Pfizer's oral Covid-19 antiviral cuts hospitalization, death by 85% • Hacker News Board

Re: Pfizer's oral Covid-19 antiviral cuts hospitalization, death by 85%

#271

Post by lettergram » Fri, Nov 05, 2021, 2:40 PM UTC

jjuel wrote: post #186

roenxi wrote: post #86

> This is a completely novel molecule... Then do we understand the risk profile of this thing? That sounds like the sort of innovation that people would want to be at the back of the queue for. Side effects don't have to happen in the next 6 months.

Pretty sure we don't understand the long term risk of getting COVID either right? I mean it has not even been around for 2 years. Plus we do know it is possible only 1 infection would kill you.

That’s a straw man argument, when you take this drug you already have 100% covid19. Presumably that means you’ll have that risk, plus additional unknown risk. Perhaps the drug works like advertised, but we’ve seen better and more successful studies for things like ivermectin and anti-body treatments. Which have a known risk profile.

It’s the same for the vaccine. You still have the risk of what ever the vaccine risk is, PLUS covid19. Supposedly it reduces the covid19 symptoms, but doesn’t reduce risk of infection (or at least unclear), it just improves the immune response.

Re: Pfizer's oral Covid-19 antiviral cuts hospitalization, death by 85%

#272

Post by bena » Fri, Nov 05, 2021, 2:40 PM UTC

s_dev wrote: post #149

dontcare007 wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But that's just it, there's less than a 2% chance of dying even if you get COVID.

A 2% chance of death is actually very high risk for most people. Obviously with a name like dontcare007 I'm sure you've a huge appetite for risk that others don't.

If 2% of domestic flights in the US crashed, that would be about 100 plane crashes. Per day.

An accident rate of less than 1% grounded the Boeing 737 MAX. In a study of the aircraft, the FAA estimated there would have been 15 crashes over 30 years. This was seen as unacceptable.

Re: Pfizer's oral Covid-19 antiviral cuts hospitalization, death by 85%

#273

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Nov 05, 2021, 2:40 PM UTC

jolts wrote: post #216

Lets ignore the fact that its basically ivermectin with more side effects. Except ivermectin is 30 cent per dose and not under patent..

[deleted]

Re: Pfizer's oral Covid-19 antiviral cuts hospitalization, death by 85%

#274

Post by Steltek » Fri, Nov 05, 2021, 2:41 PM UTC

jungturk wrote: post #242

Steltek wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not everyone is eligible for a booster shot.

This is true, but moot in my area. The local pharmacies that administer the vaccines are not validating your eligibility. Those I know who are interested in the 3rd round, and beyond 6 months from their 2nd, have received it.

People making up their own rules is the defining problem of the pandemic.

Re: Pfizer's oral Covid-19 antiviral cuts hospitalization, death by 85%

#275

Post by Server6 » Fri, Nov 05, 2021, 2:42 PM UTC

colordrops wrote: post #110

Does anyone have a sense as to when US society will completely eliminate COVID measures? Is it just me or is there no clear exit criteria anymore? This will go on forever without exit criteria.

It's fairly clear what the exit criteria is. Hospital capacity. When hospitals are filling up COVID measures are necessary. COVID is endemic now and will ebb and flow over the next decade. As such I would expect COVID measures to come and go based on local health department and hospital capacity needs.

Re: Pfizer's oral Covid-19 antiviral cuts hospitalization, death by 85%

#276

Post by bena » Fri, Nov 05, 2021, 2:42 PM UTC

TheHypnotist wrote: post #155

dontcare007 wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But that's just it, there's less than a 2% chance of dying even if you get COVID.

I don't think you realize just how shitty those chances are.

The same people who take their chances with COVID have the same energy as those who play the lottery.

Re: Pfizer's oral Covid-19 antiviral cuts hospitalization, death by 85%

#277

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Nov 05, 2021, 2:43 PM UTC

colordrops wrote: post #129

kibwen wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

'There is no relationship at all between the two drugs, said Dr. William A Petri, professor of infectious diseases at the University of Virginia. “The only way they are alike is that they are both pills,” Petri said. Dr. Kevin J. Downes, assistant professor of pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania, agreed, “They are dramatically different molecules. The drugs are different in…

Dr. Kevin J. Downes receives money from Pfizer: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/art.41772

[deleted]

Re: Pfizer's oral Covid-19 antiviral cuts hospitalization, death by 85%

#278

Post by politician » Fri, Nov 05, 2021, 2:43 PM UTC

kibwen wrote: post #206

politician wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do open random executables that you get in your email? If not, why not?

Do you apply random security patches signed by your distro maintainers?

No, I have the type of job where reading the changeset is important. For this reason, I prefer to run NixOS.

Re: Pfizer's oral Covid-19 antiviral cuts hospitalization, death by 85%

#279

Post by selimthegrim » Fri, Nov 05, 2021, 2:43 PM UTC

thr0w72594 wrote: post #268

colordrops wrote: post #110

Does anyone have a sense as to when US society will completely eliminate COVID measures? Is it just me or is there no clear exit criteria anymore? This will go on forever without exit criteria.

Subramanian Kumar 2021 [1] found that there is no correlation between vaccination rates and new case rates on a country-wide level, or a county-wide level in the United States. This tracks with Dr. Vanden Bossche's assessment [2] from March of this year that mass vaccination with prophylactic vaccines will actually prolong and worsen the pandemic due to shedding of infectious variants. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.go…

Vanden Bossche seems alone in this regard? Surely NPIs would ameliorate that?

Re: Pfizer's oral Covid-19 antiviral cuts hospitalization, death by 85%

#280

Post by roywiggins » Fri, Nov 05, 2021, 2:43 PM UTC

pell wrote: post #133

blackbear_ wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Soo, kinda like for a vaccine? (And to clarify what I am saying, even though the vaccine does prevent death, there is still considerable push back. Not sure why it will be different for this drug)

From what I understand it's taken once an infection is already established. Maybe it's easier to convince the "skeptics" under those circumstances to take potentially life-saving medicine.

Sure, those same skeptics, once they're sick, happily line up for an hourlong infusion of experimental monoclonal antibodies, which have similarly unknown "long-term side effects" or whatever they're worried about.

It turns out that long-term side effects (which are a possibility with every livesaving medical intervention- what are the long-term side effects of CPR?) are a lot less scary compared to short-term death.