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Third shot may be needed to combat new coronavirus variants, Bill Gates says
mystery-ak:
Third shot may be needed to combat new coronavirus variants, Bill Gates says
By Caitlin Yilek
February 17, 2021 / 7:06 AM / CBS News
A third dose of coronavirus vaccine may be needed to prevent serious cases of new variants of the disease, Bill Gates said Tuesday. The billionaire philanthropist's comments come amid to the growing concern that current vaccines are less effective against the South African and Brazilian variants.
"The discussion now is do we just need to get a super high coverage of the current vaccine, or do we need a third dose that's just the same, or do we need a modified vaccine?" Gates told "CBS Evening News" anchor and managing editor Norah O'Donnell.
"All five of the companies that have U.S. vaccines are looking at making that modification and adding that in so that people who've already had two shots might need to get a third shot," he said. "I think it's reasonably likely that we will have a tuned vaccine just to make absolutely sure that as these variants hit the U.S. that they're not escaping from vaccine protection."
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https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/covid-vaccine-variants-third-shot-bill-gates/?__twitter_impression=true#app
PeteS in CA:
I'll consider believing that when I hear it from someone who actually knows something about immunology and vaccines. This is just MSM Panic Porn fodder.
--- Quote ---All five of the companies that have U.S. vaccines ...
--- End quote ---
I know what companies Gates refers to, but that phrasing is almost Bidenesque. Currently: two vaccines have received EUA, not five; a third company has applied for EUA, still not five; a fourth company is likely to apply for EUA in the next few days or weeks, still not five; a fifth company, AstraZeneca, looks unlikely to apply for EUA, so that fifth "U.S. vaccine" looks to be many months in the future (Inovio, currently Phase II? Vaxart, currently Phase I?). Like Melinda, Bill's mouth demonstrates how little he knows about what he advocates.
In the real world there is already evidence that Pfizer's, Moderna's, Johnson & Johnson's, and Novavax's vaccines are effective against the UK and South African variants. Similarly, there is also evidence that AstraZeneca's is ineffective against the South African variant. So Oxford University and AZ probably are investigating ways to broaden the vaccine's effectiveness. But AZ/Oxford are not Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, and Novavax.
Hoodat:
That should increase profits by 50%.
Hoodat:
--- Quote from: PeteS in CA on February 18, 2021, 05:25:45 pm ---I'll consider believing that when I hear it from someone who actually knows something about immunology and vaccines.
--- End quote ---
Gates is as much an expert in immunology as was German horticulturalist Heinrich Himmler an expert in human genetics.
PeteS in CA:
--- Quote from: Hoodat on February 18, 2021, 05:29:28 pm ---That should increase profits by 50%.
--- End quote ---
I don't know about other countries' purchase contracts, but US purchase contracts were written many months ago, conditional on vaccines receiving Emergency Use Authorization (which only Pfizer's and Moderna's currently have), and at a fixed price. The initial 100M dose purchases were part of the contracts, and 100M dose options - from P and M - were exercised at the same fixed price before the end of 2020. Johnson & Johnson is likely to receive EUA in a couple weeks, and they have a similar conditional 100M dose fixed price contract; ditto Novavax.
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