Unambiguous Science

Collab post with Science Whiz Liz and Fueled by Science The CDC is phasing out the old PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) and recommending a newer multi-plex test. They issued a Lab Alert on July 21, 2021 informing testing labs. Labs are being given until Dec 31, 2021 (4 months) to transition. Then, the CDC

Have received many Qs lately on SARS-CoV-2 antibody tests to assess immunity after Covid-19 vaccination. While these are available commercially across Canada and the US, we are far from using it ubiquitously and not currently recommended , because there are quite a few issues that haven’t yet been worked out yet, such as: 1- Most

Report #1: December 14, 2020 to May 31, 2021 by BORN Ontario (Better outcomes registry and network) – 30,892 received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy – 25,990 (84.1%) of vaccinated individuals were still currently pregnant as of the end of the reporting interval (May 31, 2021) – Almost all who had

Benefits of vaccinations accrue over the period when immunity exists and also extends to others. Here is some data on the indirect effects of vaccination on your household

Some reports of the vaccine causing transient changes to menstrual cycles. This is not unusual, given the endometrium is an extension of your immune system. However, important to know that these changes are transient and last 1-2 cycles and there is no subsequent impact on

Very helpful article summarizing the data in Financial Times today. On preventing symptomatic infection, early data from real-world studies in the UK in May found two doses of Pfizer were 88% effective against Delta. Similar analyses in Scotland showed 79% effectiveness. In Canada, preliminary analyses estimated that Pfizer was 87% effective at preventing infection with

New preprint by Dr Fisman and Dr Tuite showing progressive increase in virulence of variants in Ontario. Delta is significantly more virulent than earlier variants, resulting in 105% increased risk for hospitalization, 241% for ICU admission and 121% for

Two immunogenicity and reactogenicity studies (Com-COV & CombiVacS) on heterologous prime-boost published. AZ+Pfizer data is very reassuring, good binding + neutralizing antibodies and T-cell responses. Side effect profile typical, mild to moderate and

Myocarditis collab with my friend Dr. Elisabeth Marnik. We have summarized all the info that is available thus far on the risk of myocarditis and pericarditis with the mRNA vaccines per CDC ACIP’s briefing this week. This far, the CDC maintains that the benefits outweigh the risks. We will continue to update as more information

Dr David Fisman, an epidemiologist at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and a friend of mine, recently made these graphs on herd immunity. The vaccine uptake we need to see to achieve herd immunity is based on vaccine efficacy & reproduction number of the dominant variant in circulation. With Delta, numbers needed to