Let’s talk about Moderna’s two bivalent C19 vaccine booster candidates! Vaccine names: – mRNA1273 or Spikevax (original) – mRNA1273.211 (bivalent with original + beta) – mRNA1273.214 (bivalent with original + omicron) mRNA1273.211 data was announced earlier this year, includes 6 months of follow-up data, and is published as a preprint. mRNA1273.214 data was announced byContinue reading “Moderna’s Bivalent C19 Vaccines”
Category Archives: Explain That Data!
HPV Vaccine Reduces Cancer
An exciting paper about the success of the bivalent HPV (human papilloma virus) vaccine in preventing cervical cancer was published this week in The Lancet! It is out of England and contains observational data spanning 10 years. This paper is significant becuase it doesn’t just look at infection of HPV but actually evaluates the reductionContinue reading “HPV Vaccine Reduces Cancer”
B/Yamagata Extinct?
Exciting news out in a Nature Communications paper (h/t @laurel_bristow)! We already knew that public health measures taken during the pandemic also helped reduce transmission of the flu (and quite dramatically). Compared to previous years, the cases of influenza in the 2020-2021 winter season were incredibly low. ▪️So what does this paper add? Interestingly, oneContinue reading “B/Yamagata Extinct?”
How much better is a mix & match?
The news is out that the FDA has authorized mix & matching COVID-19 vaccines for boosting! The CDC is meeting today to discuss recommendations around this topic. I have posted before on some mix & match data (previous #explainthatdata posts) but this latest set of data (currently pre-print) was conducted in the US (10 clinicalContinue reading “How much better is a mix & match?”
C-19 Vaccination Doesn’t Increase Abortion Risk
Worrying during your pregnancy is completely understandable but I want to be another voice that helps you know that the data on the COVID-19 vaccine and fertility/birth is clear – there is no associated risk. I haven’t posted much on my account about this topic (mostly because my fellow sci-commers have done such a fabulousContinue reading “C-19 Vaccination Doesn’t Increase Abortion Risk”
Booster Shot Considerations
Talk of booster shots is in the air! The FDA is meeting this upcoming Friday to discuss the approval of an extra dose in order to boost immunity. A recent paper in The Lancet reviewed data from dozens of papers (either peer-reviewed or pre-print) and grouped them by vaccine type (mRNA, protein, inactivated virus, orContinue reading “Booster Shot Considerations”
Vaccination Reduces Long COVID
A recent study published in the the Lancet gave us our first good look at how vaccination can affect the likelihood of long COVID. And the good news is that vaccination appears to significantly reduce chances! We know very well by now that vaccination reduces your chance of infection, and if you don’t get infectedContinue reading “Vaccination Reduces Long COVID”
Convalescent Plasma
Convalescent plasma, or plasma from someone with anti-sars-cov-2 antibodies, has been considered as a treatment option since early on in the pandemic. For a while now, the data around the use of high-titer plasma has been leveling off with the conclusion that it has very little to no effect on slowing disease progression. This articleContinue reading “Convalescent Plasma”
Risk from Vaccine vs Infection
Let’s take another look at the risks associated with sars-cov-2 infection versus the risk of covid-19 vaccination! At this point in time, the rhetoric should be that you will either get the shot or you will get the virus. It’s one or the other. This article published in NEJM last week contains a comprehensive dataContinue reading “Risk from Vaccine vs Infection”
Mix & Matching Vaccines
The conversation about mixing and matching vaccine types isn’t new but it’s still very important! With vaccine distribution problems and regional vaccine shortages across the globe, the topic of getting one dose of an mRNA-based vaccine and another dose of an Ad-based vaccine, remains pivotal. In this particular publication (The Lancet, August 12th), the immunogenicityContinue reading “Mix & Matching Vaccines”