Read on Twitter
Alright. A quick round-up of useful threads on the Pfizer vaccine results and what they could mean.
First port of call: @statnews which - as usual - has probably the best single report: https://www.statnews.com/2020/11/09/covid-19-vaccine-from-pfizer-and-biontech-is-strongly-effective-early-data-from-large-trial-indicate/
First port of call: @statnews which - as usual - has probably the best single report: https://www.statnews.com/2020/11/09/covid-19-vaccine-from-pfizer-and-biontech-is-strongly-effective-early-data-from-large-trial-indicate/
Great primer from @nataliexdean on key vaccine terms.
Especially useful to distinguish between vaccines that prevent disease (you don’t get sick!) vs vaccines that prevent infectiveness (you don’t get other people sick!).
See also efficacy vs effectiveness. https://twitter.com/nataliexdean/status/1310613702476017666
Especially useful to distinguish between vaccines that prevent disease (you don’t get sick!) vs vaccines that prevent infectiveness (you don’t get other people sick!).
See also efficacy vs effectiveness. https://twitter.com/nataliexdean/status/1310613702476017666
Several people are - justifiably - taking issue with science by press release.
This was a Pfizer announcement - so no confidence intervals, no pre-print, no *paper* with methods & results that other scientists can critique & review.
From the science editor for @NatGeo: https://twitter.com/monscience/status/1325770815833473025
This was a Pfizer announcement - so no confidence intervals, no pre-print, no *paper* with methods & results that other scientists can critique & review.
From the science editor for @NatGeo: https://twitter.com/monscience/status/1325770815833473025
But hey, if we’re discussing science-by-press-release, you can read the full Pfizer press release here:
https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/pfizer-and-biontech-announce-vaccine-candidate-against
https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/pfizer-and-biontech-announce-vaccine-candidate-against
Some nice comments from @CEPIvaccines.
Essentially: this makes it more likely that other vaccines, using similar methods, will also work. Those vaccines mightn’t need to be stored at -70C (!) for distribution.
Good news! But not final word in vaccines. https://cepi.net/news_cepi/cepi-statement-in-response-to-announcement-from-pfizer-biontech-positive-interim-data-from-phase-iii-trial-of-covid-19-vaccine-candidate/
Essentially: this makes it more likely that other vaccines, using similar methods, will also work. Those vaccines mightn’t need to be stored at -70C (!) for distribution.
Good news! But not final word in vaccines. https://cepi.net/news_cepi/cepi-statement-in-response-to-announcement-from-pfizer-biontech-positive-interim-data-from-phase-iii-trial-of-covid-19-vaccine-candidate/
Today’s result was genuinely good news!
And: keep everything in context. Remain hopeful, wait for results.
And: keep everything in context. Remain hopeful, wait for results.
A brief postscript.
As @COdendahl points out, it’s worth appreciating that Biontech - German medical startup which created this vaccine for Pfizer - was founded by the children of Turkish immigrants.
Whatever the outcome, that’s a beautiful thing. Immigration enriches is all. https://twitter.com/codendahl/status/1325794485406666754
As @COdendahl points out, it’s worth appreciating that Biontech - German medical startup which created this vaccine for Pfizer - was founded by the children of Turkish immigrants.
Whatever the outcome, that’s a beautiful thing. Immigration enriches is all. https://twitter.com/codendahl/status/1325794485406666754
. @JonathanKBall points us to the Phase 1 data, which is publicly available (thank you!). https://twitter.com/jonathankball/status/1325797849351790594
And as many people are pointing out, this underlines the value of NOT pursuing herd immunity.
If you can avoid getting sick this winter, the rewards just went up.
@AlanMCole phrased it in gloriously maths-geeky terms. https://twitter.com/alanmcole/status/1325782643049439239
If you can avoid getting sick this winter, the rewards just went up.
@AlanMCole phrased it in gloriously maths-geeky terms. https://twitter.com/alanmcole/status/1325782643049439239
(Although my maths-prof partner pointed out that it should teeeechnically be the expected value *of the value* of delaying getting sick. I personally don’t mind a colloquial use of maths - but I include it for the - much beloved - maths pedants among us :D)
Once more for those in the back: herd immunity means allowing a lot of people to be infected with a novel virus when we don’t know the long-term effects.
When large populations get infected, even small statistical effects are magnified.
It’s not worth it. Wait for a vaccine. https://twitter.com/drzoehyde/status/1325486550629576704
When large populations get infected, even small statistical effects are magnified.
It’s not worth it. Wait for a vaccine. https://twitter.com/drzoehyde/status/1325486550629576704
Whatever happens, we’ve gone from knowing nothing about a novel virus to developing a potentially viable vaccine, all in under a year.
We should wait for the data. We should be careful with our expectations.
But the overall arc of the research is genuinely a cause for wonder.
We should wait for the data. We should be careful with our expectations.
But the overall arc of the research is genuinely a cause for wonder.
‘This is all going to get worse before it gets better – but the good news here is that it really is going to get better.’ - @Dereklowe https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2020/11/09/vaccine-efficacy-data
‘Celebrate, but let the process play out over time as intended’ - another great thread from @nataliexdean.
https://twitter.com/nataliexdean/status/1325820512946302977?s=21 https://twitter.com/nataliexdean/status/1325820512946302977
https://twitter.com/nataliexdean/status/1325820512946302977?s=21 https://twitter.com/nataliexdean/status/1325820512946302977
