March 19, 2021 Epidemiology Montreal Public Health pilot project will monitor the outcome of managing a cluster outbreak of COVID-19 variant in two neighbourhoods to see if it blunts spread within the zone and surrounding areas.
February 18, 2021 Clinical Research In vitro studies reported in NEJM show that Pfizer/Moderna vaccines were still able to neutralize variant B.1.351 from South Africa despite reduction in neutralizing antibodies. Authors’ opinion is that vaccine remains efficacious. More to follow.
February 15, 2021 Clinical Research Israeli study offers more evidence of Pfizer vaccine efficacy with 94% drop in symptomatic cases and 92% decrease in severe illness in people aged 55 and older.—- Restriction-easing plan in Ontario risks Yo-Yo effect once again.
February 4, 2021 Allergy/Immunology Lancet posts Oxford Vaccine Group preprint study on how the timing of the booster dose of its Oxford-AZ vaccine affects the immune response and efficacy for people 18-55 years of age.
February 1, 2021 Health Policy Vaccine/Variant Whack-a-Mole: Concerns raised that slow vaccine rollout, combined with incomplete strategies to prevent infection and spread can lead to a greater risk of further coronavirus mutations and reduced vaccine efficacy.
January 29, 2021 Epidemiology The variant is to model outcome predictions as Asimov’s Foundation series’ Mule was in Hari Seldon’s Psychohistory projections. Extracting six doses per vial instead of five is like Jean Luc Picard being told there are five lights when there are four.
January 26, 2021 Geriatrics Vaccine shortage has led to Ontario’s plan to delay health care provider’s second dose for some and redirect them to long-term care residents so that by Feb. 5 all will have had at least one dose.
January 21, 2021 Clinical Research Israeli real-world Pfizer vaccine study reports infection rates dropped by 33% in treatment group of 200K people >60 y.o vs 200K controls after 21 days, less than predicted by proponents of delaying 2nd dose. Stay on schedule until proven otherwise.
January 19, 2021 Health Policy Too many assumptions and unknowns about about post-infection immunity duration combined with circulating and more virulent strain makes it risky to not vaccinate people who have had COVID-19.
January 17, 2021 Sunday House Call Shows Sunday House Call, #773, January 17, 2021: “Please sir, can I have some more?”