Grim news, but not unexpected. Vaccines are not going to save us—at least not in the near future. We need to figure out how to live with the virus without losing our minds.https://twitter.com/joshnathankazis/status/1353808841931108353 …
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Replying to @lisang
The article doesn't make sense, though. Merck, yeah, that sucks but the Moderna news isn't grim whatsoever and in reality, the vaccines we do have are unexpectedly huge home runs.
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His (negative) focus is on the difficulties of the rollout. That too many improve but at this stage, it's a huge stumbling block in spite of the relatively good news around Moderna, so I do feel like it's quite warranted even if having working vaccines is great.
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Replying to @BiellaColeman @lisang
Why is Merck (vaccine failure in early stage from a late entry which is common in vaccine development) and Moderna (excellent news from an amazing vaccine, plus they say already planning for future) a "one-two punch"? It's tiny bad news (Merck not big player) plus GREAT news.
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Replying to @zeynep @BiellaColeman
I like your interpretation and hope you are right. Right now I am seeing overwhelmed doctors talking about an incoming tsunami, a vaccine that is resistant to a new and more contagious strain, AND no evidence that the government(s) have a mass vaccination plan to implement.
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I suppose "grim" is a matter of perspective, but I do think the Merck news is pretty bad - they have an extraordinary record of developing vaccines, and at least one of their Covid-19 vaccines was based on an established platform, which has significant advantages.
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Replying to @joshnathankazis @lisang and
And on the Moderna news - of course it's reassuring that they still expect the vaccine to protect against the S.A. strain. But they were worried enough make a new booster! My sense, in interviews two weeks ago, was that Pfizer, at least, didn't expect to be at this point so soon.
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Replying to @joshnathankazis @lisang and
I don't mean to downplay the successes so far at all. And I respect your work a lot, and appreciate the pushback. But in the context of all the rollout troubles so far, those two updates yesterday morning seemed quite negative to me.
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zeynep tufekci Retweeted Eric Topol
The Merck news is a disappointment for sure, but a minor hiccup since they are a late entry (though of course, would have been better) but the Moderna news was *excellent*. This is what the last day looked like to me, a lot of good news:https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1354129134134288384 …
zeynep tufekci added,
Eric TopolVerified account @EricTopolSummary of good pandemic news
1. Pivotal trial of early monoclonal antibodies reduces death & hospitalization (big, this is a 1st)
2. Vaccination & mitigation works to contain B.1.1.7 (as shown by Israel)
3. The other 501Y.V2/3 variants are unlikely to reduce vaccine efficacy2 replies 0 retweets 6 likes -
Replying to @zeynep @joshnathankazis and
It was one of the least grim news days in a while! Now if J&J crashes and burns, I'll be very, very disappointed. But having excellent vaccines shown to continue to be effective, Merck already looking ahead... I find it positive and not at all grim. That was my objection.
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(Sorry Moderna looking ahead not Merck. Moderna looking ahead with a booster is, in my view, *excellent* news. Nobody expect viruses to remain stagnant & this one clearly not. So the booster prep is excellent news since we already *knew* this one is showing adaptive evolution!)
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I suppose. But I don't think we should understate the news, which is that, a) Moderna will now try a third dose six to 12 months after the first, to protect against emerging strains, and b) they'll also test a new booster specific to the S.A. strain.
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Replying to @joshnathankazis @zeynep and
Which is good! But they're doing it because of something they're already seeing begin to happen in the lab. And it was that - the sixfold reduction in neutralizing titers - that seemed like not great news, to me.
2 replies 0 retweets 1 like - Show replies
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