Have a safe, careful holiday . We already have a slight Texas up tick of cases which will probably increase with the holiday and with the influx of Delta Variant in unvaccinated people. People who have had two jabs should be relatively safe.
FROM HOPKINS:
1. PRESS RELEASE
NIH Study Suggests COVID-19 Prevalence Far Exceeded Early Pandemic Cases In a new study, National Institutes of Health researchers report that the prevalence of COVID-19 in the United States during spring and summer of 2020 far exceeded the known number of cases and that infection affected the country unevenly. For every diagnosed COVID-19 case in this time frame, the researchers estimate that there were 4.8 undiagnosed cases, representing an additional 16.8 million cases by July alone. The team’s analysis of blood samples from people who did not have a previously diagnosed SARS-CoV-2 infection, along with socioeconomic, health, and demographic data, offers insight into the undetected spread of the virus and subgroup vulnerability to undiagnosed infection. (NIH, 6/22/2021)
2. Safety, Tolerability, and Immunogenicity of An Inactivated SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine (CoronaVac) in Healthy Children and Adolescents: a Double-blind, Randomised, Controlled, Phase 1/2 Clinical Trial (The Lancet) CoronaVac was well tolerated and safe and induced humoral responses in children and adolescents aged 3–17 years. Neutralising antibody titres induced by the 3·0 μg dose were higher than those of the 1·5 μg dose. The results support the use of 3·0 μg dose with a two-immunisation schedule for further studies in children and adolescents.
3. VACCINE PROTECTION DURATION
A study by researchers at several academic medical centers in the US, published in Nature, found evidence that immunity conferred by the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine could potentially persist for years.
FROM BECKERS:
COVID-19 surges and influx of younger, unvaccinated patients reported at some Missouri hospitals
From Washington Post:
Coronavirus vaccines are widely available in the U.S. So why are scientists working on new ones?
“…many scientists working on second-generation vaccines, variant-proof boosters or the ultimate goal — a vaccine that would work against multiple coronaviruses and stop future pandemics…The authorized vaccines focus the immune system’s firepower on the spike protein that dots the outside of the coronavirus. Targeting the spike turned out to be a powerful way to trigger protective antibodies, an important line of defense. But some scientists worry the strategy comes with a major vulnerability. The coronavirus is evolving, and relatively minor changes to the spike could make it unrecognizable to the disease-blockers. That might enable it to dodge immunity, like a “wanted” poster that depicts only a thief’s nose or eye…Other scientists are beginning to think about vaccines that could be useful now — but also in preventing future pandemics. The idea that a vaccine could be a Swiss Army knife, effective not against just one virus but a whole family, is tantalizing. A coronavirus has leaped into the human population about once a decade, starting with SARS in 2002-2003 — so even as countries begin to emerge from this pandemic, many experts are beginning to worry about preventing the next one…….At Duke University School of Medicine, researchers were trying to create a booster shot and discovered, to their surprise, that their vaccine — a bit of the coronavirus spike protein assembled on a submicroscopic scaffold called a ferritin nanoparticle — generated antibodies that could protect against other coronaviruses, including bat viruses and the original SARS.
(J. Harris: I’m happy that we will remain in the vaccine business and will remain vigilant — at least for one hundred years.)
Will the Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Need a Boost Against the Delta Variant
“…the Johnson & Johnson one-shot jab works by a mechanism very similar to the AstraZeneca vaccine, since they’re both viral vectors, “a booster shot of mRNA would be very effective in increasing protection against all variants….A trio of studies released Monday bolstered evidence that vaccines are key for a return to normalcy and that a mix-and-match approach to vaccines shows promise, the New York Times reports. One (non-peer-reviewed) study, published in the Lancet, found that a mixed dosing schedule of the mRNA Pfizer and viral-vector AstraZeneca shots is safe and generates a strong immune response that can fend off the disease. Another study, published in the journal Nature, found that those who received the Pfizer and Moderna RNA vaccines may have strong, long-lasting immunity for years to come. Meanwhile, in a third study, researchers reported that a third dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine given more than six months after the second led to a substantial rise in antibodies…many who accepted the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine did so because they were told not to be picky and to take what’s available. [some think that the] public-health system owes these people a pathway to the same level of vaccination as the majority of people who received the mRNA vaccine,”
HUMOUR?
My last Dumb Blonde joke:
A blonde was shopping at Target and came across a shiny silver thermos.
She was quite fascinated by it, so she picked it up and took
it to the clerk to ask what it was.
The clerk said, ‘Why, that’s a thermos….. It keeps hot things hot and cold things cold.’
‘Wow, said the blonde, ‘that’s amazing…..I’m going to buy it!’
So she bought the thermos and took it to work the next day. Her boss saw it on her desk. ‘What’s that,’ he asked?
‘Why, that’s a thermos….. It keeps hot things hot and cold things cold,’ she replied.
Her boss inquired, ‘What do you have in it?’
The blond replied……’Two popsicles and a cup of coffee.
DID YOU KNOW:
No word in the English language rhymes with month , orange , silver , or purple.
The sentence:
‘The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.’ uses every letter of the alphabet.
***********************************
GIVE US YOUR FEEDBACK. CLICK ON “COMMENT” TO TELL US WHAT YOU THINK or use one of the alternative methods for providing feedback.
iEXPOSED.us Blog 
