Pfizer and Biontech provide update on Omicron variant • Hacker News Board

Re: Pfizer and Biontech provide update on Omicron variant

#461

Post by swader999 » Wed, Dec 08, 2021, 4:48 PM UTC

marcosdumay wrote: post #306

phkahler wrote: post #265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> Is there a comprehensive white-paper anywhere with sample sizes and error bars? Otherwise this seems like an anecdote. It's marketing. When the vaccine effectiveness is waning the solution seems to be more of it If it only took 2 days to create the vaccine, why do they not have an updated one? Is there another in development that targets more than just the spike protein? Why is the entire defense that vaccine?

> If it only took 2 days to create the vaccine, why do they not have an updated one? There's a deafening silence every time somebody asks this. From what I've been able to see, it's because regulatory bodies won't accept an update vaccine without 8 months of testing, and the manufacturers are doing the testing, but at those delays there isn't really any point. Why regulatory bodies won't accept updated vaccines is th…

Consider this ^^^ and the fact that it takes additional months just to distribute it. Then add in the fact that the virus has a very high and successful mutation rate and can persist in and out of animal reservoirs. Mass vaccination is mentally unsound but profitable.

Re: Pfizer and Biontech provide update on Omicron variant

#462

Post by anoonmoose » Wed, Dec 08, 2021, 4:49 PM UTC

the_doctah wrote: post #437

anoonmoose wrote: post #425

Earlier quoted context omitted.

there's no need for the scare quotes around "optional", its still optional regardless of how much fearmongering and conspiracy stuff you spew

Fearmongering? I was literally forced to take it, with my company directly referencing Biden's order for companies > 100 to require it. I'm not sure where you get off calling it a conspiracy.

you were not "literally forced". you were given an option. they didn't hold you down. if you want additional protections you should lobby for those, maybe form a union, but don't lie about being forced to do something.

Re: Pfizer and Biontech provide update on Omicron variant

#463

Post by sho_hn » Wed, Dec 08, 2021, 4:51 PM UTC

throwaway2037 wrote: post #429

sho_hn wrote: post #388

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "Fosun Pharma has been licensed by BioNTech to exclusively develop and commercialize COVID-19 vaccines based on its mRNA technology platform in Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR and Taiwan region." https://investors.biontech.de/news-releases/news-release-det... (2020)

Searching the CDC in Taiwan, I was unable to find any press releases announcing they bought vaccines from Fosun Pharma. Everything I could find said they only received BioNTech vaccines when they were donated . Please correct me if wrong. I assume "Taiwan region" is simply something to satisfy the PRC gov't (CCP) which believes Taiwan is a part of its country and governed by PRC. TW CDC PR: https://www.cdc.gov.tw/En/…

Just like you I don't take statements like this at face value due to the complexities involved. :-)

Re: Pfizer and Biontech provide update on Omicron variant

#464

Post by wbsss4412 » Wed, Dec 08, 2021, 4:51 PM UTC

listless wrote: post #206

nostrebored wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well the problem suggested by other research is that when vaccinated people are infected with a functionally different strain they don’t appear to create new antibodies. This is consistent with other research showing that people who are vaccinated then infected are more likely to get reinfected than those who were simply infected and recovered. The alternative outlook here is that vaccinated people are more likely to…

This has always been my fear. I'm vaccinated (Moderna) and got COVID in September. I recovered quickly - about 3 days. But I'm worried that my body did not get to have a proper immune response and that as such, I'll have to continue get vaccinated forever whereas if I had just gotten COVID without the vaccine maybe I would be set. But I haven't found _much_ data to back up this concern.

What do you think a “proper” immune response entails exactly?

Keep in mind that reinfection was always still possible after getting Covid, regardless of vaccination status.

Re: Pfizer and Biontech provide update on Omicron variant

#465

Post by Fervicus » Wed, Dec 08, 2021, 4:52 PM UTC

robotmay wrote: post #192

swayvil wrote: post #168

Now they want us to take the vax every 9 months forever. The pharmacorps have become our landlords. Which is the whole point of course.

Ignoring that the vaccines are free to the individual and therefore not at all similar to a landlord/tenant relationship, you always have the option of not taking it and dying, which is a cool loophole that gets you out of the implied contract. Life hack.

Makes it a bit different when not taking it also means you can't pump gas in certain countries. Austria has also announced that vaccination will become compulsory for all citizens.

Re: Pfizer and Biontech provide update on Omicron variant

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Post by ostenning » Wed, Dec 08, 2021, 4:52 PM UTC

beervirus wrote: post #374

jmnicolas wrote: post #334

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Expert on tv explained it just yesterday.. 3 shots is actually what you need for most vaccines and is the common procedure for most if you remember.. The same so called experts that will say that now you need the 4th dose, the 5th etc. It's now obvious that it's a vaccine as a service. Pfizer ceo's hinted at it last year, saying it would probably be recurring every 6 months.

That’s… fine? I don’t care if I have to get a jab every 6 months. I don’t care if Pfizer and Moderna make a ton of money off this—they deserve it.

No its not fine because not everyone reacts well to these vaccines. I know numerous people, including myself, that have had crippling heart inflammation after their second dose. I can apply for an exemption but ultimately that does little for what rights I am afforded.

People are being left behind, and its not okay.

Re: Pfizer and Biontech provide update on Omicron variant

#467

Post by djrogers » Wed, Dec 08, 2021, 4:52 PM UTC

robotmay wrote: post #389

jmnicolas wrote: post #338

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> not taking it and dying COVID survival rate is > 99%

Yeah cool I'll pass that along to the 3 people I personally know who died from it. 1 in 100 odds isn't super great, and that's ignoring the unknown impact of long-COVID. The risk of bad vaccine side-effects is lower than the chance of death.

It's nowhere near 1 in 100 - even in countries without good healthcare it's better than 1 in 500. And most of those that do die are compromised in ways that have been known as risk factors for over a year. If you have risk factors, your odds are different - if you don't, you're looking at 1 in 2000 or higher...

Re: Pfizer and Biontech provide update on Omicron variant

#468

Post by Taywee » Wed, Dec 08, 2021, 4:55 PM UTC

timr wrote: post #361

SideburnsOfDoom wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Get a booster when you can, it is worth it. I had mine last week. We don't know if and when there will be an omicron-specific jab, and a mRNA 3rd dose cuts your chances of bad outcome (severe illness, hospitalisation) from omicron or previous variants to a lot lower than 2 doses ever did. https://twitter.com/PaulMainwood/status/1458020957457731585 https://twitter.com/PaulMainwood/status/1460191035531878405

> Get a booster when you can, it is worth it. If you are under 65 and not immune compromised, there's essentially no evidence for this claim. If you are either of those things, there's some evidence that it takes your risk of severe illness (already low after vaccination), and divides it by another factor of ~20 [0]. That's great, but it's a tiny absolute effect, and we shouldn't over-sell it. If you're under 65, the…

That still doesn't sound like a strong argument against it to me. Getting the booster might help or might not help as much as was said. Not getting it does nothing for or against you. It sounds to me like getting a booster is a safe, reasoned choice that has a good chance at offering additional protection, zero financial cost for almost everybody, and typically very mild side effects. "Don't get it because there's a chance that it might not help and almost no risk of harm" doesn't sound compelling.

Re: Pfizer and Biontech provide update on Omicron variant

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Post by potta_coffee » Wed, Dec 08, 2021, 4:57 PM UTC

tallanvor wrote: post #380

jaspax wrote: post #330

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who's "we"? I don't intend any hostility here. But I have never gotten a flu vaccine in my life, and it seems deeply silly to me to get a yearly shot just to cut down on the chance of mild illness. A quick poll of my acquaintances reveals that almost no one in my social circle gets flu shots, either. This makes me wonder whether the antagonism to mandatory COVID boosters is just an intensification of an existing divi…

"We" are people intelligent to recognize that vaccination against diseases like the flu is a good idea even if we're healthy and unlikely to have significant complications. "We" know that the shot will make it less likely for us to get sick, and that we're more likely to have a mild case if we do get it after being vaccinated. "We" also recognize that getting vaccinated helps reduce the number of people who spread a…

I was in the military for years. Vaccines galore for any and every conceivable illness. I was required to have flu shots. Every single flu shot I've had gave me the flu. Full blown sickness, within a day of receiving the shot. Since leaving the military I've not had a flu shot and I've not had the flu. Obviously it's anecdotal but you'll never convince me to start taking flu shots after such repeated experiences.

Re: Pfizer and Biontech provide update on Omicron variant

#470

Post by president » Wed, Dec 08, 2021, 4:57 PM UTC

stolenmerch wrote: post #279

soared wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s a weird way to phrase your second paragraph, considering hospitals have been close to full very recently in parts of the us. https://protect-public.hhs.gov/pages/hospital-utilization

Hospital beds were "maxed out" before the pandemic. [0] at around 64%. They are sitting at around 78% on average now, with hard hit areas at around 80-85% according to your link. These are almost all at-risk and unvaccinated people. That's my point. If mandates and lockdowns are based on case counts instead of actual dire outcomes, then I fear we're going to continue seeing strange policies and laws for people at lit…

Apparently there was a flu epidemic during 2017-2018 and hospitals were being overwhelmed by flu patients [1].

[1] https://time.com/5107984/hospitals-handling-burden-flu-patie...