Are vaccines the light at the end of the tunnel?

[D C]

39 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

Yes when I had my annual physical and routine blood lab work I asked my physician to test my Vit D levels.  They were very low.  Just sitting in the sun more should help (like on a cruise!).  After daily supplement my level has tested in the normal range twice.

Ditto.  Been taking Vit D for years, along with others.  Really need to have my doc write a script for more cruising...

 

The media coverage of Vit D has been expectedly dismal, with headlines essentially saying "Vit D sucks because it doesn't cure covid"  instead of "A lot of covid pts have low Vit D. Anecdotal, but it can't hurt to take it before you get sick".

[Glendakayself]

1 hour ago, TeeRick said:

Yes when I had my annual physical and routine blood lab work I asked my physician to test my Vit D levels.  They were very low.  Just sitting in the sun more should help (like on a cruise!).  After daily supplement my level has tested in the normal range twice.

My doctor found my Vitamin D levels extremely low several years ago and put me on a Vit. D script. After I tested at normal levels, I was told to take over-the-counter D pills. Fast forward 10 plus years or so, and my blood work revealed  "toxic levels" of vitamin D. No more supplements. I never knew that one could have too much vit. D, but I did. I assume that all the yard work I have done since retirement has made made the difference.

[markeb]

19 minutes ago, D C said:

Ditto.  Been taking Vit D for years, along with others.  Really need to have my doc write a script for more cruising...

 

The media coverage of Vit D has been expectedly dismal, with headlines essentially saying "Vit D sucks because it doesn't cure covid"  instead of "A lot of covid pts have low Vit D. Anecdotal, but it can't hurt to take it before you get sick".

 

I find it an interesting question. I'm not sure where we are on "strength of data" for something like a clinical protocol, but many if not most people in the age groups most impacted historically are low in Vitamin D. Which does make it harder to evaluate whether the association is just age, or if Vitamin D plays a roll.

 

I can't remember when they started checking mine, but I'm back on Vitamin D from screening lab work.

[mayleeman]

2 hours ago, TeeRick said:

Very interesting story about the development of the J&J vaccine.

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/04/the-story-of-one-dose.html

 

That article was fascinating! So much work has gone into everything.

 

One aspect that was surprising was that distribution of the vax by UPS and FedEx was the least challenging part:   

 

 "... among the 20 million packages delivered daily, thousands of vaccine shipments were a rounding error."

 

Makes sense, but I remember people had worried so much about that, with rumors about shipping companies not having enough capacity.

Edited April 6, 2021 by mayleeman

[D C]

11 minutes ago, mayleeman said:

 

That article was fascinating! So much work has gone into everything.

 

One aspect that was surprising was that distribution of the vax by UPS and FedEx was the least challenging part:   

 

 "... among the 20 million packages delivered daily, thousands of vaccine shipments were a rounding error."

 

Makes sense, but I remember people had worried so much about that, with rumors about shipping companies not having enough capacity.

I never understood the public concerns about shipping.  The supply chain in the US is insanely good.  I bet even Fred Smith (founder of FedEx who wrote the infamous term paper about a new method for shipping cargo) would be amazed if you'd told him in 1970 what things would look like today. 

[zitsky]

2 hours ago, terrydtx said:

Texas eliminated mask mandates and opened all businesses 100% 4 weeks ago and our state continues to trend down for positive tested cases. Here in San Antonio our running 7 day averages for positivity in 2% or less compared to January where it was over 10%. We also are approaching the 34% of all adults in our county have at least one vaccination and 21% fully vaccinated with both shots. Those vaccination numbers are increasing every day by about 12,000. Also our schools have been open most of this school year with no huge spread of the virus.

 

That explains why my sister visited friends in Texas a few weeks ago from California.  None of the pictures posted on Facebook show any masks.  Not sure of anyone's vaccine status.

[Keys Kathy]

On 4/3/2021 at 1:01 PM, Charles4515 said:

 

Only a very small number of people would get counterfeit cards for a cruise. Most people are not sociopaths or criminals. (presenting a counterfeit credential if required would be fraud) Also if someone did it and got Covid or tested  positive it would be pretty easy to determine from the lot number that the credential was false. Besides different types of legal trouble they would be in the cruise line would undoubtedly put them on a no sail list. 

Nothing would surprise me. When the Keys were closed down from March to June 1st, mainland people made counterfitt entry stickers. We then had to show some form of ID. Then some of the mainlanders search our tax records for someone with the same name as theirs and used that to prove they owned property here to get in the Keys. Why? They wanted our toilet paper!!!!

 

I do find it a bit hard to believe that someone who risk a fraud conviction to go on a cruise, but you never know!

[K.T.B.]

3 hours ago, TeeRick said:

All Americans eligible to get COVID vaccine- deadline will be moved from May to April 19th.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/06/politics/coronavirus-vaccine-deadline-biden/index.html

 

My wife and I got lucky.  Her second Pfizer dose is the 20th and mine is the 22nd.

[NMTraveller]

4 hours ago, TeeRick said:

Yes when I had my annual physical and routine blood lab work I asked my physician to test my Vit D levels.  They were very low.  Just sitting in the sun more should help (like on a cruise!).  After daily supplement my level has tested in the normal range twice.

I will get a test the next time I go in.

 

I have always wondered why the "health professionals" did not take more of a proactive approach towards health during the pandemic vs just a  one tiered prevention policy.  When you know that being overweight is a risk factor for Covid,  but don't have a campaign to educate and instruct people how to lose weight, I believe that they are missing out on a secondary solution.

Edited April 6, 2021 by NMTraveller

[hcat]

19 hours ago, nocl said:

 

These should make for a good start.  The last one is a one of the links from the second one (chapter 45)

 

https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-documents/guidance-industry-q7a-good-manufacturing-practice-guidance-active-pharmaceutical-ingredients

 

Guidance for Industry, Q7A Good Manufacturing Practice Guidance for Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients

 

https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/compliance-manuals/compliance-program-guidance-manual-cpgm

 

Compliance Program Guidance Manual (CPGM)

 

https://www.fda.gov/media/73834/download

 

Inspection of Biological Drug Products (CBER)

 

 

Seems quite thorough...so how did the mistake happen and on a large scale?

[davekathy]

1 hour ago, K.T.B. said:

 

My wife and I got lucky.  Her second Pfizer dose is the 20th and mine is the 22nd.

We both got our second shots (Pfizer) on 24 February. We are now both card carrying members. 

[hcat]

5 hours ago, TeeRick said:

Now getting back to science, medicine and vaccines:😀

 

For those of you interested in Vitamin D and COVID here is a recent article from BBC News.  I have been taking daily vitamin D3 for the past year.  My levels were pretty low.  Now back in the normal range.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-56180921

My drs test for D regularly...Sometimes it is too low  so I take a mega dose for awhile..Then back to reg OTC supps. Fla sunshine is a plus too

Always best to  monitor...too much a good thing can be bad!

[TrulyBlonde]

3 minutes ago, hcat said:

My drs test for D regularly...Sometimes it is too low  so I take a mega dose for awhile..Then back to reg OTC supps. Fla sunshine is a plus too

Always best to  monitor...too much a good thing can be bad!

Mine is checked annually, as well. I live in the mountains and not much sun in the Winter. Also, it is valuable for bones along with calcium. I am small boned and petite, therefore I take 1000 IU extra for that too. 

[HskrCrsr]

16 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

I will get a test the next time I go in.

 

I have always wondered why the "health professionals" did not take more of a proactive approach towards health during the pandemic vs just a  one tiered prevention policy.  When you know that being overweight is a risk factor for Covid,  but don't have a campaign to educate and instruct people how to lose weight, I believe that they are missing out on a secondary solution.

 

While I think your suggestion for a secondary solution would be sensible, 1) we all knew that being overweight increases the risk for so many things and still most of us left the pounds on, and 2) gyms were closed and a lot of at-home stuff was hard to find due to increased demand. There has rarely been a doubt that being healthier is generally a good idea, just a lack of will to do it. Do you think such a campaign really would have helped, especially in light of the resistance to something as trivial as masks? Would Sarah Palin have started pushing sugar cookies again? Where I work, even the one-tiered approach was pooh-poohed.

 

One odd thing - the pandemic of 1918 actually killed the young & healthy at a higher rate than expected. (I am NOT comparing COVID to any other germs, pathogens, bugs, viruses, fungi, or pointy things; just noting that being healthy might sometimes work against you.)

[nocl]

23 minutes ago, hcat said:

Seems quite thorough...so how did the mistake happen and on a large scale?

One of the most recent FDA inspections did find a weakness concerning separation of materials at that plant (it is one of the contract manufacturing firms).  Apparently that is the area in which the problem occurred so either they did not fix it or did not fix it correctly.

 

Mistakes do happen from time to time, that is why there are so many check points on product quality before it ships.

[nocl]

29 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

I will get a test the next time I go in.

 

I have always wondered why the "health professionals" did not take more of a proactive approach towards health during the pandemic vs just a  one tiered prevention policy.  When you know that being overweight is a risk factor for Covid,  but don't have a campaign to educate and instruct people how to lose weight, I believe that they are missing out on a secondary solution.

Vitamin D has been included in the panel for my annual physical for years.  Three different towns/cities, three different doctors.  Never had to ask for it.

[zitsky]

This seems to have become the Vitamin D thread.  

[TeeRick]

27 minutes ago, zitsky said:

This seems to have become the Vitamin D thread.  

Yeah my fault.  I posted the article on Vit D and COVID.  

[K.T.B.]

31 minutes ago, zitsky said:

This seems to have become the Vitamin D thread.  

 

As in vaccinateD?

 

[Charles4515]

2 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

I will get a test the next time I go in.

 

 

You might have had the test. My doctor does not comment on any test results that are normal. I get the blood work tests once a year. I get tests for a whole bunch of stuff. I would not ask what the results meant unless they showed borderline or abnormal.  One year he said my vitamin D was borderline and he had me take 1000iu daily. After that the result has always been normal. Until then I had not noticed  that the blood tests included vitamin D  results. You might ask your doctor if your vitamin D level is included in your previous tests..

[phoenix_dream]

2 hours ago, HskrCrsr said:

 

While I think your suggestion for a secondary solution would be sensible, 1) we all knew that being overweight increases the risk for so many things and still most of us left the pounds on, and 2) gyms were closed and a lot of at-home stuff was hard to find due to increased demand. There has rarely been a doubt that being healthier is generally a good idea, just a lack of will to do it. Do you think such a campaign really would have helped, especially in light of the resistance to something as trivial as masks? Would Sarah Palin have started pushing sugar cookies again? Where I work, even the one-tiered approach was pooh-poohed.

 

One odd thing - the pandemic of 1918 actually killed the young & healthy at a higher rate than expected. (I am NOT comparing COVID to any other germs, pathogens, bugs, viruses, fungi, or pointy things; just noting that being healthy might sometimes work against you.)

Unfortunately, losing weight is so much more complicated that just having a will (or "lack of will") to do it.  Sadly shaming overweight people (and I'm not suggesting you meant to do that) is one of the last discriminations that seems to be acceptable to many.  There are so many reasons, both physical and psychological, that make it very difficult for many to reach a healthy weight.  In fact, the stress and anxiety of the pandemic itself I'm sure created even more issues from those of us struggling to control our eating habits.  Just getting through each day has at times been about the most we could handle.  I do wish as things subside as a country we could make a large push to help people deal with this issue, which as you say is indeed a risk with so many health concerns.

[Ken the cruiser]

Looks like CDC is willing to play if the cruise lines meet them in the middle. We can hope anyway ...

 

CDC Open to U.S. Cruising This Summer - Cruise Industry News | Cruise News

 

CDC Says Cruises Possible by Mid-Summer as Tensions Boil Over - Bloomberg

[TeeRick]

OK I just had Moderna shot #2.  

 

Dr. and Mrs. TeeRick will be ready to travel and cruise in two weeks.  Outstanding!😀

[mayleeman]

Trying to lose weight is fighting a few million years of evolution. The development of agriculture was just in the last 10,000 years. Before that, people ate as much as possible when food was available to store up reserves for times of famine.

 

We are so sure we are all self-determined, but we are still creatures with instincts developed for our survival. The glut of food in our lives (here in privileged and food-abundant USA, especially)  doesn't mean our biological instinct to eat goes away. This is also why the body reduces its caloric expenditures when someone diets--the survival instinct goes, "Uh oh, save that stored fat! This body is on the verge of starving!" when calorie intake is severely curtailed. Then the reaction is to store more when intake is restored.

[KWW88]

22 hours ago, lyndarra said:

600? That's 30% of Century's capacity. Wow!

and it is also highly unlikely...