CoVID-19 / SARS-CoV-2 Information and Questions

[tabbibus]

Booster drive lagging: Only 40% in US have gotten extra shot; FDA unauthorizes two antibody treatments: Live COVID-19 updates

A new poll found Americans are more likely to believe the first vaccinations are essential, but not the boosters. Latest COVID news.

www.usatoday.com

Gotcha, they are not blackballing it man. They just don't work any more. We now have Paxlovid and molnupiravir (I just call it mjolnir) for outpatient AT HOME therapy, much better than monoclonal infusions of yesteryear, these are actual pills! We also have Sotrovimab as a new monoclonal for infusion, as well as Evusheld. Remdesivir can also now be given as outpatient and not just reserved for hospitalized patients.

That being said, these are all treatment options. The only preventive medicine is still the vaccine.

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

Gotcha, they are not blackballing it man. They just don't work any more. We now have Paxlovid and molnupiravir (I just call it mjolnir) for outpatient AT HOME therapy, much better than monoclonal infusions of yesteryear, these are actual pills! We also have Sotrovimab as a new monoclonal for infusion, as well as Evusheld. Remdesivir can also now be given as outpatient and not just reserved for hospitalized patients.

That being said, these are all treatment options. The only preventive medicine is still the vaccine.

Still seems like a reach to me. Omricon has been around for a month now? I doubt the FDA has sufficient data to make such a move. Personally my elderly uncle was on a downward slope with COVID (got it around New Years) until he received the anti-bodies, about 2 days later he started to trend upwards. Still not 100% but has been moving in the right direction since.

 

[tabbibus]

Still seems like a reach to me. Omricon has been around for a month now? I doubt the FDA has sufficient data to make such a move. Personally my elderly uncle was on a downward slope with COVID (got it around New Years) until he received the anti-bodies, about 2 days later he started to trend upwards. Still not 100% but has been moving in the right direction since.

Glad to hear that about him. Anecdotal observations from my end, in the last month we started to see more patients end up admitted who had gotten the old timey monoclonals, something that before rarely happened.

 

[Troch1]

Still seems like a reach to me. Omricon has been around for a month now? I doubt the FDA has sufficient data to make such a move. Personally my elderly uncle was on a downward slope with COVID (got it around New Years) until he received the anti-bodies, about 2 days later he started to trend upwards. Still not 100% but has been moving in the right direction since.

The article you linked quoted the CDC estimates that 99% of new cases are Omicron variant. Those older monoclonals are not effective against Omicron, which is why they were removed from use. There's nothing shady going on here...the virus changed so treatment algorithms need to change. As @tabbibus said, we have newer options that are shown to be effective vs. Omicron. Everyone should be happy we've actually got some treatments that can be given orally, as well as a new monoclonal antibody that actually works vs. the current viral strain.

 

[Jim_in_Delaware]

Here is a link to the FDA press release.

From the press releases:

"Based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, the omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 is estimated to account for more than 99% of cases in the United States as of Jan. 15. Therefore, it’s highly unlikely that COVID-19 patients seeking care in the U.S. at this time are infected with a variant other than omicron, and these treatments are not authorized to be used at this time. This avoids exposing patients to side effects, such as injection site reactions or allergic reactions, which can be potentially serious, from specific treatment agents that are not expected to provide benefit to patients who have been infected with or exposed to the omicron variant.

The NIH COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel, an independent panel of national experts, recently recommended against the use of bamlanivimab and etesevimab (administered together) and REGEN-COV (casirivimab and imdevimab) because of markedly reduced activity against the omicron variant and because real-time testing to identify rare, non-omicron variants is not routinely available.

Importantly, there are several other therapies – Paxlovid, sotrovimab, Veklury (remdesivir), and molnupiravir – that are expected to work against the omicron variant, and that are authorized or approved to treat patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 who are at high risk for progression to severe disease, including hospitalization or death. Healthcare providers should consult the NIH panel’s COVID-19 treatment guidelines and assess whether these treatments are right for their patients."

The FDA doesn't make their decisions in a vacuum. It is a science-based Agency and decisions are guided by the work of other Agencies, like the NIH and CDC, findings from Academia, and data submitted by industry (which undergoes extensive review by the Agency.) Personally, this is exactly the way I would want the decision making process to work.

Jim

 

[AZMark]

Hospital refusing heart transplant for man who won't get vaccinated

Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston says its policy won't allow DJ Ferguson to have the surgery since not being vaccinated seriously hurts its chances for success and his long-term outlook.

www.cbsnews.com

This is pretty unbelievable.

 

[Jim_in_Delaware]

From the article noted above, "Brigham and Women's released a statement saying, "Like many other transplant programs in the United States — the COVID-19 vaccine is one of several vaccines and lifestyle behaviors required for transplant candidates in the Mass General Brigham system in order to create both the best chance for a successful operation and also the patient's survival after transplantation."

Guess they figure that someone who is vaccinated has a higher survival rate (post transplant) than someone who is not vaccinated. I'm sure the criteria are driven by the fact that a lot more patients need organs than the number of organs available. I would guess the heart will go to another patient awaiting a transplant.

Jim

 

[AZMark]

From the article noted above, "Brigham and Women's released a statement saying, "Like many other transplant programs in the United States — the COVID-19 vaccine is one of several vaccines and lifestyle behaviors required for transplant candidates in the Mass General Brigham system in order to create both the best chance for a successful operation and also the patient's survival after transplantation."

Guess they figure that someone who is vaccinated has a higher survival rate (post transplant) than someone who is not vaccinated. I'm sure the criteria are driven by the fact that a lot more patients need organs than the number of organs available. I would guess the heart will go to another patient awaiting a transplant.

Jim

Of course, that’s exactly how it works.

To be clear it is unbelievable that this guy is going to widow his wife and leave his kids fatherless over the vaccine.

 

[Jim_in_Delaware]

Of course, that’s exactly how it works.

To be clear it is unbelievable that this guy is going to widow his wife and leave his kids fatherless over the vaccine.

This is just so bizarre! So, the young man will not get a vaccine because it is against his principles, yet an organ transplant is acceptable? His father said, "It's his body, it's his choice" Just so sad that some folks have gone this far down the anti-vax rabbit hole.

Jim

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

From the article noted above, "Brigham and Women's released a statement saying, "Like many other transplant programs in the United States — the COVID-19 vaccine is one of several vaccines and lifestyle behaviors required for transplant candidates in the Mass General Brigham system in order to create both the best chance for a successful operation and also the patient's survival after transplantation."

Guess they figure that someone who is vaccinated has a higher survival rate (post transplant) than someone who is not vaccinated. I'm sure the criteria are driven by the fact that a lot more patients need organs than the number of organs available. I would guess the heart will go to another patient awaiting a transplant.

Jim

There is a much higher risk for people with heart issues and getting the vaccine. This guy is a no-win scenario.

Also I thought there was something along the lines that you have to help people no matter what. Guess that doesn't count?

 

[Julian]

Of course, that’s exactly how it works.

To be clear it is unbelievable that this guy is going to widow his wife and leave his kids fatherless over the vaccine.

I'll bet that if his doctor said "we have an anti viral shot we need to give you to improve your chances of survival when we do the transplant", the guy would just say "Ok".

 

[Beachbummer]

...Also I thought there was something along the lines that you have to help people no matter what. Guess that doesn't count?

I expect because the resource is very limited and they have clear rules on how the resources are distributed, it's not quite declining help, as much as it is assigning the very limited resource to the best match available on the list.

 

[AZMark]

There is a much higher risk for people with heart issues and getting the vaccine. This guy is a no-win scenario.

Also I thought there was something along the lines that you have to help people no matter what. Guess that doesn't count?

Your body attacks foreign organs so you have to take suppressants for your immune system. They can’t give everyone that needs one a new heart/liver/kidney etc so they have to allocate them to the people that have the best chances.

My buddy went through this and had to make major proven lifestyle changes to get himself eligible for liver & kidneys.

Be an organ donor!

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

Your body attacks foreign organs so you have to take suppressants for your immune system. They can’t give everyone that needs one a new heart/liver/kidney etc so they have to allocate them to the people that have the best chances.

My buddy went through this and had to make major proven lifestyle changes to get himself eligible for liver & kidneys.

Be an organ donor!

At this point I don't remember if it's true, but I am sure it is somewhere. Doctors harvesting your organs before you're dead and you still have a chance for survival. Wherever this got imbedded into my brain, it made me remove my organ donor status. Also I don't like the fact they take my organs and make a profit of it. Give my wife the 500k you charged for my lungs.

 

[Beachbummer]

The organs are free, you only pay for installation!

I'm pretty sure just like paying for adult relations, it is illegal to pay for organs. Too open to exploitation of the weak.

 

[HangOutdoors]

The organs are free, you only pay for installation!

I'm pretty sure just like paying for adult relations, it is illegal to pay for organs.

Unless you are in Canada

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

The organs are free, you only pay for installation!

I'm pretty sure just like paying for adult relations, it is illegal to pay for organs. Too open to exploitation of the weak.

Adult relations is legal here and there lol.

Side note, I just read the human body, if pieced out is worth up to $45 million in theory.

 

[Beachbummer]

Well, prostitution is legal in very limited places in the US ( some counties in Nevada). Unlike organ trafficking, I do believe that is very much illegal everywhere in the USA

 

[Bluewater272]

At this point I don't remember if it's true, but I am sure it is somewhere. Doctors harvesting your organs before you're dead and you still have a chance for survival. Wherever this got imbedded into my brain, it made me remove my organ donor status. Also I don't like the fact they take my organs and make a profit of it. Give my wife the 500k you charged for my lungs.

The amount you don't know about what you choose to discuss could fill an ocean.

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

The amount you don't know about what you choose to discuss could fill an ocean.

?