How long do unused and unopened vaccines remain “good”? I know there was a thing initially about how a new vial had been opened so they’d grab any one nearby for a shot, but if they’re properly stored don’t they last a long time? I’m just thinking of all the vaccine doses that are already sitting around in local pharmacies in the U.S., I doubt they’d be repacked and sent to the African Union. If those vaccines were meant for X people and those X people refuse to get vaccinated do they just sit on the shelf forever or what?
Depends on if a shot has been pulled or not. As soon as you puncture the cap of a multi use vial, you substantially shorten the lifespan. It also depends on the storage temp.
Here’s moderna’s storage info:
For moderna, it’s 30 days unpunctured once thawed in the fridge, 24 hours unpunctured at room temp, and 12 hours once punctured. You cannot refreeze.
We only send out small amounts at a time, the bulk of our stockpile is in central low temp storages. Which can last for a very long time and be sent elsewhere.
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I would love to see that guidance followed because - seriously, this feels like the obvious moral choice.
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Mask mandate in all IL schools! Regardless of vaxx status. That is a step in the right direction. Of course now people are flinging insults at the governor again. Sigh.
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YESSSSS. My work is requiring vaxx for anyone who comes into the office. (That’s not me even after we reopen, 99 percent of the time, only expected to come in for huge meetings which are rare, but this makes me feel really good about my company.)
Also, return date pushed off to mid-October.
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Just got an email that the school district will require masks for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors starting today.
Our 5 year old is starting Kindergarten in two weeks, and I’m so glad he’ll be safer.
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mRNA Booster for J&J vaccine recipients is still a controversial subject - city of san francisco is doing it on request… but FDA and CDC is not recommending at this time
Germany and a few other rich EU countries already doing boosters, not just for J&J
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Guys, my boss’s BIL is vaccinated but has a breakthrough case and is now going to ICU. He’s in his 40s, no underlying conditions. mRNA vaccine. I know its a numbers game but still, so scary. Hoping he takes a turn for the better, she is so sad.
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That’s awful. I hope he recovers quickly.
In slightly better news, yesterday when I went to get my eyes checked out I passed by a Walgreens. The drive-through vaccine station had a line around the block. 
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Fuck, that’s terrible.
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I don’t like this.
Summary
Covid-19 vaccines no longer prevent transmission, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Thursday.
“Our vaccines are working exceptionally well,” Walensky told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “They continue to work well for Delta, with regard to severe illness and death – they prevent it. But what they can’t do anymore is prevent transmission.”
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Our neighbor’s 3 year old has Covid She had a fever and runny nose that devolved into vomiting last night, and her mom just took her in to get rapid tested.
We haven’t seen them recently, but our daughter has had a runny nose for 2 weeks now. We got her tested after the first few days and it came back negative, but she’s had a mild fever twice since then, and her runny nose hasn’t quit. She’s 2.5, and I assumed it was just daycare sickness making the rounds, but I think I’m taking her in again after her nap. Just in case.
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Let’s see if I can do the linking correctly … the text below is from their Facebook post so it’s slightly different from the linked article I put at the bottom but it should be the same numbers.
There was a ton of new science that came out this week re: vaccine and Delta. This is where we are right now…
Efficacy against mild and moderate disease is reduced
We have been trying to nail down the “real world” efficacy of mRNA vaccines against Delta. This has proven to be difficult to do. As I wrote before, we’ve been getting mixed signals from the UK (showing an efficacy rate of 88%) and Israel (showing an efficacy rate of 64% at first, and 39% now).
Yesterday, the UK (Imperial College) released results from their ongoing study called UK REACT-1. Every month this team analyzes how vaccines continue to work against the virus. The latest data is now out. From 24 June to 12 July 2021, 98,233 volunteers in the UK were tested for COVID19. Among these people, 527 tested positive; all were Delta. After asking vaccination status, vaccine effectiveness was calculated. Vaccine effectiveness was 49% for any positive (asymptomatic and symptomatic) and 59% for symptomatic disease. In other words, vaccinated people had a 59% reduced risk of getting symptomatic COVID19 compared to unvaccinated.
So, the Israel numbers and the UK numbers are slowly agreeing: Delta significantly reduces effectiveness against symptomatic disease. No wonder we keep seeing more and more breakthrough cases in the United States.
Importantly, though, the vaccines continue to hold up for severe disease and death. At this point, this is nothing short of a miracle. The vaccine is saving a ton of lives right now.
Viral load among vaccinated is the same as unvaccinated
This week three studies (here, here, and here) came out showing that vaccinated have the same viral load as unvaccinated. This means vaccinated can spread the virus. This evidence slowly confirms the famous Massachusetts outbreak study which promoted the CDC to recommend masks again. One study (here) this week showed lower viral load among vaccinated, but not by much.
…at least in the first six days.
Another study from Singapore this week confirmed that the viral load among vaccinated is the same among the unvaccinated. However, and importantly, it looks like this is only the case in the first six days. Then the vaccine kicks in and there’s a far faster decline in viral load than among the unvaccinated (see graph). So, at first the vaccinated are as infectious as unvaccinated, but quickly differentiates over time. Vaccinated seem to not be infectious after 9 days (Ct=30) compared to unvaccinated at 16 days.
Bottom line
This confirms the higher rate of breakthrough cases than we anticipated. But the breakthrough cases continue to be far more mild than unvaccinated cases. Vaccinated also seem to carry the virus. So, wear those masks and remain vigilant. Especially if you have unvaccinated or vulnerable family at home.
Love, YLE
For data sources and my graphs, go here: https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/…/latest…
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We’re rapidly climbing but still at okay numbers. I feel like we, and everyone else, is doing some version of rushing to do things while we can, which can cross into fiddling while Rome burns territory. About 17 months ago @Smacky was visiting me, and some other internet friends joined in. Our last social night. I am so internally and who knows if rationally or irrationally afraid that we are about to do the same guessing and should we shouldn’t we nonsense. And I need or strongly desire furniture.
I’m going grocery shopping tomorrow because I dread doing mostly pickup again.
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And I’m coming to visit again, with the threat of another wave looming. Not my favourite deja vu.
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Meeeee right now. I don’t want to go back to that. Please no. 
I know it’s smal in the grand scheme of things. I know I’m glad I have access to pickup, a car to do it with, etc. But also. Wahh.
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Just broke the aspirin back out because probably not safe to take ibuprofen. I was doing mostly grocery pickup even before the pandemic, but I already miss fresh produce.
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I live in Nevada and I really doubt our state will shutdown as it’s still highly dependent on tourism. My oldest son and daughter in law went to Poland as they hadn’t seen her family in 2 years. They left 2 weeks apart so on different planes coming home. A woman on my son’s flight was sick but they all had to test negative for Covid the day before leaving. He is now sick but not horribly. He gets tested tomorrow. He was around my youngest son who lives with me so we are all staying home until test results are in. I am so grateful we are all vaccinated. Luckily my DIL hasn’t gotten sick.
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I am so terrified for my kids. We never stopped wearing masks in public places, but their school does not wear them. I have started wearing one at pickup again- but the is really zero point to that. It maybe protects the kids at school against something I picked up, but not for long, since my unmasked kids are there.
My work had a case. I have an office, but shared air. I don’t think the “close contact” stuff applies anymore. They say they will “continue to take precautions” but as far as I can tell, those precautions are a sign on the door that says to not come to work if you are sick.
As for sick, I’ve been sick for like 2 months straight. And had 2 covid tests in that time. But seriously, I can’t go get one every time I have a stuffy nose and light cough, because it’s always.
And parents with kids in school are just going insane right now.
Our state has made it illegal for local jurisdictions to require masks.
The schools have now announced they will not inform parents when there is a confirmed covid case in school, and will not be doing any contract tracing. There are no more remote options.
They did this after the open enrollment deadline, so changing to K-12 Academy (online) isn’t possibly anymore. All you can do is pull for homeschool.
I’m pretty sure my vaccine still protects me from “serious illness”, but I am so stressed right now due to my kids. Probably statistically it is still a lot smaller than adults, but there seem to be a lot more kids with serious illness now.
And my daughter desperately wants to visit her grandparents next month. And I think I’m going to have to say no, because I don’t want us to be in hotels, and gas stations, and another state.
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Oh god, I do NOT want to go back to getting everything delivered. Just being able to run to the store and grab something we’re out of has helped my mental health so much these past few months.
And we can’t do pickup without a car, I tried, they will not do it. Which is ridiculous but here we are.
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