Unambiguous Science

What exactly is vaccine efficacy? Efficacy is a measure of how well a vaccine works in clinical trials – specifically, the percent reduction of disease by comparing two groups – one that receives the vaccine and one that doesn’t, under favourable and tightly controlled settings. However, how one measures efficacy can vary significantly. Within the

Small increased risk of rare types of blood clots accompanied with thrombocytopenia (low platelets). Called ‘vaccine-induced prothrombotic immune thrombocytopenia’ or VIPIT. VIPIT is very rare. Initial estimates from Germany were 4 per million. Subsequent Norwegian estimates are 42 per million. Per Science Table estimates: occurring in anywhere from 1 in every 125,000 to 1 in

A quick snapshot of some of the key differentiators between the four COVID-19 vaccines currently available. Posting with and without

I have been getting a lot of questions on the AstraZeneca Oxford vaccine, and while data is evolving, here is some information Dr Elisabeth Marnik and I put together on its efficacy and safety. So far, it is very effective in preventing severe illness, hospitalization and death – both from clinical trial data as well

I made a stand-alone infographic on Covid-19 vaccines in pregnant and breastfeeding people because of how often this question comes up. It includes guidance from NACI and SOGC, as well as V-Safe Pregnancy Registry information released by CDC

I’ve received many questions on NACI’s most recent recommendations on delaying second doses up to 4 months. This is a complex topic, but I think important to discuss for transparency. The only absolute in science is that there are no absolutes. Throughout the pandemic, evidence has evolved and recommendations have changed based on new data.

Johnson and Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccines becomes the 4th to receive Health Canada approval!  85% effective in preventing severe illness, 100% effective in preventing hospitalizations. Single dose, with data on efficacy in variants as well as preliminary data against asymptomatic disease. Best part – storage 2-8C. Will be a very valuable tool in our arsenal against

The question on whether Covid-19 vaccines can impact fertility comes up often. Here’s an explanation on why that simply isn’t true.

Now that we are at the cusp of getting other non-mRNA based Covid-19 vaccines, I wanted to take some time to explain how the Adenovirus vector vaccines work. Here’s is a simple infographic:

Here is an infographic showing the current variants of concern and the subsequent data on the vaccines. We currently have lab based data available, but expecting to see human trial data shortly. We do not expect to see as drastic a decrease (eg 6 fold) in efficacy given that neutralizing antibodies are only one component