US approves Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine

8 Comments

1. 

   Issan John

   Saturday, December 12, 2020 at 1:45 pm

   I can understand why the UK and now the US have approved the Pfizer vaccine since “they’ve met their primary goals: the analysis found the candidate to be 95 percent effective in preventing mild cases of COVID-19, and 94 percent effective in adults over 65 years old, with no serious safety concerns.”

   What I CAN’T understand, though, is why anyone would buy the vaccine apart from for political expediency, and even less why anyone would actually want to be vaccinated with it.

   Accordng to Pfizer (who should probably know), their vaccine’s 95 or 94% effective against MILD cases of Covid-19, but markedly less effective (apparently 90%) against SEVERE cases, and even less so (unclear, but “tapering off”) for those over 65.

   Meanwhile, Moderna’s vaccine is due to be reviewed for approval next week, and apart from being half the price of Pfizer’s it’s a fraction of the cost to distribute and, far more importantly, “data from its phase three study shows the vaccine is 94.1 percent effective in preventing mild cases of Covid-19, the primary target for the trial” and “the company also claimed that its vaccine is 100 percent effective at preventing severe cases of the disease, though this secondary analysis remains ongoing.”

   That’s similarly effective against MILD cases, and since doing nothing is widely accepted as being 80% effective (literally doing nothing, if 80% of cases are asymptomatic), that means it’s at least TWICE as effective against SEVERE cases as the Pfizer vaccine: not just halving them as the Pfizer vaccine does at best (up from 80% to 90%) but stopping ALL of them (from 80% to 100%).

   Given the alternative from Moderna in less than a week, and other alternatives including from AstraZeneca and quite possibly AstraZeneca with Gamaleya / Sputnik V, why does anyone want this vaccine?

   Reply
2. 

   Ian

   Saturday, December 12, 2020 at 5:28 pm

   Do you make your comments because Thailand are at the back of the que for the vaccines and UK and America are at the front ,you really need to get outa Thailand for a while and see what the real world is like instead of filling thaiger with your self opiniated comments day after day it’s getting boring now issan John take a long holiday say mars lol

   Reply
3. 

   Erich

   Saturday, December 12, 2020 at 6:47 pm

   Very useful information John. Thanks for sharing it.

   Reply
   • 

     Issan John

     Sunday, December 13, 2020 at 10:51 am

     It doesn’t affect me directly, Erich, as none are available here yet (or required yet, fortunately), but it looks as if there’ll be a choice elsewhere, in the West, very soon.

     Friends and family who are “vulnerable” to Covid-19 can
     now be vaccinated and they’re being pressured into taking the Pfizer vaccine without being told any of the probable limitations, or that alternatives will very soon be available which will probably be far more effective and offer far more protection.

     All that information’s readily available and very easily verified and confirmed, but none of it’s being passed on to those who need it most and should have it, and instead they’re pressured to take the Pfizer vaccine on the grounds that if they don’t take it now, when offered, they may be put at the back of the queue for any other vaccine later.

     Unacceptable, just so the numbers can be kept up and political points scored.

     Reply
4. 

   Johnny Dee

   Sunday, December 13, 2020 at 12:47 am

   Ian my friend you speak for 99.9% of the entire population ??.

   Reply
   • 

     Issan John

     Sunday, December 13, 2020 at 10:20 am

     Undoubtedly as well researched as the rest of your posts.

     Reply
5. 

   Issan John

   Sunday, December 13, 2020 at 1:08 am

   If you think the US and the UK are “the real world” and “at the front” of anything, then I’m hardly surprised you see a holiday on Mars as an attractive option.

   Reply
6. 

   Patrick Kelly

   Tuesday, December 15, 2020 at 2:06 am

   Russian, Chinese supported vaccines are on the way. What could go wrong?
   I would not be in the same zip code of that vaccine. There’s are reason both countries are hacking any and all information about a vaccine. Both countries governments are an abomination.

   Reply