Hi, I did a search and didn’t see answers, so apologies if this is a duplicate request previously addressed. If so, please point me to the thread(s).
I just listened to the Dec 2020 podcast and it was very well done and easy to understand. Good work.
A couple of questions:
if the initial study wasn’t about addressing transmission and you two clearly stated that no assumptions should be drawn about the vaccine addressing the stopping of infection & transmission, I’m scratching my head on how this is going to develop ‘herd immunity’ and stop the overall transmission and continued life of the virus in the wild. Am I missing something basic here? My understanding is that inoculation is an excellent idea in terms of stopping moderate to moderate-to-severe cases of COVID disease. But, your discussion and underlying data/conclusions weren’t about transmission.
is there any interesting developments or findings from Dec until now to further analyze the decision to get inoculated or are things still “smooth sailing” if you’re above 16-18, not lactating/pregnant, don’t have a history of severe allergies/anaphylaxis, etc.?
Finally, any update re: the Moderna vaccine, since your podcast was about the Pfizer one and the related study you analyzed? Same-same and no issues in getting either one, at this point?
Data collected since then have shown evidence of a reduction in transmission, which isn’t too surprising. Standard scientific precaution to avoid assumptions early on in the absence of supportive evidence, although there are many things about the public health messaging that could have probably been done better.
Data on the mRNA vaccines has only gotten more impressive, as real-world performance has mirrored what was observed in the trials (this is often not the case in clinical medicine, where “ideal” trials often outperform real-world results).
I view the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines as essentially equivalent in terms of safety and efficacy.
The current pause is to allow for more safety data to emerge. A total of six cases reported out of almost 7 million vaccinations, however, does not get me especially alarmed at the moment. I expect more information in the coming days that will guide decision making.