Covid Vaccine. Your plans?

[nino]

1 hour ago, Fugu said:

Meaning that’ll be a regular approval (envisaged for about Dec 23) in full compliance with current standard procedures.

Yes, correct and I just heard it in the news here that latest Dec. 23rd the approval will be granted by EMA.

PS : Breaking News now here in Germany - approval will be 21st December.

[nino]

And just in case anyone is interested, here are all the ingredients of the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine.

https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/12/09/1013538/what-are-the-ingredients-of-pfizers-covid-19-vaccine/?truid=*|LINKID|*&utm_source=coronavirus&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=coronavirus.unpaid.engagement&utm_content=*|DATE:m-d-Y|*

What are the ingredients of Pfizer’s covid-19 vaccine?

We asked experts to help us decode the contents.

by

• Antonio Regalado archive page

December 9, 2020

 

Facebook said on December 3 that it would remove posts with false claims or conspiracy theories about what’s in the covid-19 vaccines that everyone’s counting on.

In the face of rumors suggesting that Bill Gates has installed tracking microchips in the shots, or that the inoculations contain luciferase, a glowing chemical from fireflies whose name makes some people think of the devil, the company suggested it would be policing such claims by making reference to the “official vaccine ingredient list.”

What’s actually on the official ingredient list? This week an elderly UK woman became the first person outside of a trial to get the newly approved vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, and the US could greenlight the same inoculation as soon as Thursday, December 10. Along with the regulatory actions over the last week have come the most detailed disclosures yet of the new vaccine’s makeup.

Here, for instance, is what the US Food and Drug Administration says is in Pfizer’s vaccine:

• Active Ingredient
  • nucleoside-modified messenger RNA (modRNA) encoding the viral spike glycoprotein (S) of SARS-CoV-2
• Lipids
  • (4-hydroxybutyl)azanediyl)bis(hexane-6,1-diyl)bis (ALC-3015)
  • (2- hexyldecanoate),2-[(polyethylene glycol)-2000]-N,N-ditetradecylacetamide (ALC-0159)
  • 1,2-distearoyl-snglycero-3-phosphocholine (DPSC)
  • cholesterol
• Salts
  • potassium chloride
  • monobasic potassium phosphate
  • sodium chloride
  • basic sodium phosphate dihydrate 
• Other
  • sucrose

Reading the ingredient list is like looking at the side of a cereal box, except that you need a degree in organic chemistry to understand it. We got help from various scientists and biotech entrepreneurs to understand what each of the ingredients does and make some educated guesses about others.

The mRNA

Pfizer’s vaccine is the first on the market that consists of actual genetic information from a virus in the form of messenger RNA, or mRNA, a type of molecule whose usual job is to transport copies of genetic instructions around a cell to guide the assembly of proteins. Imagine an mRNA as a long ticker tape carrying instructions. It's fairly delicate stuff, and that's why Pfizer's vaccine needs to be kept at around -100 °F (-73 °C) until it's used.

The new vaccine, delivered as a shot in the arm muscle, contains an RNA sequence taken from the virus itself; it causes cells to manufacture the big “spike” protein of the coronavirus, which the pathogen uses to glom onto a person’s cells and gain entry. On its own, without the rest of the virus, the spike is pretty harmless. But your body still reacts to it. This is what leaves you immunized and ready to repel the real virus if it turns up.

The mRNA in the vaccine, to be sure, isn’t quite the same as the stuff in your body. That’s good, because a cell is full of defenses ready to chop up RNA, especially any that doesn’t belong there. To avoid that, what’s known as “modified nucleosides” have been substituted for some of the mRNA building blocks.

But Pfizer is holding back a little. The spike gene sequence can be tweaked in small ways for better performance, by means that include swapping letters. We don’t think Pfizer has said exactly what sequence it is using, or what modified nucleosides. That means the content of the shot may not be 100% public.

The lipids

The Pfizer vaccine, like one from Moderna, uses lipid nanoparticles to encase the RNA. The nanoparticles are, basically, tiny greasy spheres that protect the mRNA and help it slide inside cells.

These particles are probably around 100 nanometers across. Curiously, that’s about the same size as the coronavirus itself.

Pfizer says it uses four different lipids in a “defined ratio.” The lipid ALC-0315 is the primary ingredient in the formulation. That’s because it’s ionizable—it can be given a positive charge, and since the RNA has a negative one, they stick together. It's also a component that can cause side-effects or allergic reactions. The other lipids, one of which is the familiar molecule cholesterol, are “helpers” that give structural integrity to the nanoparticles or stop them from clumping. During manufacturing, the RNA and the lipids are stirred into a bubbly mix to form what the FDA describes as a “white to off-white” frozen liquid.

Salts

The Pfizer vaccine contains four salts, one of which is ordinary table salt. Together, these salts are better known as phosphate-buffered saline, or PBS, a very common ingredient that keeps the pH, or acidity, of the vaccine close to that of a person’s body. You’ll understand how important that is if you’ve ever squeezed lemon juice on a cut. Substances with the wrong acidity can injure cells or get quickly degraded.

Sugar

The vaccine includes plain old sugar, also called sucrose. It’s acting here as a cryoprotectant to safeguard the nanoparticles when they’re frozen and stop them from sticking together.

Saline solution

Before injection, the vaccine is mixed with water containing sodium chloride, or ordinary salt, just as many intravenously delivered drugs are. Again, the idea is that the injection should more or less match the salt content of the blood.

No preservatives

Pfizer makes a point of saying its mixture of lipid nanoparticles and mRNA is “preservative-free.” That’s because a preservative that’s been used in other vaccines, thimerosal (which contains mercury and is there to kill any bacteria that might contaminate a vial), has been at the center of worries around over whether vaccines cause autism. The US Centers for Disease Control says thimerosal is safe; despite that, its use is being phased out. There is no thimerosal—or any other preservative—in the Pfizer vaccine. No microchips, either.

The vaccine is still known by the code name BNT162b, but once it’s authorized, expect Pfizer to give it a new, commercial name that conveys something about what’s in it and what it promises for the world.

We thank the following people for explaining the vaccine ingredients: Jacob Becraft and Aalok Shah, Strand Therapeutics; Yizhou Dong, Ohio State University; Jason Underwood, Pacific Biosciences; Andrey Zarur, Greenlight Biosciences; Charles L. Cooney, MIT; and the communications staffs of Pfizer and Moderna Therapeutics.

 

[Capt. Corona]

5 hours ago, La_Tigre said:

It’s acceptable to walk away. Or if discussion is veering far from the original topic and becomes more than a simple asked and answered scenario, send PM’s to one another to continue the discussion if need be. It looks much cleaner for all involved. Just be prepared to agree to disagree and stay away from @Fuzz‘s Hammer. Let’s all enjoy Habanos and not a forum vacation. ?

Yea, one more vacation and I'll need a vacation from the vacation that I've been on since since this vacation started last March.

 

[La_Tigre]

4 hours ago, Capt. Corona said:

Yea, one more vacation and I'll need a vacation from the vacation that I've been on since since this vacation started last March.

 

I’m talking ‘bout the ban hammer type of FOH vacation. Seems like when I (we) start a topic, there’s a 1 in 4 chance someone is getting a time out. ? 

I don’t think anyone got punted on the Cigar Koozies™️ post though. ?

[Fuzz]

What? You mean I took out my ban hammer for nothing?

Better leave it out.... just in case.

[CaptainQuintero]

2 hours ago, Ryan said:

I'll have...

  I'm more and more convinced that you need to write a "Andy's big book of common sense and living life" at some point, you've a brilliant take on how to handle what life throws at you

  Condolences to your lot too, funerals have been a strange thing this year

[La_Tigre]

Welllllllllllll............looks like we won the guinea pig lottery. We both will get the jab tomorrow morning. Wish us luck.

We will report back after and the following few days.

Let’s hope it’s not a Shirley Jackson type Lottery we’ve won.

Hell, PM us and stone us to death with Cubans....??

[Lunettesman]

On 12/14/2020 at 8:05 AM, Ken Gargett said:

leaving aside govt ownership of one's mind, i am also in favour of as little govt interference as possible. however there are limits. we live in communities. should your right to do what you want be allowed to impact on others (serious question)? for example, talking of putting things into one's body, should you be allowed to pour as much alcohol into your own body and bugger the consequences to others. if for example, you then decide to get in a car? 

say someone refuses to have their child vaccinated but then wants to send them to school and thereby threaten harm to others?

we all have lines to draw and we don't all agree on just where those lines should be. 

with the virus, if you choose not to be vaccinated, should you then be allowed to do what you want and go where you want, notwithstanding the impact it might have on others? for what it is worth, i am not in favour of mandatory vaccination (though happy to get it as soon as available), but i am very much not in favour of those who do not get it then being allowed to do whatever they want. 

but my point was that a country should be able to make whatever laws it deems fit to protect its citizens. you don't like it (and it is your country), you can vote them out. but i don't get to vote in your elections, nor you in mine (unless we are both aussies). so if my govt decides that if you want to come here (just using this as a hypothetical), you must have the vaccination, then you need to comply with our laws. you have a choice. get it or don't come. but you do not have the right to say that i do not believe in vaccinations so i am coming without one. 

I understand your point of view. And the example with the car is very relevant. 

 

However, one thing I never understood is this: vaccine protects you against disease X. So where is the problem if I'm not vaccinated? Just get the vaccine so I cannot transmit you the X diseases or don't get the vaccine and maybe get that diseases. 

 

In the case of the car example you make a good point because you cannot really protect yourself from a car that hits you because of a drunken driver. Howeverz you can vaccinate yourself and not getting the disease X from a sick person. 

 

Therefore I don't see the need to make it mandatory. 

[Zigatoh]

30 minutes ago, Lunettesman said:

I understand your point of view. And the example with the car is very relevant. 

 

However, one thing I never understood is this: vaccine protects you against disease X. So where is the problem if I'm not vaccinated? Just get the vaccine so I cannot transmit you the X diseases or don't get the vaccine and maybe get that diseases. 

 

In the case of the car example you make a good point because you cannot really protect yourself from a car that hits you because of a drunken driver. Howeverz you can vaccinate yourself and not getting the disease X from a sick person. 

 

Therefore I don't see the need to make it mandatory. 

Except that in this case currently the advice is for pregnant people not to get the vaccine and there may be issues around people with strong allergies. 

In the case of 'live' vaccines as another example, people undergoing cancer treatment may not be able to be vaccinated. 

There are likely other reasons why the person you could infect may not be able to have a vaccine, so there will be people out there who cannot protect themselves. 

And that's not taking into account how effective the vaccine is, the more people who are vaccinated the higher the overall protection to everyone. 

[VKUTT]

22 hours ago, Shrimpchips said:

Probably because there’s a whole host of diseases which weren’t vaccinated for in the US in the early 70s that are now:

Hep A - 1995
Hep B - 1981
Rotavius - 2006
Pneumococcal - 1980s
Hib - late 1970s
chickenpox - mid 1980s

Thats for kids under 2.

That’s a lot of very young kids not coming down with preventable diseases.  Sucks if you’re the exception to the general response, but statistically one is more likely to have significant issues with the diseases being vaccinated for than the vaccines themselves.   

 

As I said, I'm not an anti-vax person per se. And I was talking about the AMOUNT of each vaccine that is being given, not the number of diseases vaxed against. 

  

 

4 hours ago, La_Tigre said:

Welllllllllllll............looks like we won the guinea pig lottery. We both will get the jab tomorrow morning. Wish us luck.

We will report back after and the following few days.

Let’s hope it’s not a Shirley Jackson type Lottery we’ve won.

Hell, PM us and stone us to death with Cubans....??

Oh my goodness! Do let us know how that goes for you. Good luck!!!

[VKUTT]

On 12/13/2020 at 10:28 PM, La_Tigre said:

24:24

<The record being checked> ? ? 
“Sorry, you could’ve had yourself a box... ;-(

Regards,

Diana”

 

?????

I had suspicion the president (and probably mods?) could see that which the OP & rest of us could not...and... Argghhh! So much for untampered statistics....! ?

The both of us are deflated to not be able to see where your vote is (and Ken’s! ? ).

LOVE IT! ?

[Baccy]

Apparently some of the test subjects who have gotten the Australian version of this thing are turning up HIV positive. They are saying it's just a false positive... God I sure hope so?

[RedLantern]

source?

[Hammer Smokin']

google will pull up the story. 

this isn't the "Australian version of the vaccine". 

it was an early trial version of a vaccine attempting to be "home grown". 

it failed. 

it was scrapped. 

But depending on the "new source", the 'apparently' can be misleading...and you know the copy/paste twitter researchers aren't big into details. Headings are much easier to read. 

[nino]

6 hours ago, Baccy said:

Apparently some of the test subjects who have gotten the Australian version of this thing are turning up HIV positive. They are saying it's just a "false positive"... God I sure hope so?

Fake BS News

Australian scientists created a vaccine that used a tiny protein fragment from HIV. They had to call it quits after recipients kept falsely showing up as HIV-positive in tests (Brisbane Times)

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/devastated-uq-scientists-tried-for-weeks-to-fix-problem-with-covid-19-vaccine-20201211-p56mqi.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/11/world/australia/uq-coronavirus-vaccine-false-positive.html

[Baccy]

1 hour ago, nino said:

Fake BS News

Australian scientists created a vaccine that used a tiny protein fragment from HIV. They had to call it quits after recipients kept falsely showing up as HIV-positive in tests (Brisbane Times)

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/devastated-uq-scientists-tried-for-weeks-to-fix-problem-with-covid-19-vaccine-20201211-p56mqi.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/11/world/australia/uq-coronavirus-vaccine-false-positive.html

That's EXACTLY what I said! rofl...

[nino]

 

58 minutes ago, Baccy said:

That's EXACTLY what I said! rofl...

 
Laughing here too, as I have no idea what you said, but you wrote :

"turning up HIV positive" ....

[Fuzz]

The University of Qld vaccine didn't fail. It showed great promise in being a working vaccine to protect against Covid-19. What it did do was create Covid antibodies that would interfere with HIV diagnostic tests. The vaccine included a protein fragment from the human immunodeficiency virus (they found it was the best protein available for their molecule clamp technology), which allows the vaccine to bond with the spike protein of Covid-19, thereby stopping the virus. Unfortunately, this caused the test subjects to weakly test positive on certain HIV test (it was barely on the cusp of positive). This was deemed unacceptable, so the vaccine was abandoned. The researchers all knew this false positive may happen, and so did all the test subjects. Nobody contracted HIV, and there was no chance of it occurring from the vaccine.

Whilst it is not the result Australians wanted, it is a success from an ethics point of view. And the research data gained is invaluable for future vaccines.

[Jimmy_jack]

Won’t take it for at least a year. Nothing political. Just want to see what the short term effects will be.

[sho671]

Got my first dose today.

[Akela3rd]

Got my first dose today.

Context is everything...

Sent by spooky action at a distance

[La_Tigre]

23 hours ago, La_Tigre said:

Welllllllllllll............looks like we won the guinea pig lottery. We both will get the jab tomorrow morning. Wish us luck.

We will report back after and the following few days.

Let’s hope it’s not a Shirley Jackson type Lottery we’ve won.

Hell, PM us and stone us to death with Cubans....??

Almost two hours since the shots. No burning or stinging at the injection site. We have no initial adverse effects.

? ?.....Four page information sheet. Three website signups. Two page questionnaire  & a card for documentation...?
 

So, it’s a Cuban cigar site......then......why not some cigars:
 

 

 

 

The Alex Double Lanceros smelling so good out of the ziploc..... Have to work the next 7; where is the time!

[nino]

2 hours ago, La_Tigre said:

Almost two hours since the shots. No burning or stinging at the injection site. We have no initial adverse effects.

? ?.....Four page information sheet. Three website signups. Two page questionnaire  & a card for documentation...?
 

So, it’s a Cuban cigar site......then......why not some cigars:
 

 

 

Thanks for the update and best wishes - makes me feel good and looking forward to have the jab sometime next 3 months !

[mprach024]

3 hours ago, La_Tigre said:

Almost two hours since the shots. No burning or stinging at the injection site. We have no initial adverse effects.

? ?.....Four page information sheet. Three website signups. Two page questionnaire  & a card for documentation...?
 

So, it’s a Cuban cigar site......then......why not some cigars:
 

 

 

 

The Alex Double Lanceros smelling so good out of the ziploc..... Have to work the next 7; where is the time!

Thank you for this!

[GotaCohiba]

Definitely not getting this vaccine

The fact that they are considering paying people to take is enough reason not to take it for me

Best of wished to all those that take it