The U.S. is sending over 4 million doses to Canada and Mexico.. Call me paranoid but hmm... something doesn't seem right.
Astra Zeneca vaccine approved!
- Thread starter wetnose
- Start date
Had my first shot of Covid Shield (Astra Zeneca) this morning , no side effects so far.
I love how the US have been stomping their feet their not gonna share any of their inventory
But low and behold decided they have more than enough Astra to share with us.... 1.5mill doses 🤔
But low and behold decided they have more than enough Astra to share with us.... 1.5mill doses 🤔
You're correct - paranoia can be a powerful influence in how you think/perceive. And there's medication available for that.
Well, maybe that's because Astra hasn't been approved in the US yet. And, they are not giving us 1.5 million doses, they are loaning us 1.5 million doses - we have to give back 1.5 million Astra doses when we can.
Nothing nefarious about it. They have a stockpile they pre-ordered last year. AZ only recently submitted their application to FDA and it's not yet approved. So they're sharing some.
As a bit of an insider here on SARS-2 and one who learned more than I ever wanted to know about viral pathways, genetic makeup of protein structure and a bunch of other stuff, I followed the Oxford Univ development very early in the game. And for those who wish to know, UBC Infectious Diseases and VGH have some of the foremost antibody engineers in their midst who played a part in all this. The Oxford Univ. / Astra Zeneca vaccine is by its design more robust than the other guys. It is based around a replica of the corona virus spike protein, so once vaccinated the host will produce the antibodies as if it has already had the disease but with more robust cellular memory. Moderna and Pfizer use a mRNA design which will coach the host to produce the right AB's.
Frankly from the science side, any of the vaccines are safe, effective and should not be questioned unless one is working right in the field and can adequately interpret the difference, not just raw numbers but real rubber on the road difference that an 82 vs 94 % efficacy value means and then the answer should be - go get the fuck vaccinated. The US has ordered what, something like 600 million doses? Can't keep track as the numbers being reported are updated daily it seems. Since it should be about 1.5-2 months between shots, they have more than they can use and expiry dates come into play. As well as FDA approval. So they loan Mexico and us a bunch and when we get new batches, we reconcile the difference.
The logistics of vaccinating the world is mind boggling, let alone vaccine development and approval albeit emergency approval, in this short a time frame. Think of what we could do if we decided to get rid of cancer with the same urgency.
Frankly from the science side, any of the vaccines are safe, effective and should not be questioned unless one is working right in the field and can adequately interpret the difference, not just raw numbers but real rubber on the road difference that an 82 vs 94 % efficacy value means and then the answer should be - go get the fuck vaccinated. The US has ordered what, something like 600 million doses? Can't keep track as the numbers being reported are updated daily it seems. Since it should be about 1.5-2 months between shots, they have more than they can use and expiry dates come into play. As well as FDA approval. So they loan Mexico and us a bunch and when we get new batches, we reconcile the difference.
The logistics of vaccinating the world is mind boggling, let alone vaccine development and approval albeit emergency approval, in this short a time frame. Think of what we could do if we decided to get rid of cancer with the same urgency.
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Not a fan of Liberal policy or of the current Prime Minister but do note it was the Conservative gov that cut R&D budgets of the order of 15% a year while in power, such that there was no furthering of vaccine development in Canada. No matter which party was in power the past 15-20 years for Canada to not have in country vaccine development and manufacturing is the issue. Moving forward that has to change as the next pandemic will be worse.
You're conflating things. Any Canadian entity (with the exception of the NRC and their attempt to work with CanSino) developing Covid vaccines/treatments are doing so independent of whatever is going on with China. Queen's University has something in trials since the summer. Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto has something in trials since May. You're only whining/moaning about publicized trials like Medicago or Providence - even then, their respective work has nothing to do with China.
https://www.canada.ca/en/health-can...ccines-treatments/list-authorized-trials.html
And FYI, India's Astra is THE ASTRA VACCINE. Again, you're conflating things - you clearly don't know the difference between discovering a vaccine and producing a vaccine. Astra discovered a vaccine, and the Serum Institute is authorized (probably by way of a licensing agreement with Astra) to produce the vaccine - regardless of whether an Indian entity is producing it, it is still the ASTRA VACCINE. Hell, a shit ton of "stuff" you already consume (i.e. over the counter meds, vitamins, even food) are manufactured by a third party. Outsourcing is not limited to call centres! Manufacturing is outsourced all the time (it's called contract manutacturing) - whether it be vaccines, vitamins, allergy pills or iPhones
LOL! The Astra vaccine was developed by Astra and Oxford, but it's manufacture/production happens in a multitude of locations. That includes Astra corporate owned manufacturing facilities as well as contract manufacturing facilities, such as the Serum Institute in India. The Serum Institute is a private for profit company - it is actually the largest vaccine producer in the world. They manufacture (under contract and/or under license) vaccines from a whole host of pharmaceutical companies and then sells those vaccines - as a for profit venture. And if that profit can be made selling abroad, that's exactly what they will do. Even the US-produced Astra will be sold abroad, unfortunately eventually, as the US government is not letting those vaccines to be exported until their own population is vaccinated.
As for your claim that we're only getting "India's unused" vaccine supply, that's a joke! The Serum Institute is selling Canada 2 million doses. That's on top of Canada's agreement with Astra for 20 million doses.
The Government of China cut us off from getting access to (for the purposes of running trials) the CanSino vaccine candidate. That act, as shitty as it is, does not stop Canada from buying vaccines. That act by the Government of China (as shitty as it is) does not stop other Canadian entities from continuing their own work on vaccines/treatments. Again, you are conflating things. The Gov't of China playing games is NOT the reason why Canada is not the first in line to get our purchase orders fulfilled. It's other politics that are getting in the way. The US not allowing vaccines to leave their country the EU doing the same. Yes, Canada is on it's own, as is every other county trying to get their purchase orders fulfilled first. It is every country for itself, and Canada does not have enough clout to get our purchase orders pushed to the front of the line. Blame the Canadian government for that if it makes you feel better, but our lack of clout has nothing to do with what the Gov't of China did in relation to the CanSino deal.
And do some goddamn research on the issue. You continually whine about the Gov't of China as the reason, yet you don't/haven't looked into why certain countries are way ahead of Canada. Israel as an example, was probably the country that was able to achieve mass vaccination the quickest. It's because the entire country of Israel is being used as (effectively) a large scale Phase 3 trial. The Israeli PM is on record as stating that they received priority shipments because they agreed to share medical history data with Pfizer of all Israeli citizens that get the jab for ongoing research purposes. The UAE was probably the 2nd fastest country to see mass vaccination - they approved a Chinese vaccine in December. The UAE was basically the Phase 3 trial for the Sinopharm vaccine. And for what it's worth - reports out of the UAE are that some citizens now need a 3rd jab of the Sinopharm vaccine. Point is, there is ton of things at play when it comes to who gets what first - and honestly, none of that is a result of the Gov't of China's actions as it relates to the CanSino deal. It's really simple, we don't have the clout, others (like the US and EU) are acting for their own interests first and (most likely) we weren't willing/able to offer up what other countries did (like Israel) to get pushed to the front of the line!
Bro, it is like you are stuck unable to move on from the 'wet market' in Wuhan, do you realize it is now March 2021?
You posted yesterday that we were 56th, well today we are 53rd and I would bet we are going to continue moving up the ranks as our supply is efficiently finding its way into arms.
Also take a look at the company we are keeping (+/- 1%): Germany, Italy, France, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Netherlands and Belgium. It seems your 'back of the line' Qonservative Qonspiracy theory isn't holding up.
And today we are 39th in the world! If you remove protectorates and tiny nations with populations of under a million people from the list, we are now in the top 20 ... Doesn't seem like we are anywhere near the back of the line!
NACI recommends suspension of use of Astra Zeneca for younger age groups:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/canada-suspends-astrazeneca-vaccine-covid-19-1.5968657
https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/canada-suspends-astrazeneca-vaccine-covid-19-1.5968657
