Hit me with your worst shot
If I had the choice, I'd choose one of the "lesser" COVID-19 vaccines.
The Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine has been approved for use in Canada, and it has a major advantage over its predecessors: it requires just one dose instead of two.
Unlike Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines, the Johnson & Johnson shot is an adenovirus-based vaccine.
It was built using a kind of virus, which causes colds in chimpanzees.
The adenovirus is altered to carry a gene for the coronavirus protein, which can then train a person’s immune system to recognize the actual coronavirus if it ever enters the body.
It only requires one dose and has been approved for use in individuals aged 18 and older and is effective in older adults, Sharma said.
“Almost 20 per cent of the participants in the clinical trials were 65 years of age and older, and no differences in the safety or efficacy were seen compared to the younger groups,” she said.
The shot is significantly easier to ship and store, as it can be kept in a refrigerator (between 2 C and 8 C)for at least three months — much longer than the Moderna vaccine — rather than a freezer.
In clinical trials, it showed an overall efficacy of 66 per cent in preventing moderate to severe COVID-19, Sharma said.
That efficacy number is lower than that of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines, though better than the “Oxford vaccine” produced by AstraZeneca. The latter is meeting resistance from people holding out for a “better” option, and it looks like the same thing is happening with Johnson and Johnson:
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan declined an initial allocation of the newly authorized Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine this week even as nationwide demand continues to outpace available supply.
On Friday, his office and the White House are trying to limit the repercussions of that decision.
Duggan, a Democrat who has been mayor since 2014, said he turned down the shipment because the city is able to meet current demand with its supply of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines -- even as his administration expanded vaccine eligibility Thursday to residents ages 50 and older with chronic medical conditions.
"So, Johnson & Johnson is a very good vaccine. Moderna and Pfizer are the best. And I am going to do everything I can to make sure the residents of the city of Detroit get the best," Duggan said during a news conference Thursday.
Duggan now appears to be walking that back, saying his city will accept the Johnson and Johnson product eventually. But the damage is done:
Public health experts like Dr. Sadiya Khan, an epidemiologist at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said Duggan is undermining public faith in the single-shot vaccine which has been shown to be effective against Covid-19.
“Unfortunately, this is the new wave of misinformation that is hampering our ability to move towards eradicating the virus,” Khan said. “While there are, of course, differences across the ‘efficacy’ number output, the most important thing is that all three vaccines prevented 100% of hospitalization from COVID-19. That is critical and the reason we should move forward and not wait a single day when a dose is available to prevent severe disease. Especially because there are still so many people being hospitalized and dying daily.”
Summer Johnson McGee, who is dean of the University of New Haven’s School of Health Sciences, agreed.
“Suggesting that one vaccine is better or worse than the other is really counterproductive,” McGee said. “While we are racing trying to get as many people vaccinated as soon as possible we should be focused on everyone getting the first vaccine available regardless of manufacturer or doses required. Leaders should be promoting everyone getting vaccinated ASAP, not pitting one vaccine against the other.”
Last week I wrote that we shouldn’t be fussy about taking the first vaccine available, but after thinking about it, I can’t deny that I have a preference. If I had the choice, I’d take the Johnson and Johnson one - getting just one needle is always better than two - and if that was no longer available I’d go with AstraZeneca.
I cannot pretend I’m in the best shape, as illustrated by this video of me running:
But, aside from my weight, I’d say I’m pretty healthy. The fact that I practice law and don’t have high blood pressure might count as some kind of medical miracle.
There are many people - older people, and those with chronic health conditions - who need to be protected from the coronavirus even more than I do. And if we’re going to divide the vaccines into “good,” “better” and “best,” as a person at a relatively low risk of death from COVID-19, I’m perfectly happy to settle for one of the “lesser” ones.
It’s probably a moo point, since most of us won’t really have a choice. But a “good enough” vaccine is good enough for me.
The last time I had even a mild cold was in November, and I had to self-isolate for a few days as I awaited COVID-19 test results. (They came back negative, thankfully.) At the time, I wondered if the winter cold and flu season might play havoc with our work and school schedules, since we’d all have to stay home until we’re tested.
It was only this past weekend that I realized I haven’t even had the sniffles since then. And it looks like wearing masks and sanitizing our hands is having the unexpected benefit of keeping the “regular” flu at bay:
This time of year would normally be the height of flu season in Nova Scotia, but so far there have been no reported cases in the province.
Health Department spokesperson Marla MacInnis confirmed the absence of influenza cases to CBC News and said there were 442 cases last season.
Nova Scotia's experience is reflected in national influenza figures. A Jan. 15 report from Public Health Agency of Canada said there haven't been enough influenza cases to even declare the start of the 2020-2021 season in Canada.
MacInnis said in an email that public health protocols to minimize the spread of COVID-19 have had a similar effect on influenza in the province.
"Masking, physical distancing and good hand hygiene are all measures that can not only reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19, but other viruses such as influenza," she said.
Statistics for the past six years show that by this time of year there would normally be an average of 14,811 influenza detections reported in Canada. So far this season there have been just 51 influenza cases reported.
It’s the same story elsewhere in Canada, and even in England. The pandemic-related decline in travel may have helped, too:
“If your car is weather-proofed to be good at -40, you know it’s going to be good at -20,” University of Saskatchewan Biomedical Professor Kyle Andersen explained.
Andersen said influenza migrates between hemispheres following cooler weather, and that travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic likely also helped prevent flu viruses from spreading.
“There was less flu to start off in places like Asia, South America and Australia because they’ve been doing the same things that we have for COVID-19,” he said.
Andersen thinks as long as strict health measures stick around, the trend of low influenza numbers could continue into the next flu season.
“Flu is always sort of reintroduced by bird populations and pigs and things like that. So we’ll never really be able to get rid of it,” he said. “But lowering the overall number of people sick with the flu on Earth — that is going to have a long term effect.”
I’m counting the days until masking up is no longer mandatory. I wear glasses. And after having to cancel my vacation plans in 2020 I have every intention of traveling a lot once we’re in the clear.
But even after the pandemic is over, I hope to maintain the habit of keeping my hands clean at least.
A grown man reading Green Eggs and Ham was a punchline in the greatest movie ever made, Hudson Hawk.
That was 1991. This is 2021:
Meanwhile, on the other side of the political spectrum:
In some ways, 2021 is already proving to be as stupid as 2020, isn’t it?