and too much pressure will make the vaccine effective but not fully guaranteed the safety of all. Though it was safe and useful to prevent so much effects of covid 19.

[Sithara007]

There has been a surge in the number of people who have this virus in my country in the last two months and everybody is been extra cautious and has taken preventives measures even after taking the vaccines.

That is due to the delta strain. I am from India, and this particular strain caused up to 5 million deaths here in April/May. By June, it started spreading to the other countries. Now the pandemic in India is under control, but some countries such as Iran, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Thailand are reporting huge number of new infections and deaths every day. I hope that the vaccination rate is high in your country, as it is the only solution to prevent from getting infected (that said, the Chinese vaccines are useless against the Delta strain).

[perfect999]

In other words, the vaccines weren't enough. Humanity anxiously awaited development of the first COVID-19 vaccines throughout 2020; now that those vaccines aren't enough to permanently halt COVID-19, it would appear that vaccine manufacturers are pivoting their strategy. But as to what they have planned, pharmaceutical companies aren't being entirely transparent — or perhaps they aren't sure.

Seriously, everyone thought at first that by now we have gotten pass the issue of coronavirus, but even till now it is still an issue that everyone is talking about and it’s really bad. But, I still believe that there is always a solution to every problem. With time we are going to get over this no matter how long it happens to take.

And like the you have said the vaccine is not like the final solution, it’s just like a way to strengthen the body to be able to stand the virus and be able to fight through it. There hasn’t been like a final solution or should I say a cure. Though I saw comment here that claims zinc and vitamin D are great supplements.

[ethereumhunter]

There has been a surge in the number of people who have this virus in my country in the last two months and everybody is been extra cautious and has taken preventives measures even after taking the vaccines.

That is due to the delta strain. I am from India, and this particular strain caused up to 5 million deaths here in April/May. By June, it started spreading to the other countries. Now the pandemic in India is under control, but some countries such as Iran, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Thailand are reporting huge number of new infections and deaths every day. I hope that the vaccination rate is high in your country, as it is the only solution to prevent from getting infected (that said, the Chinese vaccines are useless against the Delta strain).

The government really needs to prevent the new strain as it said that the Chinese vaccines could not against the Delta strain. I heard that China ordered the other vaccines from Europe, but I do not know if that is right as the media really blows this pandemic and makes people scared. We are still far to see this pandemic will end and we see death happen every day. But I hope we do not have to see a new wave of the new strain (besides Delta) because this virus can quickly mutate to a new strain and become undetected for some time.

[Lucius]

Just a year and a half ago I would agree with both of you, guys, but recently I changed my mind under the influence of my close relatives that happen to be certified specialists in the fields of medicine and biotechnology.

Did you expect any of them to speak critically about something that brings hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue to pharmaceutical companies? In addition, all those who had any doubts and publicly expressed their opinion on the safety and quality of the vaccine were exposed to the media lynching and it is not uncommon for them to be fired. Not thinking critically in any sense turns us into robots who only carry out the orders of their masters.

Here's what I've learned from them:

1. If 70%-80% of the people in the world(note that ending the pandemic in one particular country doesn't make sense in the modern world) were vaccinated the pandemic would start to decline and would vanish soon.

That has nothing to do with the truth, because you obviously haven’t read my previous post - if 70% of adults in the US are vaccinated, how is it possible that they have about 140 000 new infections a day - and that’s not some tourists or migrants. In addition, the virus cannot just disappear, it continues to mutate and infect vaccinated and non-vaccinated, almost to the same extent (when it comes to new strains of the virus).

2. Although you can be infected with covid even when fully vaccinated, the vaccination greatly reduces the risk of hospitalization and death.

I can agree with this, but still need to tell people what are the long-term consequences of vaccination that will not stop at the 2nd or third dose - and given that the vaccine has not been clinically tested long enough (3-5 years by medical standards). Does no one ask what can happen in 5 years if people start getting some kind of cancer en masse which could be a direct consequence of vaccination?

According to some unofficial information, as many as 50 000 deaths in the EU are under investigation as a result of vaccination - but it has now become quite normal to say that some must be sacrificed to save others - I do not consider this a humane approach, but how much is a life worth today?

[bryant.coleman]

That has nothing to do with the truth, because you obviously haven’t read my previous post - if 70% of adults in the US are vaccinated, how is it possible that they have about 140 000 new infections a day - and that’s not some tourists or migrants. In addition, the virus cannot just disappear, it continues to mutate and infect vaccinated and non-vaccinated, almost to the same extent (when it comes to new strains of the virus).

Wrong.

The United States is a long way away from herd immunity, as only 50.50% of the population has been vaccinated till now. 70% to 80% coverage is needed for herd immunity and none of the states in the US has achieved it. You can check the numbers here:

https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations

And almost 99.5% of the new COVID deaths in the United States are among people who are not fully vaccinated (i.e. 49.5% of the total population). The fully vaccinated people, who comprise 50%+ of the population accounts for just 0.5% of the deaths. So the probability is 200 times lower for those who are fully vaccinated. My source is here:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2021/07/01/995-of-people-killed-by-covid-in-last-6-months-were-unvaccinated-data-suggests/?sh=5a4d49a2493d

[cheezcarls]

I could remember when the Corona Virus started making the world to be in a turbulent state of rest. America shut down in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a pervading sense that the situation was probably or hopefully temporary. After all, efforts were already underway to develop a vaccine. It was just a matter of time until normalcy would return.

But 17 months later, a return to "normal" is nowhere in sight. Frightening new mutant strains like the delta variant and the lambda variant have emerged, more infectious and possibly more dangerous than their antecedents. Early evidence indicates that, while existing vaccines stop patients from getting severely ill if infected, they do not prevent the infected from transmitting the disease. At the very least, it is theoretically possible that mutant variants could create problems for people who want their inoculations to be effective.

In other words, the vaccines weren't enough. Humanity anxiously awaited development of the first COVID-19 vaccines throughout 2020; now that those vaccines aren't enough to permanently halt COVID-19, it would appear that vaccine manufacturers are pivoting their strategy. But as to what they have planned, pharmaceutical companies aren't being entirely transparent — or perhaps they aren't sure.

"As SARS-CoV-2 continues to evolve, Pfizer and BioNTech are continuing our work to understand long term immunity, the need for booster shots, and any threat from circulating or new variants of concern to vaccine protection," a Pfizer spokesperson told Salon by email. The company said that the existing body of research and evidence suggests that the circulating variants do not escape their COVID-19 vaccine, adding that they continue to perform clinical trials at various stages for a third dose of their currently two-dose BNT162b2 vaccine, with possibly hopeful results. That vaccine, widely known as the "Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine," is effective in preventing COVID-19; two doses of it significantly strengthens the body's ability to avoid severe disease and hospitalizations.

The company also communicated to Salon that, broadly speaking, they plan on keeping tabs on emerging variants and waning immunity so that they can prepare new products if necessary. "It is, in part, why we chose a vaccine technology with the flexibility that allows us to both provide boosting doses if needed and to address potential changes in the virus," Pfizer explained.

The biotechnology in question is known as an mRNA vaccine, and it describes the type of inoculation developed by both Pfizer and Moderna (which did not respond to Salon's request for comment). Traditional vaccines work by introducing a weakened or dead pathogen (an organism that causes disease) into the body. The immune system becomes familiar with the pathogens by being exposed to them and, like a soldier participating in war games, learns how to fight a real enemy through training with a facsimile. More specifically, the immune system learns how to recognize antigens (a toxic or foreign substance on an antigen) and produce antibodies to destroy the pathogens associated with them.

https://www.salon.com/2021/08/12/vaccine-makers-future-strategy-delta/

Until now, I haven’t been inoculated with any vaccine. Herd immunity is still a long way to go because of these new deadly variants such as Delta. But I was thinking between Phzer or Moderna due to it’s efficacy against COVID, but the mRNA concern is something that I wanna look at it yet. I could also do AstraZeneca as an option since most countries are now accepting this vaccine when entering their respective countries.

[Lucius]

Wrong.
The United States is a long way away from herd immunity, as only 50.50% of the population has been vaccinated till now. 70% to 80% coverage is needed for herd immunity and none of the states in the US has achieved it.

Seventy percent of U.S. adults have had at least one shot of a Covid vaccine, according to data published Monday by the CDC, about a month behind President Joe Biden’s Fourth of July goal.
The 70% goal set by Biden in May is seen by federal health officials as a crucial step toward reaching so-called herd immunity — when enough people in a given community have antibodies against a specific disease.

If you think that the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) is misrepresenting, or that CNBC is writing nonsense, send them an official inquiry - I've been listening to this news for at least 2 weeks - and your source seems to only list people who have received at least 2 doses - which, by the way, have almost no effect on the new delta strain of the virus. The propaganda you obviously believe in just wants people vaccinated, and then I ask you why Israel started vaccinating people with the third dose if people should be safe after the second dose?

[bryant.coleman]

Wrong.
The United States is a long way away from herd immunity, as only 50.50% of the population has been vaccinated till now. 70% to 80% coverage is needed for herd immunity and none of the states in the US has achieved it.

Seventy percent of U.S. adults have had at least one shot of a Covid vaccine, according to data published Monday by the CDC, about a month behind President Joe Biden’s Fourth of July goal.
The 70% goal set by Biden in May is seen by federal health officials as a crucial step toward reaching so-called herd immunity — when enough people in a given community have antibodies against a specific disease.

If you think that the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) is misrepresenting, or that CNBC is writing nonsense, send them an official inquiry - I've been listening to this news for at least 2 weeks - and your source seems to only list people who have received at least 2 doses - which, by the way, have almost no effect on the new delta strain of the virus. The propaganda you obviously believe in just wants people vaccinated, and then I ask you why Israel started vaccinating people with the third dose if people should be safe after the second dose?

The data that you have posted is misleading. It says "70% of the adults". Herd immunity can't be achieved by fully vaccinating 70% of the adults (also the data released by CDC is not for full vaccination, but includes partial vaccination as well). For herd immunity, 70% of the total population needs to be fully vaccinated. This should not be too difficult to achieve, since the US has already started vaccination among the 12-17 age group. And regarding the third dose (booster shot), that is required as the antibodies from the vaccine lasts for only 6 to 12 months. So after this period, you need to get a booster shot.

[laredo7mm]

The Government needs to put more effort to contain the virus and if premiums care is not taken on the best methods to defeat this deadly virus, we might end up experiencing the second batch of black death(deadly virus emanated from rodents) that kill more than 5 million persons hundreds years ago. Vaccine makers need to put on more efforts to achieve a sustainable result that can resist the virus.

If you put common symptoms like fever and headache aside for Covid-19 and "Black Plague" then there is only one thing they have common. They both spread through the physical contact of two individuals. The mortality rate of black plague is greater than Covid-19. If you check past research then you would see that if any diseases spread very quickly and easily between humans then that diseases have a lower mortality rate. So I do not think that we need to panic right now.

[blue_nexus15]

In other words, the vaccines weren't enough. Humanity anxiously awaited development of the first COVID-19 vaccines throughout 2020; now that those vaccines aren't enough to permanently halt COVID-19, it would appear that vaccine manufacturers are pivoting their strategy. But as to what they have planned, pharmaceutical companies aren't being entirely transparent — or perhaps they aren't sure.

I think covid 19 has gotten out of control. The vaccine production process does not have a complete compatibility and prevention for variants of Covid 19. Delta is contagious too quickly. Vaccines are not suitable to prevent the attack of each variant that comes out (Moderna only prevents 60% of Delta,...) humanity needs faster inventions to prevent appropriately, although the vaccine will take a long time, it is the only state awaited in my country.

In addition, each person injecting 2-4 doses of vaccine is also not a good solution, even it makes vaccines become scarce.

[bryant.coleman]

I think covid 19 has gotten out of control. The vaccine production process does not have a complete compatibility and prevention for variants of Covid 19. Delta is contagious too quickly. Vaccines are not suitable to prevent the attack of each variant that comes out (Moderna only prevents 60% of Delta,...) humanity needs faster inventions to prevent appropriately, although the vaccine will take a long time, it is the only state awaited in my country.

In addition, each person injecting 2-4 doses of vaccine is also not a good solution, even it makes vaccines become scarce.

I've been saying this from the very beginning. No vaccine can be 100% effective against viruses (they can be 100% effective against bacteria). And these vaccines were created after studying the genetic structure of the original strain (Pfizer and Moderna are having an efficacy of 95% against the original strain). Therefore their efficacy against mutated strains will be low (as per reports, Moderna is 76% effective against delta variant, while for Pfizer it is 42%). Sputnik V claims to have an efficacy of 84% against delta and 92% against the original strain, but independent third parties haven't confirmed this.

[just_Alice]

Right now, as vaccines became available, the future is dependent only on the population. If people refuse to vaccinate - the virus will continue to spread and this will go on and on until something changes their mind, as the immune response has been shown to be rather short-term: the specific IgG against the spike protein only remains for about 6 months, on average.

In addition, while people don’t vaccinate - the probability of new strains' appearance increases day by day, and we’ll get new and new strains, each one more dangerous than the previous one because that’s how evolution works. It may seem like a conspiracy to many people, which start thinking: “another strain? More dangerous? You gotta be kidding me!”. But, in fact, it’s only natural, viruses always mutate inside the host and gain better traits, which leads to the emergence of more dangerous variants.

People can do nothing and whine about how tired they are of all this crisis or finally start taking some actions. The choice is yours.

[LUCKMCFLY]

There is something that is beginning to haunt my mind, for now Pfizer will have a new vaccine, the third, this means that it is to further protect the new strain, the Delta strain.

If we take into account that to develop an efficient vaccine it takes around 4 or 5 years, the problem is not the money to finance, the problem is that biologists and vaccine creators must know the virus 100%, which has released are only tests to minimize, and the truth is of no use, there are many who have been vaccinated and have died from the virus, if a vaccine is created it is to make them immune, but things are not like that.

I highly respect the opinion of getting vaccinated, but I think that if they continue doing things like this, those who have been vaccinated or will continue to get more vaccines to protect themselves, there will come a time when they will be drug dependent, and that is serious, because not knowing which strains can develop everything will be like a lottery, which will become a great business model.

[Sithara007]

^^^ This is not true. How many people who received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine has died from the virus? More than a billion people have received the Pfizer shots so far. According to the data from the United States, in the recent months 99.5% of those who died were not fully vaccinated. Only 0.5% of the deaths occurred among the fully vaccinated population, who comprise more than half of the sample size. I wouldn't say the same about Chinese vaccines though. A lot of people have died, even after receiving two doses of the Sinopharm/Sinovac vaccine.