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Pfizer Covid vaccine approved for use next week in UK

bbc.com

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Re: Pfizer Covid vaccine approved for use next week in UK

#431

Post by njarboe »

refurb wrote: post #306
samcheng wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The 'beta' test already happened. Tens of thousands of people have proven it safe and effective. Haven't you been following the news? Selfishly, I guess we should be happy that there is an anti-vaxxer sentiment; it means the rest of us will get our vaccines faster.

proven it safe and effective Having worked in the pharmaceutical industry, if I ever said my FDA approved drug was "safe and effective" I'd have the FDA dropping the hammer on me. The FDA does not prove a drug is safe . No drug is 100% safe. The FDA determines whether the risks of the treatment are outweighed by the benefit . I have no doubt that additional safety signals will pop up from Covid vaccines as the treate…

Nothing is 100% safe. The word "safe" is used by almost everyone to mean a feeling they get. Something is safe to them if it feels safe. Flying is "safe" if you don't fear flying. It is not if one is afraid of getting on an airplane. Is driving a car "safe"? It is if you don't feel scared when driving in a car. Any other use of the word would need to have some statistical evaluation of the situation. Saying the risks of the treatment are outweighed by the benefit is a great rational way of saying drug is safe enough to use, but most people don't use the word safe in that way.

To me a chainsaw is a safe tool to use. Dangerous, but safe. To others it is not. Is a chainsaw a "safe" tool?

Re: Pfizer Covid vaccine approved for use next week in UK

#432

Post by arc0 »

VBprogrammer wrote: post #131
apsec112 wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sure the UK is in the top twenty countries in the world for logistics infrastructure. It's easy to read news stories about your country messing things up, and quietly not read foreign-language media about poorer countries messing things up a lot more by comparison, and get a biased perspective.

It's a fairly stereotypical British trait to be self deprecating. If we were singlehandedly saving the world from a rogue asteroid the general sentiment would probably be "let's hope we don't mess this up".

I've noticed a shift in the last decade or so from self deprecating to self loathing. People seem loath to admit that we are one of the richest, most privileged, most developed countries in the world.

Re: Pfizer Covid vaccine approved for use next week in UK

#433

Post by jMyles »

anthonypasq wrote: post #398
goodcanadian wrote: post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think it is fear mongering. While the health institutes have access to the data, I don't. I don't think anyone on hacker news can make many intelligent statements about side effects, yet, though the press releases claim that they are similar to what is typical of other vaccines.

Why would you personally need access to the data unless you actually think the government would allow people to take a dangerous vaccine.

We are a scientifically literate society, and increasingly so. We do not simply summon blind faith in institutions to interpret the world in which we live; we share with each other and seek truth.

I do not trust governments, not only (and not primarily) because they have violated trust, but because trust in governments to be arbiters of scientific truth is not a healthy or sustainable practice in a civilized society.

Re: Pfizer Covid vaccine approved for use next week in UK

#434

Post by BurningFrog »

cian wrote: post #420
moneywoes wrote: post #392

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Didn't an agency store data and loss data due to using an old format of excel file

Yes, they hit the legacy 65,000 row limit for .XLS files: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-54423988

As I read it, it was actually (and amazingly) a 65,000 column limit!

Re: Pfizer Covid vaccine approved for use next week in UK

#436

Post by BjoernKW »

hermitcrab wrote: post #155
VBprogrammer wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a fairly stereotypical British trait to be self deprecating. If we were singlehandedly saving the world from a rogue asteroid the general sentiment would probably be "let's hope we don't mess this up".

Sadly, they are being realistic. The current UK government is riven with incompetence and cronyism. They couldn't organize a piss up a brewery.

There's the government and there's the people who run things, i.e. the Civil Service in this case.

While governments change and might or might not be incompetent, those structures largely remain the same.

Re: Pfizer Covid vaccine approved for use next week in UK

#437

Post by BurningFrog »

napier wrote: post #407
ulrikrasmussen wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Denmark where I live, a large proportion of infected people are age 20-29, and I wonder if it would make sense to vaccinate them first when you get to "rest of the population". Even though they have a smaller risk of getting seriously ill, that could be an effective way to lower transmission. That is: 1. Immunize the age group that is dominating in the hospitalization statistics, then 2. Immunize the age group is…

From a sheer infection control standpoint it makes a sense to vaccinate hypermobile social superspreader nodes first. Anyone who comes into contact with lots of people is going to be responsible for more onward infection chains than a reclusive grandma. The butterflies among the young are probably key drivers of spread. Take them out of the susceptibility picture and everyone benefits.

There is a considerable Moral Hazard element to this, but it would make sense to vaccinate the most irresponsible people first, since they're the ones spreading it most.

Re: Pfizer Covid vaccine approved for use next week in UK

#438

Post by djsumdog »

patrickthebold wrote: post #411
sschueller wrote: post #353

Earlier quoted context omitted.

4. Is an island that can be cut off incase of a zombie apocalypse...

If you read the science , it's much more likely that the vaccine is simply ineffective than would cause any kind of zombie apocalypse.

With this type of accelerated testing, it's much more likely we'll see a small percentage of permanent neurological issues:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bOHYZhL0WQ

Re: Pfizer Covid vaccine approved for use next week in UK

#439

Post by blibble »

kmlx wrote: post #237
VBprogrammer wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a fairly stereotypical British trait to be self deprecating. If we were singlehandedly saving the world from a rogue asteroid the general sentiment would probably be "let's hope we don't mess this up".

> It's a fairly stereotypical British trait to be self deprecating. If we were singlehandedly saving the world from a rogue asteroid the general sentiment would probably be "let's hope we don't mess this up". was this always so? i've noticed this while living in London and, coming from a literal 3rd world country, I do not understand it. i'm trying to find when this started... i don't it started anytime in the recent…

[dead]

Re: Pfizer Covid vaccine approved for use next week in UK

#440

Post by IfOnlyYouKnew »

_Microft wrote: post #5

How did they approve it that fast? Is the approval process so different and so much more efficient than the one in the EU or USA? Was it extremely rushed to make sure to get doses before they have to compete with other countries for limited supply? I'm pretty curious now. Let's hope for the best, i.e. a good vaccine, a good process and no trust problems, the latter because at least it feels rushed.

They are part of a political system that currently needs to prove itself with PR stunts.

Other agencies do not feel that need, realise approval is currently not on the critical path (manufacturing is), and allow themselves two weeks more.

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