Tag: covid vaccine

Celebrating our Scientists, Reliving The Trauma

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The Vaccine War: Movie Review Rating: 8/10 The latest offering by Vivek Agnihotri is a daring venture: a tribute to the scientists at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) who played a vital role in India’s battle against the COVID pandemic. The movie is an adaptation of Balram Bhargava’s book Going Viral. It sensitively […]

Time to abandon mRNA vaccine boosters?

Aside Dr Amit Thadhani5 Comments

mRNA vaccines are a great technological advance, but the medium-term results are proving disappointing. When a virus enters a human body, it faces a formidable line of defence, known as the immune system. Various weapons are thrown at the virus, such as antibodies that bind with the virus and destroy it, and cells that can […]

Booster dose for COVID vaccination: Needed or Not?

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It is well known that two doses of COVID vaccination – whether it is Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca/Covishield or Covaxin – offer excellent protection against moderate and severe COVID (95-97%) but not against mild and asymptomatic disease (28%). Booster doses have been a matter of speculation since the early days of COVID vaccination when it was […]

AstraZeneca / Covishield vs Delta Variant, and Timing of 2nd dose of vaccine

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The delta variant of SARS-COV2 is estimated to be 30-100% more transmissible than other prevalent variants and cause more severe infections than the original alpha-variant. At last count, it has spread to 80 countries and has rapidly become the dominant strain in several countries such as India and UK. Some concerns were expressed that the […]

AstraZeneca – Covishield delayed booster: Classic case of using bad science in the Lancet to make politically convenient decisions

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“Modelling analyses showed an increase in vaccine efficacy after two standard doses from 55·1% (95% CI 33·0 to 69·9) with an interval of less than 6 weeks to 81·3% (60·3 to 91·2) with an interval of at least 12 weeks. A single standard dose had an efficacy against symptomatic COVID-19 in the first 90 days […]

The Global COVID Mass Vaccination Juggernaut is Gathering Steam And Showing Results

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The number of people vaccinated worldwide against COVID is now approaching 100 million and rising by 4.5 million a day. Israel has vaccinated 33% of its total population and 75% of its elderly population. Norway has completed vaccination of all residents living in nursing homes – the most vulnerable population. The UK has also prioritized […]

‘Adverse reactions’ after vaccine shot (not unexpected)

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When contacted, Dr Acharya said he was fine and recovering.  Assuring that the vaccine is safe, Acharya told The Indian Express, “There is no need to be scared (of vaccination). I will get discharged tomorrow (on Tuesday).” Acute febrile reaction is quite common with vaccination. In the case of a Mumbai doctor who developed transient […]